Is it worth it?

This is assuming an intact emissions system:

Go newer even if it means you finance some of the truck or go a lot older. Older would be great since you plan to work on it. But a 7-8 year old emission truck is going to be a pile of problems.

 

Youll be spending plenty of time servicing and maintaining the truck. Any free time you had reserved for your family time will most likely disappear to business duties. When you're a company driver, when you're off... you're off. Money isn't the end all be all. Your kids are only 9 once. Just something to think about.

 

I don't want to be the **** hole in the thread but you have 24 years in the seat and you can't answer this yourself?

If so, stay where you are.

RIGHT NOW, you will fail.

It is a hard market, repos are on the rise, freight rates are not bottoming out yet, and because this is an election year, if we elect one dummy poltician, the economy may tank but if we elect another dummy politician, the economy may be sabotaged.

Those who are working for a company right now is in the best position, you with 24 years and I would expect a number of years (I have not read all the posts) would be in the best position among the company drivers. Plus I think you are in florida which is a tough market anyway.

 

Amen to this. I had my own truck for 8 years. Now I’m a company driver and couldn’t be happier. So much less stress in my life. I’ve taken my kids out swimming and hiking more the last 6 months than the 8 years I owned my truck.

Actually if I went on my own again I’d look real hard at leasing a truck. I’m not saying I’d do it, I’d definitely check it out though. All repairs paid, and all your payments straight tax write off. Taxes killed me when I owned a truck.

 

If taxes killed you before then leasing wouldn’t help all that much, maybe lower your tax bill $10k or so? I don’t know how much lease payments are. Personally I’d rather purchase and use the depreciation on the equipment. What gets many people is they buy a truck and years one and two they don’t owe much in taxes and then year three comes and they get a surprise they weren’t ready for.

 

Doing your own repairs is a huge help.. But always keep in my your engine can blow anytime, be down for a few weeks and spend 15,000-60,000 getting fixed. Then the next day your transmission or rear end or numerous other things can go wrong all while not getting paid..

 

Ya we’d try to take vacation when the truck broke down, but it wasn’t that relaxing for me wondering what the bill would be when I got back home.

 

Owning my own truck operating under the carriers authority I cleared about $20k per year net taxable income more than their best company driver.
After accounting for all the maintenance hours I had to do on my truck on the weekends vs the company guy got to go to the lake on the weekends it winds up being a wash.

 

As an always company driver, I can give this advice. Every Volvo I've driven from a 2008 model up to a 2017 model have all been the absolute biggest piles of garbage trucks ever. Nonstop breakdowns and the dealerships are full of absolute tee-total #######.

Closely leading the VNL breakdown pay generators are the early 2010s Internationals. They might be worse than the Volvos but every company got rid of them so fast I never had enough time driving them.

Freightliners, particularly the early model cascadias are endless electrical problems and emissions problems. My company has about 10 of them at my yard still kicking around at 700k+ miles. They are the exception to the rule and still break constantly. Most of the old style cascadias would run good to about 400k. Then endless problems, usually electrical and emissions. They are also cheap rattle trap plastic turds. If nonstop vibrations, popping, creaking, rattling, and road noise are your jam, you'll love them. If i didnt have such a seething hatred for Volvos I would hate the old cascadias the most. The newer cascadias are better. Still cheap plastic trucks but much better cab layout and far less janky.

I have never had many issues with any truck housing an N14 cummins or a DD16. Have had a DD13 pop on me once. Had a Cat of some flavor blow a head gasket on a backup truck at an old job. Was down for a long time and very expensive for the company to fix. Worked in the heavy equipment world for a while, never, ever buy anything ever with a Mercedes Benz diesel in it. I MEAN NEVER. In like one year i saw 5 trucks/machines get parted out or auctioned because the MB engine blew and parts were literally impossible to get, as in no longer being made, just total the machine and scrap it. That and a contract issue put that grading company out of business. Went from 800k profit in that year to bust in just 2-3 months.

They arent super cheap but of what I know the Freightshaker Coronado's are solid trucks actually meant to last and not be scrapped after a few hundred thousand miles. I ran one hard, and I mean running with all tires chained, full lockers busting through 2-3' deep snow drifts at -50 degrees, pushing a wet kit at those temps, no idling in the winter, -60 degree cold starts without being plugged in, 15k lbs over the rear tandem rating. I brutalized that poor truck and from what i know it is still purring along. As are the other Coronado's at that company. All were spec'd the same. Tall rubber, full lockers, dd16, 18 speed, 600 hp, 2000 tq, wet kit, double framed, no goofy lane departure/emergency braking/adaptive cruise etc.

Aside from weird stuff like cruise control not working if you turned the truck off and cranked it again without opening the door, and the power window switches crapping out, and some other minor stuff, those are the only freightliners I have seen without regular electrical problems.