Your thoughts on Peterbilt 387 (13 or 18 Speed)?

Welcome to the forum! You will find a great bunch of guys here.
Now on to your question. Peterbilt vs...
Kinda like ford vs chevy,
I perfer an 18 but most will tell you otherwise. Again the ford/chevy thing.
After everyone has giving you their preference, V8 will probably tell everyone that European trucks dont need a transmission. (Sorry, couldnt help myself).
Again, most anything with truck specs is a personal thing.
If you are considering buying a truck, may i suggest spending some time in a company truck first.... as Jim says, just a thought

 

What is your application for this truck? That makes a huge difference in trany preference.

 

whs X2
18 speed can be skip shifted, meaning you can drive it like a 9 speed, a 13 speed or whatever combination you desire. I skip shift alot, especially when empty. But the 18 is there when you want it.
As i said before, many members have other favorites, an 18 happens to be mine.

 

I think I'd have found a different instructor about then. My last truck had 1.2 million miles on it's eighteen speed before it was ever touched. Doesn't sound like a problematic transmission to me. The instructor should be ashamed of himself....

 

whs X2
the driver is the biggest influence on transmission life. Any transmission will stand up as long as it is rated for the torque and not abused. With a good driver trans will still take it even when not rated for engine torque...

 

387 is a cheaply built fleet truck. Had several brand new ones when I was a company driver. Had just as many squeaks and rattles as a century class FL. The hoods rattle like crazy and need hold downs added on like normal trucks have. the doors prone to get sprung.. very poorly engineered IMO.You could do worse but not by much..

 

Right out of school and your going to buy a truck? You dont know the first thing about trucks or trucking. If your asking questions like you are your not ready to own a truck. Go drive someone elses and learn the industry. Then try to find a job with a small mom and pop company or owner opp and get your hand dirty. Have them teach you how to change you own tires, breaks and basic maintance. If you cant do the basics your self you will most likely fail as an owner opp. Trucking school dose nothing but get you a licence to drive a truck. It dont teach you anything about trucking and only teaches the bare minium about trucks to pass a road test. A rookie going out and buying a new truck and thinking hes going to make a living as a owner opp is a pipe dream. You will almost surly fail. Dont do it till you get a few years experence. And never lease a truck from a company! Thats a sure way to lose everything!