Help! Best Truck/engine for $30000??????

What is an overhead?

 

"Overhead" refers to adjusting the valves/injectors/jakes on the engine. It takes a couple 3 hours and will result in a better running truck with better fuel mileage.

 

I gotta say, I am really glad I found this site. I am stepping into O/O myself. I see a lot of talk about motors, and different models but I am still somewhat confused. I don't have a lot of money so what I have to spend will be around the 20 to 25K mark. From what I have been seeing on truck paper, the Freightliner's, Volvo's and Intl's at that price have between 700,000 and 800,000 miles on them. I have been told that fleet trucks are the best to look at but I have been a company driver for 7 years with a couple of different companies and I see how the other guys drive them. Myself, I try my best to take care of what belongs to someone else. So when I find a truck, say for 20K, does that mean I should immediately take it to my mechanic and have it worked on? Tune up, rods and rails overhead and underneath and on top? You get my drift. I was kind of hoping I could find a truck around that price that I could run for a couple of years so I could save some money to buy something a little newer. But then I read that newer is probably not better and to get something older and put the money into it like rebuild motor, transmission, drive train, etc. I was looking at an '05 Volvo with the ISX 400 Cummins in it with 700K. It was a Brown Nationalease truck from Iowa. But I was told that Volvo has a lot of computer problems. I called Cummins and asked the guy about the 400. He told me that the 400 was pretty good but the ISX motors in the higher horsepower have a lot of problems. Then there is the whole thing with the EGR..... The truck I drive is a '98 Freightliner with the N14 in it. It has 900,000K on the it and the motor froze up and it cost the boss 25K for a recon motor. Any additional help would be wonderfully recieved.

 

Buy your bosses truck from him.

 

thank you!!!! great to know! Are you from Minnesota? (MNdriver)

 

That was great! I actually thought about it, however,it is a day cab.

 

Yes, I live west of the Mpls Metro area

 

I live up by St. Croix Falls, WI.

 

Dont believe all the bs.... here is the skinney cat will perform the best but has the poorest mpg history and expensive to maintain and repairs,,,, cummins better reliability and better mpg history and slightly cheaper repairs and parts and performance close to cat,,, detroit 60 series best all around and much cheaper to maintain and repair not much of a performer in the hills and mountians ,,,, i have an isx. and im happy with it but will look at detroit next time.....

 

Don't be so quick to discount the s60 in the hills.