Cummins M11 and ISM?

Thoughts? I'm looking at a few trucks and most have either an M11 or ISM Cummins mated to a 10 spd. I would be pulling a 3-4 car trailer and wouldn't be going OTR, just regional stuff within 500 miles. My previous work had me in a N14 or 550 Cat with 13spd, 15spd, or 18spd. I have a few hills and don't want to overwork the truck, and I would prefer a big motor with at least a 13spd, but finding one is nearly impossible. The trucks within my budget that I've been looking at have 400K-750K miles. So what's everyone think of these engines? Thanks for the help!

 

Thanks for the reply. From what I've read online they're gutless and leak oil. But seeing as most are around +/- 400hp I imagine they would be gutless pulling 80,000#, and I've read the oil leaks are usually caused from over working them. So I'm guessing the people complaining about lack of power and oil leaks are just in the wrong truck for what they're trying to do. I'm looking at a T800 that has 450K with 150K on rebuild, meaning it was rebuilt at 300K, which just doesn't sound right. I would think it should go for more than 300K before needing a rebuild. As much as I would like to have a big motor with at least a 13 spd, finding one in a single axle is almost impossible. One of the trucks is an IH 8600 w/ 770K, I guess I should see if it's been rebuilt yet or not.

 

That's a nice setup you got there!! I'm jealous!! Here are the two trucks I'm looking at.

First is a 1996 KW T800, Cummins M11, 450K with 150K on rebuild, 10spd, virgin tires less that 1K miles. Unfortunately it's a daycab, I'm leaning more towards a small sleeper. $21,000


2nd is this 2007 IH 8600, 410hp Cummins ISM, 10spd, 770K miles, 70% rear tires, 90% front tires. $28,000.


I think they're both overpriced. I could get a nice looking tandem axle sleeper truck for that kind of money, but I'm trying to focus on maneuverability. Thoughts?

 

No I'm in TN and will only be running from my city to the 4 other major cities around mine and then back. I may make a couple longer trips which is where I think it would be beneficial to have the sleeper.