Buying new or used truck

maybe you can request the ratio. If you do mountain run, take 3.70. owner op specs is 3.58 or 3.42. If super fuel saving, take about 2.64 or less.

 

You should post more info on your specific operation. Especially if you want more help. These guys might offer different advice. Maybe I missed this info. But more info would be helpful. Like type of truck body you have now, how fast you drive, your current truck specs, and most important what type of Car Trailer? Some kill MPG and some are very easy on MPG.

 

I can't imagine any new body style going to help. To me the Cascadia is not going to help. I thought your 4.5 might have ment a car over the cab. I am not sure what a a 6/7 should be gettting but it seems it should be better than that. I think you need to look deeper.

For starters you need to have some input from someone hauling a car trailer similar to yours. Anyone willing to give him a baseline (MPG ifta and cruse speed)? Maybe LBZ? He has a rig similar to yours. br2 what is your cruse speed and you should start digging and find your gear ratio.

Seems to me motor, transmission, gear ratio, and cruse speed will be more important than a different aerodynamic body style. With your right foot potentially being the biggest issue. Maybe its not, but it is a variable that can't be ignored. Most of your route is a easy drive in my opinion. I don't go past Texas in the west though. Just buying a Cascadia glider with a Detroit 12.7 might not get you as much of a gain as you think. I understand you have other reasons for getting a different truck.

I think you need to think about why you are getting your perceived low MPG. I think it is low, but I don't have cars 13.5 feet in the air either. LBZ can give you some good numbers, maybe others can also.

Think big picture with all variables in play.

 

You should be able to get that info from a Pete dealer. They should be able to look it up with the vin. Seems like my Volvo dealer gave me a print out on my used truck. That did not come from them.

Another thing is having a Driver in it. This is a HUGE VARIABLE that was not mentioned earlier. 65 is pretty fast but what if he is running 67 or 70. You have some 70 and 65 on your route.

Speed is the huge factor in MPG. Also aerodynamics of load and trailer play huge. My MPG can vary greatly with load and speed. Some trucks will preform better than others at certain speeds. Rolling hills like PA compared to OH valley will make a difference. LBZ posted earlier, you can trust his numbers and his rig is similar to yours ( m a bye he will post his mpg and cruse speed). Plus maybe some other 7 car guys will chime in.

Cars for me are aero loads as long as I have one on the step deck. My MPG can vary 2/3 because of load and speed easy.

The story on your low MPG for your rig is like a onion. You need to keep peeling layers and then assess what is going on. Until you figure out what is going on, you should not order a new glider. I don't have the technical skill to tell you the perfect transmission and gear ratio, but they are going to be hugely important. Maybe more than the engine. Any aero body will work. In your application I am thinking. The high up cars and open trailer frame will over shadow a slight increase the best aero body has over the others.

I was reading a thread about direct drives and OD transmissions. So there are some members here that really understand gearing and transmissions. You need to get all the issues out in the open.

This is way more than my truck sucks.

 

Have the exact same trailer & a $125,000 new truck is not going to change a whole lot mpg wise crossing 2 mountain ranges pulling cars. Pencil out the difference between that sort of payment or capital expense vs ACTUAL miles turned for the previous 12 months. Then determine how much of an improvement mileage wise you will need to offset that vs current payment/mileage.

Also, is there an APU on the Pete 387? You have about a gallon per hour in idling the truck if it has to run all night & rightly so as the southwest is pretty tough to sleep over night in that heat this time of year. If you have one on there, cancel this out.

I am not saying to or to not buy a new glider, just to pencil out the numbers. At that point decide if a new truck with a paid driver getting 6 mpg works out on an annual basis. You can hope for 7+ mpg & may achieve it, but would not use that number for figuring this.

Lastly, that 387 is going to hurt trading it in as would assume it has the worst CAT motor they made. I like CAT & own a C12, but yours being a 2008, it probably has a serial number beginning with SDP & have a DPF. So it kind of is a rock & hard place in terms of fixing emission related problems vs taking a beating on resale. Search CAT C15 SDP & posts by Mr Haney are bound to show up. He knows more about these motors than CAT does.

 

A 2008+ CAT with an ultra shift? Did you do ANY research before you bought this truck. That engine is like leprosy, nobody wants anything to do with it.