How much was your first truck?

Used 8 months ago. $13k. Would do it the same agian but I have spent about another $10k in repairs and upgrades. If I were putting another driver in it or didn't do all the labor myself I would only buy brand new! No $70k 500k mile truck for me. I think they are the worst investment you can make.

But that's just one persons opinion.

 

12k, put another 8 in it right after I got home. I think you either gotta buy an old for cheap, put money into it and make everything right, or buy new. Everything in between will still eat money. A lot of people buy trucks with 500k miles for 50k and spend just as much as you do on 15k truck.
If you have steady work, you are experienced and money is good, I would say getting new is better. Otherwise get an older pre egr one and hope for the best ))

 

41,000 all done a 1994 Freightliner Midroof FLD with a 400 cat on a rockwell 9. It was a used truck with 250K or so on the clock. The seller was a company that made it's living converting company drivers like me into a proper Owner Operator first with lease to a fleet and then later with own authroity within three years and truck paid for in 5. Minus a mandatory 12% of all gross going into a sinking fund against blown or destroyed engines which is usually a killer of truckers due to no funds when they happen to the idiots among us who horsewhip and abuse them poor kitties.

I was a OO for three days exactly working on a fuel problem when I was told the entire situation was nullified due to a discrimination against my hearing impairment via owner of that company. This was back in the 90's and even today Im still somewhat angry. But more than satisfied with the way my trucking has turned out well prior to my accumulated wear and tear on the body and mind.

That was a real sweet kitty on a transmission that was nice and precise clickly clicity-click on every shift, no slop. 90 no problem pump quit at 124 top somewhere above that. Bridge stone commercial tires 80% virgin. And every gauge possible on that dash, nice little forest of dials that will tell you exactly what any given moment how she is doing.

I am aware of weak front ends and sometimes the airride behind the cab bags would wear down if they were abused on bad roads with those model freightshakers. I think at some point in the future I will seek out a 500 cat version and convert it to a RV capable of traveling the USA in all weathers and season with a bit of ballast instead of a 5th wheel back there. APU for shore power aboard. Nothing too fancy and not for hire. Might have to take the bogie axle off for Revenuer Tax purposes if there is a problem with three axle RV's made from old road tractors. If I do this and am successful I look forward to a little project documenting every single Interstate Mountain pass both ways up and down including grade charts in percentage and in distance plus elevation.

I like having concrete plans with my future but first things first tending to my ex.

Would I do it again? Not for Interstate or intrastate commerce, there is simply too much in terms of surgical repairs that will need to be done and no way to replace bone losses in certain critical areas. If you gave me a time machine, I would have done it with a completely different outfit and maybe have a goal of establishing a fleet and company to hire people and put them to work So that they may have a future in America. I would need quite a few tractors then trailers then a shop, then acreage then people to handle people and trucks and computers. It would be something that would be awesome me thinks. I wont be paying my bosses 650,000 dollars a year though. Unlike certain other fleets here in Arkansas who have more money than sense. Until they burn through it.

 

Bought a used 1974 White Commander cabover, 290 Cummins, 10 speed, single axle spring ride, no power steering, 32" flat top sleeper with 120,000 miles on it in Jan of 1976 for $23,500. Traded it in 2 years later on a new 1978 IH 4070b same specs. That one was $31,000.
been buying new ever since. Don't like used/abused stuff.

 

My first truck was actually $2,000. 1968 IH loadstar to haul a old D-5 dozer around.

 

85k for a w900L 2009 cat motor. Emotional buy and nearly bankrupted me. Now have an 18k freightliner classic xl 2000 with 12.7 s60. I should have bought this truck first. It is ugly as sin but it puts way more money in my pocket than that KW ever did. My next truck will be a brand spanking new 389. I have to learn the hard way my whole life. No surprise I had to have the shiny large car with a horrible motor that almost closed the doors as fast as I opened them. Now I look at a truck as a tool. I couldn't care less what others think about its looks.

Note these purchase prices are $cad

 

Paid $32k for a 1999 Freightliner with 600k on it, this was in 2002. If I was smart I would still be driving that truck.

 

Oppertunties like that are really cool in life. Ive got a touch of dozer blade time and much more Cat 936 which I think grosses 44K when not scooping rock and sand in it's 6 yard bucket on the 4 wheel drive and 300 cat in the back, at least that was what I think it was. Manual on that thing was 4 inches thick. I used to read through it in spare time waiting to get mixer under the boot. That was how I got assigned to it by demonstrating knowledge gained in study. Best job I ever had.

 

74K brand new '96 FLD w/8PN CAT still running it.