Choice of truck for O/O.

2nd round as an O/O; VERY MESSY divorce ended my first business in 1980
This round started in July 2002, I bought a 1996 W900, for $21,500; 3406E 475 hp, 13 speed, 800K mi. In '04 I had Cat major it,($13,700). Sold it and a 1998 Timpte grain trailer in October of 2007 for $38,500. Timpte Trailer of Ft. Worth gave the trailer an over the phone value of $18k, to $18.5k, and I was told the truck was worth around $20k. After 5 years, I sold it for $1500 less then I paid, (that is what I mean about resale value!). The truck had 1,380,000mi. when sold.

October 2007, I then bought a 2001 W900 flattop for $42,000, C15-500 10 speed with 608,000 mi. Other truck was too old to lease to carrier I am now with, and walk-in sleeper was too tall to fit in loading rack. The 2001 rode like CRAP! Two trips to KW in Houston, one to KW in Laf. LA, no help. Six weeks after I bought that truck, they modified the rack to allow taller trucks on it. That and the ride convinced me to unload that pogo stick. Resale value did not help me when I traded it, having only had it approximately 6 months; $38,500 was what I got on a trade in for the 2004 W900 I am presently running. KW of Ft. Worth was asking $55k for this truck, I got them down to $52K. Because of the crappy engines in the newer trucks, I'm hoping to keep this one a while, IF I can get it to run right!

Best of my memory, b.i.l. has had his truck over 3 years, maybe closer to 4, it had just been traded, and he knew the truck. I honestly do not know what he paid for it, (he is not as loose lipped as I am). The reason I know about the $11k difference between my 2001 truck and his, is because he wanted to trade it at the dealership where my good friend works. B.i.l. left upset, and friend gave me a call asking to try to smooth things over.

Man! sorry for the long post; No short stories in my life.

 

I agree with buying one you like but it also needs to be affordable.......There was no way I was going to start out with a high dollar truck........I have only been doing this for a few months now........I bought a 95 Flat top Volvo with a 12.7 Detroit with an Eaton Super 10, truck has a 1,000,100 miles and has never been rebuilt.....I still get between 6.8 and 7.25 pulling a flat (mostly steel). It has Volvo on the front and GMC/White/Volvo on the title...........I bought it with 970,000 miles from an older guy that all us boys nicknamed PawPaw, He is 72 and bought the truck new.......I'm the second owner............ It still runs great and so far my maint his been minimal.......I bought the truck and trailer while I was still working in Iraq.......Got the truck and an 06 Great Dane 53' x 102" flat for 25k.....Still have enough set aside for the eventual rebuild on the motor. just trying to save up for a newer truck.......I plan on waiting 2 years before buying and hope to be able to pay cash for that also. My brother wanted me to go cheap to start, learn the trade in an older and cheaper truck...... I started out as an O/O running under his authority and he is teaching me the ropes.........He started in an old Freightliner COE. It was a Wal-mart truck that he paid $6500 for it. He was then able to buy a Pete 379 that was only 4 years old........He now has a small fleet and just purchased himself an 05 Pete 379......
I looked at it as I have to pay my dues before I can jump in a big old Peterbuilt...............
Like my Grandfather used to say, "The only time you can start on top is when your digging a hole."

 

methinks Agent fell off the proverbial turnip truck.

 

droy im being sarcastic while poking fun at our good friend from down under.

 

Figured that, and my comment was also in fun, hope he doesn't take offense.

 

Nah hes a good ole boy.

 

Your not taking into consideration how much you put into the truck?

I'm gonna guess your 01 had the small airbags on it? My uncle bought one new with them short airbags and that thing rode like a tank! He said his 89 rode better and it didn't even have an airride cab....

My dad has an 88 W900B witha 425 3406B in it and only got offered $5,000 on a trade. The motor had less than 200,000 miles on it, new paint and a whole list of new things put on or into the truck as long as my arm. He laughed at the guy and told him he would just run the truck 2 weeks make his $5,000 and junk it before they would ever get it! So, I guess that whole better resale value just works for everyone else...lol

 

Not sure I'm following you; if you're talking about the $13,700 I paid to overhaul the motor, It would have cost the same if the motor was in any other brand truck. Inframe was done # 932,000mi, sold the truck 440,000mi later, I did not even consider it when we figured up the price. Went to friends lot for him to appraise it, and was told the only time they take an overhaul into consideration is if it is done at a MAJOR shop (i.e. Cat, KW, etc), then driven onto the "for sale" lot. An inframe by Joe's shadetree service is ALMOST a mark against it.
Right now, off the top of my head, some parts HAD to be purchased at KW, but not many.
The hood support bracket, a body part that cracked,
Hood springs, and safety cable, 1 spring broke, I replaced both, and the cable to be safe.
There are other parts, at this time I cannot remember what else. and YES, some stuff was way overpriced.
And believe it or not, some things were CHEAPER than local parts house!
I cut a suspension air bag with my pressure washer, replacement came from local parts house, couple of weeks later, another bag started leaking at the fitting, was returning from Houston, so I stopped in KW in Beaumont, TX ; bag was about $10 cheaper. Batteries were cheaper there also. Sometimes even the dealers get a little competitive.
Just returned from Cat dealer, turbo boost pressure sensor= $140
The same part at the local International dealer = $120 (but they didn't have it)
They are also a Cat dealer, and usually cheaper.

 

I don't expect to get everything back that I put into a truck but I do like them to take into consideration when trading it in. I guess thats why I've owned this truck for over 10yrs. One thing I've learned about resale/trade-in is if they want to sell you a truck bad enough they will give you a good trade-in value.

You put 440,000 miles on that motor in 3yrs?

 

I need help moving all of my stuff (household goods) from Orlando, FL to Fort Worth, Texas. I was thinking of possibly hiring an O/O to ship the stuff for me. I will load it in FL and unload it in TX. I would only take up half of a 53' trailer so that they can get another partial to TX. Just trying to save money since U-haul wants an arm & a leg for a truck. I moved my stuff to FL using a company truck but went out of business before getting it back. Any suggestions?