Glider Freightliner or Volvo VNL 670

Agreed, Cowpie1 has a nicely spec'ed truck also and you guys can get into a Gilder for less than a brand new truck.
The big difference is you guys don't run CA, however I'm based here so I don't have the choice.
Trucks like any equipment have a certain lifespan, depreciate, ware out and have to be replaced. The whole CARB thing only dictated when replacement would happen regardless of how far along the trucks natural lifespan was at.
Telling a trucker he has to change his truck because we said so is like walking into a biker bar and telling those guys they had to change their beloved bikes! As you can imagine it didn't or hasn't gone down that well but it is what it is.
Instead of spending my time and thoughts how to disagree with and fight a loosing battle it was easier to go along with it. CARB actually provided grants and funding to us CA guys to make the change, in my case with the 1996 international they gave me $45k towards a new truck of my choice. Some got $60k.
Think about that for a minute, now I bet you are wondering what any CA based company or O/O is crying about? Me too!
The only ones that actually got hit hard by this was non CA based truckers who run CA, but their business operating costs are a lot less than CA based truckers.
In any case the good thing is the rates are going up. I love to hear truckers on the forum who are buying non CA compliant trucks and others who say they simply won't run CA.
The more that happens, the more my top and bottom lines increase.

 

Wow. So many uninformed people in one place!!! I have owned Pete's (1) and freightliners (3) and now a Volvo. The freightliners were all heavly optioned o/o specs and after 2 years were rattly noisy and clearly cheaply made. As much as everybody touts the great dealer network I waited and waited for parts sometimes, as I did with Peterbilt also, but with Peterbilt you get to pay a premium for waiting..., with the Volvo I have the smoothest, quietest, easiest driving truck I've ever been in. 14 hr day and I'm fresh as when I started, 300k on it now and only a couple minor adjustments, one hub (fixed overnight)! And great fuel mileage. I'll never have another truck.
I had a brand new 2011 Crapcadia and it almost bankrupted me, the truck was a problem child but the main problem was Freightliner. Terrible service, terrible warranty coverage, and they just gave up on stuff and said I would have to "live with it" I would NEVER recommend anybody spend one cent with Freightliner , unless you are a huge fleet they don't care about the owner operator.

Good luck.

 

I owned the freightshaker, sold it. I still own and drive my vnl. I don't think you have the option of the the Volvo chasis as the glider kit-if I'm wrong tell me where I can get the Volvo glider. Now, I'll tell you what I like about my vnl vs other trucks and you make an educated decision on your own. Do not buy the Volvo motor unless you need an anchor, cummins is better, cat was never an option after 2003. My truck holds value better then the Freightliner or international, unless it is heavily spec'ed 9900ix. Vnl is better build then the other two mentioned trucks, it is lacking the longer hood like the vt8 has-I love that Volvo. There is no truck on the market, that size that I'm aware of, that can turn as good as the vnl780. Also, vnl is roomy and comfortable. It had, my at least, almost no electrical gremlins. However, I have the tenancy to take care of my equipment. I love the w9L and would have bought T8 if it wasn't so cramped and small vs my current vnl780.

 

California never even factored into my buying a glider. I haven't done California since the 90's and I just never even thought about the CARB compliant stuff when I decided to get a glider. Just never found any good reason to run back out there. Heck, I haven't found a good enough reason to run west of the front range of the Rockies. New England and Florida, the same thing. I didn't swear off anything in getting a glider. Even if I had a 2014 emission compliant truck, I still would have no need to go to these places. The customers I choose to work with, I have plenty to do within a 500-600 mile radius of my house. Actually more than plenty to do. And I figure that the premium insulation package I have in my Freightliner, that is good enough that I didn't even have to turn on the water valve to the sleeper all winter long is about as good as it gets for a truck. The cab heater kept the entire interior warm all winter long running only the upper tier of the U.S. Not a lot of trucks regardless of brand that are insulated that well. Pays to spec things right. And that is just one of the real nice things about this glider I have. Except for the name on the truck, there is not much of anything else that is typical "fleet specs".

I drove a Volvo back in 2005-06 for roughly 100,000 miles. I really didn't care for it right out of the gate, and it never grew on me. I was more than happy to be out of it when the time came. And there were any number of reasons like the air horn being part of the steering wheel to the cable hood release and a stack of other design features that grated on me. Each person has specific likes and dislikes. I also have never had any motivation to look at Pete's either. I just was never influenced by red ovals or swedish trucks. They must be ok trucks, as many folks like them. But it is a Ford vs GM vs Dodge type of thing.... there are some designs and features that some like and some don't. To me, trucking is simply business. I don't put any real effort into what is cool and neat, or impresses the rest of the world, or spending more than I need to and getting a bunch of stuff that isn't going to help me make money, save me money, or save me time. I go home every weekend and a night or two during the week. Just interested in getting the biggest bang for my buck. And paying for emission engines, and the associated higher maintenance costs, when there is no need for it now or in the foreseeable future just seemed like a poor business move. Kinda like putting a million lights all over my truck and looking like a rolling casino. Just not my style and a waste of money to me. I wasn't even interested in any kind of graphics on the truck either.

Guess after over 3 decades at this, I just will never be a "real" trucker. And I am not losing any sleep over it either.

 

Same, no thoughts to cali's.

 

This was an interesting thread to read. It would be good to hear from both Cowpie1 and Foxcover on how things have come along on both trucks since 2014 from a mileage and maintenance wise perspective...

 

773,000 miles on my 2013 FL glider. No engine issues. A couple of exhaust manifold bolts is all. Engine still has same oil consumption, about 1/2 gallon in 22,000 miles. Oil samples look very good. Averages just under 8 mpg for all miles. Just basic maintenance stuff like shocks, brakes, air dryer, etc. Windshield gradually got speckled from general road stuff, so replaced windshield. Just basic, normal truck stuff.

 

Why not buy an old vnl with a Detroit find one with Inframe recently. Put the money you save in your maint plan account. And be ahead of the game. Piss on new trucks. Piss on EPA. Pre 97 trucks do not need abs so that makes things more simple.

 

Makes sense depending on what one can find and how much they have to sink in the truck to get going. And don't let the ELD thing influence your decision either. What you spend on getting a truck up to speed and keeping it going may be worse than what an ELD might do to one's bank account.

 

I don't know if @Foxcover comes on here any more. He sold his trucking business about a year ago due to back problems and also so he could spend more time with his family. Kind of off topic but it was a successful operation with real direct contract customers and I don't believe he ever booked anything from brokers. As far as I know that Volvo never really gave him any trouble and he liked the truck so much that he was kicking around the idea of ordering another brand new one. He did bust a deer with it just before he got out of the business and had to fix that. It always looked like a clean, cared for unit in the pics I saw. Had a nice dump bucket and step deck that looked brand new too.