Paying cash for an older semi tractor vs. financing a new one

Your info is off a bit. The ddec had been out for several years prior to that. 85 i think was the first year the ddec 1 was available. Penske bought 60% of Detroit diesel in 88.

 

I believe they will when boat (Perkins) engines and generators are eventually subjected to the same emissions standards. They won't have a choice because the construction equipment side of things is circling the drain.

 

Will never happen.

 

My wife has worked for cat for about 15 years now and says she could see it happening. The amount of truck business they lost with the construction equipment side crapping out is killing them. So bad they are massively laying people off. Boats and generators will eventually be subjected to strict emissions standards so they would have a shot back in road diesels.

 

They are all TOYS. I have lots of them. My truck is a tool for making money with my company. ONE toy I made a tax deduction is my 86 Chevrolet 4x4 Silverado. The tractor is the tool that makes the money. Nothing more.

 

My first truck was a classic and I looked hard for a goo one this time, ended up with a 12 Columbia glider. Same drive train as my classic, so parts and repairs are as cheap but .5 on the mpg is WAY out. My classic could get 7 light in the Midwest were it's flat in the summer. Columbia hasn't had a 30 day average BELOW 6.9 worst part of winter. One of my last runs before my surgery was 33k lbs Quebec to Larado then 9k lbs return. One tank touched 10mpg. Truck averages almost 8.5 30 day averages and I'm driving faster now than I did when I had my classic. (Elog) the shape makes a difference. That said...
I loved the classic for the ride the 244 wheelbase got me. If a mint one came along next year for a good price with the same drive train as mine I would have a hard time not grabbing it up.

 

244 wheel base on a classic? What was it a day cab? I'm 280 and there is badly enough room to stand on the catwalk and open the doors on my headache rack.

Oh and I'm at 7.8 mpg for the last 30 days. including one trip to the and back, tho that was a light load.

 

I may be wrong, but I think ddec 87,and Penske in 88. I’m not exactly how it went down, but Penske was involved before aquiring 60 % stock. I don think, I know my facts are a little bit off. Lol

 

Must be a Canadian Truck 244 wb,Seems most are 265, most 84” bunks 275, Mine 285. 8 lanes of traffic for a u turn. Start counting. Lol

 

My w900 1996 wasn’t purchased because I love hoods. They just simply hold up better than plastic trucks. It’s value maintains longer than plastic trucks also. I could care less about the looks. Not only that, they never change designs. If a w900 is taken care of, an average person would never guess the year of the truck. I believe this is why some people buy jeep wranglers. Buy a new f150 and ford redesigns the grill in 6 months and suddenly your truck doesn’t look new anymore. If my w900 didn’t have a Detroit I probably wouldn’t have bought it.