Is this a good truck to start with?

I have 2.93 rears with a 13spd 22.5lp and don't have any probs on the hills.You would be fine with the 3.36 rears,the only prob with that truck is it is a old marten truck and they dont change the oil till 40,000 mile with conventional oil and no bypass filters and they do not do greese jobs till 20,000 miles.Also they were always loaded heavy 78,000-80,000lbs and no tellin how many drivers have been in and out of it.
I would do a good inspection on the truck and engine cats are $$$$ also I would go with a aero truck before a hood unless you like spending an extra $12,000 a year in fuel.
I have a brick of a truck now but its paid off if I was to buy another truck it would for sure be a t600,386 or something like that.

 

when i started out i drove same type of truck with a cummins though, fuel mpg AVG. was 5.5-5.7,do you realize you are giving up close too 1 mpg over a aero type truck ?

do you know how much that translates into over a year's time ?

you mentioned your still in school, i think all would suggest to you to get your year in driving a Company truck, minumum... I.E. learn on their equipment.

 

I don't agree with the aero truck "facts". The 1mpg is bogus, the driver has WAY more to do with fuel economy than the engine or shape of the truck.
The T600 I had cost more in maintaince than any W900L. All the plastic aero fairings added weight and brackets would crack/break. I mean come on guys do you really think if there was a full MPG difference in trucks that companies would ever sell the non aero trucks? I mean sure there are those who are just die hard old school but "$10 to $12k a year" brand loyal? You give me a 8mpg Volvo (haha) and I'll show you how to get 4mpg out of it. I've got an '02 W900L C15 and pulling a flat got 7mpg the last time it was checked. My dad drove it and was trying to see how good the mileage could get if you really tried.

If you want the 379 get it. Most of these super high fuel mileage trucks are like bigfoot, lots of claims they exist but after some digging you find out the truth. Not saying there aren't any out there but all the ones I've seen are going off what the ECM says. Or like a friend of mine who used to pull a flat with a Conestoga kit (13'6 high and 106" wide) hauling lumber to pulling a van hauling cardboard. Gee when your only hauing 3k lbs in a van I can't imagine your mileage not improving.

Plain and simple I wouldn't have kept paying more Cats and W900's for company drivers if there was actually that much difference in the the cost of ownership. Sure I like the trucks but I like money more.

 

Looks like the truck came in from an auction as well. Numbers on the frame at the rear.

Grossing 78-80k is "heavy"? LMAO! Ain't heavy at all.


We have a 350hp Mack CH day cab that gets 6mpg. I can do the same with an '04 long hood W900L-Areodyne with a 525hp Cat, while running 65-70mph. Met one guy that said he was getting 6.1mpg with his ISX600 stuffed in a T660.

Driven properly and with the right drivetrain specs, the areodynamics don't mean jack.

 

i agree i averaged 7.3 on my ifta for the quarter pulling a van with a midroof classic 500 cat 10 speed and 373 gears on 11.24.5 rubber

 

Wow! a whole 6.1mpg with a crap box of a acert engine im impressed.The last good cats were the pre emmission engines (prior to the crapier bridge).
I at one time liked cats but now that I have to pay the bills and fuel I wouldn't own a yeller engine.You really pay for that yellow paint.haha
2000 classic xl detroit s60 with my step running 63 mph 7.75 mpg for the year last year.
This year pulling a reffer 6.5 mpg running the same speed.

Cat inframe (I had 2 friends that had cat inframes last year)600 c-16 $27,000 the other c-15 550 $25,000.
My detroit $15,000.

Also areo does make a difference unless somehow you know how to defie the laws of physic's.
Just like people that say slowing down does not do anything for mpg right?

 

I don't care if they cost 100k to overhaul, I don't overhaul trucks, period! From a financial point of view a truck will only make "x" amount of money in it's lifetime. After that point your throwing money in a pit. People brag about having their truck "paid for" which is fine but if you have major maintainace bills your not saving anything. Sure the motor is overhauled but now the transmission, axles, suspension, all accessories need work. Not to mention the cab, paint ect.... You can have it, I'll buy new.

Bring your 7.75mpg truck here and I've got a 8 stop per day lumber delievery route I'll stick it on and show you 5mpg. Then I'll take the same W900 550 cat that usually runs that route and stick it on a OTR trip and show you 7mpg. Like I said there are so many factors involved that the color of the engine and shape of the truck are only a small portion of the overall cost of ownership. oh and 27k for an overhaul....needless to say he got screwed or there was more than a simple overhaul in that price.

I'm still impressed with the 10-12k more I can make with a aero truck. haha I bet if I get those little air tab things stuck to the rear of the trailer and a "Turbo3000" I can make another $5k. I'm not trying to be smart "A" I just have been there and you can't believe everything you read in a brochure, or what someone's buddy swears they get. Heck the overhead MPG thing in my pickup swears it's getting 27mpg, of course it's barely getting 15.