Best Starter Truck

lots of people don't understand your ride depends on your wheelbase your going to get a better ride with a 244wb then a 215wb

 

Well if I could own my own truck and have whatever I want it would be a Western Star with a 144" sleeper. Full bath, kitchen double bunk with a queen on the bottom and a twin on the top. Then I could take the whole family (3 of us) at the same time and it would almost feel like home. I know that the longer wheelbase gives a smoother ride, I was just comparing my experiences between the Freitliner Columbia and International 9400i from a drivers perspective.

 

wiyh that biga*s truck you better make sure you can pull that truck in those shippers because some of them you will have a hard time pulling that big truck in some shippers you would not be able to get that truck in

 

I forgot to mention that I would only drive from Guard shack to Guard shack. The yard dogs would meet me there with my mt and take my loaded trailer. In and out, the ultimate drop & hook.

 

As a driver my opinions would be if you want a shaker then find a nice FLD chassis and stay away from the newer century/columbia models. They have had electrical problems and also check on the recall for the 03's i think with the MBE 4000 and series 60 for the exhaust leaking into the cabs. I honestly like the FLD cab better, the dash is closer to you. If you are looking newer than 03 look at International. They build a decent truck. Just watch the dealer, our local dealer in the twin cities sucks. We have an 05 9400i with a C15 and its been ok.

 

have owned 3 Centurys 99,03,06 ZERO ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS.

Exhaust leaks mentioned would be engine not chassis issues.
Century ride is better than FLD.

you can still order an FLD as a glider kit...before anyone posts that they dont make this model anymore check with Freightliner.saw one at my dealer 2 mo ago. heres the real interesting part, had a 98 emission DD60
(reman) installed from factory as its one component.

 

wheres your scence of adventure. i do it ever day.

 

those gliders to me are a good deal thats just me some will say they arent but when the time come's to buy new that's what i will buy

 

I guess that you are lucky. I have an 06 M2 with lots of elec problems and i have heard this from many other shaker drivers. I also saw new 07 fld gliders with N14 cummins in them. They were on truck paper and they had about 5 of them i think. Not sure if they had rearends on them yet, but you can pick what you want. I suppose the ride is better on the newer ones, but i guess i just like the fld's better but thats just me.

 

1997 Centurys had electrical problems.some what normal for first year. not sure you can get lucky three times.
I have a soft spot for FLDs too, owned 2 of them.