which truck

Really.? I figured the less cubic inches if you was easy on the pedal you could get decent mpgs out of her.

What odd too is now you can spec a DD13 with more torque than a DD15. Both 505hp, but you can get 1850tq on the DD13 vs. 1750 for the DD15..

For what it's worth, my 11.1L detroit averages a low of 7.76 right before I had my overhead run, to a high of 9.20. Usually my quarterlys are 8.5-9.0 mpg. 350hp, 1250tq, rtx 12609b, 4.10 & tall 22.5..

 

Not sure about Maverick trucks but TMC doesn't have APUs I'd be very hesitant in buying a newer year truck that has had a life of idling...

 

$10k down and what about the other massive pile of cash for maintenance or breakdowns? Fuel costs for first month, insurance/start up costs etc? You gotta have coin to live off of because it could be a month or 2 before you start seeing money coming in.

 

Well, I would buy a Freightliner Classic, one of the last ones built, or a Coronado, maybe a mid roof with a 14L DD, or DD15 maybe. 13 or 18 Why? Because they’re cheap, parts are cheap, and there’s room to work under the hood. The other cheap Trucks will just depreciate quickly, be harder to work on, cost more labor wise. That’s just my opinion. By all means buy a Truck you like, it helps when it’s costing you money to repair.Just because Big fleets spec/ buy certain Trucks, doesn’t mean it’s a good bussiness plan for a solo O/O. Lots of choices, take your time. There’s always another good deal to be had.

 

I agree whole heartedly with what you're saying, but OP wants to be able to run into commiefornia.
I linked/suggested an emissions rig for that reason alone..

 

What about when your truck breaks

Just keep in mind there will be weeks or more you may not be earning a paycheck. Trucks break down and other unforseen circumstances. I don't know newer emissions trucks myself but I've heard plenty of horror stories about them being down for weeks or more at a time

 

I think on flat ground dd13 would really sip fuel. Any type of incline and that thing strains. That set up I mentioned im yanking tanks with, but I used to drive the new cascadia pulling reefer with the full aero package, dd15, 425hp, 1850lbs tq, 2.64 direct drive, downspeed to 1150rpm 61mph, super singles, and was getting around 8-9mpg.

I agree, lol mpg's has a lot to do with that foot pedal

 

Mercer does settlement's on a per trip basis. But my advice would be to definitely save more money...

When I was leased onto Mercer i recovered a few trailers for them from drivers who quit and didn't bring the trailer back to Louisville.

The ones I met didn't quit because they didn't like Mercer it was because they didn't have money needed for truck repairs and had to go out of business.

That $40k truck is going to be needing some money for repairs that's for sure.