I am realy close to buying a truck...I am fighting with my self about the type of truck to buy...I am looking at 2000-2007 model trucks it will need at least a 60" sleeper i have been looking at International 9400i,9900i,and 9370 trucks..also pete 386 and 387s Or Mack visions or my last pick would be a Freightliner century/columbia or Coronado with a Detroit I am only interested in cummins motors ISX or N14 except in the mack or Freightliner in that i would want a 427 or460 I would prefer a 13 speed would settle for a 10 speed I will be pulling a flatbed on the East coast I would love to find one with a APU I am looking for the lighest weight truck and also the best fuel milage truck for the best price...I do not need a big fancy W900L to go down the road i am more into looking good in my bank than going down the road I have the money to pay cash or put down 1/2 and finance so my payment will be low or nill...I have my biz plan all set and 30 yrs safe driving I am also a mechanic ...My bigist problem is buying a 2000 year truck and having carriers say its to old then have to update and buy a newer truck I will not buy a 2008 or newer truck becaus of the emmisions the 2004-2007s are bad enouf but they are workable please help
9400i Mack vision or pete386 HELP
Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by earnies2, Apr 18, 2015.
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Buy your self a new glider 386 from fiztgerald friend of mine has one year old no break down 7.2 mpg pulling tank. I got freightliner glider from fritz 18 months ago same here no break downs 6.8 mph I run 70 to 75 all the time he keep under 62. Only need 5000 down with good credit you really need to look at these trucks. These are money making machines.
earnies2 Thanks this. -
i will look at them but they might be out of my scope for a start up truck.....
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i thought i replyed to this thread already but i guess not? humm.
anyway
for the money i think the international's are pretty solid trucks. with a Cummings you shouldn't have any trouble getting work done on it anywhere.
the mack visions also a good buy for the money. i think the suspension works a little better than the internationals and interior a bit nicer, the e7's are good engines. the ac engines had some problems in the early years but by now all the updates will have been done and be a reliable engine. but for parts and service make sure you have a good dealer network in the area you run. i would normally suggest staying away from a proprietary drive train but Mack doesn't normally package a Mack truck without a Mack engine. your will most likely have the lightest empty weight and best fuel millage with the Mack over your other posted options.
for the petes well iv never been a fan of the anteater petes but never drove one either out of the hoods iv drove i always thought pete had the best build quality. good parts and serviceearnies2 Thanks this. -
Iwas looking at 9400s and the cummins is almost standard with them...do you like the n14 over the ISX...wich one would do beter on fuel....i ran a vision from boston to south dakota every week for about 4 months it rode good but the puppy was castrated and when it saw a hill it just laid down and died...but all in all it was a good truck after that truck i started pulling heavy equipment local with a 460 mack vision and a 18 speed it would walk the dog and i pulled some real heavy loads....no sleeper....i like the fact i can buy a 2007 386 with a cummins and pete still makes that truck so it dosent look old like the 9400 would...if a dot cop is looking at 2 trucks wich one is he going to pull over the new looking pete or the old body 9400....i am sure the milage on the pete will be beter than the 9400.better aerodynamics..i am confused about the macks they are cheep and you see a lot of them with rebuilds at 500k....do you think i am looking for the truck i will never find????? i dont want to settle for a lesser truck and not be happy with it ....
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Just read your post. If your really looking for "the lightest truck with the best fuel mileage and lowest cost" find yourself a Freightliner Columbia with a Series 60 Detroit. Thats the best bang for your buck they are a dime a dozen. With a 13spd behind the series 60 you'll be fine.
earnies2 and ShortBusKid Thank this. -
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i think part of the reason the mack visions are cheap is one dealer support. and also the vision was kinda there otr market truck witch is a market Mack has never really been to popular in. macks tend to be more popular in local and vocational application. they did put some attention into trying to biult the truck for comfort and light empty weight trying to target regional applications where a sleeper was required but still needed a stout truck and alot of these coutomers are paid by weight. (tanker, hopper, bulk) this is the main market the truck was built for
my vision with a 70" midroof pusher axle 13 speed wet kit and pusher axle is only roughly 1k heavier empty than my fld with a 42" flattop 9 speed with a headache rack and wet kit installed. before the pusher was installed on the Mack the Mack was the lighter of the two trucks. the mack also gets the better fuel millage out of the two.
as far as 500k inframs i didn't see much of that when i was looking not any more than any other make of truck the few odd truck here and there that suffered a low millage inframe. seemed a lot of the newer trucks of all brands were seeing quite a few lower in frame millage on all makes. my mack was in framed at 980k i have a friend that has a 06 with 1.2 mil on the original enigne.
another downside to the mack is mack seems to be rather proud of there parts sometimes and many things are not available from other sources.
as far as freighter goes it seems the interiors are quite sub par on the Columbia dashes half falling apart everything rattles ect. fld's however are a pretty solid truck but if your looking for a newer look i suppose the fld probably isn't in your radar. but mine has served me very well if i was in the market for another truck i wouldent hesitate to look at another fld. i do like the look of the coranodo but no personal experience with them. 60 series is a solid engineLast edited: Apr 19, 2015
earnies2 and double yellow Thank this. -
my $0.02
Cummins motors cost more to fix, takes a few days to get parts for, but they are decent motors for sure. The new def ones kinda suck
detroit motors are usually more reliable- 12.7 great on fuel 7-8 more if tuned, 14.0 is hit or miss, they suck on hills with heavy loads, emissioned ones really suck.
pre 03 cat15 get 6.5-7 usually and got power, but they require special fluids if you care and maintenance, but if ur hauling heavy, ull thank yourself.
MY issue with the internationals, the clutch pedal is hard and sucks in traffic. the body is boxy and old styling, dot loves old stuff around here....
I personally dont like freightliner but it is the most economical for o/o, parts are cheap and almost always stocked at dealers
Peterbuilts are nice if you stay away from the low end 387, the 386 is nice, you are paying for the name, but its higher quality than ^.
What you need to pay attention to is the gearing. if you have a 3.93 gear its gonna haul ### but youll get 4mpg.
Make sure what you get has a jake brakeearnies2 Thanks this. -
Stick with a aero truck for mpg though. I love the old school COE's but pushing a brick wall s making money......
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