Add on DPF

Hi Jeff; I live in Temecula and am considering putting a DPF on a 2000 freight liner Detroit 12.7
What engine and year is yours on? Who did the install and where are they located? Have you lost any fuel economy ?
Thanks;
Areelius

 

mine is a cat3406E in a 95 Pete,,Ironman in Corona did my install,,lost about a 1/4 mpg,,also you should check Valley Detroit in Mira Loma,,they did a friends 12.7 for a similar price,,and of course you may want to check out the shop that did DD's install, Fletchers Diesel in Lancaster,,Ironman would be closest to you,but so would Valley Detroit

 

though i will say,,the shop that did DD's install is by far the cleanest looking set-up,,i lost my stacks and had to go weed burner

 

With fuel costs at about $2.00/gallon, who cares about MPGs? When it was $5.00/gallon, that's a different story. Fuel costs me $2/gal and I'm getting 7.5 to 8 MPG. That is .25 - .26/mile. When it was $4.50/gal and I was getting 7.5 MPG that cost me .60/mile! That's twice the fuel cost! So if I do a retrofit now and it costs me 1/4 to 1/2 MPG, that's minimal. I mean even if it cost me 1 whole MPG that only increases my fuel cost to .30/mile.

Meanwhile the guys with new trucks are boasting about getting 9 MPG, but at $2.00/gallon that is .22/mile. First off, I don't believe anyone who says they are getting 9 MPG, but I don't think they're a liar, but I just think they aren't factoring in the extra stuff. I don't need DEF. I don't have a truck payment. I don't have that that high insurance payment like on a new truck. I can't go to container ports, but that's fine because they suck.

So if I get a new truck and I am getting 9 MPG with the fuel where it is now, I'm going to have DEF to buy I figure that at $1500/year. If my fuel cost is .23/mile and I'm doing 100K/year that's $23,000 in fuel costs. I will have a truck payment with interest and insurance so that is about $3,000/month or $36,000/year.

If I instead keep my old truck. There's no monthly payment, the insurance is minimal just to cover replacement of the truck. I don't have DEF, I'm paying .26/mile so that puts my annual fuel cost at $26,000. And I'm at $1000/year for DPF cleaning. Then there's the maintenance costs which are usually more than a new truck so I'll put that at $10,000/year

New truck = $60,500+/- /year
Old truck = $40,000 +/- /year

Of course if the old truck's maintenance is less, that figure can be less. I usually have one year on an old truck with a high maintenance costs and then a couple of years with very low maintenance costs. I might even drop that old truck's cost to $35,000/ year. And I know that my old truck isn't a lemon. And if the maintenance bill is high, I can finance that at a low rate whereas that new truck payment can't be altered. It is what it is, plus maintenance costs.

I have a 2006 14L detroit series 60 and I'm getting the data logger. I'm actually surprised that there's not more people in here doing reviews about their experiences with the DPFs as the older trucks for O/O's are prime for the retrofits.

 

Why is everyone so short sited ? If you really think fuel is going to stay cheap forever you are going to get a rude awaking. Enjoy it now why it is cheaper but never ever bet the farm on it, especially in today's economy.

 

Agreed. Fuel is cheap right now. Enjoy it while it lasts. No guarantees that it will. No guarantees that it wont. It's easy to get caught up in not worrying about stuff. It certainly seems like @Polarbear has a grip on his costs and expenses, though.

 

Was not saying he don't im just sayin dont bet the farm on cheap fuel. All of us should have learned this by now.

 

Where do you guys find these random inspections? I drive over 250 miles every week around LA area, and have never been pulled in for one or even seen one.
I hear they're mostly up North checking the reefer guys to make sure they are compliant.

 

I'm still getting 7.0 mpg with my retrofit DPF.

 

I don't appreciate being called "short sited", but I'll get over it.
Of course fuel prices can go up, but by the time that happens again, this truck will have made me some $$$$$$$. After 2001, the fuel prices skyrocketed. I was there. I paid $5.50/gallon in Oakland when everyone was scrambling to design fuel efficient technologies. This IS a concern when contemplating what I'll be driving next year. The oil prices are at $40/barrel. Why? There's a million theories on this. It wasn't supposed to be this cheap. But here we are.

I'd like to be getting 9 MPG, but I will settle for 7 to 8.

I hear the CARB folks were inspecting around Barstow and Ontario. I have only heard it, haven't seen it first hand.

But anyway, 7MPG is great!

Ideally I'll be enjoying driving a compliant truck in California. A truck that is paid off. A truck that has been very reliable. And if the fuel prices rise to say $4.00/gallon again, then my fuel costs will go up along with everyone else.

7 MPG @ $4.00/gal = .57 CPM @ 100K miles/year is a cost of $57,142
9 MPG @ $4.00/gal = .44 CPM @ 100K Miles/year is a cost of $44,444
That's a difference of $12,698

Some MPG is trailer and tire related.

So if you had no truck payments and were in a compliant truck that already has a DPF installed, you are golden. Just have to watch that maintenance. OR don't go to California. Then you are REALLY golden! LOL.

But how about some more DPF retrofit folks chime in here.