Hey fellas, Been lurking here for a couple years and have gotten a lot of great info, however I'm looking for a little bit more of a specific answer to my question. I'm looking into buying a rig to custom haul grain in the farming off-season once I get out of the oil patch and take over the family farm from dad permanently. I don't have a lot of experience in a lot of different trucks which is why I'm coming to you guys to ask your opinion. I really don't care what emblem is on the hood or what color is under the hood, the main thing is I want the engine/truck combination that will be the healthiest on my bottom line at the end of the year. Fuel economy, frequency, cost and ease of repair etc. I'm handy with a wrench so I would attempt to do repairs myself, and I will have good parts availability with every brand as there are dealers in the area. I'll be pulling a set of super b hopper trailers with a gvw of 63,500 kg (139,700 lbs) on mostly flat roads but there are a few nasty river valleys in the area, so I'm thinking 475-550hp will be adequate. It won't be long hauling as most of the elevators around here would be within a few hours for most guys. I won't be buying a new rig, so I'd like to keep it pre-emission (pre-2007) Thanks in advance for any replies fellas, I really appreciate your input.
Pete, 36" coffin bunk, 18spd, 550 cat, 3.55 gears single 100 gallon tank.. That'll pull what you need its light weight kinda and you have a bunk if you need one. You will fuel a lot, however that maximizes what you can put on the truck since you're paid by the Bushnell or the ton. Light weight is going to be you're biggest deal everything else is 2nd as you're already going to be pretty heavy with a superbee. You forget you're hauling 139k gross fuel economy goes to hell real quick with that much weight. 90k dropped me a good 1mpg...factor in running 80 all the time to get to the elevator dump and load the 2nd load I was lucky to see 4mpg. If you keep you're foot out of it you should be able to squeeze 4.75 out of that truck if not a little more.
Thanks very much, yeah an 18 spd is a must. No matter how much you try to avoid it, I'll end up having to pull out of a soft field loaded and all 18 will be a necessity then. And yeah, anyway to save weight will be appreciated as well, thanks for the tips. I don't think I'll be running quite 80, somewhere around 67-68 would probably be more realistic.
I would just set your requirements on components and see what trucks you find. C-15 or C-16, 18spd, 46,000 rears with 4.10 gears, and 11R24.5 tires. You are not going long haul, and with that much weight MPG is not a consideration. You want the low gears for the heavy pull off from a stop in the soft dirt of a field. You will still be at 1550 RPMs at 65 MPH.
If this is your 1st truck , you want to fix it yourself, you stay close home, keep your expenses really low: Than start "low" - anything with 2003 Detroit 60 12,7l (non egr engine- I know it's a lawn mower, but gets the job done) 18 will be nice, but 13 will do too,rear ends :4.0 , 4.10, (replacement cost of the head and gasket at the garage is around 5500$! , if you go cat its a lot more)
Yeah I had considered this, but if I find a good pre emissions truck I`m going to want to keep it and be happy with it for a long time. Not that a detroit wouldn't last long, but I'm not looking at it as my first truck, but as one I'll have for awhile.
