Curiosity question......

One of the brokers I haul for have 96, 97, 99 Pete's with Cats. They run all over. They even have new ones 15, 16's. And in between. They prefer the older ones cause less trouble with emissions. So to answer your question, they have no rotation to pull them out of service. The older ones perform just as well as the new ones and better. I myself have a 94, in my avatar. I wouldn't hesitate to go anywhere with it.

 

I drove for a company that had it's own garage. The floor was clean enough to eat off of. They issued me a truck that they knew had a transmission problem. In spite of bringing the problem I experienced to the shop's attention they would not fix it. It kept failing and failing and finally I gave it an unsafe inspection. They fired me. I complained to OSHA and after sticking to my story in-spite of them lying to OSHA they changed their tune and settled when OSHA told them they were doing an internal investigation. The point is what we would think is logical and reasonable doesn't mean someone else will. I drove for another company where the fan belts were being chewed up. One road call and three separate shop visits later they finally discovered (or re-discovered) the truck had been in a front end collision (before I got to the company) and the fan hub had bent. On that same truck after that air pressure kept draining as you drove down the road. It would cycle back up then repeat. Three separate shop visits for that problem and they had not found the culprit. Hopefully they will find and fix your truck problem.

 

The company I signed on with keep their trucks in the fleet for three years or so. I am a new driver and was assigned a 2013 Volvo with 535,000 miles on it. Then that one had some issues and they moved me to a similar 2014 Volvo. Both were awesome equipment and I enjoy driving both of them. I assume they are both about to be rotated out if the fleet.

 

Lots of companies keep only newer trucks 2-3 years old.

But that doesn't mean much anymore.
Guess there is a certain amount of luck involved.
Some of the brand new trucks have problems from day one.

 

Companies rotate trucks out on all sorts of different schedules. What does it really matter in the end what the “average” fleet might do?

New trucks brake down just like older trucks do. Breakdowns are just part of the business so get used to it. Expecting them to bring out another truck to swap with when you have a break down is only going to leave you disappointed.

 

I drive for a mom and pop that has seven trucks I believe. We are leased on to a major specialized freight company. I believe all of our trucks are 2014 and newer.

They just swapped me out of my truck and gave me a loaner because my door was hanging and my a/c wasn't working.

So for any major issues I'd expect them to swap me out as well.

On contrast I drove for a pallet yard one time that thought it was perfectly ok for me to roll with a drive wheel missing all but two lug nuts. They just couldn't understand why it wasn't safe because "the last guy ran on it for months!" and fought me tooth and nail to get them put back on.

Getting things fixed and keeping them maintained is more about a companies culture than if the equipment is old or new.

Also. Was that shredded hose something YOU could've caught had you popped the hood on a pre trip?

unloader

 

The ltl company I work for keeps their trucks for about 9 years. Newer units go to linehaul, which packs the miles on fast. 1000 mi. or more in a 24 hr cycle. Older trucks are transferred to p&d. Lots of million mile trucks running the city, but they keep up on the maintenance pretty good.

 

My truck is a 2007 and I would drive it anywhere. The condition of the truck means a lot more than the age. My motor has less than 200k miles on a complete rebuild and I think it is more reliable than a brand new one with all the emissions stuff to go haywire.

Now if a truck is just old and neglected and wore out that is a different story.