Did I make a mistake?

Long time semi lover but chose not to make it my profession. I have always been looking for a reason to buy a semi jut because. Live on a farm with horses and cattle. Bought a dually and expensive horse trailer 10 years ago. Time to replace them and this time I decide to go big. My idea is to buy a semi with a sleeper and a drop deck van to convert to horse hauler. So I have been looking around and yesterday bought one! At least the truck anyway....
1989 International F9370 with CAT 425. I think this is the 3406b motor but could be wrong. Eaton 13 speed.Truck has 986,474 miles on it and I will be lucky if I put 2000 miles a year on it. Bought the truck for $3235. I can't go wrong with this can I?
Now comes the part of getting her home. It is 57 miles from the farm. I have no CDL but do have F endorsement so I will be legal. Issue is I have never driven a semi before. Am I looking for trouble in making this trip or will be alright if I just take my time?

 

Looks like it's in pretty good shape for it's age. Do you know how to shift the tranny? That'll be the biggest obstacle by far. Just remember to give yourself more room for turns as even bobtail, it takes more room to navigate than even a big pickemup truck. Almost forgot, it takes a lot more distance to stop as well so give yourself plenty of following distance and do not mash the brakes hard (unless of course you have no other choice!).

Now that I think about it more, have you had a mechanic look at it? Do you understand how to check air brakes to see if they are functioning properly? Since you're on a farm, I kinda assumed you probably know a lot about this stuff but maybe you don't. You definitely need to know how to test the brake system. Is the rubber good? Air pressure should be at least 90 to 100 psi. There's a lot to know that I really didn't realize until now as I guess I just kinda know what to do now and don't think about it.

 

what do you mean by mistake??? lol

it looks legal... you got the f and you're within 150 miles...

nice clean cheap truck... "IF" the motor, or tranny, or rear end goes boink, it'll cost more than you paid for it to have it repaired... maybe alot more...

If you're dragging your horses anywhere the f won't do since they aren't ag products...

do you have to pay big taxes on the thing? what is it? the 2290 that hits the owner operators?

might be a can of worms, especially if you get in an accident and aren't 100% legal...

or a dot guy decides to get technical with you...???

probably be fine though... you see stranger things.

 

You need to understand the air brakes completely. It's really a different system than anything you're used to, and has different failure modes. Also, you should have someone take you through how to shift both up and down. It's really easy to tear up the tranny and engine because of the power involved. Although you don't need a CDL, get a copy of your state driver license CDL manual, and understand it before you go out on the road.

 

I need to take a refresher for the air brakes. I studied that stuff when I took the writtens several years ago for the F endorsement. Never used it though.....book smart is different that using it in real life.
As for the F and hauling the horses around.....no issues there. Livestock is acceptable.
I bought it sight unseen, aside from the pictures. Inside of cab is CLEAN! The guys at the yard said it is s strong runner. Cross your fingers that everything is as good as it appears to be.

 

Looks good and sounds like a deal. Maybe, if you can find someone, get someone to drive it to the farm for you. When you get there you can drive around the farm and get used to the steering and brakes. It will be different when you put the trl. on too.
As for the f, you should be o.k. You did buy it for farm use right? If you are hauling your horses around and not hauling them for hire, you need to put "not for hire" on the side of the truck too.
You might check into whether or not you can use off road diesel too. Would save you $$$$ there. Good Luck getting it home. Let us know how it went.

 

On the drivers door there's a small metal plate (or should be) located just like a car that tells you the running gear. Then you'll know for sure what you have. It sounds like you've got a great deal IF you get it checked out and every thing works like it should. I believe you'd be much better off buying a horse trailer than trying to convert a flatbed. A horse trailer allows a rider or riders to ride in the trailer to tend to the horses so one that is built for that would be better. Besides I think you'd find one cheaper than a flatbed if you get lucky and locate one. Just my 2¢.

 

That's the best deal I've ever seen. Were it me, I'd be rebuilding it and putting it on the road for a living!

 

Gonna pick it up tomorrow night after work and drive her home myself.
As for the off road diesel.....I thought this was illegal? My understanding is that there is a pretty hefty fine per gallon if you get caught. On with farm plates, one of the first things that will happen when you pulled over is they will dip the tanks.
As for the trailer..........I am not buying a dropdeck flatbed, it will be a dropdeck van and I will convert it to a horse trailer. Should be pretty easy to do really.

 

looks good! should be fun to pull the horses with. always wanted to do the same with my race car trailer. good luck youll do fine.