Experience with new SCR engines?

Yeah most likely.

I believe it is that way for our Pickup trucks, just not our Class 8 trucks....yet

 

Well, my glider is a 2013 Freightliner Columbia. Kinda fits into the aero truck mold last I checked. As for "scary" not sure how it would be. I have full chassis/body warranty like any other new truck, I have brand new Meritor drive axles with full lockers and 750,000 mile warranty, the steer axle is new with full warranty, the engine is a factory rebuilt Detroit 60 500 hp with a 3 yr / 300,000 mile warranty and the tranny is a factory rebuilt Eaton 18 spd with 3 yr / 300,000 mile warranty. All for $112K total cost and rolling down the road. Wouldn't be that much except I spec'd the insulation package and interior options to the max and other goodies like Webasto bunk heater, Xantrex inverter/charger unit, etc. I think I have more dash gauges than the space shuttle and more closet/cabinet space than my home kitchen, complete with woodgrain throughout the cab and sleeper and a built in fridge. The best Bostrom seats I could spec in it. If one was doing typical fleet specs, this truck would have come in at around $90 - $95K max.

I concur that the government will one day put the brakes on letting people do this. Especially after they wake up and change the tax code. They lost out on the 14% Federal Excise Tax by me doing this compared to a brand new production truck. That will be more of an incentive for them to not allow this than any environmental stuff. The government is going to want that money that they are not getting when someone does a glider kit. Environmental concerns will be secondary. As with everything.... follow the money trail.

 

I'm a sucker for gauge packages

Ethan

 

How is a reman motor any scarier than a factory built one? Both were "built" and have warranties.

 

Nothing wrong with that. You gotta live with the "risk meter" sometimes they even help a guy make a better choice in the end even though it's not always evident in the here and now. Although I will say I am not sure if any brand new truck with an SCR motor has the same unlimited miles 4 years warranty mine's got (recent overhaul). I did pay an extra $800 for the 4th year, maybe foolishly, but I do plan on running this truck for many more years so why not? $200 extra insurance a year seemed cheap at the time... Everything else on a glider has similar warranty, except for maybe "unlimited miles part" the "truck" itself is brand new.. did not mean to jack your thread, you know what you want and everyone looks at it differently..

 

I am running two 2013 Mack Pinnacles with the M-Drive and 505HP MP-8 engines in them. The trucks are averaging around 5.5-5.6 mpg. They run a direct haul so are only loaded half of the time but are hauling 140,000lbs when loaded. They are getting half a mile per gallon more then I was expecting which is a pleasant suprise.

From what I have gathered listening and reading about the engines, the 2010 engines are much better than the 08s as they do not run as hot using the EGR system which was causing a lot of issues. While many consider them not as good as pre-emission engines they will continue to improve on them as the technology matures.

 

As for the Cascadia being a better truck.... uh... the jury is still out. True, it does better in the aero category, but regarding maintenance, my Columbia glider will cost me one heck of a lot less in maintenance than a Cascadia. And the Detroit 60 in mine will put any DD15 to shame when it comes to cost of operation. There is so much about the newer trucks and their emission stuff that virtually makes one a slave of the dealerships and shops. Whereas, I can do a lot of thing on mine myself. If you took the exact same driver, and had them drive my Columbia and then drive a comparably specd new Cascadia, then you might be able to see any appreciable mpg difference in the trucks. But I am beating a lot of Cascadias in the the fuel mileage arena. True, there are a few that are beating me, but my cost is still lower overall. And overall truck specs will determine a large portion of this. A Columbia with well thought out specs will beat any Cascadia with lousy specs. And the base warranty of the new engines is not much different than the one on my factory rebuilt. And I have a lot less addons that would require warranty usage anyway. Don't confuse extended warranties you pay for in comparing the 3 yr / 300,000 of mine. Now the base warranty of Eaton on a new tranny is better than my rebuilt, but I could also extend that warranty. And if you knew Detroit engines, you would know that the series 60 blocks and heads had a tendency to "flex" over time when new. This flexing is already "built in" to my engine since it has already been thru one life cycle. The 60 Series actually, when rebuilt properly, has a better expectation of duty life than a brand new one.

I have no beef if someone feels more comfortable with one of the new emission trucks, or has an operation that requires it. But some of your comments are not based in fact, but perception. There is no basis of support for your suggestion that a rebuilt component will have less life than a new component. That might be true if it was done by Joe's Garage in Rocks Throw, wherever. And I am beating quite a few Cascadias with my 7.6 mpg average. I know for a fact that I am beating out every Cascadia company truck at my carrier.

 

My warranty is by CAT from a recent overhaul, not an aftermarket worthless piece of toilet paper. My situation is a little different though. If I wanted to, but more importantly if I had the cash, I could buy a glider and drop my motor in it keeping the 4 year unlimited miles warranty that is already with it thru CAT. That would be a substantial savings over specing a glider and not having a motor on hand for it. Now likely OP doesn't have that option if he doesn't already have a motor to drop in one. So really I suppose it is a moot point as far as he is concerned. The thing is the warranty I have on the motor covers the same as brand new trucks except it has no limits on miles. Not sure is a Detroit or Cummins overhaul offers that sort of backup. CAT doesn' even do that with crate motors. It's better than a new truck's motor coverage - plus the fact that I'll likely never have to make use of it anyways. Even with the price being a wash SCR versus glider with pre-emissions, then for me it would still be a no brainer if I was spending $130K plus on a new truck - hands down it would be a glider. As Cowpie points out cost to operate should be much cheaper.