First truck purchase

My pleasure...always glad to give my honest opinion...even if its not just all sunshine and roses...ask a question...expect an honest answer...

 

88 should be a big cam 4, not an N14, unless it has been changed. I like old ironas well as the next guy, but if it is a big cam 4, would keep looking.
The fact he has 55 thousand in it does not mean anything.
It takes a lot of time to run an old truck and a guy needs to be a better than the average shade tree mechanic, but it can be done. I get a kick out of the guys harpingon what bad mileage they get, properly tuned, and legal loads a big cam cummins could and still will get up in the 7's.
Where I run, I average better than most on mileage, but thaqt does not mean it is good, about the only ones that beat me are the guys running old b model cats. lol
My next to last load was heavy and a junk trailer, the trailer I pulled back is one that will always burn 30 extra gallons coming back empty too. I burned 283 gallons in 1012 total miles. lol How is that for mileage.

 

I would have thought too that old of a truck would be Big Cam Cummins, but in the picture it does say N14. Maybe its actually newer or that is definitely one of the first N14's. I've never seen one in a truck that old.

 

It's not an 88. They didn't even make a 379 then. Must be 98 or something.

 

Actually the 359 ended in 87 and 379 started late 87.

 

Ok thanks for the info. So they must have had a few N14's back then too unless this isn't the engine that came in the truck originally.

 

Nothing like starting at the bottom and work your way up. You're looking at the nicest truck made, it went downhill from here. Enough about the truck, I think there was one comment on what you're going to do with it. 1st, kiss your savings good-bye, an older truck will always need something, the air ride sleeper is not a deal breaker, these ride pretty nice anyway, you sure you want to do this? You couldn't have picked a worse time to do this, but,,,people still do it. Insurance will kill most of your earnings, and repairs and poor fuel mileage , the rest. Unless you got some mombo dedicated account, I'd stay clear of O/O. I sold my truck 20 years ago, and it was unprofitable at that time.

 

30k seems a bit rich for a non DEF truck. Just me I suppose. Yet I am concerned about all that fresh paint I see on it. Take it down a rough road so the frame flexes then look at that frame. I suspect there will be alot of rust that will show up.

 

Are you kidding? The Pre-emission crowed on here would probably pay double and think they got a good deal.

 

A $30,000 truck that seems a fair price. Beats paying for a $20k emission repairs. Heck the engine can be rebuilt for less than $20k.