Flatbed Weight Questions

RBHT, there is a big difference between someone that has been in the business for 20+ years. When you where buying your first truck the differences weren't as great. I have never had a client tell me that a Pete or KW is going to pay me more per mile. So why encourage a young driver looking at becoming an O/O to spend $20k more on a truck?

I understand preference and will even say that certain trucks will cost more in repairs and not do the needed job of other trucks. But why add $.20/mile in overall expense to a new O/O? The failure rate is high because of this. Getting more truck than is needed combined with lack of capital. That money saved per mile in the first year can smooth out the rough times and put him in a better position to own the truck he wants.

I guess the shorter way of what I am saying is that when starting out you have to look at this from a business prospective first. And no one has ever shown me the numbers that justify spending the extra money for style makes the business stronger.

It seems to me that far too often people turn wants into needs and figure out ways to justify this. We as business owners need to understand the difference and what those "wants" truly are costing us. And far be it from me to say that we should never indulge. Let's just make sure we are helping one of the bright young minds of this business understand the differences between wants and needs.

 

On the other hand....If he goes out and buys some POS retired fleet dog Junkliner or Volvo it could cost him dearly in repairs and down time as compared to a good, more traditional, solid easy to service PACCAR truck.

The only PACCAR trucks that I would avoid like the plague are the T2000, T700 and the Peterbilt versions of those same trucks...Because they are difficult to work on and they are poorly concieved.

You keep beating the "style" drum here without acknowledging the fact that the W900, T600,T660, and 386 PACCAR trucks are far more accessable to service and repair and because of design characteristics that have been proven to work well for many years, They can potentially save that money in reduced service costs over time.

Ask a shop what they will charge to run the overhead or R and R the head on a W900 as compared to a Junkliner Century or Cambodia or Crapcadia or one of those horrible T-2000 based abortions....There's a substantial difference.

Just as often someone who wasted money on a lesser truck attempts to justify that by attempting to convince people that know better about the economical benefits of running that truck when compared to a much more solidly constructed and versatile piece of equipment that in the long run will last longer and be capable of being used in a number of different applications with relatively inexpensive modifications.

There are as many right answers here as there are wrong ones...It all depends on what you want, need and expect from your equipment.

 

I would highly suggest a T660 midroof. I personally know of 4 guys running these getting 7+mpg and still have the 86" studio... A&R Transport runs them with the 72" aero cabs with 46k of plastic pellets in a 13" bulk tanker and are avg a little over 8mpg according to their office.

That being said, it all depends on what you want to do and how you want to do it.

 

When I first got my 379 and I went in my my 4 wheeler to a local CAT mechanic who is well known and ask I needed to get the overhead ran, He ask me "is it a long hood" I said yes, "OK,its this much". I ask why he ask me this, he said cause they have alot of room to work and not cramp up and that saves time and money. The less room he has to work with , the more it cost.

 

i like everything on a W9 except for the hoods. They are way too flimsy and the lower corners flap in the wind. I owned one and didn't notice it too much inside driving, but every one of them I pass i look over and all I see is the #### things flapping in the wind. Just a poor design IMHO

other than that, I loved the truck but it was also a 2000 with a 550 6NZ so that made it even better

 

You can also get to the rear rocker box easily, on a 387/T600 and most FTL you have to bend and contort to get to it and sometimes you can't even get the cover off due to the lack of space.

 

The hood was not adjusted properly...Nor are the hoods adjusted properly on 90% of the W9's out here.
If the rubber pins are in the right position and tight so that they can't work their way out of adjustment and the same for the seats that they mate with, the hood will not move or flap at all.

Most guys never even think about setting these up right in the first place and if they do, they rarely if ever maintain them...I check the torque on the seats every time I get a P/M done and my hood is just fine.

Most people think that P/M is ghanging the oil, filters and squirting some grease and maybe even checking the tire pressure...Proper P/M also includes periodic tightening of bolts and checking to see that all adjustments are within specifications so that other components aren't subject to excessive wear and premature failure.

How many times have you seen a W900 with the hood beating the crap out of the cowell? Most guys seem to think that this phenomenon is a design flaw that can't be prevented but anyone that actually maintains their entire vehicle understand that it's a result of a lack of keeping the adjustment within spec.

 

And The Admiral weights in: First i do not believe a 386 costs 20k more than a Ftl. or Volvo. Second he's not looking at Hoods that are bigger money not quite as fuel efficent. Third a friend of mine told me years ago it's your butt getting out of bed at 1AM to go to work,get something that you enjoy driving. Fourth if you personally turn wrenches on the equipment it won't take long to figure out that Paccar products are put together better and easier to work on. In the words of Melvin Atkin (King of the Heavy Haulers) aka AofI,Hamilton,In.;Ray you are never going to be happy with those 2 new Freightliners and I Wasn't. Buy that 386 hopefully with some kind of warrenty and enjoy going to work and not regretting you investment.

 

You mean thay make 386 long hood's ?

 

I agree with you on the 900 hoods, the owner of my old company had changed out to W900L tractors and the rubber hood pins are the key to keep the flapping from, well flapping.

We used a little lube on the rubber and it made for smooth opening unless the wind caught it just so, but that would be with any hood.

Very nice tractor you have