hopefully joining intermodal soon

in nj jb hunt has the best chassi by far, the have about 5 mobile repair units and they have gps on their chassi so if you have any problem they can actually pin point the location and get it fix within 2 hours in the state of nj... pretty cool!

 

Since October 2012. I've had to deal with the ancient "buggeyd" side marker light position chassis with the giant front pin locking arrangement that was clearly designed by someone who drank to much that day.

Still I don't remember having issues with them beyond the normal issues you run into with chassis and having to zip tie the rear pins because there safety latch sucks just like how the black chassis ones suck. Still though I don't remember having problems with them like I've had with road trailers before but to be honest I don't remember sliding the tandems on those type of chassis either. Since in Harrisburg we tend to slide them all the way forward and leave them there when we can that is where they are almost always in position.

 

when you buy a truck from a big fleet expect to have high maintenance cost,,most big fleets do their best to spend the least amount of money while they own a truck,,30-50,000 miles or more between oil changes,,lots of wear on the trans and drive lines due to inexperienced drivers,, most fleets dump their trucks at about 500,000 miles just when the warranty runs out and maintenance cost sky rocket,,I would never buy a used truck with over 250,000 miles,, if you get over 700,000 miles on a truck with out having to do an overhaul you are lucky,,900,000 miles the truck is wore out,,an engine overhaul can cost $20K or more trans about $4K rears $2K each and at 900,000 it most likely will need axle and wheel bearings, turbos, clutch ,u-joints, and brake drums too,,air to air,,a/c systems,, steering box..electrical systems all go wrong sometime..

Don't be surprised if you spend over $10,000 per year for tires and repairs,, Most fleet trucks with 900,000 miles will make a good boat anchor,,
You get what you pay for but a $30,000 truck that you spend $25K to overhaul a year or so later will still only be worth $30K or less..When things on a truck break repairs start at $1,000 and up generally..

As for the 9 or 10 speed,,might work today but what about the future,,best to get at least a 13 spd,,

 

Being honest in my view it's better this way for you. You will know what you are getting yourself into first.

 

I am in the same position right now. Will have my CDL in 2 weeks or so and planning on driving with my friend who is a 0/0 himself. Once I learn the ropes and have some experience under my felt, I am planning getting my own truck.

 

I did ocean containers which is a lot slower than train yards. I hear trains are quick in and out and no twice card. The chassis are usually owned by a third party who don't pay to maintain them, so check real good at the yard before you leave. Also, make sure it has registration and inspection papers as dot knows these have a habit of walking off. As far as the truck, I drove a 500+k mile Columbia which held together well, I also drove a 1.2million mile. Pete which needed $1k/wk to stay on the road, so I can't be much help there.