Horsepower

515 now with the dd15 detroit.

 

They are all getting better in recent years. 2008-2009 the worst.
Personally I have experience with Freightliner DD15 and DD16 engines. At least they seem to have the best service network.
The big caveat with their Detroit engines, plastic oil pump pickup tube that can crack or fall apart (new ones are different design), oil pump cross over tube O-rings causing low oil pressure (cheap repair at least). And the OneBox emissions SCR catalyst wears out around 700,000 miles requiring a whole new one box for $14,000 or so.

 

That very end there is the one reason not to buy one, that's about what an inframe should cost.

 

More horses doesn't equate to more fuel. Think. Less pedal needed to move the truck. Think. Climbing hills faster. Spending less time with the pedal to the floor.

Todays newer trucks have more power then last year and get better mileage. The 515 I last drove got better then all the 450's I drove. And It had smaller rear ends then what the megas are buying these days.

 

Just a couple thoughts...

First of all you need to know what the rear end ratio is. If you have a 500 horsepower with a 2.64 rear or a 450 horsepower with a 3.90 rear, the 450 horsepower would probably feel like it has more power than the larger engine.

Second, are you talking about the same engine and one is a turned down version and one is a turned-up version? I'm Not really a big fan or up on the latest engines but most engines you can just do an ECM tune and pick your horsepower up do whatever you want or whatever is safe. I know that the older series 60s some of them were detuned so even from the factory some had more horsepower than others, but you could turn them up to the factory horsepower or Beyond.

The next thing is what Transmissions are you talking about? A 10-speed transmission is not going to pull the hills as well as a 13. I can't comment on anything automatic, just not my thing.

But honestly, for just pulling General Freight 450 horsepower is plenty. I guess you never heard of the days when they pulled 80,000 pounds with 238hp Detroits with 600 foot pounds of torque.

Forget the horsepower. Buy the best truck that you can for whatever money that you have to spend that's going to be reliable and dependable.

All of the horsepower in the world isn't going to help you if you're on the side of the road.

 

I'm really the wrong guy to ask. I am a dinosaur and my knowledge is really about older trucks. I think new trucks have crazy engine problems and I think it's outrageous the cost compared to the simpler older engines and I'm really not up to date with the newer stuff to be honest.

The best thing that I can tell you is look through the mechanics Forum here. Look for what kind of engines cause the least amount of problems. That's what you should be after.

When you buy a truck, generally speaking, you're buying mainly the cab, and the suspension is a little different. But for the most part you can order a Peterbilt or Kenworth or whatever truck with whatever engine that you like. So if you want to find a Peterbilt with a Cummins or a Kenworth with a Detroit or vice versa you can find that. So the engine transmission and Rears (with varying ratios) are basically the same but the cab is different. There are some exceptions like Volvo who make their own engines but for the most part that's not the case.

So really you need to find the engine that's going to be the most Dependable that's paired with the right rear end ratio for the kind of work that you're doing and whatever transmission you like. So if you like the Kenworth, then you want to find a Kenworth with whatever engine transmission and rear combination that is.

Like I said I'm a dinosaur, and I'm all about mechanical engines. I like a Freightliner with a Cummins big cam combined with a 390 ratio rear. That is certainly not for everyone. As far as electronic engines, if you buy an older truck the pre EGR series 60 was probably about the most Dependable of the bunch.

With that being said, you really need to know what you're looking at and not be afraid to spend the money to fix older trucks. If you don't know what you're looking at it is going to be astronomical to put into shape.

So like I said, the best advice I can give you is to read through the mechanics forums and make sure you see what those repairs cost on the newer trucks. Find whatever engine for whatever year truck you want to buy has the least amount of problems, and then find a truck that has that engine transmission and rear combination that you want.

It's not about the truck, it's about the engine and the rear end ratio. The make of truck is mainly about cab preference, Comfort looks styling whatever.

 

Very true.

Some facts for the OP.
With his limited knowledge a old(er) truck cannot be adviced.(this includes ALL secondhand trucks)

That leaves buying new with extended warranty.
Choices are:
International with International or Cummin engine
Paccar (Peterbilt or Kenworth) with Paccar or Cummin engine
Volvo/Mack with Volvo or Cummin engine.

With International being the cheapest at this point in time.

 

Just buy a 450hp. You will never need anything more. With 11 months experience I don’t see you getting into heavy haul anytime soon. Even then you would probably be fine.

I could be wrong but having a big hp engine will only alienate buyers when you go to sell. Meaning less people interested in it.

Read my post on this link, it’ll tell you everything you need to know about protecting yourself when buying a 2nd hand truck. Personally I like Kenworths and Cummins.

Is there a list of things to go bad and the avg cost to repair