International vs. Kenworth/Peterbilt - Opinions?

What can I say?

I’m a Mack man!

to me these are better than anything else.

I had/have Petes and KWs and internationals but Mack for main line work, western star for all the heavy work.

 

Nothing is comparable to the 379/389 or the W900 that is not debatable. Anything other than those I would put my LT up against anything Paccar makes. The comfort of the ride the hand controls on the steering wheel. The room in the sleeper. The affordable parts if you need something. I’d not pay the astronomical cost of having the oval hood ornament over the LT, ever. Now when it comes to the motor. Which ever Make you go with, it needs to have a Cummins motor in it. Paccar or international will not have near the available mechanics that can work on them compared to the Cummins.

 

International LT had only 54 recalls from inception.
INTERNATIONAL LT RECALLS - Auto Recalls for Consumers

 

1) Freightliner
2) KW
3) Western Star
4) Mack
5) Volvo
6) International
7) Ford
8) Scania
9) Ccc
10) Diamond Reo
11) Brockway
12) Yugo
13) Ford Pinto
14) Fred Flintstone Car....
...
...

4,976) Petro-bilt


Easy Choice. The junk overpriced Petro built garbage- put that on the very bottom.

If you have never been in one, because it sounds that way, run for your life. It's all just hype and lunch counter crap and spending a fortune so you can wear a belt buckle. That's what Peterbilt is. It's simply a truck that has an incredible amount of problems that is unbelievably uncomfortable and visually offensive and 1,000% unmaneuverable, and when you call Peterbilt for parts their support sucks, the worst probably of all the manufacturers. And if you're lucky enough that they will Grace you with one moment of help you're going to pay quadruple for whatever that part is that you would pay for any other normal truck. Probably more. Freightliner is absolutely positively number one as far as Parts support and of course just an all-around better truck because those Peterbilts have more problems than you could ever imagine. It amazes me anyone spends that amount of money to have those kinds of problems.

Don't believe me? I'm not going through all that just check out the threads because for the best truck ever made they are just super problematic with the crappy problems they have. They just are so impractical, uncomfortable, and outrageously expensive.

But then again some guys enjoy spending $20,000 for a hood. Myself, I would think it's better to have a truck you can buy a hood for maybe $2,000 and put the rest in the bank but what do I know.

Last I heard the Brokers give you a dollar more per mile for every chicken light that you have on your truck so there's that. I've also heard that if your truck has a lot of Chrome on it that they'll give you a better rate and if you really really really really really bought an expensive truck and you spend $100,000 more than you you would have spent buying a good truck, I know the Brokers pay you more for that. And it's a very well kept secret, so let's say it very quietly, but if you send the broker a picture of your belt buckle then you get the golden rate. That's when they really pay you the big bucks.

Sure they do. Especially in this market.

And not for the guys that have them that like them that can afford them, whatever the attraction is there that's up to you, but for someone that doesn't know anything about them that's never been near them I will say to the original poster run for your life. Step on the accelerator when you see the Petro-bilt dealership, unless you are someone that likes adding zeros on the end when you write a check.

It's funny because when you go into the trucking business you're going to spend more money than you've ever spent in your life. If you get a Petro- bilt, put an exponent next to whatever that number is.

In the words of the great philosopher Hans and the equally great philosopher Franz, hear me now, believe me later.

 

That's a megaton of hate for an inanimate object and a whole bunch of guys and gals that buy em and drive em. 389s and W900s are great trucks.

 

Nothing wrong with an International when it is specd right, purchased new and taken care of. But that goes for any make in my experience.

The only used trucks I even entertain the thought of buying are KW and Western Star trucks.

 

I have driven old internationals and newer ones, they have come a long way but they still rattle themselves apart inside just not quickly. My 579 has a few rattles inside but it's so #### quiet you hear everything.
As far as build quality I don't think you will beat a kw or a Pete. But that said all brand dealerships have shops.

 

Hahahaha. He’s considering an IH and currently driving a T680 but because he said the P-word it sets you off on a tangent about hoods.

 

Someone went on a rampage about hood's and the drivers of said hoods a couple months ago. Who was that?