Is Peterbilt today just hype?

freightliners are hands down the best work horses on the road. fewer breakdowns and if they do breakdown they have the most service centers on the road. I wouldn't drive anything else

 

My all time favorite truck was a 2012 Cascadia. The best riding and quietest truck I ever drove. My Pete 386 has grown on me though. The 386 is identical to the 389 except the 386 has an aero hood instead of the traditional long hood. It's a tried and true chassis that is rock solid and refuses to wear out. All my Peterbilt headaches have been Cummins related and all have been DPF system issues. Freightliner on the other hand has a good service network with lot's of 24/7 service centers available.

 

Why does it seem to be too much to ask for if I want a 389 that I can buy today and run it for a stupid amount of miles, just like the guys who bought them when they were made with say a 6nz cat did? I just want a reliable, no headache, looks cool, truck to drive. I don't mind paying for it either.

 

Look around, there are a few Glider 389s with 6NZs in them looking for a new home.

 

I'm in Ontario Canada and our drive clean Cali-wannabe emissions laws scare me off of buying a truck I may not be able to get plated ...

 

Skinny cab Petes seem to be screwed together pretty tight and their suspensions are nice. Generally they fetch a good deal more money for a given age/condition than other brands. Buying used I'd rather get something younger or in better condition than have a red oval.

 

The Volvo cab and doors are made of hi-tensile steel, which is more steel then most Paccar and Freightliner products have in their construction. The interiors have the same amount of plastic as any other manufacturer, so stating that they are plastic garbage is a overstatement.

 

My last trick was a 91 pete.
It had just under 1million miles when I bought it and just over two million when I parked it and bought this Columbia new. With in a week my new Columbia had more squeaks and rattles in the cab than that 20 year old, two million mile Pete had.

The point? Not all plastic interiors are equal. Some really are junk, and some will hold up over twenty years of abuse.

 

Last Pete I was in was a new 2014. Had 31 miles on it , I did not leave the lot with it. Turned around and parked it , it rattled worst the my 500k cascadia . They had brought it up too our home office wanting us to order couple hundred of them , nope.

 

My current job we run single axle day cabs. There are several 2015 model cascadias well above 200k on the clock at just a year old . Not a rattle to be found. The ones coming up on trade are just as good.