Opinions on '80s to '90s trucks

Up to 1972 all Unilite Pete cabs were full plywood floor cabs. Your choice of all steel or all aluminum cabs. 5/8” marine grade “waterproof” plywood. My ‘67 still has the original floor still in great shape. But our climate is much dryer than most so no rot issues from underneath. Most of the time in my experiences with the older vintage model floors is the quality of wood is good and holds up better than the later stuff they were using but over the years folks have cut holes and drilled holes in them for different shifters, seats, heaters, etc and that is what has weakened them and make them prone to rot.

 

My 81 still has the original 5/8 plywood half floor it’s in excellent condition yet but untill 1997 it live in Az I think that helped

 

My 89 still has the original plywood floor and it’s perfectly fine. Likely helped the lifespan that the truck was in Alabama up until I bought it as far as I know

 

Thread on here called “Truck pix… post yours”. I tried to paste the link but couldn’t copy it for some reason

 

Can't really add much to what the other guys are saying. I do think that dually lockers are the way to go for what you are doing, also a sleeper is worth it's weight in gold if you get caught out on the road in a blizzard. A 300hp Big Cam Cummins will give you sufficient power, good fuel economy, and will probably outlive you yourself.
FWIW, every Class 8 Volvo is American made; the are made by what used to be White, then White/GMC, before Volvo bought them out, White trucks were about the pinnacle power for western line-haul work in the 1950's and 1960's. So, at least take a look at them. Personally, by the time they became "White/GMC-Volvo", they were sporting an awful lot of fiberglass covers and spoilers, which all seemed to break after about 5 years, making the older version look like trash...

 

The ford cab shell is the same on all of the L series trucks but depending on the hood length and engine choice the doghouse is much different.
9370 international is a good and fairly comfortable truck in my opinion. I drove a short daycab hauling grain with an aluminum frame and if I remember right I was just over 21k with a Wilson hopper. It had a great running bc4 Cummins. if you’re in a colder climate cat 3406 will start much better. At this point the cost of operation between them and Cummins is pretty close. I think the white/volvo/gmc is in about the same situation as the fords for parts.

 

My cats definitely start better
I have 2, both will start without ether down to around 10 without being plugged in…I try to plug them in a couple hours before starting when it’s below 40 because it’s much better for things but it doesn’t always happen. One bc Cummins will start without help down to about 30 the other you better bring ether if it’s below 45 and below 0 it’s not happening without a block heater or cans of ether.
Just my experience
Oh and the 9370 I drove wasn’t particularly tight turning…was told that was too try and keep the stress down in the aluminum frame

 

I’am a die hard Peterbilt / Cat guy but I cut my teeth in a IH I never say a bad thing about the IH trucks especially for what you wanting to do if you can find one with a Cat even better