Truck setup

My daycab is 240" ...and it's perfect.

 

My international had one stack on the back. I checked into changing it to side stacks, and it just was too cost prohibitive, so I built a custom headache rack that was offset and set in as close as the exhaust. It still was shorter than I would have liked as far as being able to overhang very much at all. It ha dfull skirts, that is something else that sucks for a flat bed rig, I originally built some custom boxes that were hidden inside the skirts for straps and gear, but eventually bought everything needed to delete the skirts , which freed up frame space and gave it more clearace, which it needed to get around on some job sites I hauled to.

 

I have a Garmin Dezl 770. Love it. Mainly got it for tracking ifta miles. Its handy to see what the upcoming crossroads are. I'm usually in a hurry to get back when I'm on the road, so to get a better idea of an ETA, I generally have google maps going on my phone at the same time. Google maps is pretty good at letting you know traffic troubles and lately, speed traps up ahead. I usually stay local, and for the most part, know all of the roads I use.

I've never used Rand McNally, but if you're using a GPS as your main source of navigation, you'll be much better off using google maps, or even outdated paper maps. A frequent local delivery that I do is a 2 hour drive, but if I went the way that Garmin wanted, it would be just over 3 hours... Doesn't matter what method of navigation you use, or what you put in for truck/trailer size. A GPS is good for many things, but its a fool's errand to trust it too much to get to where you need to go.

 

You talk about mountains in Virginia.

US 33 comes to mind west of Harrisonburg.

You will want something that will have a good strong Jacobs that will never quit. And the gearing to shift with. None of that 10 speed BS. Maybe a 13 double your taste and even a 18 possibly.

But why am I still typing old manual stuff when it's a bridge too far in a land of automatic.

The eastern mountains I die for a mack, like a goat.

In the west though, I prefer the bigger trucks. Mack is nice but too runt. (No offense)

 

I thought you would want a Mack where ever you were? Weren't you talking a while back, about pulling 500,000 pounds, up hill, both ways, with a 300 Mack?

 

Not 500,000.

In the region of 134500 as recorded by stephens city scale as it failed and a theoratical 160 or so based on what was in the box that day.

It might as well be half a million for all the good it did.

I spent a few months fighting a old 9800 Paystar against average of 110,000 flyash in Redfield. She did it ok, but you could tell it's hurting it. She finally broke two different ways that year with me in it. And I knew I wont have a third time when the stupid employer fixed her up.

The east has some good hills and it's interesting. But the west is my second love. good big ranges to run in during winter. And the macks we had in my time simply did not have the fuel range or power to overcome those. Half of my time was with old iron and then starting in the 1994 time I started running big horse trucks out west. The Freightliner FLD120 in my avatar was about 505 governed at 72 and ran the hell out of it like a team for a while. That was my second of several. Compared to what I was running before the older engines at 400 or less most often 350 or under did not compare to it.

Eventually it does not matter because everyone is now in a electronic gilded cage on a hamster wheel driven by someone with a stop watch and a hand into your wallet.

 

There's more space between the stack and the rack than it appears. If I had a choice I would opt for side stacks but you can make a rear stack work as well. Find the best truck you can for your budget and go from there.

 

True...

...but that's one of those faux headache racks that don't give much (if any) space for storing chains or anything else. If you can work out a system for organizing your securement with such a headache rack, then all is good. From my experience I would far rather have a full blown three door rack and keep all my chains and binders out of the elements.

 

Theres no reason you cant do a high roof or large sleeper. Even shorter WB is ok, just depends on the KP setting of the trailer. My stepdeck has a 18" KP so I moved my 5th wheel all the way back and it never moves now.
Stay above 450hp and 1850tq. Unless running a Volvo with an Ishift. Gearing depends on the truck, I have 3.36 but I stay as light as possible. If you're chasing 80k loads you'll want to stay above a 3.55 with a 13spd or 3.70 with a 10spd. Personally wouldnt recommend a 10 with heavy loads. But plenty of people make it work.