What brand of trucks to start with

I deal with a number of successful businesses that make their money in nothing to to with trucks yet they have a number of trucks.
They have enough money to buy 5 or 500 trucks but it really is not their specialty or field of expertise.
The OP did not say trucking was their business , just that they needed 5 long haul trucks.
They have enough street smarts not to just take what truck sales people or trucks suppliers web sites tell them as gospel.
Asking the opinion of people who work with trucks day in and day out is not really as dumb as you may think.

My opinion would be DD15 Freightliners from the little I can deduce the OP.

 

started with a w-900 going to end with a w-900 (I like my hood) all though I have seen some pretty t-660's

 

I would go with Freightliner or International. I have had very good service from International. Both have a good dealer network and are proven to be reliable. I think that International is better made. I would stay away from the brand specific engines, such as MBE (Mercedes in the Freightliner) or the International engines. I would find trucks that offer either Detroit or Cummins. You can go with Peterbilt or Kenworth, but will pay more for those brands. Volvo makes a good truck, but can be expensive to work on and their dealer network is not as extensive as with the other brands. Parts also tend to be more expensive. I would also suggest going with 10 speed transmissions. You could go with 13 speed, but it may not be necessary. Besides, 10 speeds are more common. You will pay a premium for any more gears and it may not be necessary for your operation.

 

You bring up a good point. What can you do with 13 gears that you cannot do with 10?

 

There is a potential to save some fuel is used correctly.
The reason I suggested Freightliner and a DD15 is because it seems it will not be run in an organization centered around a fleet of trucks.
Therefore go for something common with probably the biggest national foot print of support.

 

I have become a Paccar fan. I went from a Freightliner Century to Pete 387. The Pete, from my prospective is well built and the 387 offers a lot of interior room. It has been reliable and my fuel avg is 7.3 running dedicated from Wisconsin to South Central Pa. 475Cat 18spd with 3.25 rears keeps a good level if power with fuel economy. An apu is a must, from both an engine wear and fuel economy standpoint. Only problem with Paccar is the dealer network is smaller than Freightliner or International.

 

You can pull hills better, number one. On trucks that can do the speed limit, you can get better mileage getting there, number two. Number three, drivers like them which helps in driver retention. All this for very little extra premium over your basic ten speed, and that money will be more than paid back come trade time.

 

no love for Mack

 

No one knows everything about everything. The ones that do, are "puff daddys."

If all company owners and fleet managers would ask their drivers about trucks before purchasing, they would have units more suited to their needs. I drove for a great....small company once, and the guy that mostly spect'ed the trucks, also drove part time. They had the best looking trucks, and all had big engines....and when they sold them, they had a line waiting to buy them....

The person in life that is afraid to admit that they do not know, or pretends that they know, or is too scared to ask, ends up knowing even less.....

 

Good answer, nothing wrong with asking a O/O If you want a new truck I would not hesitate in heading out and ordering 5 new gliders with pre emission Detroit motors in them. If you do need to meet the latest emission standards, then roll the dice., that's ok also, Used truck, freightliner has lots of trucks off lease they sell, I know some come off lease with 400K and there is a lot of life still there but off some truck lots you will find many with 600K to 800K so with those plan to have a shop and be ready to overhaul them. If you are getting 5 you might talk to freightliner about a lease, a lot of freight lines are leasing these days, better write off.