What is the attraction with peterbilts

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by d_man, Dec 7, 2012.

  1. Cowpie1

    Cowpie1 Road Train Member

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    Again, it is all about how it is spec'd and how it it treated. I have driven Internationals with almost 10 years on them and they were solid trucks. Same for KW's, FL's, etc. And I have been in some trucks that were only a couple of years old that were torn up. Typical fleet type spec's usually are not the best and that is where most drivers have complaints about how good a truck is. It is unreasonable to compare a truck that has basic fleet spec's to one that an owner spent a lot of time working out every last detail of the truck before the order went in, and then treated it right when operating it. No matter the brand, you do have to tighten up things once in a while and actually replace things. Just "herding" it down the road will cause any brand to turn into a rattle trap.
     
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  3. fisher guy

    fisher guy Road Train Member

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    the only thing i will drive is a 379 exhd just no feeling like i loved when i was little and i love it to this day...it never gets old just something about it. my boss agrees i mean he's got 38 '07 and older and is constantly searching the country for more. we have one aero truck and he says and i quote"yes it gets good fuel milage but it's butt ####### ugly and i hate ugly trucks"
     
  4. sdaniel

    sdaniel Road Train Member

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    Heck Paccar has not figured out the def tank goes on the drivers side? Where 100% of the truck stops have the def pump. That's quality?
    Cowpie is correct the 86 freightliners we ran , right now one is still rolling has over 6 million miles on it . Any brand what's a 6+ million mile truck worth. The 20 year old Pete's I see for 45000 have one tenth on the clock. Be like a 67 hemi Cuda with 15000 miles on it . Engines wear out, drop in spare, half a day. Transfer shot , grab one off shelf 4 hours. We ran 1000 miles a day , 365 days a year. Man I miss government work!
     
  5. sdlm

    sdlm Light Load Member

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    Well, my tank is on the drivers side as it is on every truck in the fleet I am in, 90% of them being kw and peterbuilt. I very rarely see any truck from any make with def tank on the passenger side.

    So, you are just wrong.

    And there are probably going to be some 6 million mile prostars, statisticly it is bound to happen, it doesn't make them good, it makes that particular truck lucky.
     
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  6. Northfork Express

    Northfork Express Light Load Member

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    Nov 25, 2012
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    That's how my current employer is, all 20 of our 379's are 05-07
     
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  7. mpd240

    mpd240 Road Train Member

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    I haven't been driving long but i have driven a large variety of trucks. I shuttle trucks and trailers for a used truck dealership. Volvos, sterlings, Pete's, kenworth, freightliners, international. Drove two different Pete's today. Didn't take me long to figure out they were more comfortable to drive. If i was an O.O. Id pay the extra money without a question.
     
  8. sdaniel

    sdaniel Road Train Member

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    We killed 5 of your Pete's ! We had a good size fleet.The sorry freightliners out lived them 2 to 1 . About 2 million is what we got out of them. Salt ate them , the freightliners were all alm, frames too.Sorry facts get in the way. Now visit the Pete dealer and walk around over half the def is on the right . Your company had to order the def on the left.should be standard, glad he was smarter the the pete designers.And roadway prob has some cab over fords with just as may miles . May be on the 6th motor but still trucking . Like I have said in other post I had them all . Beat them to dust , sweep up the dust and rebuild or dump the dustpan. Roll another off the line. We kept spare everything's . About the only thing we would not replace was frames, at that point it's not the same truck.
     
  9. spacetrucker88

    spacetrucker88 Heavy Load Member

    my cabover frieghtliner will be 19 years old in a few days and it it like the old song I've been every man, maybe twice or 3 times
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2012
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  10. seabring

    seabring Road Train Member

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    I was spoiled as I learnt to drive in a 379 Pete. Didn't know much about trucks at that time but this particular one was old, I would guess mid nineties model. Was pretty well a used and abused truck by then. Had an old cat engine and 18 speed. Didn't know it at the time but that was probably the best truck to learn in. When I went out and got a job OTR it was in a T2000 kenworth . Well be darned if I could drive that thing! It turned so tight that I never got used to backing it up, I couldn't tell were the hell the hood ended as it curved away at the edges and the thing was just plain uncomfortable to drive. I have since driven other 379's, freghtliners , volvos and kenworths.
    Personally I like my w900 more than a 379 Pete, I allways felt like my butt was dragging the ground in a pete. The KW cab sits a bit higher than the Pete.. I am not a fan of the "gangster" chopped Pete look either. I like a big bad ### W900.
    As far as build quality , I found that both the Pete and KW were built fairly well the same. The Volvo and freightliners had a lower overall build quality I thought.
    Bottom line is that I can drive all day in my long hood and not feel half as worn out as I did after a days driving in that POS T2000!
     
  11. Autocar

    Autocar Road Train Member

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    The Hot Rod Shop Oxford, AL
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    Only 19! That's only half broke in. My truck was built in August 1983, making it a 1984 model.
     
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