What is the attraction with peterbilts

Not quite, but I'm not a big fan either. 10-15 min to fuel at a 3600 psi station and we're getting 600+ on them. These aren't OTR trucks obviously. This Pete has a new fuel system that they want us to test out.

 

Well that's pretty good then. I was looking into a semi-local job with a CNG truck and when the recruiter told me it took 20 minutes to fuel I heard that as 30+ and every day, so I passed it up.

 

Might be the pumps they have access to. We get paid to fuel so it's not a bad thing for us and that's the only reason I know the time. The computer runs a timer while we fuel to pay us.

The range might be true for them as well. They might have different tanks. We did limit them to less than 500 mile runs when we first had them since no one really knew what they'd do. Most drivers wouldn't take them out even that long. I remember everyone thinking I was nuts to do a 483 mile trip one day. I started sweating it towards the end though lol. Even though I know the fuel gauge on the dash is never right with CNG it scares you when you see it hit empty. You pretty much have to go off the psi gauge on the tanks.

 

I asked about getting paid to fuel and was told, no. It was an intermodal job.

 

The best truck is one that makes you money. Nothing rides, drives, handles or looks as good as a long nose Pete imho. But I had way more money in the bank when I had the Freightliner Classic. Many reasons for this. One is I had way less invested in the "Shaker" and it is easy to fall into the "I must turn heads" category with the large car. And this yellow nightmare under the hood has put me thru he**. Tens of thousands of dollars later I have the cat all ironed out. I guess what I'm getting at is all the time and money that has been spent making this truck what it is and the whole time the guy who bought the old classic with the Detroit was rolling down the highway, and he doesn't owe a penny for it. Will I ever give my Pete up now? No. If I could have seen what this truck was gonna put me through? I'd still be rolling in the Freightliner. So which is better? I don't know.

 

The Long Nose Pete is the cowboy truck. They are just good looking trucks. I drove one for several years and learned to get around the problems with turning radius and visibility over the hood. They have the look. And they have the image.

 

I drove a 379 for over a year and it made me a much better driver.

 

I'm sorry, but when I look at a "classic", I see a rolling brick, with all the aerodynamic efficiency thereof. But, then again, the industry is about as fluid as a continent full of dinosaurs, it makes the pickup truck segments look like a flash-flood.

Yeah, I know: "N00b flappin' his jaws". But if everyone wants to save fuel and go faster, they NEED to pay attention to the engineers trying to convince them they need the aero designs.

 

Right now, I'm driving a Blue Bird 43' school bus (Freightliner with an I6 Cummins attached to an Allison 5-spd auto) (cue the "gol-danged n00b spoutin' off his new-fangled notions" flames) with the sloped nose, and a pair of crossover mirrors that are absolutely INVALUABLE to me when it comes to driving that vehicle!! I use them to cover the blind spots down the sides, that the convex mirrors can't hit, and I use them to allow me to get the nose close to curbs, objects, cars, etc, during maneuvers.

 

Sense ain't common.

Stupidity, otoh, is VERY common.