What truck is advised for a rookie?

May i sugjest a Tonka to start out in, sorry I just could,nt help it, I just had to.

 

A Freightliner Columbia or Century. There are about 1.21 jillion of them out there so if you tear something up, it can be fixed easily.

 

I've driven a mack, a sterling, freightliner, a volvo, and a pete....i grew up in a kw (the only thing dad would drive)...i love my volvo...super comfortable, and this one has power.

 

I have never drove a International so i cannot tell you have they turn in the cornfield- but i have drove 2 types of petes (longnose and bubblenose) 1 volvo 780 automatic 1 kw 900 and 3 types of freightshaker (century columbia and cacadia ) never have got to get in a coranodo ----i like the freightshakers the best because of the interior and storage space- they were all governed around 65 so the company had the pulling power regulated for fuel mileage- chrome out 379s look the best - all rode good but what do expect with the roads in piss poor condition

 

TONS of drivers like the way Pete's KW's (their Hood Models) look....but thats where it ends for allot of drivers since MOST have never been IN or DRIVEN one.

Peterbilts:

ALL have Narrow Cabs (except for the 387/587) with a low flat ceiling about 5 foot tall above the seats. The hoods like Allow me said have LARGE blind spots, depending on seat position you have 25-30 feet that you cannot see in front of your truck (average 4 door car is 16 feet long so you could have 2 cars in front of you in traffic and never know about it) Also most guys refuse to put mirrors on the end of a Hood since it takes away from the look allot (but the mirrors let you see what/if anything is along side of the 7 FOOT long hood.

Also with a hood you have BIG chrome aircleaners on both sides with creat more blind spots as well as blind you if/when the sun is at the right angle. In addition to that when you go to back with a narrow cab you have to lean OUT the window NOT just look out of the window to see the end of your trailer, and if you have stacks like hoods have or allot of 386 petes do, its even worse all you see now is your stack you have to open the door and lean OUT of the truck to see OR keep your truck at a sharp angle (which you CANNOT do with a spread axle trailer).

Also with a hood the steers do not turn very far as well as they have a long wheelbase (long truck bumper to bumper) and if your a Flatbedder the truck will be even longer, which means you have to start swinging for a turn earlyer, and swing wider (sometimes earlyer and or wider is NOT an option so your SOL on makeing said turn.

The interiors of petes are very well laid out, classicly designed and comfortable. The sleepers you have to duck under the opening into the sleeper as well as step over a step (your basicly steping threw a hole)

Peterbilts also DO NOT have curtians that run along the windows so to have privacy inside you have to close the sleeper curtians which cuts your living space in half.

But petes are very well constructed, ride smooth, look badazz, have a great resale value, and are well insulated. So for a O/O it is a solid investment, for a company driver its a sweet ride and bragging rights (in a hood) but if your an inexperanced driver you may HATE life in a hood with stacks and air cleaners and no hood mirrors you will have a hello of a time going forward never mind backing up, add a spread axle trailer to that mix and your head will explode lol. But once you know how to drive (not just make it down the road without hitting something) its not that big of a deal but you DO have to adjust how you drive, and where you choose to park because you will be STUCK in a parking spot a Freight Shaker can pull out of no problem with a 53' trailer. or at the very least will take 5 min of forward and backward 50 point turn out of your spot lol


KW's:

Are basicly the same as above except the interiors are more luxurious. THink about the inside being more like a Cadilac Escalade and a Pete being a GMC Denaili both the exact same truck, ones for work and ones for ridding to your cubicle...


Freightliners:

Are cheap, throw away trucks made in mexico. Everything about them is cheap, they are LOUD inside, from both road noise, wind noise, rattleing, they shake, rattle and whatever else while going down the road. There is NO such thing as OFF for the heat/ac. You will have less air comeing out of the vents with it on LOW then in the off position....Little to no insulation in the cab/sleeper so it gets COLD in there quick.

They ride like sheet, but you have great visablity and turning radius as most have short wheelbases. The inside has a ton of storage (in the 70" stand condo sleepers which are the most common on a freightliner) but everything from the seats to the dash to the walls and cabinets are just cheap plastic screwed and glued together. Looks and feels like a portapoty on the inside

International:

Are just like Freightliners, except they have horrible dash setups, little to no storage in comparison, the newer ones are quite and ride smooth, but also most have these new Crapforce...oops i mean MAXForce engines made by international which suck more then a shop vac

Volvos:

Ride smooth and quite, and are cheaply built like a freightliner, but look like a camery or similar type of car inside not at all like a truck, same deal with curtians as a pete/kw. Sheetys resale and a PIA to work on and big $$$$ to fix. If they have a VOLVO engine they are useless, a volvo paired with a cummins and a 13 or 18spd transmission is a decent setup for a company driver, but these SUCK for O/O's

Macks:

Take a Freightliner/Volvo/International and mash all the bad of all 3 togther and you'll have a mack....they make GREAT Vocational trucks (dump trucks and so forth) but their road trucks SUCK, which is why they are rare to see on the road nowadays.



I hope that answers your questions, everyone has there own preferance but unfortunatly most peoples opions are based on the 1 or 2 trucks they have driven.


But seriously as long as you dont get a hood for your first truck you'll be fine.






American Trucker

 

The only time I had a choice is when I got in good with my dispatcher, and requested a certain truck.

 

The best truck is the one that gets you paid well and regularly, home on time and often, reduces friction between you and your employer, smells good inside and looks cool outside.

 

For all newbs, I recommend a vintage 80's cabover singlebunk, 350 cummins, spring ride suspension, no power steering, with an analog dial tune type am radio.

But on the bright side, you can run paper logs.

Then in 20 years, you will have access to an internet site where you read posts from newb drivers describing veteran truckers as super truckers and outlaws.

Laffin...(grin)