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OTR O/Os - trucks?

montrose818

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May 26, 2020
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What are the OTR drivers driving these days? Now that the snow plow is dealt with, seriously thinking of doing some OTR, its hot as steaming shit here in L.A.

Is short sleeper doable at all? I would love a T800 with a short sleeper. Lot of people here run Cascadias. Some swear by Volvos with detroit, but I will pass.

Budget would be up to 80k (financed). Seems like used truck prices went up 30% easy.

Probably a 2014/15 truck with a cummins, preferably manual.

For o/o what should I look for in the hp/tq rating, gears, and axle ratings? Would I be an idiot for OTRing a 16-20k front/46-52k reared t800 with 500hp?

I have my flame suit on. I might have some time opening up for running west coast maybe couple times a month.

Thanks.<zips suit>
 
Kenworth T800 with X15 Cummins, 46k rears and 18spd. Sleeper is irrelevant, only in it 8hrs max. Pretty reliable unit, but nothing is 100% bulletproof

That being said, I'm with the others in saying this is a stupid idea :flipoff2:
 
The newest Pete Glider you can find with a 6nz Cat.

Oh you live in Cali. Nevermind. :flipoff2:

I am too afraid to buy my own truck. Im afraid the communist that was inserted into the whitehouse will try to get Kalifuckyas stupid laws about trucks to go nationwide. Just my luck I would get an old pre emission Pete then be assed out when its outlawed and wouldn’t even be able to sell it. I guess I will just be a company driver at least I still get to drive a Longhood Pete with a big Cat in it for now. And when it breaks I dont have to pay for it.
 
CA? Forget it. You can't get a good truck in CA, they don't allow them. You can get any run of the mill fleet truck with rattling plastic and unreliable emissions system, though.

If you were elsewhere, the best bang for the buck would actually be an older FL Cascadia with the DD60. They are a dime a dozen, get 6-9 mpg, depending upon how driven, and the 60 is a mil+ between overhaul engine. A bit more money* would put you in a FL Classic XL with an N14 525 red top Cummins and a 13 or 18 speed. Same reliability factor, same cheap parts factor, 1 mpg less, but no markup by PACCAR fanbois.

Freightshakers just don't hold resale value... but I wouldn't be out there trying to look cool. The truck that uses less fuel and fewer dollars in repairs makes you the most money.


*Not a bit more than your budget, a bit more than the Cascadia. We're talking 15-35k trucks here.
 
Brother,S.I.L. , and Nephew have a pair of Cascadias IIRC they have Detroits in them, beyond that I have no Idea.
They had to replace the computer on Parents truck which took a week IIRC to get it, other wise it has needed standard wear stuff like a water pump, hoses...
 
Don't. Just fucking... don't.

There's enough unqualified hacks out there as it is, don't add to that number.

I got my cdl 3 years ago, have driven through downtown LA in a daycab enough times to be comfortable trying OTR. I promise Ill be better than the 99% of the other guys getting in. But thanks for the kind words bro.


No 3406, no red top n14, this is CA and truck has to be 2011+. Seems like they didnt get shit runninf better till 2014/15 though.

80-90k puts me in a kenworth, t680 with maybe 400k miles, t800 another 10k.

But I am curious about sleeper size, is weight an issue if I plan to run up to 80k, etc...

I read many people saying cummins is still the engine to get
 
Drive for a company that supplies you the truck....unless you have a spare $20k set aside for repair bills...like when your after treatment fails...
 
In my short time OTR I have yet to see a yellow engine under the hood broke down on the shoulder
 
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Wait for unkleJoe and thee ho to give screwsome more power once the recall is defeated,
(the smog natzi' are gunna kill class 8 for the little guy me thinks..)
Then see if there are any $$$ to be made o.o' ing in the prk!
just my .02
 
First question you should be asking if what dealer will give you the best service in your area.

we run about 100 trucks, mixed KW, Freightliner and IH. Mostly Cummins. Mostly manual 10 speed but we are flat landers here.

The X15 for us has been the most dependable by leaps and bounds, but we also have two very awesome dealers here. We typically run them 1.2-1.4 million before selling and have not had to overhaul one in 20 years or better. Have not had a mercedes/detroit, or MX run near that long. Even Cat has failed us. We won't talk about Mack or volvo either.

We run T880, cascadia (only freightliner you can get a cummins in) and prostars and LT625 internationals. Some other odd balls, we keep trying different stuff expecting better results but always seem to come up short.

The drivers that spend the most time in their trucks seem to always choose the IH. IH offers the biggest bunk for the money.
They are all made of plastic and are rattle traps, but the IH currently seems to be holding together the best for us.

IH dealer here is top notch. KW is okay, Freightliner sucks.

We are currently specing at 450 hp, 1650 ft/lb. 10 speed, 3.25 rear ends on LO pro 22.5 rubber. We run 80K as much as possible. We pull tanks and vans.
You will not get the best fuel mileage on the market with the cummins, but running across country you will find more Certified cummins shops than anything else.

Self adjusting clutches on these new trucks seem to be the biggest failure right now.

2014/15 is a good target, definitely not older. I try to avoid used at all cost. Never seem to hold up the same. So can't help with used prices, but new right now I am buying Cascadias for around $130k. IH for $132k T880 is 143k.

You need to pick what you think you want, that is the only way you will be happy. Dealers always tell us we need to do things different but what works for everyone else has been a huge failure for us.

You wouldn't be an idiot for specing higher front and rear axles, but you are throwing money away. More expensive to repair and they really don't last any longer, it does make the job easier if you love the truck you are driving.

The KW has smaller bunks. It really doesn't affect weight enough. It is more about wheel base and turning radius if that is important.

Get decent fuel tanks, like at least 120s, 150s are better.

I pull super singles and pitch them, we avoid them at all costs.
 
First question you should be asking if what dealer will give you the best service in your area.

we run about 100 trucks, mixed KW, Freightliner and IH. Mostly Cummins. Mostly manual 10 speed but we are flat landers here.

The X15 for us has been the most dependable by leaps and bounds, but we also have two very awesome dealers here. We typically run them 1.2-1.4 million before selling and have not had to overhaul one in 20 years or better. Have not had a mercedes/detroit, or MX run near that long. Even Cat has failed us. We won't talk about Mack or volvo either.

We run T880, cascadia (only freightliner you can get a cummins in) and prostars and LT625 internationals. Some other odd balls, we keep trying different stuff expecting better results but always seem to come up short.

The drivers that spend the most time in their trucks seem to always choose the IH. IH offers the biggest bunk for the money.
They are all made of plastic and are rattle traps, but the IH currently seems to be holding together the best for us.

IH dealer here is top notch. KW is okay, Freightliner sucks.

We are currently specing at 450 hp, 1650 ft/lb. 10 speed, 3.25 rear ends on LO pro 22.5 rubber. We run 80K as much as possible. We pull tanks and vans.
You will not get the best fuel mileage on the market with the cummins, but running across country you will find more Certified cummins shops than anything else.

Self adjusting clutches on these new trucks seem to be the biggest failure right now.

2014/15 is a good target, definitely not older. I try to avoid used at all cost. Never seem to hold up the same. So can't help with used prices, but new right now I am buying Cascadias for around $130k. IH for $132k T880 is 143k.

You need to pick what you think you want, that is the only way you will be happy. Dealers always tell us we need to do things different but what works for everyone else has been a huge failure for us.

You wouldn't be an idiot for specing higher front and rear axles, but you are throwing money away. More expensive to repair and they really don't last any longer, it does make the job easier if you love the truck you are driving.

The KW has smaller bunks. It really doesn't affect weight enough. It is more about wheel base and turning radius if that is important.

Get decent fuel tanks, like at least 120s, 150s are better.

I pull super singles and pitch them, we avoid them at all costs.

100% agree.
 
Maxxforce. You love them.

Also, you'll never leave far from home because itll never run again.
 
Maxxforce. You love them.

Also, you'll never leave far from home because itll never run again.

Maxxforce is the first truck I bought in 2018. It had 7 double sided pages of history from ryder, it had a new turbo, cat, injector, egr valve and cooler, and I bought the truck dirt dirt cheap in perfect condition. Ran it for 2 years, no issues. Had regen issues, but after baking the filter, it was perfect. Maxxforce 13, which after talkng to a pro was a solid engine - minus emissions. It did me good, and I sold it for slightly less than what I paid for it.

But no more maxforce, I dont try my luck twice
 
Maxxforce. You love them.
We have 3 or 4 left. Biggest problem for us was the drivers. They would swear something is wrong and you have to hold their hand and tell them it is different technology. Yes you will have to do a parked regen everyday if you are going to let the truck idle for 8 hours while you nap and listen to the radio.
Or guys just ignore the light and wonder why they are getting towed in.
Of course it is the trucks fault.

Other biggest problem we had was tech not putting something back together correctly which created the next break down.

I still have settlement vouchers I am using. Good for $10k towards new purchase but it looks like they jacked their prices that much.
 
So doing Schneider OTR for 4 months was enough for me to run away. I would only do it again if I was making "fuck you" levels of money.
 
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So doing Schneider OTR for 4 months was enough for me to run away. I would only do it again if I was making "fuck you" levels of money.
Yeah companies like that use you up. Trans am trucking says they need 6 months out of every new hire, after that they don't expect them to be around.
Have to shop for a company that fits your life style. I never did it full time because I wanted to be home with my kids everyday but our guys are usually home a night or two a week. No weekends or holidays. Get a mileage rate and an hourly rate for loading. They make a good living, more money than me, but not as much as being a team driver being gone 28 days a month.
Our guys typically run 2500-3000 miles a week.

In edit, we have one driver that was an owner operator most of his life. He just got tired of being gone and paying for his own truck. He loves it and says he wish he had went to a private company 30 years ago.
 
Howd you come up with that? Dedicated haul per load or per mile?

The expenses in CA eat at that gross quick.

Anything originating or coming to CA pays bank. I hear from my students who go out buy a truck and run, it is pretty much stupid money hauling. One guy told me he made 16k hauling to WA and back. This is not one two or three guys, its a lot. I am not even talking about car haulers, those make even more. I know guys who were scams - who went bought a truck and now run legit and make $$. We have huge port work here too from Long Beach.

It is literally stupid of me not to try this.
 
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