Turtle n Peeps wrote:
transamz9 wrote:
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
It might have been my buddy. He had a red Volvo class 8 and sold it and now has a Kenworth. I think the Ken is white in color too? At the time he paid 28K for the Volvo. That's a whole helofalot less than a class 3 pickup. He told me the class 8 is a bunch cheaper to own too. If I was full timing that's what I would do.
Let's see.....How old was your buddy's Volvo so we can compare pricing on the same vintage Class 3. I don't know where your buddy is from but our Freightliner at work cost way more than my class three to operate or own. Never could understand some of the comments about class 8 trucks but my Ram is way more comfy and easier to get around in than any Class eight I have driven and I have been driving them for 20yrs now. Don't get me wrong, the Class 8 over the road trucks are nice once you are out on the road rolling but the other 75% of the time sux.
It was like 5 or 6 years ago when he bought the thing. The truck was either 3 or 4 YO at the time. I think it was 3. It had 750,000 miles at the time and looked like brand new to me. I checked it over real well because I was intrigued that you could get such a nice rig for under 30K.
I ask him how he liked it since he used to pull his trailer with a PU. He said the air ride seats were better on his back than the PU he had. He said he got better mileage than his diesel PU and it was just as easy to drive since it had an auto shift in it. Just stab and steer. I never rode in the thing so I can't say anything about the ride. The thing really wasn't that much longer than my 4 door LB PU.
The big rig places were about the same/ hour as a PU dealer around where I live. Some of the parts are way more expensive but also last 4 times + as long. My buddy said he will get a million miles + before his OTR truck needs an overhaul. It will take him a loooooog time to put 1/4 of a million miles on his rig towing a few miles here and there.
There is a difference between "overhaul" and "work on". My Cummins will go a million miles before needing an "overhaul". Believe me, there's way more to a Big rig than just a heavy duty drive train. Our Freightliner has just a hair over 300,000 on it and there is always something to be fixed. The air system alone will nickel dime you to death. Not to mention axle seals, transmission seals, front end parts and so on. Try going to the local Auto Zone to pick up those parts.
Big rigs go a lot of miles fast but like anything else, you park them and use them for short trips occasionally things are going to dry out and not last. Look at all these class 3 trucks you see going 500K-1,000,000 miles. Most of them are only a few years old and were used for long haulers.
