Buying a truck

[ericmoss37]

Hello, I am a exprienced fleet owner with smaller trucks at FedEx Ground. I recently decided to sign on with Panther and hire a straight truck driver. I don't have a big down payment so I decided to go used because being new to the industry I thought it would be better to start out with lower payments. I have been aproved for a class 7 FL70 with a 3246 7 liter Cat engine. The second truck is a CL-120 with 770K miles on it. the FL70 has 300K miles with one year of Warranty coverage left. I was told by Fyda Freightliner that the smaller Cat has a engine life about 700K miles. I am not sure what truck to go with because I am sure the smaller engine will have trouble with hills when fully loaded. The CL-120 is fully loaded and has a nicer interior and more driver comforts. I am not sure what truck to go with any advice?

 

[LDB]

You gave no info on the CL drivetrain and nothing on trans/gearing on the FL. Are you going to have a solo or team? If you have a strong team they'll put 150k annually on the truck and have the FL to the rebuild point pretty quickly. A class 8 is just loafing in expedite work while an FL can be much closer to it's limits much more often. All else being equal I'd rather have a class 8.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

700,000 on the life of a small CAT? Count on 500,000. Like Leo said... bigger IS better, in this case. Also cheaper on an overhaul. Get ready for one in either case, with those mileages.

 

[ericmoss37]

Hi Sorry about the lack of details.

The FL70 has a 7.3 liter 330 horsepower Cat with 6 speed fuller mannual transmission. This truck has a remaining Warranty because it ws sold new in 2004. It has Warranty up to 500K miles and 1.5 years remaining on the factory warranty.

the CL-120 has a 10 speed auto shift fuller with a 12.7 liter Detriot motor. It has 450 horse power and 770,000 miles on the truck. The dealer is offering a two year 200K warranty on the truck for $2800 that covers engine and transmission.

The driver is solo and will be putting around 1500 to 2500 miles a week depending on freight volume. We live on the east coast so we expect lots of short runs mixed in with the long ones. I am sure we will have quite a few runs from Boston to New York and other big cites in the area.