Class 8 straight rigs???

[Bigtyme]

Howdy Y'all, I have a 99 FL70 expeditor truck,it only gets about 8 miles per gallon w/the 3126 kitty motor and a spicer 7 speed behind it. These trucks seem to rattle, and are noisy inside(at least mine is).I was thinking of buying a 98 Volvo 770 w/500 horse detroit and a 10 speed eaton in it, and having it stretched, does anyone have anything like this ? If so what kind of mileage are you getting, or would i be better off leaving it alone and running 18 wheels? thanks for any help and God Bless,, Andy [email protected]

 

[Weave]

Yes, the FL70 has little quality to speak of. I know as I have dealt with just about every problem one can dish out. For a replacement D unit a stretched tractor is definitely the best way to go. Will it make more money as a straight truck or 18 wheeler? That depends on what you want to haul, and how hard you want to run. It is real easy to get in over your head with a truck purchase and go bankrupt, no matter what type of trucking you do.
I can say for one thing you don't need a 500 HP straight truck, unless you have four axles and are hauling lead ingots. Showing off may LOOK and FEEL cool, but it is not the way to PROFIT in a small business.
If you can financially cut getting rid of your FL70 and get into a stretched class 8, by all means do it. If you are running well enough, it will be worth the bigger payment for the increased durability, especially in expediting. A newer unit in the 300 HP range will have the power and get the good fuel mileage.
Now if you are going to run 18 wheels, the story is much different, and I can't really give much advice there as it's a whole different game.
Take care,
-Weave-

 

[RichM]

Perhaps I have been lucky but I have a 1996 FL 70 (actually assembled in 1995) presently has 539,000 on it and while the ride is marginal I must say that the truck on a whole doesn!t owe me a dime. We drive in a conservate fashion,due rigorous maintenance and always manage to get 11-12 MPG.This is with a Cummins C 225 HP engine,Fuller 6 speed transmission.I see these Large Car expeditor trucks on the highways and wonder ,who is that driver working for ,Him or Herself or for the truck.I earn the same pay as a Class 8 with all the bells and whistles known to man,but those bells and whistles must be paid for.The class 8!s while nice have a higher insurance premium,get less MPG,are heavier so a tag axle may be required pushing you into a 3 axle class with higher tolls. On the plus side they certainly ride better have a much better warranty and are a real road versus a regional/city delivery truck.The bottom line is the money,do you want to keep most of it or are you OK with giving it to a finance/bank instituion.Some of the payments I have heard of make me cringe,forget about time off,don!t get sick or have any down time.Just this week I chatted with a guy in Las Cruces NM who had a beautiful Volvo 770 D Unit.Gets 7.5 MPG with a monthly payment of $2400.. Too much for this guy.But It sure beat the he-- out of my tired FL 70,but the tired FL 70 is paid for..YAA never thought that would happen..

 

[Weave]

You and I Rich, and a few others are fortunate to have the older (good) FL's with the Cummins/Eaton drivetrain combo. Freightliner botched this deal up from 1997-2000 by pressing the wonderful CAT 3126 (B) and 7 speed Spicer combo. These FL's are F-Bombing GARBAGE!! Now, I see, the Spicer 7 speed is gone in the Freightliner business class (Thank God, due to all of them blowing up, I'm sure the company got sick of the complaints and warranty repairs and should offer free E/F 6 speed replacements to the ones remaining). Sad too I know Eaton/Fuller and Dana Spicer are the SAME company now! And as for the CAT 3126 (Okay purists, I like the big CAT engines) the HEUI CAT mini motors 3116,3126 that have oil powered fuel injectors are lucky to make it to the 400k mile mark without a $12,000 replacement. Now here my friends, is the management of a truck manufacturer owned by Mercedes Benz or "Daimler". Guess who's engines are being pressed into new Freightliner business class straight trucks?

 

[RichM]

I know that freightliner is pushing the Mercedes Benz engine in their new trucks.The service manager where I go said they were very impressed with it.Service intervals are streched to 20,000 miles and a lot of HP is obtained from a relatively small engine.Most of the drive belts have been eliminated and a small gear box drives the AC and Air Compressor. I saw one in a truck and it looked quite easy to work on.Before my present Freightliner I has 2 Mercedes Benz trucks,a 1986 1117 and a 1991 1319. These trucks while slow and difficult to work on just ran and ran.I sorta miss them,when you think that the truck was designed to run in 3rd world countries the US was a piece of cake for them. I think one of the reason Freightliner is pushing their corporate parent engine is to keep all of maintenance dollars.If you have a problem you must go to a Freightliner dealer,but if you have a Cummings or Cat engine you can go to virtually any dealer or shop,or the engine makers own repair facilities.Right now I have mixed emotions about getting a new truck but if I do I want to stay with the Cummins C series.I am suprised about all the failures coming out of that little Cat engine.You would think Caterpillar would reenineer that engine as their reputation is suffering.

 

[NEVERHOME247]

I hear you on that FL70 thing. Been there done that. You couldn't get me back in another one. A class 8 truck is the way to go. I picked up a 2000 Freightliner Classic earlier this year. Had it stretched out and put a box on it. And I am nothing short of pleased with it. It was a repo with 57K on it. I paid 67K for it, and that was with them stretching it and 22'box and dolly legs. 5 year 500,000 warranty on the engine and drive train. The truck rides like a dream. I got a 500hp detroit 60 series and rockwell 10 speed trans. Tandem axle. 52,000 gvw. And I can tell you first hand,even with the big hp. I get better mileage with this truck then I did with the FL70. I get 10.5 mpg to 11mpg loaded. I only turn 1500 rpm at 70 mph. I can pull any grade loaded with out dropping a gear. With the exception of slightly higher tolls and the additonal maintenance cost of running a tandem. It really isn't that much more costly to run. And as far as that goes,the higher rates for the heavier loads you get offset that. Plus it is a hell of alot easier to find a backhaul in those dead areas, verses deadheading to another location. I am not saying this is for everyone. But I am happy with a class 8. Its all in what you want for your application. I hope this information will help you.

 

[geo]

why go with a class 8 stretch, when you are able to get a western star
from factory already to go,

comes with factory installed sleeper,air ride cab and order with the
engine and tranmission you want or take one that's on hand
and there are different programs out there to go with

i have a western star class 8 as a c unit and the ride is out of this
world

give bill moore a call at 800 388 3850, or stop in and see him
ex 57 i 76 north jackson oh, tsi is a great place to stop
and have work done to