Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpillar

[alfred]

Hi guys!

What do you think about this straight truck for me the beginner in this field? 2001 year made. It comes with 60" bunk, 16' box, hyd. brakes. It has 181 000 km /113 200 miles/. My price i can buy it for $63500 CAD before 7% tax /about $41500 USD/. I have couple of reasons why i need something like this one :
- automatic - to be comfortable for my partner to drive - my girlfriend
- 16' box - we have driver licence that allows us to drive no more than 11 000 kg total

I am going to make business with Thompson emergency - mainly autoparts to drive from Toronto Canada to US. It is going to be about $2000 CAD /$1300 USD/ spending monthly on fuel and $1650 CAD /$1070 USD/ monthly payment on financing.
I will be thankful to anyone of you to help us with the most important decision in our lifes. It looks pretty much /price/ when i take 160 000 km /100 000 miles/ i want to drive to make some $$$ yearly, so my car will be in the end of the financing old like grandmother and will have about 820 000 km /512 500 miles/. Is this number a lot higher than automatic with 210 HP is able reliable to run? Total what i have to pay for this truck will be $91 295 CAD with 7%GST /$59 282 USD/.
Thanks so much
and good luck behind the wheel
Alfred

 

[Fr8 Shaker]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

Alfred, Alfred, Alfred, Your kinda scaring me here Buddy. First of all I like to say I know it's exciting and all thinking about getting into business for yourself and everything, but you also have to think too about everything else thats involved with it. It's not only driving and enjoying the freedom of the road. your also going to have to think about truck maint. fuel taxes, income taxes, and a number of other things I can't think of at the moment. The thing I always say to anyone wanting to get into this business is to drive for an owner first at least for a min. of 6 months to get your feet wet and see if this is something you really want to do before investing all your money and extending yourself into that kind of debt. also to learn the in's and out's of this business. You might want to check with Thompson and ask if they have any owners looking for Drivers and give that a shot first. Also the truck your talking about will also require you to keep a log book and go over scales. I say ( My opinion only ) that if you don't want to get a bigger truck then i'd just go with a 1 ton cargo van. If for some reason things didn't work out like you planned you could always sell the van easier. or continue using it as your personal vehicle.

Best of Luck,
Fr8 Shaker

 

[Weave]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

If you are willing to stay out for long periods of time and Thompson can keep you busy, you should be OK with that setup, C unit hauling no more than 5k lbs. I don't like the CAT engine, but it should go 500k miles with good maintenance hauling the lighter loads like that. For the money you are looking to spend though, it would be much wiser to get the CDL's and run a D unit, as you can get into one for about the same amount of money, yet they have the potential to make a lot more money with not a lot more operating costs.
But, if that truck seems practical to start out in for you, and you work hard enough at it and learn the ropes quick, you'll be fine. Canada is a very hustling place with the auto freight, and it's easy to run. Sometimes the people at the plants aren't the nicest, but you get used to how they work (or don't work) fast. I think if we told you everything you needed to know now, you would be overwealmed and walk away. You'll learn things with time, and don't let the nay-sayers discourage you. The first six months are the most frustrating, but at least when I ran at Thompson (the palce I started out at) their dispatchers were experienced and very helpful to me as a new driver. If you keep that 100% positive attitude, you'll do well.
-Weave-

 

[alfred]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

Thank you Weave!
I liked to hear you and your opinions.
Your friendly attitude and answers to my questions i really appreciate.
Alfred

 

[Fr8 Shaker]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

Well I guess I have to apoligize if you all took something I said the wrong way. I wasn't trying to be negitive or a smartass, I was just trying to be realistic. I've seen and heard about too many people trying this, listening to recruiters getting inflated hopes only to lose money and have their trucks repo'ed. I don't have any problem with anyone trying to get into this business. Just trying to save them some money and aggravation by telling them some other options to get started in this business.

Always the Best of Luck to All,
Fr8 Shaker

 

[alfred]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

Thanks Shaker!
It sounded very negative, but you made me thinkink about everything one more time. I am going to take one more day and after wendesday i will make decision.
Alfred

 

[Weave]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

I definitely agree that starting out driving for a fleet owner is the BEST way to go, but success can be had if an o/o starts out modestly, and it sounds to me like Alfred has the right idea and the right attitude and work ethic, the top things a new owner needs. He lives in a great place for freight, wants to work hard, and wants to buy only the amount of equipment he can afford now, and is very eager to learn, plus will be running as a team. How often do you hear of new people like this? The new owner failure scenario usually goes like this:
Run out and buy the $100k luxo-barge financed to the teeth, this is not work- it is a vacation attitude, I worked 30 years somewhere else before thus I know it all and trucking must be simple, I can run wherever and whenever I want to, and only the easy type of freight I like. I will keep no records and do no books, as this is so simple I don't have to, my accountant will figure everything out for me and I'll get a huge return on my investment for doing little to no work.
...That was being a bit sarcastic, but those who know where that repo'ed truck came from usually see a lot of those things. The repo truck I am running now was built by someone like this and not someone like Alfred- I really think he is going to do well.
-Weave-

 

[prescat]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

FIRST OF ALL, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO! I ALWAYS ENJOY DELIVERING TO OUR FRIENDS UP NORTH! THAT SAID, I WOULD CONSIDER WHAT BOTH WEAVE AND FR8SHKR SAID. A 1 TON VAN MIGHT BE BETTER TO START WITH, YOU MIGHT LACK SLEEPER COMFORT, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORR ABOUT LOGS OR MOST WEIGH STATIONS AND IT WILL BE A LITTLE CHEAPER TO GAGE IF YOU REALLY LIKE EXPEDITING. (I'M IN A "D" UNIT) I'VE BEEN IN IT FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR NOW AND I LIKE IT GENERALLY, BUT THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT ALMOST HAD ME PACKING IT IN. (WAITING FOR A LOAD, FUEL PRICES, ETC) I THINK DRIVING FOR A GOOD FLEET OWNER FOR 6 MONTHS TO A YEAR IS A MUCH LESS RISKY AND WILL GIVE YOU GUYS A CHANCE TO SEE IT'S NOT ALL ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE. (TRUST ME, THERE IS A LOT OF ADVENTURE....) FINALLY, I AGREE WITH WEAVE ABOUT THE CAT ENGINE AT 210HP. FOR 48 STATES, EVEN IN A C UNIT, I DON'T KNOW IF THE FL60 WITH THE 210 IS STRONG ENOUGH WITH A 16' BOX. (AND TO ME, THE PRICE SEEMS PRETTY HIGH.....EVEN IN AMERICAN DOLLARS....LOL) I THINK IF YOU REALLY SHOP AROUND, YOU CAN DO MUCH BETTER AND FIND SOMEONE SELLING A C UNIT TRUCK OR A VAN THAT JUST NEEDS TO GET OUT OF IT AND YOU'LL GET A BETTER DEAL. GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND YOUR GIRLFRIEND! AND I DO ENJOY THIS BUSINESS.....SO FAR!

PRESCAT

 

[alfred]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

Thanks so much all of you. I owe you the river of beer! I made decision don't buy that truck because high price and other "little things" went against that deal. Thanks to this conversation i paid attention to that deal and it saved me couple of thousands $$$. I was look at the truck with guys working with trucks. So, definitelly i am going for AZ licence with airbrake and HAZMAT and i hope that for $65 000 CAD / about $42 000 USD/ i can buy good tractor in Canada.
Have a lot of great miles behind wheel
See you on the road
Alfred & Sue

 

[Weave]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

That will be an excellent investment in time and effort to get the CDL A with Hazmat. That way you will open the doors to do just about anything you want in the future as far as truck driving or ownership goes, with no limitations. With the exception of vans as far as expediting equipment goes, there isn't a whole lot of price difference between a decent C or D unit and an E unit tractor. Good move, Alfred, and best wishes!
-Weave-

 

[Freight_Shaker]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

Heyas guys & girls

Just a little feedback on this post and just wanted to say that i agree with weave and fr8shaker jumping into something like this business is a game of poker in my opinion if your not sure of all the ups and downs then you might also find yourself being taken advantage of sadly enough,to give you a little idea like fr8gth said i have been driving for an expediter now for a year i'm paid by the hour and i even get the truck home every day but now i have an idea of what the business is from a canadian point of view of course the last guy that had my freightliner did just what you were talking about jumped into something he wasnt sure of with thompson emergency and then got the truck repo'ed at 20k/m's needless to say we picked it up dirt cheap but at least now if i decide one day soon to buy my own truck i know what i'm getting into.At any rate if you do decide to go with CDL i wish you the best of luck my friend and glad that some of our opinions help you in a way to understand the business. good luck my friend


p.s when ya buying a class 8 peterbilt fr8ght ? hehehe

 

[Fr8 Shaker]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

LMAO, when i hit the lotto and the only thing that diesel will be powering will be a fully loaded motor home. and when that happens i'll let you know, we'll go fishing... you bring the beer...( Labatt)

 

[alfred]

RE: Freightliner FL 60, 4 sp. auto, 210 HP Caterpi

I agree - beer, fish, friends, and don't forget to take hundreds of drivers stories with you, thanks all of you again and now i have to go with all of my effort to AZ licence.
many greetings to all of you guys
see you on the road
Al