(10-08-2016 )Hammerhead Wrote:  STEP 1-Download and read Rawze's book.
STEP 2-Reread the book, and absorb the important things you missed the first time through.
STEP 3-AFTER you have read the book twice and digested the information thoroughly, you will have the following to post for review;
-ECM download showing:
-active fault codes
-inactive fault codes
-if no fault codes, you can see if the ECM has been connected to very recently (indicating recent code clearing, possibly?)
-engine abuse history
-regen system history
-engine life average torque load
-photos of the cam and rocker assy's of the perspective trucks engine
-detailed inspection report of the perspective trucks overall condition
-oil sample lab results
-quite possibly other test/inspection results as well

IF you haven't yet purchased a truck and want to become an O/O, and you follow the above steps in order, you won't require much more advise, you'll already be on the track to success...

(10-08-2016 )preacherboy24 Wrote:  The mannerism of your letter says you are not a steering wheel holder but a living thinking business man. Good start.
It doesnt really matter anymore whether you buy an older or newer truck because either you will have issues with. The older truck will actually be less downtime because you're not fretting over voiding your warranty. I bought a 2006 at $22k over 3 years which came out to $700 per month. My first piece of advice is keep your monthly liability down.

Next divide your money into three separate accounts. One personal, one business, and one taxes. I put $650 in my personal every week, $400 in my savings (tax) every week and the rest sets in the business account. It keeps me from thinking I have a lot of money and I have enough left after paying my taxes I can make investments in my truck.

Enable yourself to take negative cash flow. I have two credit cards I can actually buy another truck with if I so choose. Most drivers fail when their company wont shell out operating money they should have been able to absorb themselves. If you dont have a way of taking negative cash flow then I would be putting more in savings every week....a lot more.

Develop a good relationship with a shop. Make that your shop and support that shop. You pay your bills this way....Pay the mechanic....Pay the truck payment.....Make the mortgage payment....buy groceries. You dont have a good shop to keep you on the road you wont pay anyone. In 15 years of being an OO I have never paid late and none of my checks bounced. I have two shops in my area that will do $3000 worth of work on my truck and let me pay it in 21 days. I usually pay the very next week when I get the bill. Buy pizza for the guy working on your truck.....Christmas cards.....I give my mechanics a bonus if my truck passes a DOT inspection. They have my back.

As far as the truck....the more expensive it is....the more it tells you what to do and when to run. I had my last truck paid off and ran it for 3 more years. Most of the time I could take a 4 day weekend. It was nice. In my opinion a truck with a CM871 is the best truck you can get right now. Your pulling a reefer so you can get a highrise. If you were pulling a flatbed I would say get a midrise. If the truck has over 600k on it roll in new rods and mains right away and do the EGR tuneup. De mandating the engine is obviously the way to go. Get some history on the truck. If it has a wetline or had one then it was run heavy 50% of the time. If it was on with a linehaul company it prolly had an easy life. You can only go so far looking at the truck...just do the best you can. My choice would be a Prostar with an 871 because Rawze and a lot of others have one here. You have so much support here that your maintenance costs would be pretty low.

You are on the right path by asking questions. I often will play dumb around people just to see if they know something I dont. I have been flatbedding since 1992 and a rookie TMC driver showed me a better way to wind my straps a while back. When you get into trouble we are here to help.

Like Rawze says you buy a truck off the lot its not ready to go until you take it home and get it ready. Plan on spending a couple of days with it checking things....cleaning things....testing things....ect. Have that good shop ready to bring it in and prep it. Once they and you are comfortable with it then hook to the trailer and make come $$$$$. I would consider working with a shop that is willing to join this group or my facebook page (Cummins ISX Problem Solvers) so they can get up to date with whats going on.

You have the potential to make a lot of money if you do this right. Its the truck that will make or break you. In my opinion the CM871 is the most reliable fuel efficient (@m*m^2..that is) engine out there. It has enough support out there that it should give you plenty of service before it needs to be rebuilt.

(10-08-2016 )mmmm Wrote:  Thanks! im about 70 pages in and im very impressed thus far. rawze did a tramendis job and is very informative! im building an inspection/info needed list for when i go out searching for trucks with my mechanic as well. now it comes down to more reading and figuring out which year/ model, and engine would best fit me.

(10-08-2016 )Hammerhead Wrote:  

(10-08-2016 )mmmm Wrote:  Thanks! im about 70 pages in and im very impressed thus far. rawze did a tramendis job and is very informative! im building an inspection/info needed list for when i go out searching for trucks with my mechanic as well. now it comes down to more reading and figuring out which year/ model, and engine would best fit me.

Congratulations Son, that's a term of endearment not an insult, sounds to me like that path your on will lead to your desired destination.
If you're best contract offer is in/out of Cali, then you need to obtain a DPF model at the oldest.
Around here, that would put an ISX as your best option. The primary reason is the programming. There are some extremely intelligent folks here that will be able to help diagnose and "tune" that engine to its maximum efficiency. Personally I would recommend the CM871. Others will chime in as well. I recommend it because it meets Cali requirements and does not have SCR/DEF removing some potential issues. It is also the particular model I have learned the most on.
That's MY opinion, ymmv.

(10-08-2016 )mmmm Wrote:  Im pretty sure im on the younger/ less time experienced of the group, which i feel is great so i can just shut the F up and listen! lol
are you currently running a CM871? If so, which model are you using if you dont mind me asking.