Help choosing an 871 truck

[serv]

Hi, my name is serv. I haul tires for a living. We run 4 trucks about 100,000 miles each per year. Most of our loads are empty one way and ~60,000 lbs. gross loaded on our way back (on flat ground). I've been reading quite a bit of info here regarding isx engines and I've tenatively decided to try to find a used international daycab with an 871. We do all of our own mechanic work in house.

Sometime back, I met the owner of what appears to be very organized local trucking company. He runs 350 newish petes and kw's over the road. Says he has 2.5 trailers for every truck in his fleet. His company really has it together and they are currently the fastest growing local fleet. He told me about a used truck lot down the road that he owns and that they turn as many as 50 trucks per month through. He is not selling trucks there that he runs in his fleet. He said they have great used truck sources and hand pick every truck that goes through that lot. He also said that if any customer buys a truck and something goes wrong with the truck right away, they do what they have to and make it right.

I looked up the truck lot and found a couple of trucks on their website that fit what I'm looking for and called them to ask a few questions. The trucks are a 2009 transtar with a 380hp isx (560k miles) and a 2011 prostar, isx (760k miles) and no def tank. From what I've gathered here, a 2011 that didnt come with a def tank should be the last of the 871's. I asked the sales guy if he minds if I take a truck or two to have my mechanic take a look. He said I could bring my mechanic to their lot and look at it there. Really what I was trying to do was get possession of the truck just long enough so I could get it to my house and pop the valve cover off and have a look in there, besides the other stuff I'd like to check. So then I asked if he would mind if we take the valve cover off at his facility and in a joking manner he said "while you're at it, bring the parts over and overhaul the entire engine". He said he was would have to get permission for such an invasive procedure but he said "we've never had engine problems on trucks that leave this lot". I told him that one of the first things I would do before ever putting a used truck on the road is remove the valve cover to inspect and run the rack/overhead anyway.
So it sounds to me that the guy at the lot would rather me not look under the valve cover until it belongs to me. Both trucks are priced around 20 grand and look clean by the pics. I know very well how much pics can hide. Trucks are located around 25 minutes from where I live but also 4 hours from my yard where we do our own mechanic work.


I leased a new maxxforce prostar back in 2013 from idealease and everything about truck did great except emissions related problems that resulted in over fifty visits to their dealership in the five or so years I've had it. They furnished up a loaner/sub truck every time but looking back, the down time cost us a fortune over the term of the lease. We are turning in that truck on Monday with ~500k miles on it now. Our lease truck is in great shape and was always an otherwise solid truck. Believe it or not, the maxxforce engine served us well besides all the problems that stemmed from the (non def) emissions system. If I had to do the lease again, I wouldn't. Too many people are getting paid on that deal. Besides the losses on downtime, the monthly lease and mileage payments are astronomical. The payments amounted to around 40 grand per year on that one. This lease truck did get us out of a bind back in 2013, But I don't feel like selling my soul again this time around. We are a lot further along and ahead on our maintenance capabilities since we were prior to 2013.

Back to the next truck I need to bring in as a replacement for my lease truck, should I insist on looking under the valve cover or no deal or would pulling an oil sample get me info on what I'm looking to avoid in an engine? Is there a better way to pull an oil sample than the oil pan drain plug? I don't mind planning and doing a proper complete engine overhaul down the road but I need something that will give me the best chance at 200k-250k miles with religious maintenance on my part and starting with a complete and thorough emissions tuneup. Any advice on trying to go forward with this? I realize some there is a crap shoot element in buying a used truck but it's no different buying a new truck. Two weeks ago, I was set on ordering a new 2019 Pete 567 with the Cummins X15 but for now, Ive talked myself out of it. I was a guinea pig for the pre def maxxforce. I get the feeling that if anything happens to a brand new truck under warranty, the truck might get stuck at the dealership for weeks/months for repair. Our local major dealers are always way behind on warranty work in my area. I would like to have more control over repairs myself as I'm comfident we could move faster than a dealership would due to the urgency to get back on the road on our part. Thanks for reading.


https://www.truckpaper.com/listings/truc...2001125377


https://www.truckpaper.com/listings/truc...2001125377