Which 2017 truck would you go with?

[Rawze]

(04-29-2016 )sbtrucking Wrote:  Hey fellas,
Trying to decide on new truck, kw t680, pete 587,
Freightliner cascadia evolution or volvo 780
It has to be auto shift.
By the way will my inline 5 and insite still work with 2017 cumins?

This is based on my own test driving of lots of trucks... This is assuming the engine is a cummins, and the truck is set up for best fuel mileage, spec'd right for the type of freight, etc. ...

Neck and Neck for the MOST Aero fuel efficient trucks out there, A Cascadia and Prostar are the top holders of this honor. They might not be made as touch as other trucks but they will certainly make up for it in fuel profits hands down!. They just have to be driven right and cared for and they are not an issue to own. Even after 1.3 million miles, My prostar is still breaking 9+MPG with 80k loads. Just think about how many hundreds of thousands of $$$$ I have saved now in fuel alone over that span.. I could but 2 new trucks with just the fuel moneys that I saved compared to one of those square-nose museum pieces of yester-year!.

Of what you mentioned ... The Cascadia Evolution is most fuel efficient body style. T680 is very close to it, but T700 is even better. Prostar falls into this category too.

Pete 587 is about 0.3 mpg LESS fuel efficient in most applications than what is mentioned above.


Volvo is the LEAST FUEL EFFICIENT compared the above at about 0.6 mpg less than the Evolution, T700, and a Prostar,... the engine compartment can not breathe good, the turbo runs 100 degrees hotter making it have a shorter lifespan, the Charge air piping is restrictive,.. and so is the exhaust system. They have great interiors but fall very short when it comes to engine compartment design and engine efficiency allowance.

ANY Auto shift transmission is also going to be about 0.6 mpg LESS in fuel mileage compared to a good driver and a manual. Just thought you should know.

so a Volvo with an i-shift will loose 1.2 - 1.3 mpg vs. a prostar in the same exact scenario.


Having the proper rear ends makes a huge difference in long term operating costs too. Gear it too tall (like all the mega-fleets are doing) and it will eat the engine up prematurely due to running it all the time below 1500 RPM. The engine will literally last 2x longer if the truck is driven ABOVE 1500 most of its life and low rpm avoided when pulling steep hills. This does not make fuel economy suffer, as I drive my own truck like this and still average 9+ or 8+ even fully loaded.

Older discussions:
http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...3#pid13433
and...
http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...6#pid17356

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When it comes to the engine,... Red motors win above all, but only after some really good custom tuning and caring for them, keeping after all tune-up work, etc. like a hawk.