First expensive truck purchase.

[Rawze]

(05-01-2022 )Owen17 Wrote:  Thanks for the reply. Reason for wanting a peterbilt is that I’ve always liked the way they looked and decided that’s the style I want. I don’t want to sound dumb but what are the reasons a truck of this body style is so much more of a fuel hog than the other road tractors with the same engine? Is it because of aerodynamics? Engine has not been de-mandated. Gear ratios are setup for what I plan to do with the truck.

I would tell someone that they should NEVER buy a truck because of its looks .. or its resale value... paint job, etc. unless they are willing to throw a large chunk of their profitability away, and ignore operating costs. And on a flying brick.. this takes it to the extreme... like loosing 3+ mpg kind of extremes before doing anything.

Unless someone has a very specific need for that fuel pig of a front end, it is the same as shooting yourself in the foot before the big race!. - You'de be spending 75-78k a year in fuel alone with it vs a truck that is all set up aero only spending about 63-68k. It sometimes can be enough fuel wasted after 4 or 5 years to buy a whole other truck!.

Most o/o's these days do well to be able to save 10-15k in a savings account above all their operating costs and living expenses. Put a fuel pig into that mix, and most people would be left at the end of the year wondering why they are not getting ahead financially.

-- and YES, it is that big square nose and its complete lack of aerodynamics. - How about I hand you a big sheet of ply-wood the same size as that trucks front end, and have you hold it up against the wind in the back of my pick-up truck.. and see how fast I drive before it knocks you backwards. I bet it would not be 30 mph before you could no longer hold it against that much wind.

I am all about saving the number one operating cost in trucking as much as possible ... FUEL. And making moneys that someone can keep and not give it to already rich oil companies, and already rich mega-chain repair shops, etc.. but to keep the moneys maximizing long term profit. Otherwise, why should someone sacrifice their personal lives, their family time, their time with their children, etc.. and live in a truck?. - To me, it would not be worth all those sacrifices in life unless i was getting EVERY DAMN RED CENT POSSIBLE for it in exchange.

My point is that someone should be well aware that with a truck purchase.. these days, it goes far beyond that paint job and glee of owning a certain type of style or look. They need to be well aware of what they are getting themselves into .. and/or are sacrificing BEFORE regretting it, or it breaking them financially due to poor planning, and not after. That is why I say such strong things against the least profitable trucks on the roads... because I have seen countless people purchase them.. and then it ruin them financially, or they never seem to get ahead, because they had no idea of how bad some trucks really are. Those square-nose trucks have the highest operating cost per mile of them all. I understand that some people need those types of trucks.. where that large front end is needed in some operations where the engine would normally overheat due to extreme duty .. but otherwise, someone is only fooling themselves.


just my thoughts... the beer is talkin'.