Different ISX power levels

[Waterloo]

Why do you think you need 500+ hp to pull a camper? I had an 97 Volvo VN, had the little Cummins M-11 in it, about the same size as what you will find in a Dodge pu. The HP on that little guy was 390, I forget the torque. I pulled a 53' step deck van with that truck for a couple of years, it preformed flawlessly and returned 8 mpg without breaking a sweat with the 3:90 gears. I was hauling windshield wiper cowls on steel racks for GM, Belleville MI to Fort Wayne Assembly in Roanoke Indiana. The racks and parts weighed roughly 15,000 pounds, not including the weight of the trailer, figure another 14,000 lbs. I was round trip, parts down, racks back, the parts combined did not weight as much as one of the racks. So the mpg was consistent.

I sold the truck to my neighbor, he still uses it to pull his horse trailer, darn thing is still running to this day.

My point, you will pay a bit more for a higher hp tractor, HP you really do not need. Myself, I would be looking more for fuel economy and the proper gearing. As far as transmission, maybe an automatic, so that the wife or someone else could drive it if need be, like in an emergency. Just my .02

And you are in the right place to ask these questions. Just be very careful if you pull the trigger. That old Volvo of mine never saw a shop other than for routine maintenance. These new trucks, they can drain your bank account in a matter of seconds. More than a few of us here have enough money invested in these newer trucks to own an entire fleet of those old Volvo VN's. The ones that just worked, I miss those days.