paccar mx13 or x15

[josh1595]

I am trying to decide between 2 trucks but are prices very similar

truck 1 is a 2020 kenworth t680 with a paccar mx13 455hp and 1650tq with the 12 speed automatic and 2.79 rear ratio with a diesel apu. 350k miles and a has a 6 year 500k warrantee

truck 2 is a 2019 international lt with x15 400hp and 1750 tq its the 400sa which i believe is a multi torque rating 2.64 rear ratio and 12 speed automatic. 400k and 2 year unlimited warrantee

I like the the x15 for being able to work on the engine and not rely as much on a limited dealer network with the mx 13. Both have a low final drive and i know that the x15 is very sensitive to lugging but do the paccars hold up better with luging. My other concern is that with out the apu the x15 will have a lot more hours and will be needing an overhaul soon i'm not sure on the exact hours yet. I can always get rear gears and shift points changed but the damage is already done with the lugging. I'm leaning towards the mx13 its a nicer truck with less idle hours. I'll be more limited on emission repairs but i've been told the international is a pain to work on to begin with. The international also is going be waisting money idling in the winter and summer as well as the extra engine wear.

[Rawze]

you could not give me either of those trucks with those completely horrible rear ends.

You know damn well those engines have been lugged to an agonizing death!... probably got a million miles of lugged-to-death wear on them by now with those complete trash rear ends that won't get out of their own way.


You need to only look for trucks that are specked properly the trucks for the task at hand.

What kind of freight.. what weights.. regional.. long haul.. city .. etc.etc. etc.

Its really hard to find a decent truck any more that has not been abused by those garbage rear end specs that some goddamn mega-fleet bean-counter came up with who could care less about if the engine lasts past the warranty or not before its done for, all in the name of completely killing its ability to make full HP by lugging it to death!.

[Ben50291]

Yeah I'm with rawse. With the bad rates out there, more and more trucks are available be patient and be picky!

[Bengy88]

(01-06-2024 )Ben50291 Wrote:  Yeah I'm with rawse. With the bad rates out there, more and more trucks are available be patient and be picky!

And if you run into one of those pretty black Pete’s that’s been on a 3 letter flat bed fleet run….. run like hell. Stay away from those lugged to death, under maintained, completely abused, very pretty 650,000 mile piles of crap.

[walterk]

"I can always get rear gears and shift points changed but the damage is already done with the lugging." This statement is somewhat misleading and could get a lot of the new guys in trouble. Unless you have your own shop, getting rear gears changed is never easy nor cheap at least in my experience. Sure, you can always do whatever you wish, it is your truck, but how financially sound is that? You could say that if the price is right you can afford to make some adjustments, but can you really?
I looked at Richie Bros Action results yesterday, and the prices on the used iron are indeed very attractive, BUT good luck finding something that I would consider a money making single owner operator truck. Most were just money pits, big fleet spec. junk that I would hesitate to take even if they were free.
Keep this in mind, I have a buddy that was an owner operator and drivers a new company truck now. He has begged his employer to change oil in his brand new freightliner for months now. They don't want to budge though, and the truck has almost 60000 miles and still runs on the original oil!!!
It breaks his heart to see the abuse, but this big fleet has a plan and they stick to it. In 3 year's time, they will turn this truck into a pile of rubble and sell it to an unsuspected buyer at a very attractive price with a warranty still in place.
Like it was said before - be picky and do your homework....

[SquareOne]

(01-06-2024 )Bengy88 Wrote:  And if you run into one of those pretty black Pete’s that’s been on a 3 letter flat bed fleet run….. run like hell. Stay away from those lugged to death, under maintained, completely abused, very pretty 650,000 mile piles of crap.

^^----this lol! My brother was in CDL class with a guy who ended up working for that company for about a year. He said the aesthetics (basically make sure the truck was washed at least once a week) were more important than the maintenance. He was constantly having issues on the sub 300k truck he was driving. His superior would tell him not to worry about the dash lights; Call when the truck stopped pulling...

[tree98]

You guys starting to see why I say to buy'em new ? Spec it exactly the way you want it and know for sure nobody has had there hands in it.

If you say you can't afford it new then you aren't ready to be in business. It's going to cost you the same either way, you just have to decide if you want to pay it in repairs and down time or pay it to the bank.

[Bengy88]

(01-07-2024 )SquareOne Wrote:  

(01-06-2024 )Bengy88 Wrote:  And if you run into one of those pretty black Pete’s that’s been on a 3 letter flat bed fleet run….. run like hell. Stay away from those lugged to death, under maintained, completely abused, very pretty 650,000 mile piles of crap.

^^----this lol! My brother was in CDL class with a guy who ended up working for that company for about a year. He said the aesthetics (basically make sure the truck was washed at least once a week) were more important than the maintenance. He was constantly having issues on the sub 300k truck he was driving. His superior would tell him not to worry about the dash lights; Call when the truck stopped pulling...

Yup, their goals….. make sure the truck is clean and tarp your loads perfectly….. the rest will take care of its self right????
I have a ton of customers with these trucks and the issues they have are almost always the same and all stem from the same thing. It actually gets old seeing them. We’ve overhauled almost all of them before 700,000 miles…… but they are pretty and pretty hauls freight I guess.

[Volvo8873]

(01-07-2024 )SquareOne Wrote:  

(01-06-2024 )Bengy88 Wrote:  And if you run into one of those pretty black Pete’s that’s been on a 3 letter flat bed fleet run….. run like hell. Stay away from those lugged to death, under maintained, completely abused, very pretty 650,000 mile piles of crap.

^^----this lol! My brother was in CDL class with a guy who ended up working for that company for about a year. He said the aesthetics (basically make sure the truck was washed at least once a week) were more important than the maintenance. He was constantly having issues on the sub 300k truck he was driving. His superior would tell him not to worry about the dash lights; Call when the truck stopped pulling...

“Too much chrome”