Equipment

Im 6ft 320 lbs . I have heard that freightliners have a taller cab that's easier to stand up in. Also, though a company might maintain their equipment, if one model is more prone to breakdowns, that means the driver might be spending more time at the shop to have a maintained truck. But I have no experience and probably won't be able to pick which one I get so it's mostly a hypothetical question.

A company wont let that company driver sit long. having to.pay the driver breakdown pay plus losing money on the freight...it makes no business sense. once the truck demonstrates too many issues, the driver is switched to a new truck. so you are truly over thinking this.

For lease ops, its different and jist one more problem and risk of leasing.

Im 6ft 320 lbs . I have heard that freightliners have a taller cab that's easier to stand up in. Also, though a company might maintain their equipment, if one model is more prone to breakdowns, that means the driver might be spending more time at the shop to have a maintained truck. But I have no experience and probably won't be able to pick which one I get so it's mostly a hypothetical question.

A company wont let that company driver sit long. having to.pay the driver breakdown pay plus losing money on the freight...it makes no business sense. once the truck demonstrates too many issues, the driver is switched to a new truck. so you are truly over thinking this.

For lease ops, its different and jist one more problem and risk of leasing.

Ok thanks. I typically do over think things.

Lemme tell you a little story. Once upon a time, I drove for a company that had many, many International ProStars in their fleet. They had bought a glut of them because they were much cheaper up front than the Volvos and Freightliners and Peterbilts they had been buying.

At first, things were fine. And then, mysteriously, about 18 months later, the company's maintenance and breakdown expenses started rapidly increasing. It took them a little while to figure out what was happening, but it eventually fell into place. All of those wonderfully inexpensive Internationals were suffering frequent breakdowns. Parts were failing prematurely at an alarming rate. Sensors, turbos, bearings, fan hubs, compressors, you name it. In just 24 months, maintenance and repair costs had gone up 25%, and it was all the Internationals.

They went away as fast as the company could unload them after that.

The moral of the story is, when it comes to an International, don't walk away. Run. Run fast. Run far.

Lemme tell you a little story. Once upon a time, I drove for a company that had many, many International ProStars in their fleet. They had bought a glut of them because they were much cheaper up front than the Volvos and Freightliners and Peterbilts they had been buying.

At first, things were fine. And then, mysteriously, about 18 months later, the company's maintenance and breakdown expenses started rapidly increasing. It took them a little while to figure out what was happening, but it eventually fell into place. All of those wonderfully inexpensive Internationals were suffering frequent breakdowns. Parts were failing prematurely at an alarming rate. Sensors, turbos, bearings, fan hubs, compressors, you name it. In just 24 months, maintenance and repair costs had gone up 25%, and it was all the Internationals.

They went away as fast as the company could unload them after that.

The moral of the story is, when it comes to an International, don't walk away. Run. Run fast. Run far.

So true Fatsquatch. I couldn't have said it better myself. That's why they call Internationals Inter"trash"ionals. They are absolutely the worst trucks on the road. They are like the Dodge vehicles, very unreliable and they are also like Toyota Corollas, slow as heck especially with the Maxxforce engines.

Comparing internationals to Dodges. That hurts. Internationals are definitely Fords!!! Freightliners are the Dodges, Western Star are the Chryslers. Maybe it is a Daimler thing, lol.

But to allude to what Brett was talking about, Every truck can have a Cummins engine. Cummins have had their ups and downs. Volvos have their in house engines, D11 or D13. Macks have their own engine (MP-8). Mack is owned by Volvo. Freightliner and Western Star have Detroit engines (both owned by Daimler). Pete's and KW's have their engine the Paccar brand. Internationals have their own engine as well, the Maxxforce.

The Maxxforce engine does have a history of sub par performance and frequent issues. If you were going to take a international, I would want a Cummins engine in it. Every other brand of truck, I would want their in house engine in it.

I have only driven Volvos and Freightliners. The Volvo engine and the Detroit engine behave very similar. I would say the Detroit definitely has more grunt at the bottom though. Don't need to keep the RPMs up as much as you do in a Volvo.

If my company gave me a choice between freightliner, or international. I will take the international in a heartbeat. Ours has the Cummins x15. The ride is so much smoother. My company won't buy freightliners, either. I personally don't care if the international eventually becomes a money pit, because I don't have to pay for it. It is a great, smooth ride, and a very comfy home away from home. I hated every day that I was in the freightliner.

However, with that being said, due to the aforementioned maintenance issues, we are replacing our internationals with new 2019 KWs, and Petes. Pete, KW, and Volvo will be our fleet.

If my company gave me a choice between freightliner, or international. I will take the international in a heartbeat. Ours has the Cummins x15. The ride is so much smoother. My company won't buy freightliners, either. I personally don't care if the international eventually becomes a money pit, because I don't have to pay for it. It is a great, smooth ride, and a very comfy home away from home. I hated every day that I was in the freightliner.

Great point! I'm glad I won't have to pay the maintenance cost on whatever truck I end up with, but the I really would rather be driving than sitting waiting for repairs. I know it's a part of the game though.

Rainy-I know that you didn't like the Pete's because of the long snout, but my Pete I had when I was hauling fuel had a long nose and I maintained it and it always looked great. As far as freightliners always had problems with them. Never drove a Volvo before, and Only drove a KW once for a company I was considering, but went with another. But that was before, and they have come along way with newer engines.