Buying A Used Truck For Use With A High School Marching Band.

Hello, What suggestions can you offer based on our scenario or things to look out for?

I am trying to help my local high school band find a "good" used truck. Our main goals are to find something that should have some service life left in it without breaking the bank.

We don't have a huge budget but I think we can find something that will work for us with the budget we do have. The school doesn't put on a lot of miles. Maybe about 4k miles a year total and about 25 total trips. I have found a number of trucks that fit our criteria:

-Less than 750K on odometer or a rebuilt motor
-Manual Trans, 9 - 13 speed
-Year 2000 or newer

My thought process is to stick with the big four in trucks: Freightliner, International, Kenworth, Peterbilt. I have avoided Volvo because I have generally heard that parts can be a little harder to get than the others.

For engine choice I am trying to stick with Cummins or Detroit. Again, because of parts availability.

I was a heavy truck mechanic when I was in the service and I was an O/O until 2000 when I changed careers so I could be home with my family. Reviewing the mechanical end of things doesn't scare me. I feel like my biggest challenge is understanding all the emissions stuff going on in trucks if we get something newer than ~2010. I am quite familiar with Detroit S60 motors as that is what I drove with.

I will be inspecting the truck and reviewing service work history. If I can, I think I should pull an oil sample and make sure there aren't any surprises. I will test drive the truck. I can hook up a code scan tool and look for any stored codes and check engine hours. Hours can be just as important or even more important than miles. I know that if I get to about 20 to 25k in hours it's probably getting close to rebuild time.

I would love to hear your suggestions. I am open to things to think about/be aware of, tips and pointers. Anything that can help us make an educated decision. Thanks for your input!

Who's going to drive it? I think that's a bigger issue than the vehicle selection. Along with the driver is the insurance problem.

Have you considered a retired uhaul or Ryder box truck? Also consider the opportunity for disaster when driving a combination vehicle compared to a box truck in the areas where you'll be "delivering".

I have read through your post a few times. Maybe it’s me but you seem to know what you want and have hit the main points, so not really sure what more we can suggest.

You say you have found a number of trucks that fit your criteria already. You don’t say what the budget is, so it’s hard to suggest any particular make or model. You also don’t list what state your in or will be travelling to. Emissons on the 2010 or newer will be a disaster. They become a constant money pit after about 4-5k. If your looking for a public high school then it should be eligible for exempt plates I would look for one that has had a really good emissions person in its past.

Good luck on your search.

@Rob S - I'll be driving it. I did drive professionally for six years up til 2002. I'm here because I am not as up to date on newer equipment. We will mainly be in AL, GA, TN when we travel. We pull an old moving van with ramps for easy loading/unloading.

@PJ - Thanks for your comments, you did tell me what I suspected. The emissions stuff could be a big headache and a money pit. I don't want to see the school saddled with that. I'll advise them we should stick with the pre-emissions stuff. It doesn't need to be newer, just reliable. Regarding plates- yes we qualify for county plates so no apportioned plates, IFTA, DOT# and all that other stuff that goes with being a full time pro.

>>>"New" Geez, I wish! ;-)

I sort of have an idea of what we are looking for but I am open to hearing what others may say. I am trying to balance budget with getting something fairly reliable over the long term. Ultimately, I know buying ANY used truck can be a roll of the dice.

Thanks everyone, comments are very appreciated!

How much weight do you think your drive axles will weigh when fully loaded? With YRC going out of business there are a lot of single axle day cabs looking for a new home. You just can't be over 20k lbs on the drives

@Bobcat_Bob You bring up a great point. I don't know how much weight but we do already have a single axle day cab that we are using. It is an old Peterbilt that has the Cummins ISC 8.3 motor. It gets us there but struggles to pull any hills. It is a six speed trans and spring ride axles all around. The poor thing screams at 22 or 23 hundred RPM just to go 70 on the highway. It was an old Coke delivery truck. I hadn't given the daycab much though because I was used to sleeper cab trucks back when I was driving. You've certainly made me stop and think for a minute... hmmm. Putting it nicely, almost anything wold be an upgrade. Can you get daycabs with air ride and a motor in the 11 or 12 liter range pretty easily? All things being equal it seems like some day cabs go for just as much as a sleeper truck. *IF* that's the case then why not get the sleeper with a longer wheelbase? I could be totally wrong on my assumption, I don't have any experience to back it.