Starting to think about my next truck

[aczlan]

I hate service trucks. I prefer working out of a trailer, I got spoiled being at the race track and being able to have most everything with me all of the time. I like my triple bank toolbox, having a solvent tank, a hydraulic hose crimping machine, and tons of small parts in a much more organized nature than could ever be achieved out of a service truck.

There is also something to be said for all the tools being inside where you can close the door when its raining and work in a dry place, rather than in the elements like you would if working out of a service truck.

Aaron Z

 

[schmism]

ok so this with a smaller bumper pull behind (fuel trailer and whatnot)

i mean once you enter the world of "big trucks" "just for a tow vehicle" seems like your wasting a helva opportunity to be able to take advantage of possibilities that only exist in that world.

 

[crashz]

The International TerraStar is a great looking truck and would be my dream dump truck. The engine is confusing though. Is it the same 6.4L engine as the Fords?

 

[brain55]

i mean once you enter the world of "big trucks" "just for a tow vehicle" seems like your wasting a helva opportunity to be able to take advantage of possibilities that only exist in that world.

Not sure which advantages that you're referring to. There are a lot of advantages to a trailer vs. a bodied truck. First being that I can unhook and make a parts run without having to completely reassemble and put away everything, the next being that once I move up to the bigger truck I can rent a truck if mine goes down and I'm not completely stuck when the truck is in the shop. With a bodied truck, if the truck is down so am I, which is the same as now with the gooseneck. Another smaller advantage is the lower deck height of a trailer which matters when getting in and out countless times a day. Oh and I'm 5'-4" so with a bigger truck and body I'd be climbing a ladder most of the day to use all of it's storage. There were months of thought put into my business model before I discounted any of your suggestions.

Brian

 

[JJZ 109]

Not sure which advantages that you're referring to. There are a lot of advantages to a trailer vs. a bodied truck. First being that I can unhook and make a parts run without having to completely reassemble and put away everything, the next being that once I move up to the bigger truck I can rent a truck if mine goes down and I'm not completely stuck when the truck is in the shop. With a bodied truck, if the truck is down so am I, which is the same as now with the gooseneck. Another smaller advantage is the lower deck height of a trailer which matters when getting in and out countless times a day. Oh and I'm 5'-4" so with a bigger truck and body I'd be climbing a ladder most of the day to use all of it's storage. There were months of thought put into my business model before I discounted any of your suggestions.

Brian

I agree with you there Brian. I own a seamless gutter business. Some of the other local gutter contractors operate out of box trucks. I've currently got everything self contained in a 7x14 enclosed. I have a new 7x18 with front & rear ramp doors on order. I haul it with a 1997 F Super Duty bucket truck with 7.3 diesel.
If something should happen the that truck goes down, I can still throw the step ladders into my pickup and haul the trailer (and thus the whole business) to job sites and keep on working. The gutter machine material reel is lined up with the side door. That means that I can load 350 pound rolls of gutter coil onto the machine with a boom pole rig attached to my Bobcat. There's also the fact that you mention about easy in/easy out when you make several trips a day into your work area.

 

[JESSE1]

The International TerraStar is a great looking truck and would be my dream dump truck. The engine is confusing though. Is it the same 6.4L engine as the Fords?

I think it's the same basic engine but derated for use in a chassis- cab truck. Probably a different turbo setup. If International would put a DT466 in the Terrastar I'd have one in a heartbeat.

 

[brain55]

The International TerraStar is a great looking truck and would be my dream dump truck. The engine is confusing though. Is it the same 6.4L engine as the Fords?

The truck I'm looking at is a Durastar I believe. The application they specify is MRD beverage tractor. It comes with the MaxxForce DT I6 engine which has 285 hp @ 2200 rpm and 860 ft lbs torque @ 1300 rpm. I will likely get the 300 hp option. I don't think I've ever wished for less power, so more is better right, lol.

Brian

 

[wmonroe]

You never hear anyone say "I wish this engine had just a few less horsepower".

 

[tcartwri]

The truck I'm looking at is a Durastar I believe. The application they specify is MRD beverage tractor. It comes with the MaxxForce DT I6 engine which has 285 hp @ 2200 rpm and 860 ft lbs torque @ 1300 rpm. I will likely get the 300 hp option. I don't think I've ever wished for less power, so more is better right, lol.

Brian

This is exactly what I drive on a daily basis. Which tranny are you going to get.

 

[brain55]

This is exactly what I drive on a daily basis. Which tranny are you going to get.

The Allison 3000