[Paydaze7]

hello, ive read in past posts theres a few guys with some solid knowledge about big trucks so im gonna throw this out there. im going to look at a 2001 peterbilt 330 with the cummins and the auto trans. just curious what some thoughts are about this truck and if there is anything in paticular i should look out for? thanks

[Bill Schwab]

The automatic trans. Even though the indutrial Allison and Sunstrand transmissions are tough as nails, unless you need a rapid start/stop type truck, the auto is a waste of money, and when it blows, it will be an ankle holding adventure. 7K plus.

Other than that, all heavy haulers run around here is Peterbuilt, well except us, we run Mack's.

[Paydaze7]

the only reason i got the automatic was because the truck is a hooklift truck and our hydroseeder will be on it 65% of the time. the way my guys drive we'd be burning through clutches hydroseeding.. i def. hear you on the cost of the trans. when it need to be replaced im quite nervous myself if it were to happen.. lol...


thanks

joe

[Paydaze7]

theres a pic of the truck as we picked it up from the dealer yesterday, its extremely dirty..

[Bill Schwab]

Nice looking truck. I would start a transmission savings account similar to how we recover and hold monies for heavy equipment maintenance. Every hour you bill, take a few bucks and deosit it into a high yeild account for when it does drop. Using an Auto on a hydroseeder is a smart idea I think.

[Dale Wiley]

I agree with Bill.

If is had a ten speed or 13 speed, you would want to make sure that it had the high / low splitter in the transmission, if you were going to do hydroseeding with it. The low end makes them things crawl with minimum wear and tear.

We are getting a 1979 Peterbuilt dump truck, tandem axle, 8V92 Detroit with 13speed RR. The old boy is retiring this fall, he only hauls about 10 loads a week with it now, wants the money over 3 years.

We can use it and haul some gypo work during the winter, keep me or the foreperson busy.