Jimmie's new Ride

[Jimmie84]

2005 Peterbilt 379. All American made. CAT C-15 without ACERT (Thank God) Eaton Fuller 18 Speed, 435 Stock HP and about 2800 foot lbs of torque. Had the local CAT dealer tune her up a bit to 625 Horse and about 3100 ft lbs of torque. 10" stacks help the engine to breathe as well.

1 previous owner and about 450,000 miles on it.

Should be able to get 1.5 million miles before engine needs to be refreshed and I plan on running it about 15-18 years.

Oh, About 3-4 MPG.

[djasonw]

Very nice! Are you independent or work for one of the majors? I drove a Kenworth for a while and it was a nice ride. Now the Freightliner? That's another story! Always wanted to drive a Peterbilt!!

[philobeddoe]

nice rig

[patsparks]

That is a real truck, not one of the toys the boys like to play with. Very nice!
Does it run airbag suspension? (low in picture) and what tonnage will you pull with it? A truck like that here would haul 2 trailers in B double configuration at a gross weight of 65 tonnes (143,300 pounds) or a road train at 85.7 tonnes (189,000 pounds).

[Jimmie84]

Originally Posted by djasonw

Very nice! Are you independent or work for one of the majors? I drove a Kenworth for a while and it was a nice ride. Now the Freightliner? That's another story! Always wanted to drive a Peterbilt!!

I'm all Independent. I spent the first two years driving for a company as a non owner. My Uncle is an owner operator as well and we drive for the same company

Originally Posted by patsparks

That is a real truck, not one of the toys the boys like to play with. Very nice!
Does it run airbag suspension? (low in picture) and what tonnage will you pull with it? A truck like that here would haul 2 trailers in B double configuration at a gross weight of 65 tonnes (143,300 pounds) or a road train at 85.7 tonnes (189,000 pounds).

Air bags on both rear axles only. I have the option to lower or raise. usually I only lower it to get under a low trailer. There are airbags mounted between the back portion of the cab and frame for extra comfort. Sometimes it does get bouncy depending on which road I'm on.
I've never pulled doubles or triples. My current configuration only allows me to pull 80,000 lbs legally although, I can get special permits to carry over that amount if needed.

If you've ever seen a lowboy trailer with about six axles on it alone, It's good for well over 125,000 lbs. It's all about weight distributon.

[jayman]

You are wise to avoid the ACERT in new trucks. I know a small fleet owner, who has had nothing but trouble - expensive trouble - with a one year old Kenworth T660 series and Cummins ISX

They've replaced the DPF twice under warranty, and it looks like its failing again. Every so often, it will get stuck in Limp mode, which is downright dangerous in city traffic, or in the mountains. Naturally, warranty doesn't cover downtime, just the parts/labor of the part that failed

He's facing around $4,500 worth of repairs once the truck is off warranty, which due to the miles being put on, will be anytime now. He really is worried this money pit will drag down the rest of his fleet, he wants to ditch it and get an older tractor

He replaced a 1997 Kenworth T600 with this money pit. The '97 had a Detroit Series 60, which IMHO was one of the best heavy duty diesel engines ever made

The '97 had some rear wiring issues, no surprise given the age and use. Never even had a seal go on the rear axles. Did have to replace a few of the bags, again no surprise given the age and use.

Needed just one clutch the entire time. After 1.5 million miles, the Series 60 was in need of an in-frame. Fully paid off long ago, it easily made him money

The only puzzle was around 3 years ago, shortly after his air compressor grenaded on him. At random times, with no advanced warning, the Series 60 would just quit, even at highway speeds. Pull over, attempt to start, it would just crank. Leave it alone for half an hour or so, it would fire right up

There were confusing trouble codes stored, that pointed to the crank and camshaft sensor. He had a Detroit shop replace the sensors, while on the road somewhere. When you're broke down, you're at the mercy of whoever works on the rig

It still acted up. Since he knew I had that industrial and military background, he asked for my help and I agreed to take a look. The crank and cam sensors are Hall effect sensors, there is a toothed wheel on the crank and the cam, the magnet in the sensor generates a voltage as the toothed wheel moves beneath it

This is how the PCM knows how to do the injector timing and pulse width. If you lose a cam sensor, it will still run but in the Limp mode. Lose the crank sensor, it shuts down as it can't figure out how to time the fuel injection

He pulled the crank sensor, and the magnet was COVERED with metal shavings. Well, no wonder ....

I then noticed the brand-new looking air compressor, got the story off him, and knew what happened: when the air compressor grenaded, a lot of metal derbris ended up in the motor. That fine metal debris was also attracted to the magnet on the sensors, which confused their output

He had a variety of magnetic pick-up tools in his shop. Took the air compressor off again, along with the valvetrain cover and dropped the oil pan. He fished a LOT of metal debris out of the motor, took several days

But that motor remained problem-free for 2 more years, until he sold the truck

Resist the temptation to get a new Class 8. With the DPF and now with Urea, expect a lot of teething issues. With hefty truck payments, you can't make money if the thing is always in the shop

[jayman]

Originally Posted by patsparks

Does it run airbag suspension?

Most Class 8 highway tractors here run rear air. It's rare for a Class 8 to run front bags, though more Volvo's are being equipped that way for ride comfort

Originally Posted by patsparks

what tonnage will you pull with it? A truck like that here would haul 2 trailers in B double configuration at a gross weight of 65 tonnes (143,300 pounds)

I don't know of anywhere in North America you'd be allowed to legally run a Class 8 that heavy. As Jim stated, legally the limit is usually 80,000 lbs

Originally Posted by Jimmie84

Air bags on both rear axles only. I have the option to lower or raise. usually I only lower it to get under a low trailer.

Resist the urge to play with that lever arm that is bolted to the rearmost axle, the one that controls loaded height. It's difficult to get the adjustment just right, it will either ride too low at gross, or fill the bags and ride rock-hard

Originally Posted by Jimmie84

There are airbags mounted between the back portion of the cab and frame for extra comfort.

Keep an eye on the bells/mounts under those cab bags. They have a tendency to rust out, especially in areas that use road salt in winter. You won't immediately lose the bag, but you will wonder why you're using so much air

That guy I know with the small fleet, he had to replace the cab bag mounts after 6 years. One rusted right through, and in the middle of a run - naturally - it let go. So one side of the cab went down until the shock bottomed out, air was leaking like crazy, etc