The 2.64 ratio is better when it comes to fuel mileage, I do not think there's any downside. With the 2.64 ratio the entire driveline spins slower, sucking less power. The torque also goes directly through the transmission, the countershafts are still spinning but there's no power.

 

Okay guys, another question. I found an 04 Volvo 670 that I like. It has a 400 HP D12. Of all the other trucks I see in truck paper that one is on the lower end of horsepower. Do you think that would be sufficient for my application or that it would be a bit weak?

 

i should read about what your application is. i browsed and saw it said containers. i ran rail cans for almost a year. all i'm saying is i'm happy that i had a cat. but if you are slow and do things the right way it shouldnt matter. i personally do not like the volvo motors. people swear by them.

if i was you, i'd look in to a used truck from ryder. i got my columbia for 27k after a 1 year warranty. a freak thing happend and the motor had to be overhauled but other then that the truck is damn solid.

for the specs:
2004 columbia 70' condo
MBN C15 cat (435 hp)
3.73 rears
10 speed.

just took a trip to MI with is. 6.3 mpg hitting every hill at 70. the engine fan was messed up due to too much freeon and the motor is still breaking in.

 

Can i poke my head in here. Im not an oo though ive thought about it. I HAVE run a business though and an insanely competitive one. People say you should have 3 months or whatever expenses here.. in normal business it's 6 months. Thing is with trucking that is an insane amount of money. HAving money saved up will take your life from hell and possibly losing everything to smoothing over the potholes. (some giant scary ones). The more the better. What are you going to do when a customer doesnt pay you for 2 months. Or you can sign for those services whree they pay you now and they take a percentage... but 3% off the top is rough. What if you have a bad month or something happens, you have freight contracts but half a tank of fuel and no money left... running hard you can spend 3 or 4 grand a week EASY on fuel. IF you signed onto a company though that would be much less of a problem. Theyre going to make sure you have fuel anddont starve as long as you run. Good luck and remember take some you time and some time off and force yourself not to work 24/7. Cause the big secret about owning your own business is really that you are never not working.

 

Yep, I know how much fuel costs. Thanks for the reminder.

 

So, I finally found the truck I'm going to buy. It's an 04 Volvo VNL 630. Has a 475 Cummins in it and an autoshift transmission. Couldn't be more excited to get it. I'd post some pictures but apparently you cant copy and paste from truck paper. Still not totally pleased on the color though. It's not the ugly Scheider orange or the gay looking purple, it's torquoise. I can live with it though. One thing in the back of my mind though is that it's a mid-roof sleeper as opposed to a high-rise sleeper, which is what im used to. How much less space to you think there will be?

 

Mid roof vs condo is a preference thing. I like condos cant stand midroofs they make me feel like im living in a box (heh). I know people who prefer midroof and a lot of flatbedders wont drive anything else because their cargo isnt usually tall and that means they just dont have to worry about clearances. The thing i would worry about if i were you is that autoshift. I drove a little truck with one once and it freaked me the hell out. It was literally like someone else shifting the gears for me.. not like a car. And ive talked to some autoshift drivers who said its fine on the road but that if they got stuck or when starting off with something heavy they sucked hardcore. Plus i imagine they are $$$$$$$$$ to repair. I cant imagine driving an autoshift big truck.. Ive never heard a volvo driver who had Anything but good to say about the trucks except the REALLY old ones and some whiners who literally criticise everything. Theyre like petes/prostars/western stars once people get into them they never seem to want any other kind of truck. I sat in one a bit talkin to a guy and the interior was awesome.. best interior setup ive ever seen bar none. And that is going to matter to you a LOT

 

Yeah the first truck I ever drove as a company driver was a Peterbilt but I hated it. When I went to go pick it up in texas the passenger side window had a bullet hole in it and the back was full of used condoms and empty mini bottles of whisky. After a while I eventually got the chance to dump it and they put me in a Volvo with a hi-rise sleeper and I fell in love with it. I'm just wondering what the actual size difference is and how much smaller the interior of this one will be. I'm about 6'4 so I atleast need enough space to stand up straight in the back.

 

You should not have a problem standing up in a midroof, being 6'4". Condo's waste a lot of room. A midroof is the best of both worlds. It has more headroom than a flat top and less wind resistance than a condo. I had an opportunity to put 77,000 on a new Volvo autoshift. It took some getting used to with the autoshift. After 2-3 weeks I began to adjust. At the time I was running a lot of Chicago and not having to shift in rush hour traffic was great. I don't like how they wait so long to downshift going up mountains and you have to manually downshift going down. I would not want to have to pay for a rebuild on one of those autoshifts. A mechanic told me once that it costs about $13,000.

 

If you are concerned about whether you can comfortably stand up and if you will like the amount of room, you may see if you can find a dealer that has one similar and get in and check it out for yourself. You want a sleeper that is comfortable, but about the only time you will be standing in the sleeper is changing clothes or doing some housekeeping.