i drive a columbia every day.. 211k on it and it rattles worse then my dad's old 91 volvo with well over 1mil miles on it. if i ever bought a new truck and money was no object.. a pete 386 would do it for me.

but.. right now i'm looking at used 630 volvos. for what i do its the best truck for the job. i really like international yet the turning radius sucks and with the 51" bunk its alittle tight to really streach. then again.. as said above a truck is a tool. i dont do otr i'm actualy home everynght with some layovers so i could deal with the aweful quality of a fl.. basicly.. the best deal out there lol

 

like i said its an opinion..... just like beuty is in the eye of the beholder.....etc. im sure there is decent volvo's out there but my expereince with them make's me despise them my dad also had an older volvo wich burnt up wires all the time. ive had a 379 pete and drove a w-900 kw wich i belive are also great trucks but they just have no room. so i felt international was the best of both worlds i have the hood still and i have the room wich i like both.

 

The money makinest truck I ever owned was an old 1995 Volvo/White/GMC. It had an N-14 350/390 hp, super 10 and 3.73 rears. Ugly as hell, absolutely NO ammenities what so ever. I think the mattress was like 29 inches wide. Drove that truck 680,000 miles and consistantly got 6.2 mpg. Put one set of brake shoes on it, one alternator and one A/C compressor. Never even ran the overhead on the silly thing. As far as I know, the man I sold it to is still pulling belly dumps with it.

I do love my Classic. Absolutely love it. Especially when I have to buy dealer parts for it.

 

As GMAN suggested, it's all in how it is spec'd out. I own a 9400i that is quiet and comfortable. Have a better insulation package than what most fleets would spec. Doesn't beat me to death except on the worse roads, and then, nothing is going to be a smooth ride going across I80 in Joliette, IL.

I was in International trucks most of time I was driving year round in Alaska. They held up pretty darned good in that environment. Been in a number of KW and FL over the years, but seem to always come back to International. Always seemed to be the best bang for the buck.

I agree with other posters..... a truck is a tool to get a job done. Chrome and chicken lights only stroke an ego and bring attention to the owner, even the attention of the DOT man. A clean, well maintained truck is all that is needed. I have seen good and bad trucks in all brands. It is a matter of how it is spec'd out. The guts are pretty much the same. Look for servicability, readiness and cost of parts, ease of operating and what you are intending to do with it.

 

Well a volvo with a new 16 litre motor is 700hp and about 2200 lbft stock ...that's stock , and I toss that out there for the cummings and cat guys , b/c those numbers surpass any stock production numbers for Cat or Cummings .

 

Fuel mileage, weight, maint. cost cost & availability on the Volvo? I don't care what the specs are, how does it "feel"? As much as I friggin hate CAT motors, I love the way they drive.

The '03 379 I drive has 400k on it , rides like a tank & has more more squeaks & rattles than anything I've ever driven, including a B Model Mack and a totally trashed Century F/L.

It does look cool though.

 

You're absolutely right, international seems to have a large variation in their truck comfort. Not like Volvo, all of them are quiet!

 

For God's sake, it is Cummins not freaking Cummings. :lol:

 

For over-the-road stuff, W900. For what I do now, T800H. I'd settle for a T660 or Pete 386, though. Ok, so the sleepers are tight, but the fit-and-finish is good. Anyone want my Century?

 

Why yes - it IS a nicely spec'd motor.

BEST OF LUCK trying to get one looked at or repaired ON A WEEKEND!

Stopped by a NexTran shop here in Pompano to have a look at a new 780 - had the VED16 in it. They asked me if I were interested in purchasing today. Told them we MIGHT be able to talk if it had an ISX in it - OR - if they were now fixing the VOLVO MOTOR on weekends. Salesman said - 'Oh, you know about that already, eh"?

For interior space, layout and setup - I LOVE the 780/880 with the workstation/condo setup. The one I saw, he asked what I wanted to do - told him, "go home, pack a bag and MOVE IN". They're SWEET.

If only they would get their ACT TOGETHER SERVICE-WISE, they might stand to do even better in the US market with their OWN MOTOR...

Rick