Buy a W-900 Kenworth. Out of everything I've driven they are by far my favorite. If your goin OTR then the longer the wheelbase the better as far as ride quality. Its nice being able to get around in tight spots once a week for 5 minutes but the other 80 hours a week your cruising down the interstate your goin to wish you had ride quality and a big cab and sleeper.

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I just looked at a picture of the Vision. It looks ok but I can tell you there is virtually nobody running Mack's OTR. Alot of local guys use them

 

DO NOT BUY A TRUCK AND GET INTO TRUCKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get a driving job, try it out, learn the in's and out's, and decide if it's for you, FIRST.
Then, if you decide you want that career, look into buying a truck.
It's not a job, It's a lifestyle, and not an easy one. You're rarely home, when you are home you have to do the truck maintenance, not go partying with your buddy's.
Every law enforcement officer, county, town, state, and federal, and some you've never heard of, is looking to make a buck off you (fines). Theres usually no place to park at night, no idle laws mean you fry in the summer and freeze in the winter, unless you buy a $3k generator.
Other truckdrivers have no respect anymore. They'll line cut you, block you, steal from you, etc.
If you make it through all that, congratulations.

 

I agree with racer. My 2cents would be find a good respectable company with a good fleet and hire on with them. that away the company pays for all the maintaince and has someone to do it for you.

Also I know that if your set on buying a truck a lot of the bigger companies have a lease to own program.

 

I would have to agree with jasonfreidlen go with a w900 out of all the trucks that I have driven they are by far the best overall for ride comfort and looks IMHO and as the others have said drive for someone or a good comapny first and see how you like it. There is a lot of paperwork and $$ for licenses and insirances that you have to pay to get started plus reg maintenance n breakdowns not that I wouldn't want my own truck or that I'm trying to discourage you from owning your own truck but drive for anothe company and see how you like it. I love driving trucks and want to go back to driving again someday I hope. Good luck on your search enjoy and thanks for your service!!!

 

I agree with what racer9 said. I trucked from 1967 to 1982. Started as a driver, became O/O and then a small fleet owner. Over the years I witnessed what was once a profession in which one could take pride to a dumping ground for ill mannered, uneducated riff-raff that made me ashamed to be a part of the industry. This is not to say that all drivers fit this description however, there are enough to ruin it for those who really care about what they do and how they act.

90% of all the regulations that plague the industry today are a direct result of the 10% that could not or would not regulate themselves.

I sold my company in 1982 before deregulation was enacted. Fortunatley for me, I sold it when operating authority was still worth something.

I, like you wanted to see what was over the next hill. Thanks to Uncle Sam I saw a lot of the world but I wanted to see our country.

Although at times it was very hard, I do not regret one minute or one mile of my trucking experience. The experience taught me a high work ethic, money management and a tremendous sense of self worth and reliance.

It is truly a same that the same industry has by and large degraded to the point where a begining O/O justs buys a job, and not a very good one at that.

Just my opinion, your's of course may vary.

 

i love W900's. i work for the state and i swear i really dont think any other truck other than a Mack would hold up. they get beat on day in and day out and keep on ticking. like stated above i would look into a lease to own program. the only problem with something like that is they defuel the hell out of the trucks. they take for example a 475 Cat and take it down to 400 or 435. it is a tough industry but if you really want to do this go for it

 

Be EXTREMELY careful about signing a lease/purchase. Have a qualified lawyer look over the paperwork.
DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING they promise you.
I was OTR for 18 years, it got worse every year. I blame partly the driver mills that get a license for anybody, regardless of ability.

 

hmm, well thanx for all the info guys! why do they defuel the trucks? why arent macks popular otr trucks? i heard big companies suck to work for , is this true?

 

They defuel the trucks to help keep the driveline together, and they are sometimes governed anywhere from 60 to 65 mph. I had a friend that worked for stevens transport (really big company)and it was hard to get money from them on payday or for reimbursement on stuff like oil,coolant,etc. They would also claim that having a blowout or getting stuck in a muddy warehouse parking lot would go down as an accident on your driving record. As for the Macks, I thinks they are really cool trucks. I got to drive a vision once and it was quiet,rode nice, and had lots of visibility which is what I liked the best.

 

wow that some bs about companies doing that..