Out here that $500 gets you a day of practice and a day testing. The trucks they have you test in are single rear axle trucks with synchronized six speeds and a 18' bumper pull car hauler trailer; the minimum you need to get a class A but also extremely easy to drive. The company I know of does two free retests but usually people don't need them.
The pre-trip inspection was the only moderately difficult part for me, but a buddy gave me a script that the trucking school gave him to memorize. If you want I can scan it and send a copy your way to study.
Or find a pintle trailer and take your test for class A. I used a single axle dump and a pintle hitch trailer to get my class A.
I'll be calling the local company a few people I know have rented trucks from to get a price. It certainly won't come with a day of testing. My buddy rented a truck from this place and it failed the pre trip because the front axle had a large crack in it. The same buddy wanted to use his dump and a pintle trailer to get a CDL A and the MVD examiner said he wouldn't sign off on the endorsement unless it was a 5th wheel. There seems to be a conflict of interest in my opinion because the examiner for the MVD is the same guy who does the instruction for the community college. After failing my buddy he tried selling him on the course he instructs... "People who don't take my class don't pass the driving exam".
I'm gonna see if I can take the exam in a different county...
I'm a huge cat fan, out here in the west with all the big hills and mountain grades, cat and cummapart dominate, you couldn't give me another ISX after running an acert cat, but since you're not lookin to go that new its pointless to school you on those.
The big cam III and big cam IV are good engines that are easy to get power out of, and if you happen to stumble across a 444 Cummins......jump on it, they're a powerhouse right out of the gate, but super rare to find.
The N-14 is about as reliable as they come, especially if you get a later celect plus, those can be factory set to 525hp and still get good mileage.
The B model cat is another good one that's easy to get good power out of, where the Cummins is a higher RPM engine, the cat doesn't like to go much past 15-1600rpm. One thing I've heard with a B is that if you go much past 550hp they tend to be less reliable. Stay away from the PEEC cat engines, the electronics on those are a total pain in the ass.
The E model is a good one as long as you get a 475/550 one, the engine ID tag on the front driver side valve cover will tell you what its got.
And the Detroits...... the series 60 is another favorite of mine, decent power but great fuel mileage and reliability.
Don't rule out a silver 8V92 if you happen to run across one, yeah theure noisy and dirty, but theyre easy to get big power out of
Excellent information, I'll take as much of that technical stuff as I can. I get stuck reading alot more
opinion than fact on big motors from google searches. Most people just push whatever they own. I didn't know about the 3406 being more of a low RPM motor vs the 855 being higher. Is that simply a displacement thing or ?? I'm impartial between CAT, Cummins, and Detroit, I just want something that's reliable, I can work on when if it does break and that I won't loose my ass on for parts if it does.
While I've got you here what are the limits of the motors I can afford? Like early Dmax rods are on borrowed time after 500rwhp. So where do things go grey in the 855, 3406B, and 8v92? What does it take to get them there? I saw that larger injectors for a 8v92 are pretty cheap compared to something like an E series CAT.
Speaking of the 8v92, most I read about two stroke Detroits is that they are gutless, gotta be revv'ed to move a load, and are fuel sluts. I've read a few good things about the Silver 8v92, but the rest of the rumor worries me.
Also any info on transmissions or rears? I don't read much about these, but I have stumbled into a little info about general gear selection vs usage/load size.
I think pretty much anything will be good for what your looking for, as long as it is mechanically sound, the rubber is good, and it will pass inspection with minimal work.
If you decided to keep it, that KW will make a nice Sunday drive/ play toy.
I'm already working on my pre-trip/inspection stuff so when I go check out a truck I can keep an eye out for problems and potential investments/money pits.
I found a second local W900, a 1989 model, it looks real sharp, but I haven't heard back from the number on the listing. It's in better condition outside than the blue 1984 and the guy is asking $6500 OBO. But I have no other details on it at this time. I'll be calling again today since it looks like a pretty good deal.
