Ignoramus19859 wrote:

On 2011-08-11, Pete C. wrote:

Ignoramus19859 wrote:

Guys, I am wondering about something. Tractors that haul semitrailers
are probably used until the last moment, or until they become too
unreliable? Are there any possibilities, realistically, to get a used
rig for relatively little money (compared to new), that would still
have enough life to go another 100k miles?

The big trucking companies turn over rigs at about 750k as a matter of
MTBF management. These are million mile trucks, so if you get one of
those with fresh brakes and tires you aren't likely to have a problem in
the 100k you'll ever put on them personally.

Thanks. I have to wonder, how old are they in calendar terms, by the
time they reach 750,000 miles? Assuming they go 600 miles per day, it
would be just 3.5 years old?

Yep. They get used hard and then sold before their MTBF starts to creep
in. I've heard that the trucking companies won't accept an
owner/operator with a rig more than 5 years old. A breakdown for us is
inconvenient, but for them it's a big expense. From what I've seen, you
can get what seems to be a quite nice 5yr old rig for $15k-$20k that
should have plenty of life left for our needs. There is a fair sized
community of RVers who use class 7 and 8 tow vehicles for huge 5th wheel
campers. If you check on RV.net you should find reference to them and
more info. I believe many will remove a drive axle from a tandem axle
class 8 truck to save on tolls since a single drive axle can handle
17,000#.