WANT TO BUY Mack vs kenworth vs peterbuilt

[bigmack73]

Hey guys looking for a new tri axle mack dump truck. Just want to know if i should be looking elsewhere. Looking to hear your opinions about these fancy kenworth and petes. I know there's nothing like a mack but who doesnt want to look pretty lol but i do prefer reliablity. Looking for something with a 16ft box or better 44 rears or better 10 speed or better lmk what you guys have fo sale or thinking of it...Thanks

[bigmack73]

Any advice will be aprreciated

[j hancock]

Thank goodness I don't need to think about buying a brand new or newer truck. Since they have all pretty much become "component" trucks with parts and pieces from various vendors, only the bodies are different.

My thought would be to buy the brand that has the best service and parts department in your area. When the sh!t hits the fan with a computer problem, you will need the dealer. Hopefully, they will have a decent parts guy also.

[bigmack73]

Thanks j hancock

Well i definately have a mack dealer and kenworth the next peterbilt dealer is a long ways from me. T

[Bigdogtrucker]

Hmmm,wonder if you asked Ford guy's if you should consider a Chevy or Dodge(or vice versa) what they'd say???I can only recommend you look for a clean older Mack,there's nothing better for dump work plain and simple...

[Dirtymilkman]

I have 20,000 miles on my new titan and not one hiccup yet. Not even a code yet. Maybe my bulb is burnt out. Lol

[bigmack73]

I have 20,000 miles on my new titan and not one hiccup yet. Not even a code yet. Maybe my bulb is burnt out. Lol

Lol dirty i hope i get just as lucky

[Ezrider]

i have always been a pete fan. i have drove a lot of them and like them in my company driver days, iv drove a good handful of w'9's as well did not like them as much as the petes. I have never bought either though. I am a used pre-emmisions truck guy and just cant justify the inflated purchase price on a large car. this is my first mack seems better suited for my application (i pull mostly belly and side dump) and i like the mack so far.

i would say if no near by pete dealer i would not consider purchasing a pete. where im based from i have dealer support for all brands. so that leaves me alot of options but theirs always them pieces that you need that have to come from a dealership and if buying a new truck you will have to have some warranty repairs done. not if but when, unfortunately with all the junk bolted onto the newer trucks there will be some issues regardless of brand.

[220cummins]

If I were to buy a truck it would be a pre-emissions Mack (All Models), Peterbilt-359/379 variants, and then a Kenworth. I'd steer clear of freightliners. They are throwaways and really made cheap. Some of the older Internationals are ok but the new ones with the MaxxForce are always in for service. I service all of the above and can tell you Macks, even new, are well built. The Pete 379's and 389 are pretty well built and simple. The Kenworths are in my opinion about a step down from a Pete. They all have their quirks but it seems less with the brands and stated above.

[6368]

. The Kenworths are in my opinion about a step down from a Pete

iv drove a good handful of w'9's as well did not like them as much as the petes.

Now you guys have got me curious. I always thought it was the other way around (especially with vocational). Perhaps you could enlighten me as to why you guy s like the Pete better than the KW.

Question for the OP when you say new is that new to you or brand spankin new?

[PeterMack]

Now you guys have got me curious. I always thought it was the other way around (especially with vocational). Perhaps you could enlighten me as to why you guy s like the Pete better than the KW.

Question for the OP when you say new is that new to you or brand spankin new?

I have had 4 Pete's. Three 379's and one 378. I also drove a W900 for a year. The W9 was a nice truck but I still prefer the Pete's.

For me it was mostly interior issues. I'm 6' 2 and the regular cab KW is tight. I also don't care for the gas peddle positioning. It's

almost like you are hovering over the pedal in a KW as opposed to just resting your foot on it in the Pete. The KW floor is angled

up in the front and you cannot rest your feet flat on the floor like the Pete. Day cabs are always a little cramped but I always like the Pete.

I like my 379 with the bunk on it, I can slide the seat back and have all sorts of room. I felt like the KW dash was also cheaper.

A lot of plastic, that over the years started to rattle, get brittle, and break. The KW did have a quiet cab, I will give it that. I also

think the KW 8 air bag susp is crap off road. If you go with Pete get air Trac or air Leaf with full lockers. I have had both and have

had little to no trouble with them. The air Trac is a little rougher ride though. That was my experience between the two. I still like

the looks of the W9 and I've heard the extended cabs are better. BigMack73, one thing I would suggest is to try to take a couple

test drives. Just because a truck might look pretty doesn't mean you want to sit in it 12 hours a day. Take a couple different

trucks out for test drives. You might feel more comfortable in one over another.

[6368]

I have had 4 Pete's. Three 379's and one 378. I also drove a W900 for a year. The W9 was a nice truck but I still prefer the Pete's.

For me it was mostly interior issues. I'm 6' 2 and the regular cab KW is tight. I also don't care for the gas peddle positioning. It's

almost like you are hovering over the pedal in a KW as opposed to just resting your foot on it in the Pete. The KW floor is angled

up in the front and you cannot rest your feet flat on the floor like the Pete. Day cabs are always a little cramped but I always like the Pete.

I like my 379 with the bunk on it, I can slide the seat back and have all sorts of room. I felt like the KW dash was also cheaper.

A lot of plastic, that over the years started to rattle, get brittle, and break. The KW did have a quiet cab, I will give it that. I also

think the KW 8 air bag susp is crap off road. If you go with Pete get air Trac or air Leaf with full lockers. I have had both and have

had little to no trouble with them. The air Trac is a little rougher ride though. That was my experience between the two. I still like

the looks of the W9 and I've heard the extended cabs are better. BigMack73, one thing I would suggest is to try to take a couple

test drives. Just because a truck might look pretty doesn't mean you want to sit in it 12 hours a day. Take a couple different

trucks out for test drives. You might feel more comfortable in one over another.

You bring up an interesting point about throttle position. The truck with the best throttle imho that i ever drove was a 1987 flc frieghtliner. the throttle shaft pivoted about a third of the way up so could put your whole foot on it and just rock it back and forth. I always wondered why noone else used this setup it . I have a 1979 w900 and i love the dash in it ,but i've been in newer KW and they do look too plastic ( so does most everything else though). I only ever drove one peterbilt dump truck( a 357) i hated it . It could move material from point a to point b and it was light, that was all it had going for it. You definitely didn't want to use it for site work ( like a real truck e.g. a mack). It all depends what he wants to do with the dump truck but i would not recommend air ride.

[bigmack73]

First and foremost i would like to really thank you all for your input.

I have had 4 Pete's. Three 379's and one 378. I also drove a W900 for a year. The W9 was a nice truck but I still prefer the Pete's.

For me it was mostly interior issues. I'm 6' 2 and the regular cab KW is tight. I also don't care for the gas peddle positioning. It's

almost like you are hovering over the pedal in a KW as opposed to just resting your foot on it in the Pete. The KW floor is angled

up in the front and you cannot rest your feet flat on the floor like the Pete. Day cabs are always a little cramped but I always like the Pete.

I like my 379 with the bunk on it, I can slide the seat back and have all sorts of room. I felt like the KW dash was also cheaper.

A lot of plastic, that over the years started to rattle, get brittle, and break. The KW did have a quiet cab, I will give it that. I also

think the KW 8 air bag susp is crap off road. If you go with Pete get air Trac or air Leaf with full lockers. I have had both and have

had little to no trouble with them. The air Trac is a little rougher ride though. That was my experience between the two. I still like

the looks of the W9 and I've heard the extended cabs are better. BigMack73, one thing I would suggest is to try to take a couple

test drives. Just because a truck might look pretty doesn't mean you want to sit in it 12 hours a day. Take a couple different

trucks out for test drives. You might feel more comfortable in one over another.

Ive been testin a friend of mine trucks out. The pete is way more comfortable alot more (stretch your leg out room ) as i am also 6'2 but i jus dont like the air bag suspension i dont know if it cause ive always been a spring guy. Ive driven his kenworth w900l which i love other than that cable clutch which a pain in my ass but the plus is that it is spring suspension. Then theres the dealer location none around me so it looks like a mack will be the best bet for me.

[j hancock]

Dumps do better off road with springs or rubber blocks than on air.

[Joe Ditchkus]

I also like springs or rubber blocks for vocational work. Much less maintaince than air ride. I have Hendrickson HN walking beam on my tri-axle it rides good and does well off road. Joe D.

[Ezrider]

i like the 379's over w9's becouse i feel the interior quality and fit/Finnish and dash layout are better on the petes as well as the ride is better and the turning radius is slightly better on the petes as well.

Edited December 13, 2014 by Ezrider

[Wobblin-Goblin]

If I was to get into hauling material with a tri-axle, I'd probably look at getting an R Model or DM from the '70s or '80s and then put the time, effort, and money into getting it road/load worthy. Seems to me it'd be less expensive that way and you'd have a cool classic truck to boot.

[Wasteaway]

On 12/13/2014 at 10:53 AM, Wobblin-Goblin said:

If I was to get into hauling material with a tri-axle, I'd probably look at getting an R Model or DM from the '70s or '80s and then put the time, effort, and money into getting it road/load worthy. Seems to me it'd be less expensive that way and you'd have a cool classic truck to boot.

A local guy got fed up with emissions issues and has since bought several '80's Macks and gone completely through them...maybe $50k (so the story goes) which I can see if you do it all and do it right.... and you end up with a "new" truck that can be rebuilt/repaired in every way with better reliability than going with a new rig. This is what I am shooting for with my new purchase.