Having a truck paid off makes for, well, a boost in versatility in decisions about the business — in a variety of ways, too, many associated with outright ownership of specifically older equipment, readers say, given maintenance and purchase-price worries about newer units.
After my story last week about Wisconsin-based Jenson Lawrence and his 1996 FL, readers responded in direct answer to the question in the title — “Why do you hang on to that old truck?”
A variety of reasons presented themselves:
1. It’s easier to take time off/be choosy about freight -- In Lawrence’s case, before deciding on the recent overhaul, he was on the verge of financing $150,000 for a new glider from Fitzgerald Glider Kits, but the $3,200 monthly payment didn’t make sense.
“I’d have to run hard,” he said. He preferred to save for repairs rather than make the big investment for new equipment.
2. Cost, pure and simple -- “Who can afford a $3,000-a-month truck payment and the higher cost of insurance” that comes with a newer truck? asked Tennessee-based owner-operator Andy Soucy, who runs in a 2001 Western Star powered by a Cummins N14.
Soucy extolled the advantages of older equipment when items such as the turbo go out after the warranty terms close. With new trucks, “you have repairs that are four to five times the cost than with the older trucks,” he said. “The turbo on my N14 is roughly $700,” several times less expensive than that on a next-generation ISX, he said. “What is the point of cutting your fuel expense by 40 percent when your maintenance cost is triple and reliability is not there?”
