Medium duty truck which engine to get.

[Dragonalain]

I’ve been working in heavy industry as a millwright for about 12 years now. I Have always been hair straight back busy until late 2019. The mine I worked at has been shutdown for the unforeseeable future. I have Been relaxing since sept which was much needed but now it’s time to get back to real life.
So my newest venture is I’m trying to start a business that specializes in suppling company’s that need a extra ticketed employees for short periods. Things I’m looking to get hired for is jobs with rush deadlines, huge break downs, holidays, apprenticeship positions etc etc.
I’m also looking to do some farm service work and work out of my shop at the farm which I have welding and machining equipment. One item I do not have is a service truck. I’m currently looking at some medium duty x rail trucks with pickers and service body’s on them. I have 2 to choose from and they are pretty much the same price. One is a 2006 international with a dt466 and the other one is a 2005 freightliner with a Mercedes MBE 900 in it.
I’m only going to have one service truck and won’t be able to afford a inframe or serious break downs for a couple years.

Which truck would be a better buy?

Which engine is better?

Or should I Avoid x rail vehicles?

Both of these trucks are 25g

 

[cattechsummitrider]

Go with the dt466 I don't work on lots of them and there are alot around,, not the most power but a really reliable engine
I get to work on a lot of older Mercs the 900 is a ok engine but as they age you get alot of electrical problems, blown turbos egr problems, injector issues and blown head gaskets,,, it usually starts at around 500 000 km

 

[Dragonalain]

Go with the dt466 I don't work on lots of them and there are alot around,, not the most power but a really reliable engine
I get to work on a lot of older Mercs the 900 is a ok engine but as they age you get alot of electrical problems, blown turbos egr problems, injector issues and blown head gaskets,,, it usually starts at around 500 000 km

Since these are old rail trucks I’m sure they will have a lot of idle hours. Any idea of how many hours a Dt466 can handle?

 

[Cdnfireman]

Check out the team auction site. They’re out of drayton valley. They have a mechanics truck up on their site right now. Needs to be rigged up but looks like the bones are there to build a decent truck. With the way things are going out there I’m sure you could rig it up exactly the way you wanted for reasonable money.

 

[cattechsummitrider]

Tough call, depends on if they just Idled it or high idled it they last alot longer if they high Idled it,,,, 4000-6000 easy,, seen some as high as 15000 without problems,

Since these are old rail trucks I’m sure they will have a lot of idle hours. Any idea of how many hours a Dt466 can handle?

 

[Dragonalain]

Tough call, depends on if they just Idled it or high idled it they last alot longer if they high Idled it,,,, 4000-6000 easy,, seen some as high as 15000 without problems,

I believe to get the hydraulic wheel drives to work the trucks had to be in high idle. I Did some googling and it seems to be a 12-15000 hour engine. Pretty sure I’m going to get the international when the weather warms up and covid has died down. Hopefully it has lower hours.

 

[Greg5658]

My dad used to do a lot of service and repair for cp fleet, cp didn't typically get rid of fleet vehicles until they were worn out and more expensive to repair than replace. I'd ask for service and repair history. That being said cp has an excellent maintenance program.

 

[Lem Lamb]

Yuppers,,, the 466 power plant will out last the body and wires... ha

Take it easy on the tranny and it will last you for a looooooong time...

And it wont break your bank account if you need to work on it...

Lem

 

[Dragonalain]

Yuppers,,, the 466 power plant will out last the body and wires... ha

Take it easy on the tranny and it will last you for a looooooong time...

And it wont break your bank account if you need to work on it...

Lem

Theres automatic transmission in both trucks. Not sure what brand. I will do a little more research on them before I pull the trigger. I’m thinking the international is the truck for me.

 

[Cyle]

International is a better bet. Dt466 was a good motor. 2006 may be some wiring issues on it as international is famous for but at that age a company like CP should have worked any issues out. The Mercedes are not well liked engines, lots of issues, hard to get parts for, and dealers don't know how to work on them. Although internationals shops are incompetent, at least in Edmonton while Freightliner has much better dealer support.

 

[neilsleder]

I’ve been working in heavy industry as a millwright for about 12 years now. I Have always been hair straight back busy until late 2019. The mine I worked at has been shutdown for the unforeseeable future. I have Been relaxing since sept which was much needed but now it’s time to get back to real life.
So my newest venture is I’m trying to start a business that specializes in suppling company’s that need a extra ticketed employees for short periods. Things I’m looking to get hired for is jobs with rush deadlines, huge break downs, holidays, apprenticeship positions etc etc.
I’m also looking to do some farm service work and work out of my shop at the farm which I have welding and machining equipment. One item I do not have is a service truck. I’m currently looking at some medium duty x rail trucks with pickers and service body’s on them. I have 2 to choose from and they are pretty much the same price. One is a 2006 international with a dt466 and the other one is a 2005 freightliner with a Mercedes MBE 900 in it.
I’m only going to have one service truck and won’t be able to afford a inframe or serious break downs for a couple years.

Which truck would be a better buy?

Which engine is better?

Or should I Avoid x rail vehicles?

Both of these trucks are 25g



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You need any workers? I got the axe today will be looking for work. Ticketed welder with good mechanical knowledge

 

[Bernoff]

You going to move? Looks like he is in Sasky.

 

[neilsleder]

You going to move? Looks like he is in Sasky.

Might have to go where the work is.

 

[doorfx]

Might have to go where the work is.

If you come to Calgary I will straight up give you a reference with my SIL.

 

[Dragonalain]

You need any workers? I got the axe today will be looking for work. Ticketed welder with good mechanical knowledge

Unfortunately I’m in sk. I’ve been hitting the streets with my business idea of supply local shops with temp man power for site installs, rush contracts, large break downs, filling in for employees sick leave and apprenticeship programs. I seem to be gaining some traction with local shops and recently landed my first contract up in flin flon at the copper mine. They have a apprenticeship position and need to fill it for 6 weeks. 2 on 2 off. I was not to keen on working outa town as I have not worked away from home for 7 years. But after we negotiated my rate to just go up with my work boots and hard hat I could not turn the job down.
#rigwelderrates.

 

[Bernoff]

Might have to go where the work is.[/QUO
Be nice to be able to move around for work. That ship sailed a few years ago.