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Why would he pay $15,000 for a 3408 crank when you can get them for $3,300 from agkits.com or a full 3408 for $8,500 from dieselsales.com?

Yeah, it probably is the best way.

Well I'm pretty good friends with the son of the owner of Roth trucking, but they only have 8 trucks, so I'm not sure I could get a job there, plus I don't really like the idea of mooching off a friend for a job, because if I screw up it's his reputation.

Thanks for the reply. I want to work under a company first, until I can afford my own truck. There are three trucking companys I can think of off the top of my head in town (Shipley, Roth, and WW Transport), so I should be able to find a job, at least.

Sorry for not getting to your comment sooner, but no I have not.

Does this mean you want me to drive a truck for a company instead of being an independant, or that you just don't want me to get into trucking period? I know it's not the same thing, but I've never had more fun in my life than driving my dad's Econoline pulling our camper down the highway for hours, and I find it a heck of a lot easier parking it than anything smaller. I could never get my mom's Cadillac DeVille or Ford Contour parked quite right, but the van is perfect every time. That's not my only reason for wanting to become a trucker, but take it for what it's worth... not many of my friends ever enjoyed driving for hours as much as I do, or driving bigger vehicles as much as I do. I'm just saying, I think I'm cut out of the right material for it. Not to mention when I worked at Shopko (would never recommend it), I was told that I was the only employee my manager had that ever unloaded the entire trailer as fast as I did without taking a break.

Thanks for the welcome, appreciate it. I don't think anyone will hold it against you that you used to own a Freightliner, since you called it a Freightshaker, anyway. And I know the 3406 is a good engine, it was my first choice before I discovered the E9. But the 3408 and E9 are plain and simple the kings of the road, so I'd like to have that engine in whatever rig I end up with. There are plenty of 3406's running around as it is.

Maybe, but that takes gas money. I get 7 mpg in my van, so that's something I don't have a whole lot of. Not to mention I don't have a job anymore. I've had two, but right now I've got nothing. But one of my friends offered to put $20 in my tank just to hear the 460 run and get a ride in it, so after I've got the brake line replaced (when it warms up), and the starter too, I might go take a look at those trucks. My friend likes Macks, too, I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

Sounds like you'd be somewhere around Morning Sun if you're 20 miles North. That is if we're talking about Highway 61.

Sure thing.

I guessed that may have been it, the B61 doesn't look huge. But if the R series aren't too big, it can't be that bad, because so many people drive R's. Obviously a Superliner would be more practical. I also really like the older cabovers, but I'm not very familiar with the models.

Yeah, I think it would be an awesome combo, too, but what exactly makes it uncomfortable? Is it the ride, the interior, or what? Because if it's the ride, it could go to air suspension. I know that's not an easy swap, but the E9 wouldn't be either. It would just make one mean truck!

I agree. I've never worked on a semi before, but I've worked on plenty of cars with my dad, and the two easiest in my book are his '73 Mercury (429 big block powered) and his '78 Econoline (460 big block powered). It seems that when a company goes for less technology and more cubes to get the job done, the engine is generally easier to work on. That '78 Econoline is my daily driver, too. I'm hoping driving a 15 passenger van will get me a little bit more aquainted with driving these 18 wheeled beasts. Everyone else, thanks for the input and advice, it helps a lot. I got another question to throw on the list, too. Do you figure an E9 would fit between the fenders of a B61? Those trucks are just beautiful, and it would be a nice truck to drive. And if I can get B61 looks with the power of an E9, I'd practically have my dream truck.

Phildirt, thanks for the info. Right to the point. Slpwlker, I also like the 3406, but I wasn't questioning that you can get mileage out of them. They may not win any awards, but it's usually better than any V8 diesel. I like the 3408, too, but my biggest concern there is it being a 60 degree V8, and the cracking problems with the crank. I just love the E9 because it's a good, sturdy, old fashioned 90 degree V8, and you got some pretty big cubes. It's about 100 CI short, but that shouldn't be a problem. As for the lease, my plan is to save my pennies when I do the statewide stuff, and hopefully after 3 years I can afford a good dog from Truckpaper. Timothy, thanks for the info on the temp. I love the sound and power, too, and 3 isn't too bad loaded. Hopefully I could do a little better by throwing something in the 3:1 range in the back and running an 18 speed. Superdog, thanks for the welcome, good to be here. Glad to see we're both from Iowa, too.

I'm new to the forum, I'm 16 years old and from Burlington, Iowa. I've been into the E9 for a while now, it just grew on me, and I've been wondering a few things about it that I can't seem to find. The bore and stroke is the first, for some reason I can't find it anywhere, but someone has to know, I can't imagine a mechanic rebuilding the engine and machining without knowing the bore/stroke ahead of time. Also, what kind of fuel economy can I expect out of it? I plan on getting my CDL after I turn 18 and getting a statewide trucking job, then after 3 years when I'm 21 and legal I'd like to do cross country, I'm thinking independant. Anyway, I just want to know if this is a realistic engine to use, because I'm sure it likes to chug fuel from time to time, but can I expect to do as good with an E9 Superliner or R700 as say (hope you don't mind me mentioning) a Cat 3406 powered W900? Those are the main trucks I've been considering, I just honestly don't know if I can justify using the E9, as we all want big power but there are prices to pay.