Looking into replaceing my service truck with another truck, ive currently use an 01 international with dt466e , 190 hp engine. don't even watna talk about the issues ,, had the truck for 8 yrs an ive got my 5000 bucks back outta it. so was looking into another truck an I saw a 98 sterlin for 5500 bucks, it has a cat 3116 in it with 5 or 6 speed, tried to get more infor. from the guy that's got it an he s never sent me more pics of it in the cab. he took it in on trade an told me it was 15 foot from rear of cab to center of rear wheel. an it has round 500,000 miles on it, to some guys that's not too high, heck my uncle drives a freight liner with well over a million miles tandem axle that still runs great just few lil oil leaks here an there, powered buy a cat 3306. its been a good one, its a 89 model all still mechanical , no electronics. so I really like the sterlin body style an the 5500 dollar price range. cause im just a small independent field tech for myself an not working with a lotta money here. but don't wantta buy another money pit either like my 01 international, but then again I ask my self do I really wanta go with a older truck than my 01. my buddy told me they have a few sterlins forgot what yr but he says theres have fiberglass doors an were bad bout busting out were there drivers hang on em while climbing into it, an there fuse box in dash were bad bout busting an falling threw, so when I called the owner an asked em if doors were all metal or fiberglass, he told me it was all steel, I asked bout the fuse block being busted threw, he never said, I toldem to get me more information off the tag in cab an the correct wheel base an not just 15 ft from cab to rear wheel answer. an inside cab pics. toldem I didn't wanta drive 4 hrs up there an get disappointed when a few pics could save me some time. are these descent trucks, ive heard stories of the cat 3116s but if ya really think of it ya hear stories of ever make an model of truck an motor, wish they still made newer trucks with all still ole school mechanical engines with out electronics. any honesty will be greatly liked to help me decide weather I look into it as a truck to sit my service body on,, tool box with 6000 pound craine . need a good mid size truck to carry my equipment an be reasonable for a independent field tech.s little pocketbook, love an completely whole new service truck but with todays times don't need that end of the month big payment an niot knowing what next months work load brings. thanks guys for ur advise
is the 3116 mechanical if so run run real fast it's not the 3306 either oh and its a sterling no body parts available every body that I know is trying to get rid of them even the die hard fans are looking to unload them. you should be looking for some thing like a kenworth or peterbuilt. I know it more money but once you drive one you won't regret it .something you can still get parts for
I would run from any sterling, period. terrible junk. most times the whole dash will break apart and the fuse box falls out, air brake buttons fall out, radio, etc. peterbilts and kw's are great but pricey. what size service body do you have? 11' for a 84" cab to axle? I would look for a ford or a l freightliner with a cat 3126. I would say an international but it sounds like you've had your fill.
Hey Mr Mike, thanks for ur input on the sterlin toughs, basicly my buddy said the same thing bout the dash crap an fuse block busting out, the service body im running is only a 9 footer, I bought the body an 6000 lb auto crane from caterpillar when I worked there just before I got laid off,,, the body came off a f-350,,, I tried setting it on a 350 ut it looked as if it were gonna flip truck over. so I went to ryder a got the 01 4700 an sat it on it, an it has a 188 in wheel base so it left me like 4 ft between body an cab so I put a deck on it to fill gap an put job box an air compressor on deck. when I worked at cat we had the 750 s like the one there in ur profile pic, they were just lil longer. love to have a 650 to sit my body down on, are you an independent service tech. or do you work for someone if ya don't mine me asking.
right now I work for someone but in June I'm moving back to Maine and I'll be independent after that. it sounds like you need a 550 sized truck. have you checked The truck paper?
I use to drive an 05 550 when I worked at cat,,, they have a whole line of issues of there own too with me, LOL,, sound like a woman LOL, I had one of the first ones in our truck fleets,,,, it was in the shop every 3 months it seemed,, it ran good tho when I first got it. ive been looking on craigs list an on local sites,,, have to find something descent on the pocket an reliable , not to change the subject tho but do you have service information on a lap top like for john deer ,cat,komatsu. ya know for ur service for trouble shooting on equipment.
I've got a regular paper service manual for our 4 komatsu's and I've got manuals on a flash drive for our doosans, terex's and dynapac rollers. We've only got one cat dozer and the engine in my service truck so we don't have cat et but we have a friend who works for cat and he helps me out. I've got nothing for our deere or Volvo.
Ian not a Sterling fan particularly,but we bought one because the price was right. We've had a good run out of it so far and parts haven't been a problem yet. Most parts are available from oem suppliers anyway,ie. Cummins, Eaton,Hendrickson etc, so it's really only cab bits that might be a problem in the future. Cab on ours is solid enough except for crappy plastic dash. Cheers, Greg Maybe that should read, dash made from crappy plastic.
Sterling was what happened when Freightliner bought Ford Lousiville and ran it into the ground. I wouldn't go there, but different strokes yeah?
We have had two sterlings... still have one actually. I would avoid if i were you. Cabs/ bodies are bad! Door panels, dash, window operators and handles, wiper motors, door seals, door hinges, and sheetmetal. Had problems with all of these. I realize all of these are just annoying problems and for the most part dont stop you from doing your job but there are trucks out there that dont have these issues. It seems like there is always something not working right and it drives me nuts every time i would get in these trucks. Never even drove the thing much either, but every single time i did something would break! I cant give away the one we have left, best price ive gotten was from an exporter wanting to part it out overseas. The engine, trans, rears, seals, etc are all stock stuff but the problem is that almost no dealers have the part numbers anymore to look them up based on your VIN number like you can do with a normal truck. The only dealer around here that i have ever found can get parts pretty easily is insanely expensive and they know their the only game in town. Point is, there are so many other choices out there that you can find something else, and yes it might cost you 10-20% more but the reality is that you will also get that back in resale value and sanity from not having to fix something daily. I know i exaggerate a little but im not kidding when i say that the repairs on our Sterling that we used regularly was at least twice what our Kenworths have been.
Well Mr Mike ,,, all im gonna tell ya is when ya get ready to make that move to go out on ur own, ya need to start grabbing every lil thing ya can that may or may not help ya trouble shoot something down the road,,, im here to tell ya ,, a dealor is only gonna help ya a time or two till they catch on to ya,,, they tend to shy away from what they call us SHADE TREE MECHS,,,, had deer to tell me that oneday an it was really hard to hold my toung, even other indepentant field techs. will tend to not help throw ya bone here nor there but they want thing twice bout calling you tho. I worked at a cat dealor for 8 yrs an got laid off 8 yrs ago an luckly I grabbed everything I could over the yrs that was laying around here an there that no one used due to laptop software, an from were I went to classes at cat every yr an they ask ya to only take the book if ya need it or leave it for the nest class,,, needless to say im stupid an I took every book they gave us. ive finally got my cat sis set up an in works of getting deer an komatsu . good luck its a head ache trouble shoot equip. ur now familiar with not have the resources to fall back on.
Thanks for ur honesty,,, I ve only seen negativity bout the trucks an im thankful of this site to have guys to whisper to bout stuff like this an be like a pretty lady at the jiffy lube to get a oil change an the mechanic come to teller she needs another 500$ work of other crap to get done too. an like all the salesman at the dealership siiting there looking out the window when a customer pulls up on the lot an they all come out at ya like sharks telling ya all the crap bout whay ur looking at to sucker ya into buying. thanks guys for ur input. saves me another head ache down the road.
Havent heard anything good about the cat 3116 & 3126. I like the ih dt466 motor, don't like the rest of the ih truck. My pick would be a 90's ford f800 with the cummins, preferably the 8.3 but both are good
yes I like the 8.3 s aswell,,,love the old 8.3 that's all mechanical an not electronics,,, wish my international had one,,, I bet it ll carry my load up the road,,, ive built bout a dozen of them motors in military trucks,case doizers, forestry equipment, an road tractors. see alotta freight liner mid size tandem axle trucks with em,,an the old fords,,, just not a fan of the body style tho, I like the 99 an up bodys. the 466dt in my 4700 is a low hp round 190 class,,,an its not very loveable.
I have two Cat 3126's and a DT466. Both are fine engines. The only problem with that model Cat (in my experience and research) is if it's mechanical, or, if someone modifies it, as in attempting to eek out another 75-100 hp.
Running at 2005 Sterling Acterra with a Mercedes. It has a summit Box and a 10000lb stellar crane. Truck is okay I have had good luck getting parts for it through my local western star dealer. The actual Sterling parts are pricey $1200 bucks for the clutch hyd line was a little hard to swallow. The dash is a plastic pile of junk. The cab is really big and has lots of head room. The head lights are horrible. Overall it's an okay truck I will be getting somthing more in line of a Kenworth next go around.