The stars at night are big and bright...

The stars at night are big and bright...
The stars at night are big and bright...

Thursday, June 14, 2012

I Need A Glider Kit

No, not one of these.

One of these!

If any of the South 40 faithful are in the truck business drop me a line and I can give you the specs. Needs to be a Peterbilt or Freightliner and HAS to be glider kit to get around the DPF rules. Ya gotta love loopholes.

5 comments:

an Donalbane said...

To be honest, I had no idea what a glider kit was, until I Googled it - sort of a HeathKit for Trucks, or Re-Cab I guess - if a person has a powerplant, gearbox and drive axles lying about?

Personally, my taste would run toward a Schweizer glider, though on a recent trip to the W'ford Trade Days, daughter was fond of a sugar glider.

Out of curiosity, what kind of title is assigned with a glider kit? Is it considered a salvage project, or a new build? I assume the new cab has its own VIN?

RPM said...

Actually, a glider kit is a complete truck minus engine and transmission. You can get them w/wo rear axles. They come with a new title (frame year)but are only subject to EPA regs for the engine year model. So you can have a 2013 truck with a 2007 factory reman engine and it would have a 2013 title. There is a 2 letter designation in the VIN to indicate it's a glider kit. It is not a salvage title.

an Donalbane said...

On the newer trucks, are fuel efficiencies driven by lighter, more aerodynamic cabs rather than by engine technology.

What's typical TBO for a big diesel engine, running interstate miles - 500K? More?

RPM said...

Wow, a LOT of variables in there. But you should get a minimum of 500K out of a well maintained engine. Some go over 1M, but that's not common.

RPM said...

Oh, and it's about 60/40 on the fuel efficiency with engine tech leading.