Name: Bill Maguire
Company: Scotlynn
Location: Delhi, Ontario
This is the second 379 I bought. My '07 is nicer than my '97, which i didn't think was possible. The well designed bunk with added space is great. Plus the fine attention to detail makes it a pleasure to drive. Of course all the positive comments on the road from other drivers ( and regular folks ) makes it even better.
Name: Robert Stevens
Company: Caldwell Freight Lines
Location: Lenoir, NC
I just switched from a Freightliner into a new single-axle, automatic 387. What a difference! Love the truck! A couple of suggestions: a small light over the cup holder, move CB mount off dash, adjustable seatbelt mounts, clock in the sleeper & maybe 2 small speakers mounted on surface next to stationary windows in the doors. Thanks again!
Name: Joe Linger
Company: Independent
Location: Seymour, Tennessee
There was a day when Joe Linger would never have imagined himself in an aerodynamic conventional.
Operating a traditional conventional of another make, Linger liked all his lines straight. But while Linger found the styling of his truck to his liking, the truck offered little in the way of weight savings.
“I want to look good going down the road, but I want to make money too,” says Linger, an owner/operator living in Seymour, Tennessee. “I had to find a way to do both.”
That was the catch. Linger, a contractor for Kelly, Inc., in Watley, Ala., had been scaling slightly more than 42,000 pounds a load with his truck. Unless he could consistently scale closer to 44,000 pounds, he would have to continue turning down loads. With fuel prices on the rise and margins being squeezed, Linger could not afford to operate a truck that made them tighter.
So Linger did his homework, researching various makes and models, and drew a clear conclusion: For optimum weight savings and for the class and image he demanded, Linger determined there was one very obvious solution – he needed to own a Peterbilt.
Linger went to his Peterbilt dealership ready to trade. Before he started thinking specs, his sales representative suggested he take a look at an innovative new model with features and benefits that fit a driver’s lifestyle, redefine comfort and class, and offer the weight-saving benefits the Peterbilt brand is known for. He asked Linger to test drive and consider the Peterbilt Model 387 before making a final decision.
Linger took a glance at the aerodynamic features of the shiny new truck before him. Thanks, he said, but no thanks, he added, without even getting into the truck.
“It looks nice, but it’s not for me,” he thought, remembering his traditional roots. He told the sales rep he’d be back with a decision later that week.
When Linger returned to the dealership three days later and again saw the mid-length Model 387 on display, he peered inside. The space was phenomenal, more than he’d ever seen in the cab of a truck. He climbed in and slid into the driver’s seat, then pivoted into the 30 inches of space between the seats,” says Linger. “The Model 387 had both the roominess to stand up and the space to do it in.”
On average, Linger covers about 2,200 miles a week with about 10 percent of those miles bobtail, so handling and maneuverability without a load were going to be key considerations in his purchase decision.
Taking the Model 387 on a test drive, he turned out of the dealership onto the highway and immediately noticed something different about the way the truck steered. Soon after, he tried a U-turn and discovered the truck was designed with a 50-degree wheel cut.
Linger had one more test for this truck, which was starting to make him forget all about his loyalty to the truck he was trading. He put it on a scale, checked the reading and did some quick math. With three-quarters of a tank of fuel, he figured out a total, then checked the math again. The results were excellent. He not only could make 44,000 pounds, he could, in fact, scale up to 46,000 pounds. He’d never turn down a load because of weight again.
Name: Bill Kelly
Company: Independent
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Bill Kelly became an owner/operator in order to drive on his terms. He chooses his customers, his routes, and, most importantly, a premium truck. And according to Kelly, the Peterbilt Model 379 is the only choice.
Ask Kelly what puts the Model 379 in a class by itself for owner/operators, and he'll rattle off a list: comfort, class, reliability, superior resale value, durability, unmatched dealer support. "It's an owner/operator's dream," Kelly states. "To me, it's not just a truck. It's also my business."
Kelly has driven trucks built by four different manufacturers during his 37 years on the road. He tried his Peterbilt when he became an owner/operator in the early 1980s, and has driven Peterbilts ever since - including the brand new Model 379 he took delivery on in January.
"It was the envy of the road," he says proudly after his first run, from his home in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Porter, Indiana. "There was a lot of talk on the radio on the way up. Everyone had a question about the truck, I had plenty to say, too."
Kelly does much of his work for Trailer Transit, a Porter, Indiana-based trailer distributor. Most of Kelly's work for the firm involves delivering new empty trailers to customers. "I've hauled just about everything, and so have most other truckers. But there aren't a lot of us who can say we're running a full load when we're pulling an empty trailer," Kelly laughs. "An empty trailer is a load for me. When I run empty, I'm bobtailing."
There are exceptions, though. About 10 percent of the time, Kelly pulls a trailer filled with cargo. The change in applications creates some spec'ing challenges.
"My truck needs to be versatile," Kelly explains. "I might not pull a full load for weeks, but when one comes along, the truck better be able to handle it."
Kelly's truck has a Cummins Select N14 500-horsepower engine, which gives him the power he needs to pull heavy loads, but also runs efficiently when his only cargo is an empty trailer.
Name: Bill Genter
Company: Genter Trucking Co.
Location: Saline, Michigan
Next to the billboard at the state line, the surest sign that you’re on a Michigan highway is the presence of a “Michigan train.”
These super-size, 42-wheel tractor-trailer combos legally haul up to 164,000 pounds down many of the state’s highways. For Bill Gentner of Gentner Trucking Co. in Saline, Michigan, that means he can haul twice the payload that can be hauled in most states, but he needs a truck capable of working twice as hard as the average truck.
These laws are grandfathered here in Michigan, and for whatever reason, they’ve managed to stick around,” says Gentner, a 40-year veteran of the rock, sand and gravel delivery business. “But there’s a difference between being allowed to pull that weight and being able to pull it. What we need is one tough machine, and we got it with the Peterbilt Model 357.”
After studying the heavy duty spec’ing options available with Peterbilt, Gentner Trucking Co. bought their first Model 357 in 1988, and he’s purchased at least 35 since then.
“The Peterbilt Model 357 has turned out to be the perfect construction vehicle for us, but this is about more than the truck,” says Gentner. “I feel we’re connected to the factory as well. When they’ve told us a truck will be built on a given day, it’s built that day. If there’s even the slightest problem with the truck – and it’s rare that there is – the dealer stands behind it.
“We’re proud of our association with Peterbilt. If we find something we like, we stay with it. We like these trucks and our drivers like them.”