When you take a trip to the truck dealer these days, it’s not the glint of polished chrome that’ll have you rubbing your eyes. It’s the price tag. Emission-compliant diesels that went into production a year ago have driven up the cost of a truck by $6,000 to $11,000, depending on the engine and the OEM. The rise in currency relative to the U.S. dollar this year hasn’t spelled much relief for buyers: the typical owner-operator spec still could easily run you one-hundred-and-forty grand. And we haven’t even touched on the costs associated with paying for the beast.

It’s enough to make you ponder what an “owner-operator truck” really ought to be.

Not long ago I had the chance to drive a “fleet-spec” Peterbilt 379. The powertrain was arguably the most “fleet” thing about it-a Cummins ISX 475, a Fuller 13-speed, and 40,000-lb rear ends with 3.70 gears-yet it was a robust enough package for most owner-ops trucking in the United States and Canada. It proved there’s little to lose in winching-in the wish list in these tight times.

It’s a statement fleets that run such a spec will heartily endorse. They tend to research this stuff exhaustively, for cost/benefit, compatibility, drivability, as well as other factors, including driver preference. Fleets, you see, view trucks as a means to an end. They want the truck to make them money, not cost them money.

The allure of extravagant and costly components is often too good to pass up, says Mike Dozier, assistant chief engineer at Peterbilt’s Denton, Texas, design headquarters. “If you’re inclined to break the extra costs down to an extra 15 bucks a month on the payment,” he explains, “you can easily spec yourself straight into the poor house.”

Dozier sticks firm to his assertion that a truck can be designed for nearly any application. However, it’s your job as the buyer to accurately express how the truck will be used. Then, a “need/want/would-be-nice” analysis is in order. That way, Dozier says, when the dealer works through all the gradeability, startability, and cruise-speed parameters, as well as the various comfort-and-chrome accoutrements, he’s doing so based on an honest assessment of what the customer will be doing with the truck.

BIG POWER
Big power comes at a big price. At one typical OEM, the cost of puttin a herd of horses under the hood — 565 to be precise — will set you back $12,190, with all the heavy-duty gear that goes behind it. Really.

Advancements in engine performance have altered the drivability curve dramatically on the smaller engines. They now perform like their larger, thirstier, and more expensive cousins. You can get torque ratings up 1650 lb ft from a smallish 450-horse, 12-litre engine. That kind of torque feels really good under foot, and you’d only really notice the shortage of horses on the big pulls, or when trying to keep pace with a pack of bull haulers. The savings will show up on the invoice immediately, and over time on the fuel bill.

Moving from the engine room to the bridge and the Captain’s cabin: preference rules here, but there’s money to be saved. Gary Taylor, sales manager of Universal Truck and Trailer in Moncton, says the differences between the owner-op spec and the fleet spec are predictable.

“The fleet buyers tend to focus on application-specific needs, such as single sleepers for drivers on short hauls or overnight runs,” he says. “Owner-operators buy the bigger ones as a matter of course.” There’s a broad selection on the market now-flat-tops, mid-roofs, tall-roofs, and the rolling condo-but you have to live in there, so the don’t buy something you’ll regret just to save a few bucks.

There’s less payback in appearance items. Taylor says owner-ops go for the dressier truck, with the fancier paint and trim, while the fleets are more pragmatic. He says the cost spread can be as high as ten grand in extreme cases, but $4000 to $5000 is more typical.

At the end of the day, it all turns into a monthly payment. And as Dozier points out, it’s a slippery slope when you start adding one “extra” after another. By the time the finance people get done with you, you might be looking at payments of $3000 or more per month.

SPEC TO CUT COSTS
A staggering number of options exist today, some designed to minimize weight or reduce maintenance costs, some to cut fuel costs, others to make you feel better while you’re at the helm.

One way to look at how these add up is to ask what you could get for the money that will further reduce your operating costs without a big performance trade-off. Or you can reverse the process and start with the monthly payment you can afford. If you want to keep your payment at, say, $2500 over four years, determine what the price tag would need to be and work backward from there, rather than layering on cost and then struggling month by month.

Start with the basics-engine and drivetrain-basing the decision on the intended application. If you’re not sure where you’ll be in a year or two, build some latitude into the spec so the truck can function in a different vocation. In making this decision, don’t forget that a one-mile-per-gallon difference in fuel economy, could save, or cost, about $5000 a year. That’s about two truck payments.

If you’re paid by weight, consider spending a little more on premium, lightweight components. You could add several thousand pounds to your payload by spec’ing light, but it’ll come at a price. Do the cost/benefit analysis first.

Take off your “owner” hat and think of your driving skills. If you’re competent and inclined to do a little of your own maintenance, you can save some dough by avoiding the premium-priced lubed-for-life hardware. If you’re a good driver, spec low-cost brake components, knowing that you’ll not be wearing them out as fast as a poor driver. Consider your own strengths and weaknesses, then spec to complement what you do well, or spec to overcome your deficiencies.

In the final analysis, you may still be able to afford that Luxury Liner if you spec some operational cost savings into it from the start. Payments of $3300 per month are beyond the ability of most owner-operators, but it’s all relative. If you trim your costs by $500 a month, you could add that $500 to the payment and not notice the difference.

In today’s crazy market, where rates have lagged way behind the cost increases, the cost of independence is steep indeed. You could profitably take a page from the fleet playbook, and buy the type of truck they do. They’re reeling from the price increases in the 2003 engines, too, but they’re taking steps to mitigate the hikes by buying less truck. That’s a strategy worth considering.