I am considering purchasing a cab and chassis in the near future with the intention of having a conversion done in a few years. (The truck will be used for business for now) I notice that there are many Freightliner Columbia's used and very few others-why is this? I have demoed KW, Peterbilt and Freightliner and I put the KW at the top of my list. Looking to buy T600, C15,Meritor autoshift,tandems and chromed up.
Great site-look forward to the feedback.

If you are considering an autoshift, take a look at the Eaton products. They are more likely to be easily serviced if you have a problem. It's not a matter of quality, as I am not familiar enough with the two to compare that, but simply of logistics.
I would go with the KW over the Freightliner, for several reasons, mostly quality and flexibility of handling special orders. Another you might consider is Western Star - if I get to that point, I'm going to look hard at WS due to the ease of addressing special order needs, and the possibility of a driving front axle.
If you do go with the C15, make sure you make use of the ability to have both the Jake and their Hydraulic retarder.

There are more FLs because more carriers buy them because they are the best bang for the buck rig!

Getting close to ordering the KW T600.
A few questions for the experienced owners-what gear ratio do you run in the rear axles, any idea what top speed the 3.90 ratio gives.
Looks like big torque motors require a Meritor 16 speed-ever heard of getting a 12 speed because it will be used as a motorhome?
You guys running the tall 295/75R22.5 tires or a shorter profile?
Thanks for the feedback.

gordy, every one will jump on me for this but i'm runnin' 3.08 with eaton 18 auto shift. the 12 is good probably better, i just wanted all the gears i could get. reason---- when we went to the rockies last summer i crossed the divide 4 times and i still would choose the same setup. top speed on mine is somewhere past 115, i'm runnin' 285/75R22.5. mase

Mase....Technicle question here; Are you driving or flying at 115?...https://www.truckhome.com/infopop/emo.../icon_wink.gif

Mase- thanks for the input.
What engine,HP and torque do you have? The 18 speed will skip shift, so it doesn't hit all 18 unless it is necessary-right?
The 115 may be a little too much for some people, but I have seen some race teams fly by me with 18 wheelers, at over 100 MPH more than once. Man just about stepped out cause I thought I was parked.

Mase-saw your rig in the gallery-KILLER.
I think I saw somewhere that it is a Kingsley?
Do they order the T2000 without the sleeper or is it removed at the factory? That is what I would like to have but KW won't sell it as a daycab.
PS looks like it is going 80 MPH parked.

gordy, mase the T2000 is a sleeper cab, can't be ordered as a day cay. we ordered the smallest boe with the least in it and cut 6' behind the door jamb. trashed the sleeper the top of my in-motion dish is 12' 2 1/2" above the floor. i use 12' 4" as my min. clearence.gordy and any one else who wants to talk call me at 540-672-4342. oh--- imho- why do you want a day cab? mase

geof at 112-113 it's as though you were easin' down a new bypass street at 50- 60. really and no i don't do that very often but i did want to see if it'd go by 110. yepit did and was sweet, drivivg, not flying-- i believe that with the short wings it'd take around 187 mph to get rotation. mase