Phil D

Actually, Henry, it's just goofing off, sitting in the hot Texas sun. Since I'm trying to find local work, and the truck needs a bit of wiring work to pass inspection (a prerequisite for registration in Texas) I didn't even register it this year.

Henry, I've been participating in this forum (and the HDT posts that preceded it in the MDT forum) for twenty years, moderated it for ten, and I, too, have been busted down to rookie status.

Welcome to the forum! As the owner of the T700's predecessor, the T2000, I think that you'll really enjoy your new-to-you truck. If you can give us some idea of where you and the truck are located and how extensive the conversion you have in mind, we'll try to find someone that can give you some ideas as to where you can find help with the conversion.

Not true, Shorty. You're correct that it doesn't require a CDL in Texas, but if the GVWR of the vehicle exceeds 26,000# it does require an Exempt Class B, and if towing a trailer in excess of 10,000#, it requires an Exempt Class A.

Rick, welcome to "The World's Best" club. Good looking truck, my friend. And having seen Dave Henegar's truck a four years ago, I know that those T680s are a beautiful truck inside, too. Congratulations!

The late Dave Mattson's truck had the Volvo air clutch in it. It was amazingly easy to shift -- no more difficult to clutch than a one ton truck.

The lack of power is due to it not being a diesel, and likely a relatively smaller engine at that. A gasoline, propane, or CNG fueled engine just won't make the torque of a comparably sized diesel, due to the lower energy content of the fuels used, and horsepower is simply a function of the available torque at a given RPM. An M2-106 is a medium duty truck, just like those old Internationals that they have there. An M2-112 is neither fish nor fowl, or both, depending on how you look at it. They're Class 7 trucks, which makes them an HDT, and the longer hood allows the use of some HDT-class engines, but they're still based on the "M2 Business Class" medium duty cab, so it shares the M2-106's shortcomings relative to a true HDT cab -- like the additional room and over the road creature comforts.

Bill, I shopped seats about a year and a half ago and was disappointed to find that they no longer offer the Elite 80. It ended up not making any difference, since I ultimately did nothing, but I'd always loved the feel of those Elite 80s.

In states that have a requirement for upgraded classifications of operators licenses, those requirements are most often based on vehicle ratings (the weights listed on the tags inside the door), not registered weight. For example, my Kenworth weighs only about 22,300 lbs. even with the trailer's pin weight, and is registered accordingly. But it's GVW rating is well over 26,000#, and the trailer's GVW rating is 21,000, so Texas requires me to have a Class A license anyway, as our requirements are the same as Nevada's. You can be cited for operating out of classification if stopped, regardless of your registered weight.

Jack Mayer's lots are in Retama Village, not the Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort (that's next to Retama to the south). Two of Jack's lots are leased for sure, and I believe that the third one is, too. If you'd like to use Retama Village as the base for your search of the Valley but confirm with Jack that his lots are full, please feel free to contact me via private message. I may be able to help, depending on when you want to be here.

I'd question the model year of the truck, were I you. Have the seller send you the VIN to verify it. Detroit Diesels were pretty much a proprietary offering exclusive to DTNA brands (Freightliner, Sterling, and Western Star) by the 2003 model year. Most non-Daimler brands installed their last Series 60 engines in 2001 model year trucks. There may have been a straggler or two, but it's hard to imagine that Peterbilt discovered that they had a leftover S60 ratholed somewhere after the 2003s went into production.

Most dealers do what the "Cat house" in Kansas City did for me when I took my T2000 in shortly after I bought it. Typically they "dump" the ECM to check the current configuration of all of the programmable parameters, since you're not the original owner and have no idea of how everything is set, then discuss their findings with you to determine what you'd like done. The tech will often make recommendations, if you ask.

Should you decide to sell your soul and take that course of action, make sure that it brings big bucks. Diesel was really cheap when KTAs roamed the earth.

I'm so sorry to hear of Dave's passing. I was working a temporary assignment in the Kansas City, KS suburbs when my wife and I bought both our Teton and our Kenworth. Very shortly after posting here about having purchased the T2000 in the spring of 2008, I got a PM from "Toyhauler" introducing himself, including his contact information, and offering whatever assistance I needed -- and as handy as Dave was, he was an invaluable resource in getting the Kenworth on the road and providing copious advice regarding both the truck and the trailer. He was a great friend, and will be missed by everyone that had the privilege of meeting him.

I know you were, Carl. And Dave certainly deserves it.

The World's Best, Carl! 👍👍

Unless they've changed their schedule, the open house day at the Paccar Technical Center used to be on a Saturday in mid-April, during the Tulip Festival in nearby LaConner. It's a fascinating place and well worth the time to tour, if anybody is ever in the area at that time.

The original poster both created his account from an IP address associated with a server from St. Francis, and has an email account from their domain. Those factors would seem to lend some legitimacy to his story. Since we Weekend Moderators are only authorized to close threads that contain obvious commercial or potentially fraudulent content or violations of Escapees policies, and this doesn't appear to fall into those categories, I am allowing this thread to remain open until someone from Livingston can review it and make a decision about it.

As they've pointed out, many Amazon vendors also sell the direct from their own web sites. In those instances, buying from the vendor directly often gets you a better price because they're not paying the Amazon fees on that sale.

As with many motor vehicle rules and regulations, the requirement for one to have a properly licensed (or not) operator to drive the vehicle to the testing facility varies by state. As with the OP's experience in Nevada, Texas also allows the owner to drive their own vehicle to the examination center for the purpose of upgrading to a class A or B Exempt license.

Merry Christmas to all, and best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

A toggle bolt should work for sure, Brad. The genius that Home Depot sent out to reinstall the microwave that they sold me for my Teton was determined to use toggle bolts for the wall mounting bracket, and if they're good enough for an RV wall, they'll be great in a Volvo windshield.

Hmmmmmmm . . . who was that genius that said several days ago that it might be so cheap that it's not worth testing? 🤣🤣🤣

Says a fellow 2008 newbie! (Actually I was technically a rookie back then, not a newbie, having owned my T2000 for a whole six or seven months by the time that the HDT Rally rolled around) Y'all have a blast at the Rally this year! Kathy and I hope to be able to join you again one of these years, but unfortunately, this wasn't the year.

Brad, you might want to check into the cost of a new one before you spend a whole lot of time trying to determine if the existing one can be tested. Sure, parts sometimes surprise us, but that's one that might not be all that expensive. Unlike emissions sensors, a thermal sensor for an axle isn't terribly sophisticated, very common, and on our older trucks, not proprietary to the OEMs.