I meet a lot of interesting people on Facebook. One man in particular has remained in touch with me over the past year as he was trying to make a decision on purchasing a used or new truck.
The man I’m speaking of is Jim Fowler. He and his wife (Cindy) have run a team operation for the past five years and are leased to Landstar. Prior to obtaining her CDL and driving, Cindy rode along for three years with Jim. Today, they travel as a team along with their two dogs, a beagle, Katie and a boxer named Toby.
Jim contacted me months ago to discuss the possibility of purchasing a new Cascadia Evolution. In the past, Jim has owned a 2000 Peterbilt 379 and when purchased it had 1,100,000 miles and he sold it with 1,400,000 miles. His second truck was a 2006 Peterbilt 387 with 444,000 miles and he sold it with 1,252,000 miles. Jim explained that he never before purchased a “new” truck, however he had been following my fuel efficiency results over the past several years and was considering a new truck if he could attain near or the same fuel mileage results. When he contacted me, Jim explained that he frequents the Team Run Smart website and was very impressed with the fuel numbers I was experiencing. We discussed the specifications on my truck and he wanted exactly the same for himself. I gave him my VIN # for my Freightliner Cascadia Evolution and he took it to his local Freightliner dealership and had them order his third and first new truck ever… 2014 Cascadia Evolution. Jim and Cindy placed the order in July and took delivery of the truck on October 11
th, 2013. They worked through Stoops Freightliner in Fremont, Indiana.
Jim and Cindy chose the Detroit DD15 455 HP 1550/1750 multi torque engine, Detroit DT12 transmission followed by the Meritor Fuel Lite 6x2 rear axle configuration with a 2.50 ratio. We talked extensively about their going with the 6x2 due to traction issues in snow related weather. Jim came to the conclusion that it doesn’t snow most days and therefore he would be better to go with the 6x2 for their operation.
I made contact with Jim and Cindy recently to check on how their new truck was treating them these days. He shared with me that he and Cindy have been driving the Cascadia now for about 90 days. Their average so far is 8.87 mpg and the previous truck came in at 6.78. Jim and Cindy are “Amazed” at the DT12 with its smooth shifting capability, skip shift and ECoast features. They told me that each of them get much better sleep now with the smooth shifting. They are pleased with the excellent ride characteristics, even with the short 225 wheelbase.
I plan on keeping up with Jim and Cindy and their new Cascadia Evolution. They are off to a good start and I look forward to hearing about their fuel mileage results in the future.