2008 Kenworth T300

We are looking at getting this truck and I was wondering if anyone has any opinions on Kenworths (we have all internationals currently) and I also have a few questions. This would be our first tri-axle. Here is some info on the truck.

Its a 2008 Kenworth T300. PX-8 engine 330hp with Allison automatic transition. 17' dump bed, 14,600lb front 40,000lb rear with a 13,200lb drop down axle. 53,000 miles.

I drove the truck today and I liked it, and I will be taking it back to our shop tomorrow to try it out with a load in it. My main concern is that 330hp is not a lot for a tri-axle. Am I correct? Almost every other truck I look at has around 400hp. Also the trucks GVW is 54,000lbs according to the door jam. But because of the drop down axle does that raise the GVW to 67,000lbs? Thank you in advance!

TomG said:

My main concern is that 330hp is not a lot for a tri-axle. Am I correct? Almost every other truck I look at has around 400hp.

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I would say you're right Tom. 330 is not a lot of HP for a tri-axle. It depends on what you will be doing with it though. What is the capacity of the bed and what tonnage will you be hauling?

I'm a fan of the Allisions, after owning 4 in heavy truck applications (over 400HP with the 4500RDS version) I wouldn't want another truck without one. I am not a trucker, I'm a dirt mover, so I want ease and efficiency in a dump truck both on the road and off the road.

Another question - What model trans is it? A 3500 RDS is a little on the light side for a tri-axle IMO.

Tom..... I own a kenworth spec'd exactly like what your looking at. The only difference being in its doesn't have the third axle.
I previously owned Fords so I had to make a switch... I bought a T300 and have been very satisfyed with the truck... no problems,,, not over abundance of power, but enuff to get out and run safely in traffic ( not much traffic in N. Minnesota) but as the old Fords slowly die, I will replace them with the KW's.... hope this helps...... gramps

Thanks guys for the input. We would be using the truck for our landscape/construction company. We are doing bigger and bigger jobs these days so we are looking to upgrade from our International 6 wheelers. So it would not be hauling dirt constantly all day long so i think this motor would be fine. I got to take the truck to our shop today and try it out with a good load in it. I put 18 yards of loam in the truck and took it out quickly on our back roads and it did well. I wasn't able to go to a gravel pit to go on the scales but I'm sure i was over weight but i wanted to give the truck a good test. Were looking to haul at least 25,000lbs so that's about 12 yards of loam. Is that reasonable? Again I'm used to dealing with 6 wheelers.

The sales man said it had a 3000 RDS 6 speed Allison automatic. Gramps, is that what your truck has?

Also does anyone know my drop axle question? The Door jam GVW says 54,600lb (14,600lb front 40,000lb rear) But it has a 13,200lb drop axle. Does that raise The GVW to 67,800lbs? Thank you again!

It sounds like it will work well for you, that motor/trans combo will have really good traction! I'm not sure about NH but you would need a permit for that weight in NY. Do a google search for " bridge formula calculator" then you can enter your wheelbase and total number of axles and it will give you an idea of what your GVW will be able to be. I would think a light weight truck like that you wouldn't even need the 3rd axle for 12.5 tons of loam. What about the Mack next to it? Good luck can't wait to see a pic of it with the E50 in a job!

I bought my 10 wheeler from Seabrook Truck. I would get a truck with at least a 18,000# front axle, 46,000# rear axle and a 16,000# lift axle. Rears should be full locking. I do not know much about automatics. I would also get at least an 11 liter with 400 HP. You can certify a 10 wheeler in NH for 65,000# if the truck is spec-ed correctly and a tri axel for 73,000#. My International 7600 weights 25,000# empty and is certified for 65,000# so I can carry 20 tons on it. I have had no problem overloading it weight wise. I was going thru Franconia Notch one day and I looked out the mirror and a DOT officer was passing me. Good thing he did not pull me over. I jumped on the scale at the pit before I dumped my load of unsuitable material and weighed in at 73,000 #! What does this truck weigh empty? Does it have a heated body? My guess is it came up from down south somewhere and is spec ed for any area out of the Northeast, say Georgia. It has an Ox body, came from down south. They tend to be a lighter build.
Try and find a truck that was bought around here originally. Different states allow different weights, Axel spacings ect. My truck was bought at Liberty International but was brought back from Texas after the previous owner defaulted on the loan.
Take a look at this Volvo 10 wheeler they have: http://www.seabrooktruckcenter.com/inventory/detail.php?id=A8735#
You guys are landscapers, this will move a lot of material and be easier to drive off road and shorter wheelbase to get into tight areas. You can even load it with your bobcat 50 excavator.

bigbob said:

It has an Ox body, came from down south. They tend to be a lighter build.

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I'll have to disagree with that statement. I have owned 3 OX bodies over the years with 2 being the 1/2 round Hardox bed similar to the one pictured. The 1/2 round Hardox beds are anything but "lightly built". They handled anything I could throw at them - demo, concrete, rock, boulders, etc. The key to the strength is the Hardox steel the bed is made out of.

Have you tried any truck with 400hp? We just bought a 05 T300 with a 315 hp cummins, 10 spd fuller and it's only a 35k 6 wheeler

I know what you mean being used to IH 6 wheelers because that is all we had till the KW we just bought but anything like this truck is going to haul a%$ compared to them.

JMO but try a bigger hp truck and compare again before you commit. You may want more power if you grow and be able to leave the window open for bigger equipment you may need to tow

We are a landscape maintenance/construction company too. We wanted at least 300 hp so if ever we decide in the future, we can tow our bigger equipment (2 yd loaders, Elgin and Johnston sweepers, skidsteer and mini ex in one trip etc) or anything else we may buy

That is a nice truck tom but I look for one with more HP and maybe a 8LL spd fuller.
But that is just my opinion. It up to and what you want.

Kyle

Thanks everyone for the input. We have decided to get this truck and we will be finalizing the deal this week. The truck weighs 21,300lbs. The truck for some reason never had the drop axle included in its GVW. It will be re-tagged before we buy it for 67,800lbs allowing us to haul 20T no problem. We did look at trucks with higher hp, but they were all at least $20,000 more than this truck and we just couldn't justify spending that much on a truck that will not be used all day every day. I hauled 18T with it when we had it on demo and it actually did pretty well, I took it up the two biggest hills in our town and it made it up fine. This truck also has a much lower profile than most tri-axles as you can see from the picture of it next to the mack. That was key to us because we will be loading it with our Bobcat T300, A300 and E50. We had our mechanic look over the truck also and he said it is basically a brand new truck there is nothing wrong with it, it doesn't even have any dents in the dump body at all. The sales man said it was a repo from Texas (that's why it has an OX body), it was then sold at auction in North Carolina to the dealer were buying it from. Unfortunately know one knows what it was used to haul in texas or what company owned it.

We think this truck is just to good of a deal to pass up, its a 2008 with only 53,000 miles and nothing wrong with it and its for sale for roughly half its original purchase price. If anyone thinks of anything that i should ask the sales man about before we purchase let me know! I appreciate all your guises input!

Congrats Tom, that truck will do you guys fine, its not like you are going to be out hauling blacktop or delivering gravel for the quarry every day. Even if you were it still would handle the job fine. I would ask the salesman if it will certify for 67,800 at DMV just to be sure that you can license it for that.

330 hp is plenty for that kind of weight, no need for a bigger engine=less payload in your case. So good choice, Nice Truck!

TomG said:

Unfortunately know one knows what it was used to haul in texas or what company owned it.

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Popcorn, from the popcorn factory to cinemas.

No less than 350 HP for a truck like this and a 13 or 18 speed transmission. If you have quad axle dump trucks in your state I would go for one. At least here is Wisconsin it is impossible to load a triaxle legal. They are good for 64,500 to 65,000 Gross. If you load for the drives to be legal the pusher axle is over. If you load for the pusher to be legal the drives are over.

Well I can agree on having lots of gears that include deep reduction for dump trucks but you don't need a lot of HP unless you live in Hill central or like going fast, sure if it is pulling a trailer.....

CM1995 said:

I'll have to disagree with that statement. I have owned 3 OX bodies over the years with 2 being the 1/2 round Hardox bed similar to the one pictured. The 1/2 round Hardox beds are anything but "lightly built". They handled anything I could throw at them - demo, concrete, rock, boulders, etc. The key to the strength is the Hardox steel the bed is made out of.

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Agree, our Kenworth has this same body in Hardox. It may look light weight and weak, but is is light and strong and still looks as good as they day we got it. Our Kenworth is a 2006 T800.

I thought I would update this thread. We got the truck. Thank you everyone for your input. The best part of the purchase was that I figured out that the truck had a lift gate when we were demoing it. The salesman and the used truck dealership did not know the truck had it, so we basically got the lift gate for free.:drinkup

We successfully registered the truck for 67,800lbs. We can haul 22.5 tons legally. The motor is fine for us, I took it out on the highway fully loaded and it had no problem doing 60-65mph. Here are a few pictures of the truck and a quick video of it dumping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucy0hDi0Z1w

Not sure about NH, but I don't know how you were able to get it registered for 67k. Is that a 6 speed Allison? I would think especially loaded that you would be in between gears a whole lot, and having lower power of your 330 motor wouldn't help. I've always been taught and belive that it's not the big high power motors, it's about the gears!

You're really going to like that high lift gate, it's very handy. Not only is it good for stumps, trash, etc but also it allows you to load things into the bed like skid attachments, fuel tanks, large pieces of stone and concrete, etc.

DiamondLTruckin, regarding the Allison 6 speed they will surprise you. Have you driven one?

Their pickup transmissions I have, and they did surprise me, not to a point where I would want an automatic though. Haven't drove a big truck with one yet.