What do you think of this Peterbilt?

[#90-GTSC]

I'm looking for a HDT conversion to pull my 24' enclosed trailer (might upgrade to 28' trailer) and race car and that we can live in at the track. I found this up in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

1989 White Peterbilt
2002 24‘ conversion package
425 HP CAT engine
9 Speed Transmission
Propane Furnace
Roof Mount Air Conditioning
Satellite TV ready
3/4 Bath
Queen Size Rear Bedroom
Sleeps up to 6 People

Current owner bought it five or six years ago from a guy in Rochester, MN. Don't know who did the conversion. There are no screws or rivets on the sides, appears aluminum sides were butt jointed and glued to the studs. None of them look like they are coming loose. No evidence of water leaking inside, the trucks lives outside summer and winter.

Here are some of the issues:

Pax windshield is cracked
Tractor cab A/C doesn't work (is fixing it like fixing a Suburban A/C unit or more complicated/expensive?)
Pyrometer doesn't work (Is this expensive? Critical that it should work?)
The Onan generator is out and apart; engine ran fine, but no power from the generator
During the test drive sounded and felt like wind coming in around pax door (weather stripping?)
It has lots of miles.

Seller told me that he put new tires on all around in last year or two.

I'm going to put 3,000 to 5,000 miles a year on it.

What do you guys think? What should I be concerned about? What should I dig into further? Thanks for the help and the comments.

 

[mmmc101]

Not a bad looking unit from what I can see. The cab A/C is like working on most cars. The windshield is less than $50.00. Takes about 15 minutes to install. Pyrometer is not really needed unless someone has turned the fuel up or your hauling very heavy loads. Not that expensive to fix either. Any engine,trans or rear end repair history? It most likely has well over a million miles on it but I wouldn't be concerned about that if it has been maintained along the way. It really all boils down to the price. Can you buy it cheap enough to do some repair? Engine condition would be the biggest concern. (most expensive to fix) MMM

 

[#90-GTSC]

Peterbilt

Thanks for the comments.

One of the things the owner told me that I neglected to put in my original post is that the truck has 8 lug wheels vs 10 lug that many/most trucks have.

Anyone know the difference? What is on most semi-tractors? Any advantage one over the other? Is an 8 lug wheel an indication that the axle capacity is smaller than the 10 lug?

Thanks!

 

[mmmc101]

Load capacity would be less with 8 lug hubs/wheels. I don't recall every seeing a Peterbilt ( class 7/8 )with 8 lug wheels. Check the data plate (usually in the driver door jam) and see what the truck was born with. It will have axle capacities. If thats missing,get the VIN number and have a peterbilt dealer look it up to see what the truck was originally.
MMM