honest opinions about Peterbuilt 386

The hood springs bang on the inside of the hood when you hit bumps. I ended up taking some old beach towels and wrapping the springs and then some duct tape to keep it together. Much quieter. Also,.. where the hood meets the cab,.. I put some lithium grease on the rubber gaskets. When the sleeper bounces/rocks on the air bags,.. the gap between the hood and the cab creates friction and is a spot for squeaky noises.

The other issue with the 386,.. same with many other Petes also,.. 379, 387 etc,.. the latch for the box under the step comes loose and the doors come open and rattle. Been like that for years. Mine also had a problem with the wiring harness for the headlights was chaffing where the hood pivots, causing the headlights to short out.

I had an 07 with the C15 and it did have the DPF. Nothing but problems with the emissions. Constantly in the shop for sensors, ARD head igniter, DPF,.. you name it. I swapped to a different truck. My carrier eventually did the things we are not allow to talk about here. Basically the truck does not regen anymore. Has been very reliable ever since.

386 is not a bad truck. They are not very heavy compared to the T660. Mine scaled 17,840 lbs full of fuel. Personally I would be a bit weary of any 2008 - 2013 model trucks,.. any brand.

Hurst

 

For the sake of argument,.. the 386 is essentially a 389 with a set back steer axle and shorter aero hood. From the cab rearward,.. they are the same. I honestly loved driving mine when it was running right. Handled beautifully. Very comfortable ride, lots of gauges, the stereo system rocked,.. had a small factory subwoofer under the rear bunk. I'd plug my phone into the aux input and jam out playing Pandora for hours.

It did have a few draft issues that were most noticeable in cold weather. Other than that and the emissions problems,.. I loved the truck.

Hurst

 

The KW does have more leg room, a lot more leg room. The door seal on the KW will come loose every 10th time you shut the door or so and it drives me crazy. I have had the opportunity to drive both. I do like both but if I had to choose I would get the Pete. I like the dash layout better than the KW. Like other have said neither one is a bad truck at all. We recently had an abs issue with the one 386 we have. Traced it down to a splice in the dash that runs power to the yaw sensor on the frame. The yaw sensor wasn't getting power. We cut into the splice and what I found shocked me. They didn't have anything under the shrink wrap. They just twisted the three wires together and put heat shrink on it. No solder, no dielectric grease, no butt splice connector, nothing. I bet the other five connections there were the same exact way. What sucks is it took us three hours just to trace it to that one splice and everything inside the dash was laying in the back to get to it as well. Only the frame was left hanging there. All that being said I still like the Pete.

 

All things are possible with $$$$

 

It'd be easier to just get a long hood, yeah. With everything that would have to be reworked.... pretty much everything in front of the firewall.

 

I'm pretty sure the engine and radiator are set back as well. Its a bit tighter under the hood than a 389 is.

Hurst

 

I'm buying my first truck been driving for 6 year but I would like opinions on my options
2008 kemworth 475 hp 3.36 ratio c15 cat 470k miles $37,500
Vs
2010 Pete 2010 2010 PETERBILT 386, Conventional Sleeper, SPECIFICATIONS: Engine Make: Cummins, Horsepower: 485 ,Trans Speed: 10SPD, Ratio: 3.70, Wheel Base: 240, 661k miles $32,000