Narrowed it down, DPF & DEF advice to further narrow down

Hi everyone, I hope everyone has had a good week so far.

I received some advice on this forum about what tractors to consider to spec out a small fleet. Thank you for that. I am not a driver myself so I come as a student but I love learning about this industry. I've read the following articles to get a basic understanding of DPF and DEF.

http://jeremybaldwinfleetmanagement.com/2012/12/18/diesel-engine-dpf-dpf-the-difference/

We are in CA, I'm fairly well informed of the CARB requirements. I know they aren't really enforcing their regulations right now but either way its time to upgrade some pretty ancient equipment. Below are the trucks in mind so far and their average price based on decent or average mileage, about 50k/year for the day cabs and 150k-200k/year for the sleepers. You'll also see the average market price right now (I had it and threw it in in case anyone's interested)

Day cabs
2008-09 International 8600 - $37,500
2008-09 Freightliner Columbia - $42,200
2009 International Prostar - $43,500

Sleepers
2008-2009 International Prostar - $44,700
2008-2009 Freightliner Century - $45,000
2008-2009 Freightliner Columbia - $47,000
2008-2009 Freightliner Cascadia - $51,500
2011-2012 International Prostar - $59,500
2011-2012 Freightliner Cascadia - $81,000

Will be looking for either Cummins or Detroit engines, not sure which specific models yet. What do you guys think of these tractor choices?

Should I avoid specific models or model years due to DPF and/or DEF technology? I have read to try to avoid DPF if it has no DEF due to the increase in EGR in those engines to attain legal NoX levels. Increased EGR affects MPG negatively supposedly

Are there problems with these engines around those 08-12 years regarding regen? I don't know if this applies for only some engine makes or specific engine model years. I know this is more than a couple questions but your help is appreciated. Thank you, gotta get some sleep.

 

Yeah we plan on running mostly teams w/ the sleepers from CA to several states in the East.

 

Those Prostars would have Cummins engines. I've definitely read bad things about the Maxfs, I think they call them Lackforce or something :]

Did you say only the 2012 Freightliners because of CARBs 2010 model engine year requirement that be in effect eventually?

 

Thanks for the info. Right now we are open to different tractors. I thought the above would be a good value but yeah, want to find potential problems before taking such a big plunge. We can't do anything huge like get abrand new set of tractors but I we can stick to a least a couple newer models or even different makes.

We really wouldn't be considering the new tech if it wasn't for CARB. I don't think the MPG savings are worth spending extra on the newest trucks, even if the new tech in them is working flawlessly unless you're doing long haul team driving but like I said, CARB. What tractors, 2008 or newer, would you recommend for 4-6 day cabs doing local pickups and 2-3 sleepers doing about 150k-200k/year?