2026 International LT: Should be bringing it home tomorrow.

[Mike]

Putting the decals on at the dealership today, and unless they run into problems they are also moving my starlink antenna from the old truck to this truck. Title is being overnighted, and as soon as it arrives tomorrow morning I will be taking off to Little Rock to get the IRP done on it and grab some IFTA stickers.

Will be moving into it tomorrow evening and Saturday.

S13 engine (400hp, 1850 torque), T14 transmission, 2.15 gears.

 

[Duck]

S13 engine (400hp, 1850 torque)

Is that all that was available?

 

[Mike]

So much for bringing it home quickly. Ended up bringing it home Saturday. There was a shake in it that was indicating a steer tire issue to me. That was supposed to be taken care of. I drove it home, and it wasn't.

I was going to go ahead and get my gear put inside, then take it back to them on Monday (yesterday), but when I was walking around the truck where I park it, I heard air. The air was coming from the leveling valve. Spoke to the salesman, he let the guys in the shop know about it, and I took it right back that day. However, they wasn't comfortable with diagnosing it, so it ended up setting until Monday anyway.

Monday seems to have been an absolute waste of a day for them. Supposedly, they were working with it, and was going to adjust the leveling valve, and the air leak had stopped. Today, it reappeared, but they weren't able to adjust it because it takes some new special tool. Now, the tool won't be here until in the morning. I feel like it is going to need a leveling valve, but I'm not allowed to diagnose it for them.

As for the tire issue, they are now taking tires off of another truck to put on this one to test drive it and confirm which one is bad. Because it is a warranty issue, they can't simply replace both tires.

This has been the longest truck purchase saga I have ever experienced. I'm hopeful that I can get the truck by tomorrow afternoon, but not optimistic. Everything about this is just taking too long, LOL.

 

[Mike]

Is that all that was available?

I could take it home at 515hp, but I am going to run it at 400hp. I am looking for maximum fuel economy out of this truck.

As mentioned, it has 2.15 gears, and it is an overdrive transmission. Deep gear reduction for startup 20.81:1 (first gear and reverse). Will run in direct drive under heavy load, typically until you get over 70mph, but will go into overdrive sooner when empty or under light loads, depending on terrain. It's designed to run most of the time in direct (13th) though.

 

[Duck]

I could take it home at 515hp, but I am going to run it at 400hp. I am looking for maximum fuel economy out of this truck.

If you want fuel economy, just drive it for fuel economy. Does it have a boost gauge?

 

[Mike]

If you want fuel economy, just drive it for fuel economy. Does it have a boost gauge?

It does, but my only use for it at this point is to check it for changes from the normal to indicate problems.

It also has cruise control, which is what I choose to let control things most of the time these days. You may be able to do a little better if you are hyper focused on using your foot, but it's not worth it to me these days.

Nor is the horsepower, not with today's engines. Today's engines perform most efficiently at low RPM's. So, even with higher horsepower, the engines produce virtually the same horsepower at the lower rpm's so you aren't gaining much by going with more power. Can you climb the hill a tiny bit faster? Yes, but it's going to cost you, and your are most likely just going to run up to a slower moving truck anyway.

I'm not looking to be in the 8-9mpg range, I'm looking to be pushing more towards 10 and possibly better on some runs.