Last year, Hugh and Tammy Pennington took their 2006 Chevy Silverado 3500 HD to a milestone rarely seen by other trucks, especially one so new. Their truck made it to one million miles in just six years. A year later the truck is still going strong. "It reads at about 1,220,935 right now," Hugh said. "It's still kicking pretty good."
NICE!
Those are the dudes that pull campers from Indiana across America.
Their butts must hurt. 3-4,000 miles a week?
Datsun310Guy wrote: Those are the dudes that pull campers from Indiana across America. Their butts must hurt. 3-4,000 miles a week?
The cloth seats in our Sierra are pretty damn comfortable. Spending a week and 5500 miles in them isn't too bad actually.
I actually find GM truck seats desperately uncomfortable. They just don't fit me right. 
Awesome on the truck though. Poor 'Murican reliability right there.
Pretty good story.
http://flinttownshipview.mihomepaper.com/news/2012-05-17/News/Flintbuilt_pickup_truck_hits_a_major_milestone.html
Amazing they sat still long enough to take a picture!
Link is to a pic of two fat ugly people. Cool though. Bench seats promote fat, sweaty road head.
i see those trucks on the interstate all the time, and have always wondered what kind of miles get racked up on those things..
That is a cool story. I am in awe of these guys. A couple years ago there was one story about a ford and then one about a cummins ram.
I would like to know what actual maintenance they put in a truck with this many miles, like how many ball joints or sets or shocks? Wheel bearings? I know the highway duty cycle is the least taxing on a vehicle, but I am just curious as to how the truck as a whole wears.
In reply to Datsun310Guy:
If their story is accurate, they're getting an oil change approx. once a week. 
Just roughly guessing, based on what we charge for a truck/V8 oil change at work, they've spent more than $15K on oil changes alone, a lot of folks charge even more for diesel oil changes.
Would make since to be doing your own oil change, and burning your waste oil as fuel at that rate.
novaderrik wrote: i see those trucks on the interstate all the time, and have always wondered what kind of miles get racked up on those things..
I know a gal from Indiana that just got into this with her father - she said you get paid about $1.36 per loaded mile - the return trip is on her. They plan to run non-stop together. A driver pulling is limited to 11 hours drives - then the rest period. They always pull their magnetic ID signs off and can run unlimited as a private truck on the return home.
They are going to drive trailers from Elkhart, Indiana to Texas (1,000 miles each way) twice a week.
BTW - They cannot find enough drivers.......
There used to be a Fleetwood factory here, and there were a handful of guys here who did that. I had heard it paid well but that is ridiculous!
Datsun310Guy wrote:novaderrik wrote: i see those trucks on the interstate all the time, and have always wondered what kind of miles get racked up on those things..I know a gal from Indiana that just got into this with her father - she said you get paid about $1.36 per loaded mile - the return trip is on her. They plan to run non-stop together. A driver pulling is limited to 11 hours drives - then the rest period. They always pull their magnetic ID signs off and can run unlimited as a private truck on the return home. They are going to drive trailers from Elkhart, Indiana to Texas (1,000 miles each way) twice a week. BTW - They cannot find enough drivers.......
If you mean that there is two of them driving tandem, they'll survive. That's about it. They'll make about $750/week each after fuel. That doesn't include truck payments, repairs/maintenance, oil changes, meals on the road, capital replacement etc. I really don't think I'd do it for less than $2/loaded mile, which is why they can't get enough drivers.
In reply to doc_speeder:
Yes, 2 of them driving 1 truck. You are right on those numbers. They might walk home with $400 each?
In reply to Datsun310Guy:
Where I live, that's damn good money!
BoostedBrandon wrote: In reply to Datsun310Guy: Where I live, that's damn good money!
+1 would drive the E36 M3 out of that route
Fueled by Caffeine wrote: That is a cool story. I am in awe of these guys. A couple years ago there was one story about a ford and then one about a cummins ram. I would like to know what actual maintenance they put in a truck with this many miles, like how many ball joints or sets or shocks? Wheel bearings? I know the highway duty cycle is the least taxing on a vehicle, but I am just curious as to how the truck as a whole wears.
That would be interesting. I don't know if I believe the whole "never left me on the side of the road" shtick. It's never blown a tire or a hose or a headgasket or thrown a belt or had a cooling fan or injector pump or an alternator go bad in a million plus miles of towing?
I'm gonna go ahead & call bullE36 M3.
Oil change every 3k miles? WHY?
doc_speeder wrote:Datsun310Guy wrote:If you mean that there is two of them driving tandem, they'll survive. That's about it. They'll make about $750/week each after fuel. That doesn't include truck payments, repairs/maintenance, oil changes, meals on the road, capital replacement etc. I really don't think I'd do it for less than $2/loaded mile, which is why they can't get enough drivers.novaderrik wrote: i see those trucks on the interstate all the time, and have always wondered what kind of miles get racked up on those things..I know a gal from Indiana that just got into this with her father - she said you get paid about $1.36 per loaded mile - the return trip is on her. They plan to run non-stop together. A driver pulling is limited to 11 hours drives - then the rest period. They always pull their magnetic ID signs off and can run unlimited as a private truck on the return home. They are going to drive trailers from Elkhart, Indiana to Texas (1,000 miles each way) twice a week. BTW - They cannot find enough drivers.......
Wait. What? So:
4000 miles at (I dunno, 10 miles/gallon?) = 400 gallons of diesel at $3.80 a gallon = $1520 in fuel. Is, as an average, $100 per 4k miles a good estimate for maintenance? (oil chgs, tires, brakes, 'big stuff') So we're at ~ $1600 in expenses.
2000 miles at $1.36/mile in pay = $2,720 minus $1600 in expenses = (gross - before taxes) $560 each...which is probably about what the monthly payment is on the truck. So let's, for the sake of argument, call it $200 a month per person for the truck payment.
That's $2040 per person, per month. Or for the average joe working 40 hours a week, $12.70/hr. Under the BEST circumstances (work doesn't dry up, truck doesn't take a $5,000 E36 M3.)
Is that "good scratch?"
If you're on minimum wage, $12.70 seems like a gift from heaven.
Being a bit of a skeptic. I wonder if it is anything like my grandfathers axe that I have.
Two heads and three handles. 
poopshovel wrote: Link is to a pic of two fat ugly people. Cool though. Bench seats promote fat, sweaty road head.
Weren't you here asking people not that long ago for weight loss ideas?
He is 53 and retired. They stared doing it in 2006 so he retired at 46-47. I am guessing this is icing on the pension. If I had a time machine I would go back and kick 18 year old logdog in the jimmy for not taking a career path that allowed mid 40s retirement!
In reply to logdog:
ahem
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com
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