American Truck Simulator: Tractor Purchasing Guide

is not an easy decision, which so many models to pick from and more being added over time, it can be confusing. This guide is going to help you out by making an informed decision and buy the right tractor for you. I’m going to be as impartial as I can with this guide.

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The way I’m going to lay out the stats is as thus:

*GAWR is Gross Axle Weight Rating, which is how much load you can put on each set of axles.

I’m not including Engine or Transmission Stats as those can be changed. I may make a different guide on engines in the future.

To determine price of the tractor, I will be using the lowest cost of each type of cab, without modification, from the store. Fuel Capacity will display the range (i.e. 150 – 200) for that chassis, the Tare Weight will be whatever is stock on the tractor.

I will also include some personal notes about how I felt about each tractor at the bottom, so you can have my thoughts on each c:

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The way I’m going to determine Tare Weight is by using the Dev Cam to teleport to the nearest CAT Scale and weighing it like that. I’m including fuel into this as I don’t want to burn through fuel and I’m lazy. However, if someone is willing to help with this endeavour and put proper Tare Weight in the comments I will gladly include them 😀

Tare Weight will use the stock fuel tank that comes with the tractor, as purchased, from the store.

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I may be wrong about some things. This Guide will be changing to reflect changes in game. I would also like to ask for some realm of reasonability here, I can’t instantly figure out this stuff, so if a new truck gets released, give me some time please, chances are that I’m already working on it c:

The Peterbilt Motors Company was founded in 1939 and has been producing Heavy- and Medium-Duty vehicles since. It was bought by the PACCAR company in 1958. Originally calling home in Oakland, California, Peterbilt moved to Denton, Texas in 1986 and produces tractors in Denton, Texas and Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec.

In game we have 2 of the models they produce and sell:

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Notes: When I started playing this was one of the two tractors available, and while I personally haven’t driven the 579 in a few years, when I did drive it regularly, it was a good tractor to drive. I’ll have to give it a good drive again, just to see how it is.

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Notes: While the 389 is a good looking tractor, I’m not personally a huge fan. I don’t have anything against it, there are a few things I’m just not a huge fan of, those are primarily the location of the indicators on the dash, the dials of the dash (for air n such) and the split window. It’s an otherwise good tractor. This is the fourth tractor added to the game.

Kenworth Trucks Inc. (f. Gerlinger Motors) was founded in 1923 in Kirkland, Washington. They produce Heavy- and Medium-Duty vehicles. Bought out wholly by PACCAR in 1945, they are now a sister company to Peterbilt, but remain marketplace rivals with them to date. Kenworth produces one of America’s most iconic tractors, the W900, which started production back in 1961, and is one of the tractors that joins us in the game, along with the T680.

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Notes: The W900 is a working tractor. Its got the biggest engine rating at 625hp and boasts the longest wheelbase in the game as well. While I personally wouldn’t recommend the W900 for running Dry Van, it can do it, and well. It is the third tractor added to the game.

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Notes: One of the starting two tractors of the game, this is the one I drive the most out of all the other tractors. I couldn’t tell you why I love this one so much though. I guess it boils down to the fact its got one of the shortest full size wheel bases in the game and when running a 10 speed automatic set to fuel economy you can get 6.0-6.5 miles to the gal.

Volvo Truck Corp. is a Swedish(Gothenburg, Sweden[visitable in ETS2]) based global truck company that produced its first tractor in 1928. In 2016, Volvo was the second largest Heavy-Duty truck manufacturer in the world. They are the parent company to Mack Trucks as well. They have 2 tractors in the game:

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Notes:The Volvo VNL Series is a good tractor, I actually quite like it when I can drive it. There’s something nice about the VNL that I quite like. It has the shortest wheelbase in the game when you buy the day cab variant, so it’s much more manourverable than the other tractors

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Notes: The Anthem is a good looking tractor, don’t get me wrong, however I feel like it was designed for looks over functionality sometimes. Its difficult to look past the mirrors at an intersection most of the time, and due to personal settings, I can’t seem to get both mirrors in the frame at once, which is mildly annoying. Though for a starter tractor its not that bad, as its the lightest of the day cabs stock, but also has a smaller fuel capacity.

International Trucks is a subsidiary to Navistar International Corporation (NaviStar). There is a link here[en.wikipedia.org] for the mess that is their history.
They have 1 tractor in the game:

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International Lone Star

Notes: This tractor… Oh boy… There’s only really one thing I like about it, and that it uses proper CAD models (in addition to the Mack and Western Star). Other than that, I don’t really like it. It’s a good tractor, I’m just not a huge fan. If you want a good starter tractor that has the most horses out the gate, the Lone Star comes out with a 400hp engine from the get-go, but that extra horse power comes at a cost of fuel. The Lone Star has the smallest fuel tank in the day cab variant, at 140 gallons.

Western Star Truck Sales Inc. is a Portland, Oregon based Heavy-Duty truck manufacturer and subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America. Started out in 1967, they started out as a sub-division of White Motor Company, and in 2000 they were acquired by DaimlerChrysler. They have 1 tractor in the game:

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Notes: The Western Star is actually a very good tractor, and I quite like it. There’s a couple things I don’t like, such as the driver facing camera (even though it don’t work) and how the mirrors are held onto the cab. The one upside to the driver facing camera is that in the morning it can block out the morning sun, if positioned in just the right way (assuming you have god rays on). It is the most expensive Day Cab tractor in the game.

Editors Notes: The 49X is the only tractor that does not currently have mid roof or full cab variants. These will be added as they get released.

I will allow people to recreate this guide if one of these conditions are met, whichever occurs first

1. 2 New Brands or Models of existing brands in game are added,
   or
2. No less than 15 months have passed since this guide was last updated.

Updates to existing models to include new cabs, engines, etc will not count towards these conditions.
I also ask that whoever takes the reigns of this project stick to these requests:

1. The format of this guide is to be kept as is, or modified to become better understood
2. The information provided in the future is kept to a high standard and that critical information is kept impartial (pretty much anything in the table)
3. Original Notes are to be kept in a section that permits users to view past thoughts on the different tractors of the game. If needed, a guide to be produced to keep these from clogging the main guide.
4. That these conditions are kept in the event the guide becomes outdated again.
5. A link is to be provided to the original guide at the beginning of the guide, as well as the text “Allowed to be faithfully updated by admiralmeep”

I would like to see this guide flourish with good information, even if I am no longer here to help support it. I will do my best to keep this up to date as I can, however life sucks and it will eventually take over. I will always give blessing to those who which to take the torch and carry it forwards.