It's a bit of a niggling question, especially when we begin a new game, and the money is scarce in the first weeks of trucking - should I buy the cheapest possible truck for my employee driver(s) to use? What difference does it make if I later upgrade their rig to house a 560hp engine on a 6x4 chassis with a corresponding gearbox? Is it really worth the money?

I trawled the forums for a while to see if there is a definitive answer to the problem, alas! I only found some more or less unsubstantiated claims which only added to the confusion.

Fret not! Answers are coming.

In our little experiment we shall be using an established company, with ample financial backing. A 5-slot garage, located in Magdeburg, will be allocated to drivers, chosen from amongst the least experienced drivers the market has to offer.

Our guinea pigs test drivers:



As you can see I aimed to have a level playing field by choosing all drivers with exactly the same starting skills - or lack thereof. The drivers will be given new trucks:

• two dirt cheap, stock Iveco Stralis trucks.
  
  
  
  
• two middle-range, but expensive, Scania R trucks.
  
  
  
  
• and one top-of-the-range Volvo FH.
  
  

...and no trailers will be harmed for the purpose of this experiment.

I have then, using and abusing the powers of fast travel, advanced the time by roughly three in-game months and recorded the results below.
Without further ado...

After 30 days:

After 90 days:

The results are... interesting.

Firstly - the myth that giving your drivers better trucks makes no difference can now be put to bed as debunked.
In the above example, the souped-up Scania R shows roughly 15-20% improvement in income / km and ~25% improvement on daily income over bare-bones Iveco Stralis.
The 8x4 Volvo FH, being suited mostly for superheavy hauling, fared much worse, gaining only ~10% improvement on profit / km and 15% improvement on daily income.
Thus, giving your employees a "better" truck definitely improves their ability to net you an increased profit.

Secondly - the type of truck has no influence on the proficiency levels and experience gains of the drivers.
In the above example, all drivers were left to their own devices and followed the "balanced" training regime. They all ended up at the same level, sporting the same skills and ratings.

So, is it really worth it?

From economical point of view, the answer is: no, not really.
Let's see.


Clearly, every extra Euro we spend on the truck will have to be earned back. The 20%-or-so increase in profit is dwarfed by 200%-plus increase in the initial cost of the truck and its upgrades.

In the long run, the upgraded truck will obviously fare better. Better drivers net bigger profits and so our % increase in potential will have that much larger impact. The same holds true when the initial cost of the truck is finally paid off. To begin with though, buying "better" trucks for your first and/or unskilled employees is a huge waste of money.

And to sum everything up, here's a picture of a slide rule, which, incidentally, had no part in creating this guide. Because, you know, we have calculators now.

Obviously the ever-shifting landscape of a dynamic freight market of ETS2 introduces so many variables that the results are to some degree random. All it takes is one failed job, and the average profit plummets. However, the results are clear cut and at least suggest a correlation between the quality of the truck and its profit potential.

If anything, I have at least managed to prove that a Scania R in this particular configuration and in this particular area nets better profit than an Iveco Stralis in this particular... you get the gist.

Just don't take it as written in stone.

Please feel free to voice your opinion and ask questions. And thank you for reading!
- Homiccus