Looking for a Medium Duty Truck (Class 7) Which one??

labradorguy · October 15, 2021, 07:53:46 PM

I'm hearing the new Internationals absolutely suck. One guy bought 4 and more than once all 4 have been down at the same time. Others are reporting a lot of problems too. I'm thinking they are owned by Government Motors now? Not sure.

F-750 is solid but you can only get a freakin' 6.7 Powerstroke in them. WTH Ford??

Kenworth has a nice truck but new orders are being delivered Q3 2022. Too long.
Peterbilt is the same...

I'm leaning towards the Freightliner M2 106. Any feedback on those?
I can get a Detroit DD8 or Cummins L9 with it. I believe they actually offer a stick too. Those are really getting hard to find.

Looking at the tractor configuration for pulling 30k on a step deck.

I'm getting really tired of this Covid crap and not being able to get what I need to keep running. My shop looks like a Cat parts counter and NAPA combined. It's all a person can do is try to keep what they can around. Downtime waiting for parts is expensive. It's got to end one of these days? Maybe.

Plankton · October 15, 2021, 08:54:54 PM

Nothing is availible anymore it seems. Can't help you with truck choices all of our trucks are older with dirty cats in them. Any reason for not going for normal road tractor? Just curious might be more readily available.

Not sure if it's the same with that cummins in the frieghtliner but if it's anything like the lSX plenty of power not a lot of low end pull like a cat but the throttle is more touchy then a race car kind of a pain to drive. Heard of problems with def system and related sensors etc. But that will be any newer engine I suppose.

sawguy21 · October 15, 2021, 09:33:21 PM

My friend ordered a new Pete tri drive in April, it arrived a few weeks ago but is still short a few items to make it operational. He is now not sure he wants it as logging has gone in the tank but if he lets it go he will wait two years before he sees another one. Used trucks in decent condition are fetching premium prices as new ones are virtually unobtainable so you may have to suck it up and take what you can get. I was told a plant supplying emission equipment burned down but haven't been able to verify it.

Resonator · October 15, 2021, 10:48:04 PM

Nothing specific to add, other than I spent many years driving trucks. Freightliner's were decent machines and designed to be lightweight, though the interiors tended to rattle over time and show wear and tear. I drove a M2 straight truck (rental) once and was impressed how tight the front wheels turned. The Pete's and KW's I drove were definitely a step up in quality, and I felt like I was driving in a real truck, not in a plastic box. Before you buy make sure to compare empty weight's and fuel capacity, and how that effects what you'll be able to haul.

snowstorm · October 16, 2021, 08:24:07 AM

International is owned by vw not gm. Ih builds a truck with a gm cab and motor. Nothing wrong with a 6.7 Ford in a 750. Any thing that says maxforce on it should be avoided

labradorguy · October 16, 2021, 10:01:34 AM

Quote from: Plankton on October 15, 2021, 08:54:54 PM
Nothing is availible anymore it seems. Can't help you with truck choices all of our trucks are older with dirty cats in them. Any reason for not going for normal road tractor? Just curious might be more readily available.

Not sure if it's the same with that cummins in the frieghtliner but if it's anything like the lSX plenty of power not a lot of low end pull like a cat but the throttle is more touchy then a race car kind of a pain to drive. Heard of problems with def system and related sensors etc. But that will be any newer engine I suppose.

Just trying to go lighter and smaller for maneuverability and load limits in residential areas.
Yes, DEF sucks in everything.

labradorguy · October 16, 2021, 10:05:12 AM

Quote from: snowstorm on October 16, 2021, 08:24:07 AM
International is owned by vw not gm. Ih builds a truck with a gm cab and motor. Nothing wrong with a 6.7 Ford in a 750. Any thing that says maxforce on it should be avoided

With the Ford, you're buying a 250k engine. For roughly the same price, why not buy an engine that will last twice as long? That's my thinking anyway.

Skeans1 · October 16, 2021, 10:53:23 AM

Freight shakers are made in Portland and I sure as heck wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole. When we've talked to different companies that build boxes or truck gear they really hate seeing Freight shakers or Volvos they can be speced the same, but nothing on the frames will be. Do you already have your CDL and understand what all is required for a truck of this nature?

sawguy21 · October 16, 2021, 11:13:53 AM

:D We all have our opinions and like armpits they all smell. IMHO brand is a personal preference, what works for me would not necessarily be suitable for someone else. My medium duty experience is limited but Freightliner was my favourite for comfort and performance.

labradorguy · October 16, 2021, 11:21:59 AM

@Skeans Yes, I have a Class A. Had it for years. I've got a 650hp Pete that I haven't wrecked or killed anyone with, but it just doesn't work well for residential areas... Unless you count hitting the jake in the high rent country club neighborhoods at 6am. That works well.

labradorguy · October 16, 2021, 11:28:42 AM

Quote from: sawguy21 on October 16, 2021, 11:13:53 AM
:D We all have our opinions and like armpits they all smell. IMHO brand is a personal preference, what works for me would not necessarily be suitable for someone else. My medium duty experience is limited but Freightliner was my favourite for comfort and performance.

I probably did 100 trips making a loop from Sparwood to Kamloops to Williams Lake to Terrace, to Chetwynd to Grand Cache to Hinton and then the forestry truck down to the Cowboy Highway and back to Montana. You needed a good truck for that trip.

scsmith42 · October 16, 2021, 11:48:23 AM

My wife's mobile veterinary practice has a couple of Freightliner M2's with surgical suites built on them. One is a 2017 model and the other is a 2018.

The have Cummins ISX 6.7's as I recall, and Allison automatics. Good fuel mileage (around 10 mpg), but way underpowered for anything more than the 24K weight of the unit.

I like the chassis. They drive well. One of them just had to have the DEF pump replaced (under warranty) at 68K miles. Other than that they have been trouble free.

It's hard to beat a Cummins, but I'd want more motor in one for pulling duty.

snowstorm · October 16, 2021, 01:13:06 PM

The warranty on a 6.7 in f750 is 250000 miles I really don't believe they are a short life motor. I hope not I own three of them. And you may find they cost less to buy then the others

snowstorm · October 16, 2021, 01:16:43 PM

No matter what you buy you will have emission issues

Bruno of NH · October 16, 2021, 03:18:56 PM

Volvo owns Mack as well.
They all will have emission issues I read lots of them on FB groups.

mike_belben · October 16, 2021, 04:19:33 PM

I dont think id want to own any of these DEF engines past warranty, and warranty doesnt seem to be the cure all that it once sounded like. I wouldnt know, never had one.

labradorguy · October 16, 2021, 07:43:37 PM

Quote from: snowstorm on October 16, 2021, 01:13:06 PM
The warranty on a 6.7 in f750 is 250000 miles I really don't believe they are a short life motor. I hope not I own three of them. And you may find they cost less to buy then the others

Yep. That is what they are spec-ed for. It not a short life engine, unless you compare it to Cummins or Detroit with 800,000 miles on it and still rolling.

labradorguy · October 16, 2021, 07:48:41 PM

I think DEF is a fact of life until the warranty runs out and then you can take the torch to all that [I have typed a profane word that is automatically changed by the forum censored words program I should know better]. I don't get why we are saddled with that GD stuff but Chyna can do whatever the hell they want. The air doesn't just stay over the US ya know...

I just changed oil today in one of my Fords. '09 so Pre-DEF. It has the regen though. 15 qt capacity but when I drain it, I get 16.5 from all that diesel the regen pumps in there during it's cleaning mode. Truck only has 50k but it's getting the underside torch this week. I've had enough of lubricating my engine with oil that has been diluted by diesel! >:(