I have felt your pain in regards to the ride of the business class offerings of FL
We purchased a 05 at an auction last year. It was fully equipped and had a Benz sleeper.
We immediately added a tag axle.
On our first over the road trip out west from Baton Rouge to LA we soon discovered what our major issues were with this vehicle. The ride comfort factor was killing us. Each and every bridge apron we came across caused the entire cab to shudder. Trying to sleep in the bunk during movement was impossible. We soon found the equipped safety belts were installed not just for emergency's but for keeping you from flying about the sleeper every time you hit a road bump. We stopped en route at a FL dealer to have the shocks & springs checked out. Since the vehicle had only 43,000 miles , we soon discovered nothing was wrong with the suspension at all. We were told by dealership service personnel that the ride we were experiencing was normal.
The biggest bit of information we were given was that the business class M2 was never intended nor designed for over the road work. The cab and sleeper are mounted directly on a rigid frame supported by nothing but blocks of hard rubber. That explained the bumpy jarring ride qualities. Also, the seats are day seats not intended for long term riding. The engine is seriously underpowered explaining the poor fuel mileage.
We were informed that an air bag conversion could easily be performed and that would help greatly improve the ride quality. The cost of this installation was extremely expensive.
So we find out that this M2 is basically designed for inner city,local,and day deliveries. That would explain why 99% of these trucks never run outside of a 200 mile radius of the home based terminal. Fine for mom & pop distribution, parts delivery, etc.
Not for team driving if one expects to actually get a good 5 hours of sleep while the truck is moving.
Well we returned from our west coast adventure and sold the M2. We took those funds and purchased an 04 Columbia. A company outside Dallas took care of the frame extension and we had a box installed.
Lesson learned. Class eight vehicles are not only designed for professionals but deliver the kind of ride a serious over the road driver needs. Cramped up in some tiny cab being bounced around all day does nothing but strip your energy and alertness levels. Am actually getting better MPG with an engine that has two times more HP than that mb900 thang. We also can accommodate allot more cargo weight.We have invested a couple more dollars to this truck than intended but we now have a platform that can comfortably transport two professional drivers.
