chevy Kodiak c 4500

[guest]

I am in the market for buying a medium duty that will be used for freight expediting. What do you guys think of Chevy Kodiak c 4500 , diesel , with manual transmission?
I see they offer a good warranty on transmiison and engine, I have no idea what the MPG would be.Any input is greatly appreaciated.

 

[Crazynuff]

Register at hotshothauling.com . Melvin Brooks just bought a new 4500 . He hauls heavy loads though - 20,000 lbs . or better and you'll have to get him to slow it down below 75 to get reasonable mpg reports . Also check reports on Freighliner M2's and FL 70's used by other members .

 

[Crazynuff]

If you look at the specs the GVWR for a 4500 is only 17,000 lbs . The truck probably is below dock height also . You want a dock height truck with at least 26,000 gvwr , more would be better . Just what type expediting did you plan on doing . It's generally recommended here to learn the business by driving for someone else before buying your own truck .

 

[louixo]

I ran a Kodiak back in the late 90´s, and it was a good truck. I had to modify the interior some to accomodate gear by adding storage areas. The biggest problem was the Cat 3126 engine. I think that´s the engine of preference for Kodiak, if not the only choice. I don´t know about todays Kodiak. Kodiak, I think is more set up for local delivery. From my experience with the Cat engine, I will never own another small Cat, but other than that I think the Kodiak itself will hold up well for you.

 

[Crazynuff]

Kodiak now comes with the Duramax engine which is proving itself to be a very good engine . The Allison 6 speed transmission is impressive also .

 

[guest]

Thanks everybody for your inputs.
I've been doing expediting for the last 2 years in a Sprinter, I just need something a little bit bigger so I can qualify for a larger pool of loads , something under CDL and without air brakes, and in the same time allow me to deadhome home for the weekend if I end up 5-600 miles away and it's friday evening?
As far as the dock height , what is the standard for that?
I've seen some trucks have their boxes set on a couple of 4x4 or 4x8 the raise them up.

 

[arkjarhead]

the kodiaks also come with a 9 speed which should provide better mpg than the 6 speed.

 

[MSinger]

My former truck was a 97 Ram 3500 with a 12' box. It was originally 43" from ground to floor but I had it raised 5" so it was 48" from ground to floor. It worked great at 95% of the docks I went to. Some of the older docks with the real short manual dock plates were a bit to high but I also had dolly legs on the back of the truck so I just cranked it up a few inches to make it level. I carried a pallet jack since the box was too short in height for fork trucks to enter. I didn't want them in there anyway.