info on Hino trucks

zavoi · Aug 17, 2006

Hi everyone,

Could anyone elaborate a little bit on the Hino trucks? I'm looking into buying a brand new 22'straight truck and get into the expediting business and I'd like to learn about different truck configurations, engines, transmissions,s.o. It appears to me that Hino is not a big player in the expediting business, so would you recommend buying one from them? How's the reliability of these trucks? How good is their coverage nation wide when it comes down to service?

Any input on this venue will be greatly appreciated,

Zavoi

LDB · Aug 17, 2006

The Hino is an unknown quantity in expediting. It has been used a long time in cabover version for city and local jobs and done well there from what I know. After doing quite a bit of research at the expo my opinion has changed to one of cautious optimism. The 24 month unlimited miles total warranty and 36 month unlimited miles powertrain warranty are very strong. It was suggested that transferring the box and sleeper every 3 years to a new chassis means always having a warranty for the big stuff. There is some logic to that. The jury is probably still out but they could be good. Time will tell.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5507, 5508, 5509
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

Mileater · Aug 17, 2006

I wouldn't buy one, parts and labor are probably through the roof. Although I'm biased against anything that doesn't have an American nameplate. I know Freightliner which is owned by Chrysler which is half owned and run by Mercedes, but I still prefer Freightliner.

greg334 · Aug 17, 2006

Just a little correction Mileater.

Chrysler owns nothing, they are a division equal to freightliner and part of Daimler-Chrysler AG. The two are completely seperate just like Detroit Diesel and Sterling division are.

D-C owns a lot, more than they should in my opinion and they can if they want to buy a lot more.

RonnieJ · Aug 17, 2006

The ones we saw at the truck show looked nice for the price.

highway star · Aug 17, 2006

Hino seems to be well on their way to becoming a big player. In a short time they've gone from being an obscure rarity to something you see on a daily basis. The salesman I talked to said the warranty is being used to offset the lack of name recognition and probably will be shortened at some point. He was very optimistic about it being a million mile truck. Of course he was.:+ :+ There seems to be a lot of dealers picking them up.

Mileater · Aug 17, 2006

You're probably right about that. At least the Freightliner has American roots and with a Cummins engine it does the trick. I helped in the design of Cummins engines about 15 years ago. If you buy a Hino you're just sending more money over seas and sending more people on the streets. Yeah they let us assemble them in California but that's just a drop in the bucket and more of a PR thing.

FIS53 · Aug 20, 2006

Well Hino is Toyota. In the far east and in the mid-east and afica they are one of the chosen brands. Small operators use them and overload and go for miles on bad roads and they some how keep them running. So not a big brand here but elsewhere... they are prefered to the U.S. brands.
I know a couple of guys running them for courier companies here and they like them. Good fuel economy, engine is similar to a cat except scaled down in size.
I did hear from some drivers of problems but these are all over 5 years ago: electrical, dealer service. Newer ones have little complaints.
I wondered if anyone had considered a Hino for expedite as I didn't see them mentioned anywhere.
Rob Fis

dhalltoyo · Aug 21, 2006

The Hino is not only assembled here in the U.S., which translates into jobs for Americans, but many of its components are made by U.S. companies: Allison, Arvin Meritor, Dana, Hendrickson, Eaton, Donaldson, Accuride, TRW, Bridgestone.

It's called FREE TRADE. We have Caterpillar plants in China, so it just seems equitable to have Hino plants in the U.S. Economics 101 might be a good investment of one's time to fully comprehend a FREE MARKET system.

Oh, yes and it is made by a company who introduced their first vehicle into the U.S. market in 1964. It was a little compact pickup truck known as the Toyota Pup. In just 40 years they are now the second largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and poised to become number one within a year or two.

If you drive hard and take a lot of heavy loads I would wait because they are going to offer a 300hp engine. If you are going after "C" class freight the current 220hp in the 268A (Automatic Transmission) would seem adequate.

As far as quality...it doesn't get any better! One look under the hood and a discerning eye will see the logical placement of components. Not to mention the obvious workmanship that went into those components. Look at wiring harness. Most other trucks are poorly protected and resemble an explosion in a spaghetti factory. Notice how fluid lines are routed and secured.

After spending 4 hours looking under hoods at Expo 2006, I found Hino to be miles ahead of the rest. Of course, I knew that would be case.

Isuzu is worth a look too. I thought it strange that Middle Georgia Freightliner didnâ€™t bring one to the show.