lugnut1
Seasoned Expediter
Now that all the professional truckers have expressed their opinions about the post "Is this a reasonable price for this new truck??" Let’s do some analysis of their posted opinions.
Firstly, there is no doubt that most of the posts were worthless chatter or just average bashing of the poster or the posters question.
Secondly and most importantly was post #29 made by Leo Bricker. His post goes to the heart of the truck question and brings to focus the primary common component between Sterling, Hino and Freightliner trucks; the truck chassis. After months of seeking the differences between the three leaders in class 7 expedite truck building, the truck chassis qualifies as a unique component that each truck builder manufactures themselves.
Staying with the theme of truck components such as the truck chassis as pointed out by Leo in his post, just what other components does the prospective truck builders actually create themselves and why should those components sway us to spend more or less on acquiring a first-rate expedite vehicle.
Transmissions; no, “the gear†is not a component built by the lead three.
Suspensions; no, the lead three get those air ride parts from other companies for your expedite truck.
Engines; Freightliner and Sterling acquire their power platforms from well known engine manufactures. Hino, a Toyota owned company, manufactures their own engines.
Axles; Freightliner and Sterling make some axles themselves but offer choices that are by other axles/suspension manufactures. Hino buys their axles from the other axles/suspension manufactures.
Truck cab; yes, each of the lead three make their own truck cab.
Sleepers; no, sleepers as desired by most experienced or novice expediters is not a component manufactured by the lead three truck builders.
Tires; no, the lead three are getting those from other manufactures.
Warranty; while the a service contract may not be in essence a “manufactured componentâ€, it is a creation by each of the lead three expedite truck builders. Freightliner and Sterling include a 250,000 mile warranty. Hino includes a 300,000 mile warranty.
Chassis; yes, Freightliner , Sterling and Hino each construct their own chassis.
What am I pointing out above? Simply that the majority of truck components that make up a first rate expedite truck can be had on any expedite truck regardless of the “Brand Name†you choose.
So why does Leo believe the Hino truck chassis is mediocre and why, in his “expert opinionâ€, should we run from one brand or another simply based on his statement that it is so? Do Hino trucks have an inferior truck chassis? Could it be that your safety be risked by not knowing what Leo does? Is Leo an engineer and thus can speak to chassis construction?
No doubt a bias, like Leo’s, will always exist among truck drivers and owners for what they drive or own. So how will a novice or an expert trucker ever determine he or she has purchased, or leased a first rate expedite truck.
For myself, I used the following to determine which of the lead three would receive our truck order.
Safety; was one truck offered by the three truck manufactures safer than the others. Answer was no, based on government standards and requirements for manufacturing these types of trucks.
Price comparisons for like components from each truck builder. For those components that were available on each “truck brand†that were identical offerings. Sleeper, cargo box, side boxes, etc. Here lays a costly area that either novice or expert can benefit by pricing these items as directly with real manufactures of those items as possible. What you will find is that many dealers, regardless of brand, have large margins on these items that can allow you to add up what those add-on items are really costing you. As an example; sleeper base prices vary more than a few thousands of dollars. Make the dealer break it down from the base price and how much those extras figure in. Once you see the different broken down prices and compare those to your own researching you will see areas you can negotiate a lower price.
Power plants; engines and horse power, without doubt, are the single most controversial factors of which an expedite trucker depends on daily. In the end, choice should be based on several distinct factors as it should be when purchasing any new vehicle.
Warranty; Can it be believed that reliability both makes money and cost money. Certainly, and in the end, each manufacture we examined offered comparable warranties. So many miles or so many years are essentially the offerings by Freightliner, Sterling and Hino. Our research gave up similar patterns as to the number of repairs for miles run for the both Freightliner and Sterling trucks. What was important for the Freightliner and Sterling was the choice of engine brand. Incidence of repairs for Caterpillar, Mercedes and Hino was greatest within the Cat’s, followed by Mercedes and Hino engines with the least.
Horse power; Freightliner and Sterling offered up a variety of horse power options. While horse power for a expedite truck engine is an important consideration, so is its reliability, maintenance and hourly fuel consumption. The Hino engines for expediting, rated at 260 HP with a higher RPM to Torque ratio are inadequate for a full gross load of 33,000 lbs., especially highways in mountainous terrain. The larger power plants offered in the Freightliner and Sterling will certainly give a better uphill climb than the Hino. This is not to say the Hino trucks cannot make Donner Pass in Nevada with a full load, they will, but with flashers on at 35 to 40 mph. That said, down the other side they all will be running at the same speed.
Fuel consumption; the most costly consideration about an engine will always be its fuel consumption performance. Freightliner, Sterling and Hino had fuel consumption numbers that fell within a 1-2 mile per gallon difference. Those ranges depended on engine brand, transmission and rear end ratios, rear drive tires, load weights and highway terrain. With average miles per gallon of 9.1 among Freightliner, Sterling, their engine, transmission and rear end configuration do offer the best miles per gallon performance. Hino trucks having only one engine choice was low with an 8.4 average mile per gallon. A quick math analysis with an assumed fuel cost of $3.00 per gallon would indicate a $2747.28 more paid in fuel cost per 100,000 miles driving the Hino truck.
Sleepers; If you think having Satellite TV and a shower are luxury items for an expedite truck. Then consider this. The trucking industry continues to grow, though vastly slower than the past several years, ample studies show traffic congestion on main cargo moving highways will worsen yearly. Truck stops are already experiencing lack of parking in many volume traffic areas. Knowing this should help you see that while taking a shower at a truck stop is a practical matter for most OTR truckers, it is becoming less convenient and in some places free showers are disappearing as truck stops continue growing their business revenues. The trend toward having a shower will slide from being a luxury to a money maker in time. How many truckers can say they haven’t dead headed to take a shower from time to time? Is it possible a shower could save you money over the life of your truck? We calculate it will.
Misc truck items; we looked at options available on our expedite trucks choices that ranged over items such as bigger fuel tanks, lift gates, automatic up and down landing gears and many more. In the end it was decided most options were easily installed later if we wanted and or needed them.
Can you tell which truck we decided to buy? Was it Freightliner, Sterling or Hino? If you can then like most of your decision in life your guessing based on what you think you know. Our guess is we will be pleased with our truck choice even if someone else isn’t.
Quote; as do the sharpest of knives require the wet stone, so do the wisest of men require advice.
The golden lugnut
Firstly, there is no doubt that most of the posts were worthless chatter or just average bashing of the poster or the posters question.
Secondly and most importantly was post #29 made by Leo Bricker. His post goes to the heart of the truck question and brings to focus the primary common component between Sterling, Hino and Freightliner trucks; the truck chassis. After months of seeking the differences between the three leaders in class 7 expedite truck building, the truck chassis qualifies as a unique component that each truck builder manufactures themselves.
Staying with the theme of truck components such as the truck chassis as pointed out by Leo in his post, just what other components does the prospective truck builders actually create themselves and why should those components sway us to spend more or less on acquiring a first-rate expedite vehicle.
Transmissions; no, “the gear†is not a component built by the lead three.
Suspensions; no, the lead three get those air ride parts from other companies for your expedite truck.
Engines; Freightliner and Sterling acquire their power platforms from well known engine manufactures. Hino, a Toyota owned company, manufactures their own engines.
Axles; Freightliner and Sterling make some axles themselves but offer choices that are by other axles/suspension manufactures. Hino buys their axles from the other axles/suspension manufactures.
Truck cab; yes, each of the lead three make their own truck cab.
Sleepers; no, sleepers as desired by most experienced or novice expediters is not a component manufactured by the lead three truck builders.
Tires; no, the lead three are getting those from other manufactures.
Warranty; while the a service contract may not be in essence a “manufactured componentâ€, it is a creation by each of the lead three expedite truck builders. Freightliner and Sterling include a 250,000 mile warranty. Hino includes a 300,000 mile warranty.
Chassis; yes, Freightliner , Sterling and Hino each construct their own chassis.
What am I pointing out above? Simply that the majority of truck components that make up a first rate expedite truck can be had on any expedite truck regardless of the “Brand Name†you choose.
So why does Leo believe the Hino truck chassis is mediocre and why, in his “expert opinionâ€, should we run from one brand or another simply based on his statement that it is so? Do Hino trucks have an inferior truck chassis? Could it be that your safety be risked by not knowing what Leo does? Is Leo an engineer and thus can speak to chassis construction?
No doubt a bias, like Leo’s, will always exist among truck drivers and owners for what they drive or own. So how will a novice or an expert trucker ever determine he or she has purchased, or leased a first rate expedite truck.
For myself, I used the following to determine which of the lead three would receive our truck order.
Safety; was one truck offered by the three truck manufactures safer than the others. Answer was no, based on government standards and requirements for manufacturing these types of trucks.
Price comparisons for like components from each truck builder. For those components that were available on each “truck brand†that were identical offerings. Sleeper, cargo box, side boxes, etc. Here lays a costly area that either novice or expert can benefit by pricing these items as directly with real manufactures of those items as possible. What you will find is that many dealers, regardless of brand, have large margins on these items that can allow you to add up what those add-on items are really costing you. As an example; sleeper base prices vary more than a few thousands of dollars. Make the dealer break it down from the base price and how much those extras figure in. Once you see the different broken down prices and compare those to your own researching you will see areas you can negotiate a lower price.
Power plants; engines and horse power, without doubt, are the single most controversial factors of which an expedite trucker depends on daily. In the end, choice should be based on several distinct factors as it should be when purchasing any new vehicle.
Warranty; Can it be believed that reliability both makes money and cost money. Certainly, and in the end, each manufacture we examined offered comparable warranties. So many miles or so many years are essentially the offerings by Freightliner, Sterling and Hino. Our research gave up similar patterns as to the number of repairs for miles run for the both Freightliner and Sterling trucks. What was important for the Freightliner and Sterling was the choice of engine brand. Incidence of repairs for Caterpillar, Mercedes and Hino was greatest within the Cat’s, followed by Mercedes and Hino engines with the least.
Horse power; Freightliner and Sterling offered up a variety of horse power options. While horse power for a expedite truck engine is an important consideration, so is its reliability, maintenance and hourly fuel consumption. The Hino engines for expediting, rated at 260 HP with a higher RPM to Torque ratio are inadequate for a full gross load of 33,000 lbs., especially highways in mountainous terrain. The larger power plants offered in the Freightliner and Sterling will certainly give a better uphill climb than the Hino. This is not to say the Hino trucks cannot make Donner Pass in Nevada with a full load, they will, but with flashers on at 35 to 40 mph. That said, down the other side they all will be running at the same speed.
Fuel consumption; the most costly consideration about an engine will always be its fuel consumption performance. Freightliner, Sterling and Hino had fuel consumption numbers that fell within a 1-2 mile per gallon difference. Those ranges depended on engine brand, transmission and rear end ratios, rear drive tires, load weights and highway terrain. With average miles per gallon of 9.1 among Freightliner, Sterling, their engine, transmission and rear end configuration do offer the best miles per gallon performance. Hino trucks having only one engine choice was low with an 8.4 average mile per gallon. A quick math analysis with an assumed fuel cost of $3.00 per gallon would indicate a $2747.28 more paid in fuel cost per 100,000 miles driving the Hino truck.
Sleepers; If you think having Satellite TV and a shower are luxury items for an expedite truck. Then consider this. The trucking industry continues to grow, though vastly slower than the past several years, ample studies show traffic congestion on main cargo moving highways will worsen yearly. Truck stops are already experiencing lack of parking in many volume traffic areas. Knowing this should help you see that while taking a shower at a truck stop is a practical matter for most OTR truckers, it is becoming less convenient and in some places free showers are disappearing as truck stops continue growing their business revenues. The trend toward having a shower will slide from being a luxury to a money maker in time. How many truckers can say they haven’t dead headed to take a shower from time to time? Is it possible a shower could save you money over the life of your truck? We calculate it will.
Misc truck items; we looked at options available on our expedite trucks choices that ranged over items such as bigger fuel tanks, lift gates, automatic up and down landing gears and many more. In the end it was decided most options were easily installed later if we wanted and or needed them.
Can you tell which truck we decided to buy? Was it Freightliner, Sterling or Hino? If you can then like most of your decision in life your guessing based on what you think you know. Our guess is we will be pleased with our truck choice even if someone else isn’t.
Quote; as do the sharpest of knives require the wet stone, so do the wisest of men require advice.
The golden lugnut
