Sterling, Hino, M2 or C112 straight truck

[golfournut]

Hi all, I am a newbie to the forum. I love this place. You all are pretty straight forward and know your stuff, yet kind. Hope these questions don't cause to much rutkus, but I am looking to buy one of the above for expediting in the 05 to 08 range up to about 300k miles. Now the loaded questions are these... which is the best for power curver to fuel consumption, comfort and long gevity. Any ideas as to maintenance aspects per brand. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[layoutshooter]

Have you thought about driving for an owner for a bit? Things are a bit slow now and while prices on trucks may be good it might not be the best time to buy. How much experience do you have? Dry box? Reefer? The more info the better.

 

[mjolnir131]

is the c112 a 7 or 8 ? go with an class 8 so the hino and M2pos are out .still on the upside of the 10 year garintee from frieghtline on the stearling so a good class 8 for the win,cheap to get ahold of and there are still parts out there should be that way for the next 3-5 years.

but yea on what layout said

 

[piper1]

Avoid the Hino,

As far as the others go, depends on what engine is in it and how it is spec'd as far as drivetrain goes.

If you are going used, a class 8 truck may be the safer bet.

 

[Andrew0580]

Hi"NO" They put it in the name for you!! Stick with a frieghtliner product everybody will work on them. Class 8 is the way to go I agree 100%. I have a class 7 that nickel and dimes me to death, also a very good point to drive for someone first, wish I would have done that.

 

[SonnyS]

I'm trying to decide between a 2007 sterling acterra with an mbe 4000 335hp 22' box or a 2006 freightliner m2 mbe900 with 300hp 18' box. Which one would be the best pick? Also, with sterling going out i'm concerned with that.

 

[piper1]

Don't worry too much about Sterling going away, FTL has stated they will support the brand for 10 years (I think Its the law).

On the surface the Sterling sounds like the better truck.

Any more info available like rear axle ratio's, transmissions, etc?

 

[Andrew0580]

I don't think you need to worry about sterling because its a frieghtliner product and an 18' box will limit you so I would lean toward the sterling.

 

[SonnyS]

Don't worry too much about Sterling going away, FTL has stated they will support the brand for 10 years (I think Its the law).

On the surface the Sterling sounds like the better truck.

Any more info available like rear axle ratio's, transmissions, etc?

The sterling has a 4.30 ratio with an allison auto. Not sure on the M2's ratio but it also has an allison auto.Also, the sterling states a spring suspension which is the first i've seen in all my searching. Is it possible it's a misprint since all others have air ride? Thanks for your input piper

 

[Dakota]

Hino's are weak going up hills and such, in return i get 1 to 2 mpg better than a international or M2. One thing about the Hino, you'll be running near 2200 rpm at 65, might be the same for the others also unless you get into a class 8

 

[Andrew0580]

alot of the allison's come with 5 gears, but I believe it was TeamCaffee that posted they had a simple computer program installed and added a 6th gear and its cheap to do.

 

[Dakota]

alot of the allison's come with 5 gears, but I believe it was TeamCaffee that posted they had a simple computer program installed and added a 6th gear and its cheap to do.

My Hino has an Allison auto, but with only 200 or so hp not sure it could handle a higher gear, i've slowed down to 30-35(usually 40-45) on hills with a load
Like I said in other posts I wouldn't buy a Hino, I lease mine so it is different. Sounds like in the long run a class 8 is the way to go for longevity

 

[lugnut1]

Bashing Hino's continues to be an easy past time for many EO forum members and
sadly, bashing a Toyota product (Hino is made by Toyota) in todays auto/truck bankruptcy bailout fiasco shows how blindly consumers stick with companies who are steadily falling behind in product quality and reliability.

If you are looking to buy an expedite truck start with a look at the standard warranties offered by each manufacture. American made trucks continue the "don't we look" good sales pitch while stumbling at standing behind their products.

Yes I do own a Hino and will be buying more in the future. I will be at the truck show starting today and if you would like to send a private message to me I would be pleased to talk further about why owning a Hino expedite truck is not such a bad idea.

 

[Andrew0580]

nobody is "bashing hino" he asked about longevity and power if you read the original post. Dakota said he owns one and it is a good truck but lacks power and I did research them before i bought my truck witch is an international (trust me I have PLENTY of bashing I can do on my own truck) and hino told me they do not do inframes you will have to but a NEW motor, so as far as longevity I don't know maybe its just me but the fact that I can do an inframe for $4700 is just a comforting thought.

 

[bubblehead]

I bought a Columbia FL with a CAT C-11 and 10 spd ultra shift. I get 10.2 to 10.6 Turning 1100 rpm at 57, 1350 at 68. After putting on ECOFLAPS, I noticed the truck doesn't downshift as often on some of the regular routes. Mountains are never a problem, as is severe cold. With 214,000 miles I have had it in the shop one time for unscheduled maintenance when the wiper motor gave out (my fault). My previous experience was as a driver for an owner with a New HINO. I had to drive it slow to get decent economy (52mph would get 9.5 with a lite load and a tail wind). This caused many too long times behind the wheel on what would normally be easy runs. Mountains were an big NO NO and I swear I heard it cry when I accepted a load to Salt Lake City Utah. It broke down several times and the fuel would gel at anything below 6 degrees F. even with anti-gel. The guy bought three of them, all broke down regulary and although they had a "good" warranty, it always took several days to get approved and fixed...the poor guy ended up bankrupt because of those trucks. So class 8 yes class 7 with the right engine/trans etc. yes but the low horsepower ones of the 200-260 range I would stay clear of unless its a regional truck in flatlands.

GOOD LUCK.

 

[Andrew0580]

Oh yeah, one other hino question. Who works on them? Is it still just Volvo/Mack? I have an international and only they will work on it, this makes it real convienient when it breaks down and they close most nights and weekends whitch sweentens the deal even more.

 

[guido4475]

alot of the allison's come with 5 gears, but I believe it was TeamCaffee that posted they had a simple computer program installed and added a 6th gear and its cheap to do.

Okay,This is killing me. Why not just find/order a proper straight truck for the job?Too many times I read/hear how some people buy a s/t spec'd wrong for the job, and spend serious $$ to make it fit their application.

And as far as Sterling goes,definately a better truck than Freightliner, but part prices are going up and alot of them are becoming obsolete already.I learned of this when I had my sterling not too long ago.

 

[Dakota]

Oh yeah, one other hino question. Who works on them? Is it still just Volvo/Mack? I have an international and only they will work on it, this makes it real convienient when it breaks down and they close most nights and weekends whitch sweentens the deal even more.

I know Volvo, Mack dealers work on them. My truck is leased through Penske, they service every truck, not sure if they work on none leased trucks, but worth checking out. They have shops all over the country and some are even 24 hrs, the one I use in Fort Wayne is open 6am to 11pm and they are awesome.

 

[Jack_Berry]

folks, use the search function. go to advanced search and type in just like this....."hino" or "sterling" this will bring up all the associated threads. read a variety of comments about each.

to the guy looking at a sterling.....you know they have ceased production of them right?

please use the search to get answers to your questions.

 

[mjolnir131]

Bashing Hino's continues to be an easy past time for many EO forum members and
sadly, bashing a Toyota product (Hino is made by Toyota) in todays auto/truck bankruptcy bailout fiasco shows how blindly consumers stick with companies who are steadily falling behind in product quality and reliability.

If you are looking to buy an expedite truck start with a look at the standard warranties offered by each manufacture. American made trucks continue the "don't we look" good sales pitch while stumbling at standing behind their products.

Yes I do own a Hino and will be buying more in the future. I will be at the truck show starting today and if you would like to send a private message to me I would be pleased to talk further about why owning a Hino expedite truck is not such a bad idea.

ahh no not even close i don't care who the parent company is to many horrior storys from hino owners it has nothing to do with who makes it