need a bigger work truck
 

My company is looking at purchasing a larger truck. We currently run F-550's with flatbeds and liftgates. With the weight of the bed, truck, fuel and driver, Im only allowed 9000lbs on the truck. Id like to be able to get into a truck that can hold 19,000 in the bed. Im looking at the F750's and the Freightliner Businessclass M series.

Does anyone have any experience or advice with these? Or maybe some more options to consider besides these two brands?

All local deliveries, no OTR but its all in 275 gallon totes and 575 gallon supertotes so its heavy stuff.

We jumped up to Peterbilts here...

Although we have a crain, gen & welder on all units... I believe they liscense them at 55K.

do you have the class 6 peterbilts?

There all made from pretty much the same components underneath. Rockwell, Fuller, Allison, Cat/Cummins/etc. The frames, shocks tanks and everything else are all somewhat interchangeable. Buying from a real truck company gets you 24/7/365 parts & service that you won't get from Ford or GM. I don't like the low headroom of the Ford or GM cab- especially if you're bouncing around on an airride seat. International isn't in the best shape right now and I'm not thrilled with their engine selections anyway. I like the Freightliner for a company truck. The Pete & KW are nicer but for a company truck, do you really need that?

Id really prefer to keep it simple. My guys dont really need anything that nice inside. Hauling chemicals usually stains the interiors out completely and they work in inclimate conditions..
I cant seem to find anything on their sites about payload, they have axle ratings. So how much can i put on a truck that has an 11k front axle and a 33k rear axle. Im just learning all this, tryin to make a good decision before hand instead of after..

Trucks aren't rated like cars- you get those axle ratings and you do the math. If your drivers are CDL holders, you can get trucks rated over 26,001#. If not, they need to be 26K or kess. Take the truck's net weight (12 to 13K) and subtract what the bed or box will weigh and what you have left is what you can put on the back. To get that kind of weight on the back, you're probably looking at a tandem rear. Otherwise, you'll be right at the top end of capacity. Downhills and panic stops get pretty interesting in a medium at max weight.

How about the International RXT or CXT

Kind of hard to put 19K# in an 8' pickup bed.

true...but i'm sure you can get one with a flat bed conversion... :)

Hard but not impossible..........:D

The freightliner business class rigs would be good or the isuzu cabover lite enterprise rents. Check those out as well. good turn radius on both.

Both my guys said today they did NOT want a cabover.. Both are ex OTR drivers with hazmat, triple endorsements on their CDL. A CXT is a little too small I think, its going to probably take a tandem dually like chris said.. Now, what about motors? We looked at the F650 but gave up on it because I do NOT want a powerstroke in it and theres not a cummins service center near us. But there is a freightliner, sterling, etc dealership not too far.

Don't the F650's come with CAT 7.2's?

yes, you can get them equipped with a cat, but not tandem duallies

I wouldn't have a problem with the Benz 4000 motor in the 112 chassis. I like the Cat in our trucks simply because we're all over a 9 state area. Having Cat opens up a broad range of places that can get me going if one conks. If I'm staying local I wouldn't worry about it.

Don't over-engine it. The more the HP, the WAY more the fuel gets consumed. If a driver has it, he'll use it- all the time.

Cab noise may be an issue, especially if your guys are a little older with any hearing loss. While many of the components may be the same, noise can be a huge difference.

You can carry on a conversation in a normal voice while travelling 65 on the highway in any of the new trucks.