Guys, anyone have experience in drive a FTR or other mdeium duty truck? I know the little 4 bangers top out at 65(govenor) but what about the big 6ers, going for a test drive tomorrow but worried that it won't be up to the task, should be less then half the gross load fully loaded....please keep in mind that I want to be able to do 80 and climb hills without dropping to a snails pace....

What is an FTR? Is it an Isuzu or Hino?
Should be cheap to buy a used one, (if it is one of the import trucks) but maintainance parts are major $$$$:eek: Because of this, they are not always very well maintained.

I always liked the Freightliner Business Class trucks, or the Internationals.
I saw an International last week at their used truck lot, crew cab, 4x4, about a 12 ft flatbed with a gooseneck ball on the bed and the DT466E.
Damned sweet truck;)

A FTR is an Isuzu medium duty...yes I'm concerned about parts cost....looking at a Bering today, korean chasis with American Drivetrain....ZF axle, allison tranny, and Cummins engine...might steer clear of Isuzu.....

was the International a 4800 series truck? more details.....

I would stay the hell away from Hinos, we had one at my last job and it was impossible to get parts for, and $$$ when you could get them. It was also a POS and a turd, but I blame that more on the way it was spec'd out and used up/maintained. I'd be weary of that Korean job, too, but no experience with them. Not too sure on the Izusus, but I'd think of the 3 you mentioned, it'd be your best bet.

Pete

I honestly do not know what model the International was. They have so many different medium duty chassis available with 4x4, I don't really look for that.

My thoughts on it were two fold:

With the bed mounted goose neck ball, you could pull a trailer big enough for two or three rigs with excellent towing characteristics.

Or, you could ditch the bed mounted ball, and tow a trailer off the back with the pintle hook, with one rig on the bed, and two rigs and/or gear on the trailer.

If you ran just one rig on the trailer, you could carry two rigs and not need a commercial license;) .

I've been really happy with my Freightliner FL60. 3126B 300/880 works pretty good. The smaller MDTs get pretty frustrating on long steep hills if you're pulling a load (20-25k lbs) but still deliver about 10mpg @ 75mph on the (relativly) level short 6% grades.

Heres a good link for info:
http://escapees.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x
look at their MDT forum

I bought a Volvo 770 to replace the FL60, but I have a need that's over 30k lbs. with two rigs and junk.

Jim