Tell the salesman all of the above ... You may get a big discount on a new one

Well I started the thread swishy linked to, and it looks like you came to a similar conclusion as me. The subject ***** me off right now as it was canned and we haven't re-visited it, but I'll try and pass on what I found. The manager was very into volvos, partly because that's what some of the cattle carters round here use. We were interested in regards to a pig trailer, which it seems there's not much knowledge about. Eventually I figured after speaking to a few that as the drawbar length is much less than a dog, we could actually get 48' of space into 19m with a short bonnect so this opened up the field and we considered US trucks as well. If it were my decision entirely I'd get an older (prr any ECUs) truck for sure, but of the newer ones some are better than others:

Firstly they don't get any more complex/comfortable/hi tech/proprietary than a euro truck. However both MAN, volvo and I think DAF offer off road spec in a 6x4 with good clearance and (more) rugged appearance than their highway brothers. FMX and TGS hi-clearence if you're interested. They still have the full on electro BS though and are into v high tech trannies.

Then a lot of the US stuff, mostly with a bonnet, is much more simple, down to earth and IMO appealing in every aspect. WS and KW being the main ones I was pushing for, in fact I'd pretty much chosen our perfect truck as a one of those two when the project got canned. After getting out of a MAN and looking at a 4700WS it just screamed simple, rugged farm truck all over and would have been perfect - the cab had all analogue dials and switches (no tough screens or LCD displays), they don't have a heap of plastic paraphinalia to get fatigued by corrugations and when you open the bonnet or look behind the cab you see the engine and gearbox not a heap of plastic covers and big fat wiring looks. And the chassis rails don't contain several hundred kilometres of loom either.

The wheel base and overhang you dictate, either with specs when new or you can modify or find the right one 2nd hand. KW is the best with specs obviously but WS can give you any chassis length, then you can roll the rear axel wherever you want meaning you're only left with the prop shaft to modify. We were thinking about all this a lot as our property involves a lot of bad terrain and even the road work it would have been doing was poor roads with top only used about 25% of the journey.

We will make some more final decisions next week, but seem to be down to either a Fuso or a UD...

Only those two use adblue emissions controls.. Down the track it is more likely they would be easier to rip out when they give trouble then the engine integrated EGR...

Have not looked at either truck styles yet, been too busy on other stuff..

Going with the FUSO...

Had to LOL at the salesmans response when I asked if that very low bar at the front was bolted on so I could remove it... As it will be the first thing to ground out when going into a gully... Also when I asked him how to circumvent the adblue when it breaks down, which it will eventually...

I've got my mitsubishi-fuso FM557 pulled down for a 24 hour rust repair & respray the only things that slow it down is the elements the mechanicals just keep going

They do have pricing you can't ignore... Was that the reason you went away from UD? Did having an airbag rear not worry you?

Had to LOL at the salesmans response when I asked if that very low bar at the front was bolted on so I could remove it... As it will be the first thing to ground out when going into a gully... Also when I asked him how to circumvent the adblue when it breaks down, which it will eventually...

What were the answers???

They do have pricing you can't ignore... Was that the reason you went away from UD? Did having an airbag rear not worry you?

We looked at a UD, just plain did not like it, it seemed to be made more for highway work..

What were the answers???

He said it was illegal and did not want to know anything about it... I already knew it was illegal, I just wanted to see his response

We have a bit to sort out... Find out what this S10 loading system means.. I was surprised that the truck with tray and crate can only carry approx 6.5 tonne.. We would at times load 7.5 tonne of cattle on it..

The Fuso was $10 000 cheaper then the Hino... cab chassis...

Can someone explain the shift pattern on a 9 speed synchro?

A salesman told me is was a five speed and you can split the four top gears...

Now a mechanic has told me it is just a syncro version of a 9 speed road ranger.. Something that will be an utter pain in the arse in an unladen body truck with 260 horsepower..

Can someone explain the shift pattern on a 9 speed synchro?

A salesman told me is was a five speed and you can split the four top gears...

Now a mechanic has told me it is just a syncro version of a 9 speed road ranger.. Something that will be an utter pain in the arse in an unladen body truck with 260 horsepower..

yep just a synchro roadranger - we have one in our lazy axle hino. Could do with a splitter on hills (208kw, 22500 gvm). Why would it be a pain in the arse unladen? I generally start in 3rd, skip to 5th then step change from there. Don't find it a PITA :-/

Last year I drove a newish 500hp freightliner prime mover with an 18 speed RR without a trailer... I was instructed to not run it above 1300rpm, and not allow revs to drop below 900.. it was an utter pain in the arse to drive in town as I was forever changing gears.. Took forever to get moving, as I was told these modern trucks you drive them using the gearbox, rather then use all the engine RPM's as is how I usually drive synchro boxes..