Cottrell vs Miller 7 car EZ loader

I am on my third Miller 7 car, loved my 2000 and 2003, hate my 2014. I would trade it for a Cotrell in a heartbeat. The new Miller has thinner decks, poor build quality, and the paint is already coming off and I haven't even had it 2 full years yet! Also, Cotrell has better load configuration, and the price point is not all that different, my loaded Miller was $82,000 out the door with FET. I could have bought the same version of a Cotrell for about $85,000 with FET. Cotrell is also more strap friendly than the Miller. Put it this way, I dislike it so much it is going up for sale as soon as my new trailer is built by Sun Country.

 

Wow! I guess thier build quality got taken over by quantity? They used to be the best out of the 4. I'm actually a CWI and I see welds on my Cottrell that make me want to take a grinder to and go over it!

 

Yes, the quality is gone. I was a die hard Miller fan most of my wreckers were Chevron or Vulcan which are Miller brands and so were our first two trailers. This 2014 was never right from the start, the upper deck bows out in the middle, caused two hydraulic fittings to shear off while predelivery inspecting when I went to pick it up. Their fix was to cut the lift piston mount and move them 3/4 inch off center to compensate. A month later and the main cross beam (4" square) cracked and they boggered the fix on that as well. Also, every cylinder has been replaced under warranty and most are leaking again but now it is out of warranty. Lastly, paint is coming off already, rust coming through ( and I wash it every 2 weeks to prevent salt buildup), and the decks are cracking/tearing at the spot welds.

 

Holy ****. I can only imagine how pissed you must be. The 02 I sold in January was ready for a repaint but otherwise good to go

 

Sorry you got a lemon. Guess it happens, tho definitely should NOT. But have a 2013 with none of those issues. The only thing that I have had to take care is one air line was tied to close to something & rubbed a hole in it.
Picked mine up down at the factory in TN. They have the ride height set to go off road, but other than that, good to go.

To the op, pages of info here. I already dragged everyone through it. http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...t-cottrell-miller-sun-valley-wally-mo.231748/

 

Thanks for reminding me, also got a new wiring harness because it was mounted where it was pinched by the number 6 deck (middle belly drop) and it shorted out the constant hot feed for the abs which melted the harness and caught on fire with a load of new Ford cars.

 

I'd be cursing the thing too & then some. They must have hired some stoned goobers who got around the drug & moron testing.

The guy that walked out with me when I was hooking up to mine was apart of the original crew that built their first prototype trailer back in the 90's. I picked mine up March 2014 & it shows a build date of Sept. 2013.

 

Picked mine up April 2014, build date Jan 2014, must have been built on a Monday or Friday. Our 2000 is still in service and the 2003 would be if the lower rail wasn't caved in.

To be fair about the decks and pistons, I run about 3,000 units a year across the deck and do 80,000+ miles doing short haul so it sees a lot of duty cycles.