What Class 6 straight delivery truck to buy, anybody buy a 337 Pete?

Diesel engines tend to be much nosier and vibrate when they are idling but it seems like to me you have found two reasons why you don't like the Peterbilt. I have no experience with those type of trucks but if it was me that would make up my decision to go with the freighliner.

 

What are you going to use them for?

 

Why post the question after you placed the order?

 

I worked for a towing company and we had both of those trucks. We bought both brand new with all the options and both were automatic with air brake air ride with 21ft rollback beds on 19.5 rubber. Freightliner had a Mercedes engine(I think new ones have Cummins) while the Pete had a Cat C7. I drove both trucks since new. The Freightliner was stolen and was replaced with the Peterbilt as my primary truck.

Freightliner
PROS
Better turning radius
Mercedes engine was flawless from new until 150K when the truck was stolen
Engine was pulled well from 0-45mph
Freightliner was lower to the ground which makes it easier to load and clear low tree branches, etc
CONS
Around 80k miles random switches quit working, (Passenger side window switch, engine brake switch, cruise switch) but the switches are cheap
Overall interior seemed to be of lower quality or less refined than the Pete (vinyl seats seemed thinner/cheaper, seat foam seemed thinner, and various other stuff)
Passenger side seat SUCKED to sit in for extended periods of time, not comfortable at all
From 50mph up the truck was a turd and wouldn't climb hills for squat, especially loaded
Engine brake seemed a little weak

Peterbilt
PROS
It's a Peterbilt. Everything seemed higher quality than the Freightliner
No issues with the truck the entire time we had it
Engine brake was really strong
Cat engine pulled the same empty or loaded uphill or flatground it just kept pulling
CONS
Pete sits a little higher up which got tiring climbing in and out all day and would be more difficult to load and driver needs to pay attention to low hanging limbs in residential neighborhoods
Went to Cat for a couple engine issues, but nothing serious and it was all covered under warranty
Driver sat in a more upright position(I'm 6'1" and a sloucher) which I didn't find comfortable

All in all they are both good trucks, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy either one, but that's my review after putting close to 100K on each truck. Also the Pete may have a better resale value down the road. I say if you're getting 4 trucks, get 2 of each and get some feedback from the drivers. I like both, but they both had their ups and downs.

 

I thought the noise from both was about the same, although like you, I could feel more vibration in the cab of the Pete at idle, but it seemed quieter when driving down the road than the Freightliner. I forgot to mention the Peterbilt cab seems narrower than the Freightliner making it hard to fit 3 people. 6'6" would be cramped in the Pete, but with the 10" cab extension they should have more room than the guys in the Freightliners. The seat in the Pete would go all the way against the back of the cab and still had a few more notches to go before being all the way back, so you should be good with an extension. You shouldn't have to worry about it with an extension, but I recommend bringing the seat one notch forward from the back of the cab because an air ride seat moving up and down against the back of the cab will cause wear on the back of the seat, armrests, and the cab leading to premature upholstery work. Either way, your guys will be spoiled with the new trucks compared to the Isuzu and the TopKicks. lol