Freightliner M2?

I see almost no one using them though I am thinking of an M2 sport chassis or other "toter" class truck as a future upgrade with a 5/6 car hauler. Sharp looking rigs. If a ram 5500 can do this job I assume an M2 might do it slightly better with more in cab room and stopping power.
Would also love to hear some owner's input on this or similar trucks.

 

Its a good investment, What exactly, you want to know.

 

The hardest thing to find out about the M2 106 or 112 is the towing capacity. How much gcwr they can do.

 

Well I do no more than 18,000lbs depending on what it is. MY GVW is 33,000, not all M2 are the same on suspension. This makes it easy for me to be loaded by a forklift or carry one, in which many are doing now. I have towed more, but the load is not loaded right, the ride will suck, thats why I have a cutoff limit when it comes to the weight.

 

I heard the smaller CAT motors they put into them are not a good as the bigger cat engines and tend to get pricey. Might check into that. It's just what someone told me when I was looking at them. Also they don't really give you any more capacity than say a 5500 from what I understand but weigh a lot more.. So more fuel cost and less cargo capacity. On flip side maybe they hold up better than the little trucks and if you get air brakes that's a nice thing.

 

They are ugly in my opinion. Used to drive one and they are horribly outdated for me to be in one 24/7 lol. As far as capacity and what not it all depends on how they are built. Every single one is different. Its not like buying a pickup truck which are all rated the same. They can be built with different suspension, axles, tires, frame and so on. They can be built with gross ratings less than 26K and more than 66K or even higher. A typical M2 is likely a >26K box truck. Meaning it probably had a 10K lb front axle and a 16K lb rear axle or something. A cab and chassis M2 will likely weigh around 11K lbs. Towing wise also depends on engine and transmission set up. The older M2's likely ran a Mercedes/Detrioit Diesel rated any where from 210 to 250 HP. If you are lucky you might find a cat c10 that ran up to around 335 HP. A plus side to this is these engines are made to last 500K or more miles before needing service. Transmissions are usualy going to be a Allison 3000 5 or 6 speed trans. But rare ones pop up with a Synchronized Eaton / Spicer 6 speed or maybe even a 10 speed Eaton. New trucks though will most likely have the cummins B6.7 (same as the RAM trucks) or a Cummins L9 for a little more power.

over all an M2 would be great but obviously cost a little more. Im not a fan of their looks or the interior set up. Again they are super dated as the design is about 20 years old. Readability wise It should serve you well.