Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/521868
EquipmentWorld.com | June 2015 93 trucks | by Jack Roberts | JRoberts@randallreilly.com Freightliner leaned hard on its highway tractors to develop the SD vocational line of trucks. And that's a good thing. TEXAS TWO STEP W hat do you do if you're Freightlin- er and your OTR market share numbers are in the stratosphere? You turn your attention to the vocational truck market, of course. Freightliner has always had a voca- tional presence. But about four years ago, the company decided it was time to update its work truck lineup to take advantage of numerous powertrain and ergonomic upgrades found on the Cascadia tractor. The result was the Freightliner SD series – a 108-inch BBC truck, a 114-inch BBC version and the 122- inch BBC model. All three models are configurable to accept an array of bodies. Significantly, the trucks are also highly adaptable in terms of fuel choices as well, with body and frame design parameters allow- ing for the easy addition of both compressed and liquid natural gas tanks, fuel systems and engines. Freightliner's new vocational product manager, Mark Howerton, offered me the chance to compare the 108 and 114 BBC models on a recent test drive based out of Freightliner of Austin with a long haul through the Texas hill country. My two test trucks offered a good look at the different ways Freight- liner customers can trick out an SD model. The 114 BBC truck was out- fitted with a roll-off body and pow- ered by an all-Daimler powertrain: a 475-horsepower DD13 diesel en- gine mated to the company's DT12 automated manual transmission. In contrast, the 108-BBC dump truck featured a 9-liter Cummins ISL die- sel with an Eaton-Fuller 10-speed manual gearbox. An automotive feel Both trucks feature the SD's bold new styling – a departure from the highly refined aerodynamic lines found on Freightliner long-haul tractors. Howerton told me that good fuel economy remains a prior- ity for Freightliner on its vocational line. But given the decidedly un- aerodynamic bodies these trucks are fitted with, and the unusual cargos they often haul, the empha- sis for vocational fuel economy targets the SD's powertrain since any aggressive aerodynamic styling can be negated pretty quickly once said bodies and cargo are added to the equation. Pre-trip inspections on both trucks were straightforward: The SD's hood pivots forward easily and all inspection points on both the Cummins and Detroit engines are easily accessible from ground level. Freightliner of Austin specializes in vocational trucks. So the interiors on both of my test drive models were fairly standard. But vocational drivers routinely spend as many hours in the cab as long-haul driv- ers do. So Freightliner engineers paid particular attention to cab er- gonomics as well as driver comfort and productivity. The SD cab itself is wide and air ride seats were, of course, standard. The instrument and control layout borrows heav- ily from lessons learned during the design of the Cascadia. As a result,