MDT-2003 FREIGHTLINER SPORTCHASSIS FL60

RAINEYTXX wrote:
GCame up on this one with 35k miles and they asking $59,000. Seems pricey but unsure where find their value.....
It's hard to find a book value. You may want to check with your state licensing agency as to what they think its value is. That seems reasonable to me, maybe a bit high, but that's also very low miles.

Are they a pulling machine over my current '12 F-450? Compared my 03 f450 PSD, yeah. Compared to yours, maybe not. I know they're starting to pack some real punch in these smaller diesels. My PST was 550ft-lb. My 2008 Cummins ISC 8.3 is 800ft-lb. Big difference.
How is the ride? Amazing. If yours has air springs, air cab and air seat (and maybe air hitch), it'll be whole new world on the road. My 450 was really uncomfortable.

Fuel mileage not towing? 11.5

Reliability? Can't complain. Maintenance history availability unknown. Take it to a diesel shop and have them hook it up to the ECM computer to determine its current health. I should have done that before buying mine, but I was inexperienced. I had to have $800 worth of work done on it within a few months of purchase, but she's good as new now.

Anything to watch out for being 11 years old? Oil leaks. Air leaks. The ECM will tell you everything you need to know about the engine. I am of course assuming that year did have computer controls.

I've read maneuverability is better with these any personal experiences? The wheel cut is much better than my F450. I never could get used to how much radius it needed to make U turn

Fuel tank capacity-I fuel filler on each side? Mine are 50 gallons per side. The fuel gauge doesn't work real well, so I use the trip odometer. When the fuel gauge reads 1/4 I'm at about 1/2. It's fun to pull into the big-rig diesel pumps and hook up a hose to each side and let 'er rip!

Looks like it has an auxiliary air conditioner control...? Don't know about that. Mine has an inverter, drop down TV screen and a kick-butt audio system. And a really crappy Pioneer in-dash GPS, XM/AM/FM radio. That's the only thing I find really cheesy about my truck. It looks like something out of the 80s.

Air brakes? No.

Air ride? Oh yeah. Drives like a cloud.

Brake life expectancy as a very general guideline (I know lots of variables) Don't know. You'll learn to use your engine brake (or exhaust brake) way more than your service brakes. Those brakes should be huge. I did like that about my 450. Big disc brakes I never had to replace in 120k miles.

Will I be looking at a change in pinbox adjustment over what my 450 currently rides at...? I did. I had to raise my 5ers pin box a few inches to get level. No adjustments on the truck.

A lot of engine/road noise?? There is some annoying wind noise on the driver door. Haven't tackled that yet. Engine noise? No. Just a nice rumbling purr of a real big heavy 6-cylinder diesel engine. I wouldn't call it real quiet in the cab. Newer pickups may have it beat on that issue.

It looks really nice and would appreciate a larger rig that matches the trailer and maybe doesn't get pushed around so much by a large heavy DRV. I want to do more research on this as I plan to see it/drive it this weekend.

Good luck with it. As I said, it's a whole new world of towing for you. Huge steering wheel, gauges all over the place, transmission buttons on the dash, 22.5 tires that feel as if they're not rolling at all, and weight. These trucks are heavy, and that makes a big difference when you don't want to feel your trailer pushing you around.

You won't be taking this truck to your local diesel mechanic for repairs. Depending on its engine, you'll look for a certified shop specializing in that brand. There are Freightliner shops all over the US, so it's not a big deal. These places are designed to get you fixed and on the road, and I find them a real nice experience over a regular shop.

A regular FL60 "work truck" will be considerably cheaper, and for good reason. The Sportchassis is a real snazzy looking rig, hence, more money.