Lorry cab/chassis advice pls - MAN and Merc for 7.5 tonne

kerilli

kerilli

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so... the sorry saga of my dead lorry continues, and as the garage still cannot work out why it decided to commit hara-kiri, just after a major service, and having run beautifully up until it overrevved disastrously, putting a new engine in is really not an option (in case it does it again).
sooooo... new cab/chassis requd, and i'm not going near an Iveco/Eurocargo again. I'm reliably informed that a MAN or Merc is the one to go for, ideally a MAN i think as Merc parts are supposed to be v expensive.
ANY advice would be hugely appreciated. which models to go for, or avoid? any pitfalls or advice or anything.
any horsebox manufacturers you'd recommend to do the swap for me (the body is a v good newish Solitaire one), ideally East or South East, already have 1 recommended to get a quote from... Newberts. I've spoken to them and they seemed very nice and very helpful and knowledgeable.
reply by pm if you like.
THANKYOU for any help.
 
When looking we were advised to stay clear of Mercs, as although very good like you say parts are very expensive. Not much experience on MAN, other than I drove a 17tonne MAN for my HGV course, found it nice to drive, but knew no different for this size lorry, so can't comment on them. What about a Leyland Daf? These are very good runners imo, if you go for a DAF better to go for the DAF150 than the DAF 130, as you get more power/bigger engine size. Just a thought anyway as you hadn't mentioned them.
 
are the DAFs very good and reliable? just cannot possibly afford to have another newish engine blow up for no apparent reason... i know nothing about DAFs. happy to add DAFs to the list!
the rescue guy who dragged my lorry to the garage sang the praises of MANs all the way, and said he rescues Ivecos every day... :( :(
Thankyou.
 
Well in my experience:

Our lorry is a DAF 150 T X reg and is a fantastic runner, never let us down, or had any major parts needed, just yearly service etc. Always starts (touch wood), and doesn't get used as much as it should in winter. Pulls great up the steep Yorkshire hills. Can't fault it.

Friend had an 7.5 tonne oakley built to spec and they put that on a DAF chasis, with the £££S that cost, the reaserach was done and they opted for the DAF.

Have a few friends with DAFs and they all seem to be reliable lorries. Sorry can't help no more, but if I was looking for a new lorry or chasis they would be what I would be looking into, they do seem to have a good reputation.
 
My old blue M reg was a leyland Daf and was ultra-reliable. Never broke down, would sit for weeks and still run, started first time after two weeks of sat in the snow last winter.

The new shiny super-truck is a MAN, and is also brill! It too is reliable and nice to drive. I prefer the gear box on the MAN but TBH could just be the difference between an M-reg and an 03 reg!!

The daf was easy to get parts for too, used to ring the place in town and pick it up the same day. Assume the MAN will be easy too but thankfully no experience so far!

I think in your shoes, I'd find the trustworthy person to swap it and see which they prefer working with. The chap who built mine likes to work with MANs and gave me a warranty on the chassis, so having driven it before the start of the build, I was happy to trust his judgement.
 
Ive just done my HGV and the truckers in the 'cafes' advised me never to touch a ford iveco with a bargepole! they said DAF or MAN's are very good. Said mercs are good but can be expensive when they go wrong.
 
Love my MAN 816 - it's a T-reg and lovely to drive, gear box is slick and very easy to drive. It hadn't been used since early November because of the weather and it started first time with the turn of the key this weekend . :o) Have had a Merc and Daf too and much prefer the MAN.
 
No, mine was done by Galaxy. He did a superb job, phoned me every week to tell me the progress, sent me pic every week by text/email, and after care has also been good. Communication from him was amazing!
 
We have gone for a DAF too. Mercs were well thought of amongst 'trucker' people but parts are expensive & they are also quite heavy. Ivecos are known to not be very tough & prone to rust etc. Our engineer also said to avoid MAN too as they arent man enough....:D;):):o

Soooo DAF it is for us....I have just bought an 05 one & its being converted as we speak....:eek:
 
LOL, funny you should say that Joss - my new MAN has much more power than my DAF did, so I've found the opposite - it's probably just my MAN is so much newer than the DAF though.
 
My pref would go:

Volvo/ Merc (volvos are better in snow)
Scania (N/a for you)
MAN

Dad is an HGV driver & prefers Volvos to Mercs

However as mine are HGV's I don't have to worry about weight so much, I know mercs & Volvos are heavy.

Our Merc is a G reg so it's 20/21 years old. When we bought it 5 years ago it had been sitting in a field for a year & still started!

The only time it has failed to start since was last year when our diesel froze in -20.

The parts are expensive, but we haven't had to buy anything yet!(touch wood!)

Also, weirdly, we have never been stuck, even when others have had to be towed in to lorry parks.


ETA, Had a Ford once, NEVER again!
 
tiger_feet said:
Love my MAN 816 - it's a T-reg and lovely to drive, gear box is slick and very easy to drive. It hadn't been used since early November because of the weather and it started first time with the turn of the key this weekend . :o) Have had a Merc and Daf too and much prefer the MAN.
Click to expand...

Agree 100% with TF. I also have the MAN 816, very easy to drive, super gear box and excellent pulling power - goes uphill no problem with my 17hh in the back! Mine has also sat in sub zero temps since Nov 2010 and started first time last week. We bought the chassis cab 4 years ago & have had no cause for complaint.
 
Firstly whatever you do don't google "MAN parts" unless you want to see things you really didn't want to know about. I got caught out by that one:mad:
 
I drove a MAN made by galaxy and found the clutch really heavy, but I'm short. Out of all the lorries the DAF's are most girlie to drive with the lightest clutches

Or I found a recycling lorry in autotrader and got a DAF 150 Auto which I love to bits!!!
 
Secondly (because I pressed post too early in my remembered embarrassment) regardless of which manufacturer you choose, in order to keep the cost of the swap down you need to pick a chassis with the layout of wheels, tanks etc in the same place or as similar to the one you are replacing as possible - or so I was told when I looked at having a chassis swap done.
 
I have been looking for a DAF chasis for ages and cant find anything:(
There doesnt seem to be many for sale which could say a lot about them.

Im getting desperate now.
 
I have an elderly merc which started this weekend first time after the cold spell, haven't found parts too expensive but it is heavy, i'm only carrying one at the mo so not too worried but would worry eventing with a couple of big horses plus water and kit.

LOL MAN parts!! off topic i once googled girth extensions for what i thought would be obvious reasons!! also not recommended :eek:
 
I have my lorry on a MAN 8153 Chassis. 7.5 ton.

Its brilliant - had a cargo before and it was awful in comparison.

Its is totally relieable - its been sat from the end of November, thru all the snow and ice, and started first time yesterday to go for its plate.

I cant rate the chassis highly enough and parts seem easy to find too.
 
It was a few years back when I was last lorry hunting but I was told to stay clear of Mercs 7.5tonners. I was told Mann or Leyland. I ended up with a leyland terrier (1983reg!!) which outshone every other lorry with its reliability. Yes it needed some things doing mechanically but the most expensive one was only due to a pedantic jobsworth at the plating centre grrrr (wasn't built to have PAS but someone at some point in its life installed it, when I brought it it was fitted but not working but I drove it fine and it was safe, it went through 3 plates like this, then 4th plate the test centre decided it must work before they wouldn't pass it and that was it. Because it was never designed to have PAS the mechanic had to custom build a new system which cost the best part of £500 on top of the servicing/plate costs!)

It always started though (except when had an issue with a dodgey battery!) and you could literally leave it for several weeks and it would burst back into life, it was more reliable that lorries a third of its age!!
 
I have a MAN 7.5 and so I can compare it as my last truck was Iveco. My MAN is defo more up to the job, smoother on engine and gearbox (less revs require for same pulling power). Has for it chassis is heavier than the Iveco and IMO it gives the horses a smoother ride for this (less twisting and flexing) As for up it’s keep and bills, I haven’t noticed a difference between running.

If you where nearer I would chuck you my keys for test drive
 
Until recently I had a MAN 8153 on an M reg. It was the DBs as far as driving went. It was extremely comfortable and the cab was so quiet. It was very easy to hold a conversation without having to raise your voice!

I used it to start up my transport business after originally being used for my own horses. It never once let us down apart from a tyre but it was very well maintained and if there was any doubt with anything, it was looked at before it developed further.

MANs are known to be good runners and there wasn't a speck of rust on the cab but they are heavy. On an average day, it had a payload of 1880 and that was without all the fancy living extras or luton.

I loved it and was sad to see it go but it was always meant to be a leisure vehicle rather than a workhorse, if that makes sense so had to let it go.
 
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