We ordered a new moving truck!

So the time has come to replace our old reliable truck #4. We’ve partnered with Ryder Truck Leasing and custom spec’d the new moving truck we want. Here’s the scoop:

The Truck:

We’ve ordered a brand new moving truck. It’s a 2018 Isuzu FTR. The FTR is one of the few cabover style trucks available in medium duty. Most of the trucks we already have (with the exception of our Kenworth T370 tractor and the truck this one’s replacing) are already Isuzus. They make the best most reliable and easy to use trucks for city work ever. I’ve loved every one I’ve owned. The interiors are simple, the maintenance straight forward and they don’t make everything so computerized that it doesn’t work. Just good solid utilitarian trucks with great turning radii.

Parking is a key consideration when it comes to choosing a new moving truck. Being able to get our trucks into tight driveways, down the byzantine streets of Boston or parallel park on Mass-ave can make or break a move. We currently have on of the last generation of FTRs that they stopped making in 2007 (ours is re-branded as a GMC) and it’s an excellent truck to work in. I like to say it parks so well you could take it to the supermarket to pickup eggs.

The new FTR is also very good ecologically. It would be best if we never drove anywhere, but since it would be impossible to service our customers while staying home we might as well have an ecologically friendly truck. These are the first generation of medium duty trucks to come with a 4 cylinder engine (most have larger 6 cylinders) which helps with fuel economy as well as emissions. It also has enough power despite this, due to advances in engine design. Basically it’s the future of city trucks.

Check out the specs here at the Isuzu FTR website. Or check out this except from the flyer:

The Body:

The best part about buying a new moving truck is that you get to decide exactly how you want it set up. We’ve gone for a light-weight spec to allow maximum capacity for regional interstate moves. But we also wanted a lot of conveniences and features to make moving go quicker, smoother and easier. We’ll have a double curb-side door which will allow for side-ramping. We can also load the front half of the truck without walking the full length of the deck. It doesn’t sound like a big deal but those extra 12 feet start to matter if you’re doing them hundreds of times a day for a decade.

The truck will have a built in ramp we can use at the back or at the side which stows under the body. We’ve spec’d barn-doors at the back instead of a rollup door because it gets you a another 100ft3 or so with which to store goods, which can sometimes really make the difference. There’s also lots of little details, floor composition, e-track, tie-offs, lighting and other elements that should make it a great one to work in. We selected Supreme Corp for the body as most of the other trucks we own have them and we’ve found them to be good quality.

The Gate:

For suburban work a ramp is an absolute necessity, but for urban moving a liftgate is even more important. In the city you often don’t have the parking space to put a ramp out, and you can’t side-ramp over the sidewalk blocking it and preventing strollers, wheelchairs or even just pedestrians from passing. Having a reliable liftgate that’s easy to maintain and is also large enough to be useful is key. We knew we wanted an aluminum deck, 50 inches or larger and we didn’t want power-down.

Why not power down? Most trucks are spec’d with power down liftgates these days as they allow the gate to auto level, which I’ll admit nice. A gravity down gate will take a slight slant as it descends so the lip of the gate touches first so you can roll on things on wheels. A power down will go down level, and then once it hits the ground, will tip the last little bit. This is great until you drop your gate onto a nice new asphalt driveway in the middle of the summer and the powerdown pushes the gate into the soft driveway, leaving dents. A gravity down puts much less pressure on the ground and won’t damage a new driveway. After all, first do no harm right?

The only gate that fit the bill was the Waltco EM series, so for our new moving truck we bought the lightest weight, largest platform gate they available. We also had them install a remote control which comes in handy in a variety of circumstances. The remote allows one worker to manage some loads that would normally take two or more.

Delivery:

We’re currently scheduled to receive it in late February or early March and we can’t wait. I’m excited to have it ready for next season. Stay tuned.

P.S. Available for sale: 2002 International 4300 with a liftgate, side-door and ramp that’s been lovingly maintained by it’s 2nd owner.