Hino straight trucks

bigguy1001

Expert Expediter
Hello, I know there are several owners out there running the Hino model 338 as a D or C unit. Are there any Hino owners who read and post at Expediters Online? I have heard some interesting things about the Hino related to fuel mileage and not breaking down. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge regarding this model of truck? By the way, this model Hino is a conventional, not a cabover. Looks a lot like a Freightliner M2 or a 4000 series International. Your feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
I think they show some promise as a entry level truck because of the price. The two concerns I see is percieved value once you have it, and the second is engine size. As a city truck they would be ok, but with only 210HP that engine won't have that much life in it after 250,000 miles. No option to go to a larger engine as of the 05 expo.
If purchased, they have essentially no value once driven awhile. Most dealers wouldn't take it back on trade ect. One would be better to lease this type of vehicle to avoid getting stuck with it.
AB was suppose to start doing a bunk for these but not sure if or how many they have done. Real close to a FL70 setup.
I should mention, I don't own one and this is my limited opinion based on what I currently know about them.




Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
The www.hino.com website lists a 4 and two 6 cylinder engine choices with the top engine being 260hp at 1500 but only 585tq at 1500. The hp might be adequate but the torque seems quite low. If I was setting one up as a C unit it might be ok but I wouldn't want to try to run it as a D unit with only 585 torque. The warranty is 24 month unlimited miles so I guess if you leased for 24 months you'd be covered for everything but pm service but I don't see how you could come out on only a 24 month lease. They are interesting vehicles and maybe in the next few years will become another good option for expediting but at least to me they seem not quite ready yet.

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redytrk

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
I would thinklong and hard before getting into one of these trucks.Having gone through the agony of owning a UD I would not own any truck with a very limited network of dealers who can work on them.
 

bigguy1001

Expert Expediter
One thing I was aware of, Hino North America is partly owned by Roger Penske. These trucks can be worked on at any Penske facility. That would give them a pretty extensive service network I think. Also Dave, the model you saw at the Expo was a below CDL model. It was not the correct model for display at the expo. And the engine is a sleeved engine designed for use all over the world. In places where a dealer would be hundreds of miles away, if there was a road to get you there. Third world kind of stuff. Also LDB I went fishing at the "common" engine company web sites and found the following.
Cummins ISB @ 260hp = 550 ftlbs.
Cummins ISC @ 260hp = 660 ftlbs.
MBE 900 @ 260hp = 700 ftlbs.
Cat C7/3126 @ 250 hp = 660 ftlbs.
Hino J08E @ 260hp = 585 ftlbs.
How big a difference is 11%? (660 vs 585)
Now I have another question. Do you trade torque for MPG? Would a higher torque rating reduce your MPGs or does torque rating have no relationship to MPG?
 

RichM

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
I would be concerned about the parts issue. Look at what's going on now with Sprinters and FL dealers. They have an extensive network and parts supply is a problem. It might be a good exercise just for the heck of it to call several Penske dealers in out of the way locations,act like you have a Hino with a problem and see what response you get.
Also there was a time,might still be that certain US Auto plants would not let foreign built trucks enter their locations.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Maybe I am a little confused, but I can not find any reference of Penske in my Hino investor’s report or investor’s information book.

I know that Toyota owns 100% of Hino Japan and owns the manufacturing (or assembly) plant in California but maybe Penske is a distributor or has exclusive distribution of the COE trucks for NA. The only thing I did find was pr releases dated mid 2003 of a joint venture with Penske investment but nothing after early 2004.

Oh well, Hino makes class 8 trucks for every market except the US and they even take part in the Dakar rally, which I think no US manufacture even cares about.
 

bigguy1001

Expert Expediter
OK, maybe "ownership" was an overstatement. The link below does state "will offer a new line of conventional medium duty trucks." So the 338 is what this partnership is about. And I assume other, yet to come, models. And rumor has it a class 8 is in the works for the American market. With these fuel prices it's tough to ignore a vehicle that might slice 10-15% off your annual fuel bill. That's what I'm looking for, some first hand knowledge about the Hino 338's MPGs. Thanks.
http://www.hino.com/news/story_268.php?PHPSESSID=59992801729af5a462a135c9d56c320b
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
thanks big guy, i already read that, it is from 2003. nothing after that, so i assume (i know assumptions are dangerous) that there was a shift and Toyota changed the structure again. I seen a couple of Hino COE when i was at GM as they were testing them, they looked like Mercedes COEs.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
You are correct in the one that I saw at the Expo. Churney had said a class 7 was in the works with a condo sleeper from AB. Their display was a Bentz. The class 7 would have the larger engine and air ride which the display didn't have.
They would have a interesting product if the service locations and parts availability is there. They have all of their competitors beat on price.
It would be interesting to see how that translates into resale value.


Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator
 
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