Truck Topics

New and Improved 960 Express Cruiser

Knoxville, TN. After a successful three year run, the Award Winning 960 Express Cruiser Expediting Truck has received its first major makeover.  Last August the people voted, and the “Cruiser” was awarded “Best of Show” at the Expedite Expo Trade Show in Wilmington, OH.

It was hard to imagine how this vehicle could be improved.

However, while you were telling us what you liked about the truck, you were also telling us what could be improved.  As a result of your input, the latest version of America’s favorite expediting truck includes over 30 significant design improvements!

What makes the 960 Express Cruiser so popular!  Freightliner of Knoxville has always been an innovator and industry leader in the design and production of expediting trucks.  In 1991, we were the first dealer to install a sleeper on the brand new FL70.  About two years later, we installed the first APU’s on expediter trucks. 

Down through the years, we have pioneered many of the innovations that you have come to expect on modern expediting trucks.  It is this creativity and attention to detail that makes the new 960 Express Cruiser the most innovative, well designed, and handsome expediting truck on the market today!

Because you spend so much of your life in your truck, it’s important that you be as comfortable as possible! Accordingly, we gave Keith Bentz, our sleeper provider, a list of possible improvements that could be made.  In October ’06, after nearly a year of working with Keith, we previewed the prototype for the next “Cruiser”.  After several different modifications, we now have our first new units on the ground! They are spectacular!

 

Our thanks go out to Keith Bentz, and all of the staff at Bentz Transport Products for providing us with a wonderful new sleeper for the “Cruiser”.

Another significant improvement worth noting is the increased torque available from the Mercedes MB900 Engine. The torque rating on the 330 HP version of this engine is now 1000 ft.lb, an increase from the previous 860.  This is a significant boost in power, and it can be felt immediately in the throttle response. This gives the 960 Express Cruiser similar power and responsiveness to a Class 8 truck, but with the fuel economy and weight of a Class 7 truck.

We recently began to install the high quality Mickey van body on our expediter trucks.  Our customers expect the very best truck and sleeper, and also expect to get a high quality van body!  Mickey has been held in the highest regard for many years by the buyers of premium van bodies due to their high quality as well as their strong reputation for taking care of customers when they experience problems.

Here are the highlights of the improvements that we made to the 960 Express Cruiser:

· New one piece fiberglass roof cap with flat roof.  This new roof cap allows more headroom in the sleeper, providing for larger cabinets, and more interior stand up room in the forward cab area.  The flat roof also provides a large, solid platform for roof mounted items such as roof air, fresh air vents, satellite domes, TV antennas, and Qualcomm receivers.

· New 3” insulated floors, sealed at the bottom.  Your feet will be warmer, your heater won’t have to work as hard, and your sleeper will be much quieter, insulated from the sounds of the driveline and from your APU.

· New lightweight aluminum cabinet substructure. The sleeper weight is reduced approximately 20%, dropping the critical weight on the front axle as well as the overall truck weight.

· Larger refrigerator and freezer, as you requested!

· New standard porta-potty access door!

· New premium entertainment system with 17” LCD Flat Screen TV, DVD Player, and AM/FM CD Player.

· New warmer and more vibrant earth tone color scheme.

· Premium Window Blinds.

· Standard Convection/Microwave Oven.

· Sleeper is Pre-Engineered for Easy Installation of APU.

·Single and double bunk configurations are now available.

· More power, with the new 1000 lb/ft torque, 330 HP Mercedes Benz engine.

For more details on the specifications of the new Bentz sleeper, Click here.

For a general list of the specifications on the whole truck, including the chassis and van body, click here.

Introductory Special - You Get A Gift for Viewing Our Award Winning Truck!

We will officially debut the new 960 Express Cruiser Expediting Truck at the Mid America Trucking Show in March.  However, the trucks can be seen now at Freightliner of Knoxville.  We invite you to stop by and view these fabulous new trucks during business hours, 8 to 6 M-F, 8 to 12 Sat., or by appointment.  Jon Mosier, our expediting specialist, will be glad to show you a new “Cruiser”.

After you’ve seen our truck, in appreciation of your valuable time, you will receive a nice gift.  We only ask that you must be either an expedite driver, or an expedite owner, actively involved in the industry.

Freightliner of Knoxville is a franchised Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, and Sprinter dealer, and is an industry leader in the production, sale, and support of trucks to the expedited freight industry. 

We are located in Knoxville, TN at exit 369, I-40/I-75.  Our phone # is 1-800-241-0138.  Email Jon Mosier.

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