Freightliner 114SD: Popular for Good Reason
For decades, Freightliner has been a North American front-runner when it comes to over-the-highway commercial tractors. But Freightliner for severe duty trucks? You bet. For example, the company’s 114SD, introduced in 2011, has become a top choice for dump and mixer vocational applications. Why?
It’s a Freightliner!
Need we say more? Maybe not, but we will, if only to bring you up to date with the details. The popularity of Freightliner’s vocational trucks has been steadily increasing, but we think this side of the OEM’s product range is still too much of a well-kept secret. When you’re in the market for a new (or used) truck, you want to know all your options. You need to know all your options, in order to make the smartest investment decision.
The 114SD is everything you would expect from Freightliner. (By the way, if you aren’t familiar with the company’s ID system, this vehicle is 114” long from the bumper to the back of the cab and it’s a Severe Duty model – 114SD.)
It’s got tough-guy style
The Freightliner 114SD boasts muscular lines and a black composite grille on the exterior, with an aluminum skin ensures maximum corrosion resistance as well as light weight. The interior is also workmanlike, with easy-care plastic dashboard and door panels. (Yes, there are some lighter-touch chrome and fake burl details.)
It’s driver-friendly
All these features add up to a more productive, less fatiguing day on the job:
- Easy cab entrance and egress
- Compact cab that still feels comfortably roomy
- Cloth upholstery that enhances breathability for long days in the saddle
- Expansive windshield and sloping hood that provide excellent visibility forward
- Big side mirrors (with remote control) and large windows that ensure good visibility to the sides and rear
- Seat and steering column can be adjusted quickly and easily
- At-a-glance instrumentation – speedometer, tach, driver information display, and warning lights including engine gauges – are all located front and center
- Rotary knobs to control heat and air conditioning
- Streamlined steering wheel — instead of mounting cruise control and other switches on the wheel (where drivers might have to look down to locate the right tool or setting), Freightliner has included these amenities within easy sight and reach on the dash
- Easy-tilt hood for convenient service access
And, of course, it delivers top performance, on road and off.
Did we mention it’s a Freightliner? One of the 114SD’s most popular options is the Allison self-shifting automatic transmission which comes with dash-mounted keypad selector. With experienced drivers in short supply and an increasingly younger driver population, more and more vocational truck buyers are choosing automatics because drivers cannot operate a manual transmission.
Hmmmm. Freightliner vocational trucks. The 114SD isn’t a brand new product, but there’s a lot to be said for tried-and-true. Just look at the entire Freightliner family of proven winners. If you’ll be in the market for a new dump truck or mixer, maybe it’s time to take a brand new look at this tough, capable severe duty model.