The five most searched-for trucks on trucksales

The top-five heavy-duty truck searches on trucksales over the past year in order of enquiry volume were: Kenworth T909, Mack Super-Liner, Freightliner Argosy, Volvo FH, and Mercedes-Benz Actros. We’ve analysed what we think are their main attributes for used truck buyers.

The Kenworth T909 is one of the heavy haulage and multi-trailer sector’s favourite prime movers, for several important reasons. It’s normally specified from new for high-tonnage combination weights, so it comes with a Cummins 600hp engine, 18-speed Eaton transmission and a heavy-duty back end.

These days, most used T909s ride on Kenworth’s eight-spring air suspension, but some have six-rod with a choice of 52-inch or 56-inch tandem wheelbase. Older ones may still have cast-spider hubs and demountable rims.

Related: Kenworth T909 on/off highway Review

The T909’s classic long-bonnet, big-grille design not only looks authentic, but has great practical advantages, including maximum radiator frontal area and good flow-through ventilation around the engine.

Overweight steer axles can be a problem for many big-horsepower trucks with set-back axles, but the 909’s set-forward front axle means that not too much engine weight sits over the front axle.

Most used T909s also offer the comfort of KW’s Aerodyne 50-inch sleeper cab.

What can’t be quantified by the above specifications is the allure of the ‘KW’ brand, which keeps it at the top of the heavy prime-mover sale charts, year after year.

Find your own Kenworth T909 here at trucksales.

The Mack Super-Liner is a well-specified heavy haulage and multi-trailer truck that, like Kenworth’s T909, slots below the brand’s absolute tri-drive top-shelf model, thus endearing it to B-Double, A-Double and multi-axle dog trailer haulers.

Volvo’s ownership of Mack is well disguised when you clamber aboard a Super-Liner, or read its specifications, despite the fact that the 16-litre engine is a Euro big six, with injection and turbo system changes to make it behave more like a North American powerplant. At its top horsepower setting of 685hp this donk easily out-powers and out-torques Cummins.

Related: Mack SuperLiner LT Review

Used examples newer than around 2010 also have the Volvo-derived mDrive automated manual transmission that is made even more appealing by deep-reduction ratio options down to a 32:1 first gear ratio.

Older Super-Liners have all-American powertrains with Cummins or even Caterpillar engines, Eaton 18-speed manual boxes and Meritor or Eaton diffs, on Mack or Neway suspensions. Newer Supers have only the Volvo-derived engine/gearbox combination and can have North American or Volvo rear ends.

Sleeper cab choices when new included Mid-Rise and High-Rise models, out to 60 inches length.

Like Kenworth, the Bulldog breed has a dedicated band of followers who won’t consider buying anything else.

Find your own Mack Super-Liner here at trucksales.

We’ve driven all the Freightliner Argosy derivatives since the model’s premature introduction here in 1999, before it was properly sorted for Australian conditions. The Evolution models were released in 2006, with greatly improved operation of the truck’s stand-out feature: its powered swing-out ‘staircase’.

Related: Freightliner Argosy/Hamelex White Review

Among 120 much-needed improvements incorporated in the Evolution models were: stiffened chassis and cab structure, revised wiring loom, larger radiator and intercooler and greatly improved cab interior and seating. The troublesome gear linkage was also revised and an optional automated manual AutoShift AS3 was introduced, then later replaced by the clutchless UltraShift.

So, the take from all this is to buy a post-2006 Argosy Evolution, not one of the early models.

By 2006, the writing was on the wall for the Argosy in the USA, where unregulated prime mover length meant that only niche operations required a cab-over-engine prime mover. The only global markets taking the Argosy were Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, but that 2000-truck potential annual market kept Argosy production alive until 2020.

Obsolete trucks are often bargains and there are plenty of good used Argosys out there, for much less money than the identical North American powertrain and running gear in other-brand trucks. Just because it’s no longer in production doesn’t mean there’s no support for used Argosys.

Find your own Freightliner Argosy here at trucksales.

The Volvo brand has been synonymous with safety since its 1970s introduction in Australia. The Swedish cab impact safety test is the most rigorous in the world and has eventually become a benchmark for all truck makers.

Another Volvo hallmark is driver comfort.

Like the other European makers, who now dominate global heavy truck manufacturing thanks to several US takeovers, Volvo has always held that the best way to make a truck is to integrate all the components into a single design.

Related: Volvo FH16 700: Outback Review

This process contrasted with the traditional US practice of truck makers building the cab and chassis and fitting bought-in powertrain components. Interestingly, the most successful US truck maker, PACCAR, has largely adopted this European manufacturing model in recent years.

The argument used against this vertically integrated structure is that the truck owner is ‘captive’ and unable to source servicing and parts from competitive suppliers.

Volvo’s counter argument has been that its parts and service costs are comparable and that it’s easier for a truck owner to deal with one company, rather than have to deal with multiple component suppliers – particularly in the event of warranty issues.

Doubtless, this discussion will go on for some time yet…

Volvo’s FH has been a very popular model in the Australian market and there are plenty of them among the used-truck ads on trucksales. Most examples are post-2005 and the bulk are 13-litre models, but with a few 16-litre examples.

All of this vintage have ABS disc brakes and automated 12-speed transmissions and most are running on Volvo’s eight-bellows air rear springs.

Many of the ‘bargain’ ones are low-priced, but have odometer readings at or above the one-million-kilometre mark.

In contrast are dearer trucks that have been given engine and transmission overhauls and some of them carry Volvo’s two-year, 500,000km warranty on that rebuild.

Find your own Volvo FH here at trucksales.

The Actros was ahead of its time when it launched in Europe in 1996 and Down Under two years later. An automated-shift manual transmission and disc brakes are old hat these days, but they were a big deal nearly 30 years ago. Those innovations made conservative Australian truck buyers a little gun shy and sales weren’t great.

Related: Mercedes-Benz Actros 2663 Review

Market penetration also wasn’t helped by carry-over V6 and V8 engines that well suited Europe’s short bumper-to-back-of-cab requirements, but weren’t popular linehaul engines here.

However, Actros heavyweights were well suited to non-linehaul tasks and the construction versions had off-road friendly drum brakes. The hub reduction drive axles that made them unsuited for many linehaul jobs were a boon in rough conditions and with big loads.

Nonetheless, the Actros suited some long-haul operations and the top-shelf V8 models certainly performed very well.

However, in the background, M-B planned an in-line, six-cylinder engine family based on its in-house Detroit Diesel architecture – even for European customers. The in-line family was launched in Europe for 2012 and in Australia, in late 2016.

These 11-litre, 13-litre and 16-litre six-cylinder models reset the Actros marketing effort and sales went through the roof.

The bulk of used Actros entries on trucksales are post-2017 in-line six-cylinder models and they attract a sizeable premium over the previous-generation V-engined trucks.

Find your own Mercedes-Benz Actros here on trucksales.

So, there they are, our Top Five most-searched for trucks, but there are plenty more brands to choose from at trucksales.