You are right about the front axle. Without the garage and goodies in it the front axle is at about 6400 pounds with the camper mounted on the flatbed and nothing on the rear of the flatbed. The axle is rated for 6830 or something around there. With driver and passenger it puts us right at the max.
When the garage is mounted and carrying two dual sport motorcycles, it counterbalances the front axle quite a bit, dropping the front axle weight to under 6,000. We would almost always be travelling with the garage mounted or with neither pod mounted.
I really like the cabover design for visibility, turning radius, and compact length (the whole vehicle is less than 26 feet long).
The cab and chassis gets heavy when you go up to the next level, the T series or Isuzu F series. Our 6200 pound cab and chassis bumps up to over 11,000 pounds.
I have looked a bit at the Freightliner M2 or Hino 268. The Hino is the only one I can find specs on. It is about 10,200 pounds for the wheelbase that would fit a 20 foot flatbed, giving you 15,750 pounds for payload vs the 13,300 we have with the Isuzu. It is going to be 5 inches taller and quite a bit longer with a larger turning radius.
|