[bushpilot]

im 41 feet tip to tail (11 feet for the tractor portion, bumper to rear cab wall), thats 30 feet of box.

ours is rated at 450 hp and id love to have more and i bet you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that would say they wouldnt want more.....while our truck has adequate power, more is always better (even if you don't use it) imo.

our 12 speed smart shift is the most amazing thing about the coach....skip shifts (as needed based on load) and it does the same when slowing down....we love it...its not fast shifting but its smooth and quiet - id never go automatic (not enough gears imo).

face it the thing that makes our coach(es) the powerhouses that they are - is the transmissions (manual or smart shifting man-umatics)....imo you cant get that out of an 8 speed automatic w/ a torque converter.

unless you absolutely need the weight bearing of a 2nd driven axle id avoid it....3k in extra tires for that 2nd axle was enough to change my mind.

as for wiring - our FL / Columbia uses teflon coated wires (fire proof) - and theyre all the same color & individually numbered....EXACTLY like an airplane, its not rocket science to trace a wire or find the other end of the numbered wire. Personally i have no problem w Freightliner (over volvo) - the dash/gauge options in the FL's are better (volvo is mostly electronic display...just something more expensive to go wrong imo).

FL parts are common and it can be worked on in any truckstop (volvo too probably but i bet getting the parts is more difficult).