fitzgerald gliders

glider kits have changed a lot since the 80s. several companies have been making them again. several good points most major parts have been rebuilt to factory specs, you will get a warranty, and a rebuilt pre egr engine with fuel mileage you can live with (that alone is worth big bucks).however am not sure if they are legal being pre egr in all states. and when you go to sell it how it will effect the selling price. dont know all the details but those are a few things to look at. lots of luck on your purchase

 

After going the glider route, I would recommend that anyone doing it, regardless of brand, find a regular dealer that is into it. Fitz is a 3rd party. They have to order just like you would. They order a generic setup, except for engine and tranny, and a few other things, but if you want to get down a dirty on truck spec's they will not be much help. By going the OEM route, you can have access to the complete ordering system available to the dealer and spec everything right down to the brand of axle hub seals. You can truly get a truck customized to exactly what you are wanting for the same ballpark price.

I did my FL that way, and am glad I did. I used a dealer near me that is doing a lot of gliders, ordered direct from FL and had 16 pages of specifications where I tweaked everything about the interior, undercarriage, paint on body and chassis, etc. Everything that you always thought a truck should be, you can specify. You end up with a far superior package than you could get from Fitz. Obviously, you would have a longer lead time than with Fitz. Fitz already has their generic orders in the pipeline. You would be at the end of the build list. But it is worth the wait to get EXACTLY what you want. A truck that is worth keeping for a long, long time.

I know that Paccar is in the process of changing data links in their gliders, but they are also making up new wiring harness' that will mate up older engines to the newer platform data links. A dealer that does gliders can help you with that. There are a number of glider owners on the Let's Truck website that can steer you right. Latest discussions there involve Pete and Kenworth gliders. By far, the most gliders out there are FL. Western Star also has a model or two available. Good luck with however you go!

 

Look in your profile. PM sent.

 

Agree'd !!! Fitz seems to be just a mega-producer of cookie cutter trucks now. I have spoken with several drivers who got truck thru them and were not happy with the service (trucks are fine) but they said the sales and service sucked bad!!!

One guy wanted rear exhaust instead of the side-of-cab that comes on the Coronado. So Fitz charged him $2,500 to change it. Then they only put 1 single stack on the back, not chrome and also didn't get him the chrome trim that goes along the sleeper to cover the holes for the side-of-cab pipes. I was shocked!!!

Not only did Fitz save about a grand on NOT installing the 2 mufflers and stacks, but they also made $2,500 off this guy (granted the guy was dumb for going along with it).... I would reccommend Harrison's Truck Center in Iowa

 

I would recommend Harrison also. I got mine thru them. Another good one I would recommend is Omaha Truck Center in Omaha, NE.

 

Ive Had a great experience with Fitz. when I called Harrison they kinda treated me like you gonna buy a truck or waste my time didnt realy feel the love that day. So there is probably good and bad days with both companies. Fitz does a good job at what they do. They really are not marketing them self's as a "custom order" shop so why would one expect them to be. I do know that they can and will order a custom Glider for you but it will take longer, Just because they are not a Freightliner dealer does not mean they cant order what you want just takes lead time. Frankly, they are selling 15 gliders a week and so why would they need to change? also I kinda feel like this is ALL they do is build gliders, that is what they specialized in. I would never rule out Harrison, just at this time they didn't get my business. Next truck maybe different deal.

Fitz trucks also come with the rear boxes and full running boards on the Coronado which for flat bedding was important to us.
we are getting 7 mpg at 75 mph. 100k miles and only an alternator failure. (under warranty and repaid by fitz)

As Cowpie stated, as well as myelf, I am a huge fan of gliders, once you roll with a brand new truck and a good ole 12.7 or 6nz, its an awesome and financially rewarding experience. I will always have a glider till the EPA shuts that down too.

 

I will agree, Fitz could order a truck thru FL exactly how you want it. The question with that is though... why wouldn' t a person just do it themselves and avoid the middle man? Harrison, for instance is right on Fitz back end when it comes to the number gliders they are putting together. They have just as much experience doing it. And, again, they are an actual dealer, so YOU have total access and control in the ordering process.

Fitz does it's thing just fine. No problem. But it is all a matter of what you want, and how fast you want a truck. Obviously, Harrison is not going to have a lot full of gliders they have done already with generic specs like Fitz does. But Fitz will have a bit of a brain cramp if a person goes about ordering a truck tweaked like I did it. It is just a matter of what you need, want, and are willing to go with. And it is somewhat refreshing for me to be actually dealing with the plant itself in modifying specs on the fly. That is something that Fitz would have trouble doing.

 

Looks like we are going to build 40 gliders . First one I sitting on the year now. Looks sharp. Local freightliner doing them. Going slow, tearing down donor trucks for cores. Engine put in at factory. Reman 12.7 detroits , per EGR.

 

Paccar, specifically Peterbilt is doing much more than just the data links, they are in the process of updating the entire electronic architecture of the cab and chassis. Namux IV has been mentioned as the replacement but no definite answer yet.
Kenworth on the other hand is another story. KW does not supply ANY engine control with the glider. They do provide glider parts kits as far back as a ’04 EPA engine though. We worked with their engineering department as they brought back their glider program. The end result was a line of harness products that allow the installation of CAT, Cummins or Detroit engines as far back as 3406E, N-14 Celect +, and 60 Series DDEC III. There are no work arounds or hard wiring needed inside the cab, the entire harness is plug and play right down to the OEM numbers on the wires. From a troubleshooting standpoint tech's simply plug their diagnostics equipment into the data reader and troubleshoot the engine. If you have any questions feel free to give us a call.