A refrigerated truck quote has a habit of arriving as a single number attached to a single model, with nothing to compare it against. The way to read a cold chain budget properly is the opposite way round: fix the money first, then see what the money actually changes. Below are six chassis currently listed in the cargo and tractor categories, arranged from the cheapest to the dearest. Every figure is taken from the published specification sheet for that chassis.

The useful thing about laying them out this way is that the price ladder turns out to track one technical choice almost perfectly: the final drive ratio. The cheap end is geared low and slow. The expensive end is geared tall. That single number tells you more about which of these trucks will earn money on your lanes than the horsepower figure on the badge.

The six chassis at a glance

Under $25,000: what you are actually buying

Two chassis sit at the bottom of the ladder, and they are not the same shape of truck at all. The Auman EST 8×4 330 hp is an 8×4 on a 1,800 + 5,100 + 1,350 mm wheelbase with a chassis length of 11,960 mm, a published gross weight of 45,000 kg, a 380-litre aluminium tank and 13 tyres. Its ISGe4-330 is a 10,500 cc unit running Euro IV, and the sheet quotes a 3.7 final drive.

The Aumark EST-M 4×2 177 hp is a much smaller machine: 4×2, 5,750 mm wheelbase, chassis 9,840 × 2,460 × 2,750 mm, gross weight 22,000 kg, a 7,225 cc Yuchai rated at 177 hp with 900 Nm, and a 4.875 axle. Its published cargo box internal dimensions are 7,800 × 2,450 × 600 mm, it carries seven tyres and a 200-litre tank, and it is the only chassis in this group whose sheet lists ABS as standard brake control.

At this end of the ladder the money buys a chassis and a gearbox, not a cold chain package. Both sheets publish emission levels that are lower than Euro VI, so confirm what your market will register before the truck is built.

$30,000 to $50,000: the middle rung changes the axle, not the engine size

The Auman MA5 6×2 is a 6×2 on a 5,900 + 1,350 mm wheelbase, 11,590 × 2,495 × 2,810 mm chassis, 22,000 kg gross, Dongfeng Cummins ISD6.7 of 6,700 cc making 198 hp and 970 Nm, Euro IV by SCR, a Fast 8JS118TC-B eight-speed, a 5.286 axle, 11 tyres and a 260-litre tank. Its sheet also lists the sales country as Vietnam with coverage across the Philippines, Honduras, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Peru, Nicaragua, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — useful if your market is on that list.

The Auman GTL 8×4 reefer is where the specification changes character. It is offered in three power ratings — 470 hp (X12NS6B470, 11.8 L, 2,300 N·m), 440 hp (X12NS6B440, 11.8 L) and 400 hp (X11NS6B400, 10.5 L, 2,000 N·m) — all to Euro VI, all through a Fast 12JSDX240TA twelve-speed. The cargo box is published as 9.35 or 9.45 m long by 2.43 m wide by 2.5 m high, with a rated load of 17.87 tonnes and a governed top speed of 89 km/h. Body dimensions are 12 × 2.6 × 3.995 m for the 470 and 12 × 2.6 × 3.95 m for the other two.

$60,000 and above: tall gearing and a lot of fuel

The two Galaxies are close relatives and the difference between them is instructive. Both are 8×4 on a 2,100 + 4,400 + 1,350 mm wheelbase with a 12 m body and a ZF 12TX2620TD twelve-speed automated gearbox in an aluminium case. The Galaxy 8×4 580 hp publishes 31 tonnes gross, 11.2 tonnes kerb, 19.67 tonnes rated load, a 12.9-litre X13NS6B580 at 426 kW / 580 hp, China VI, a 2.643 axle, twelve 12R22.5 tyres and either 600 or 780 litres of fuel depending on version. Its cargo length is 9.53 m.

The Galaxy 9 8×4 620 hp steps up to 32 tonnes gross, 11.5 tonnes kerb, 20.37 tonnes rated load, a 12.9-litre A13NS6B620 at 456 kW / 620 hp, and a 2.533 axle with 2.643 and 2.389 listed as alternatives. It carries a 1,000-litre aluminium tank, a 286 mm frame, 6,500/6,500 kg front axles and an 18,000 kg rear axle group. Cargo box is published as 9.55 × 2.45 × 0.6 m and body height as 3.805 m.

Read that 0.6 m cargo box height carefully. On both Galaxy sheets the cargo box form is listed as flatbed, which means you are buying a chassis cab and the insulated body is built on top. The 9.5 m figure is the length available for a body, not the internal height of a finished reefer.

The pattern worth remembering

Line the final drive ratios up in price order and the logic appears immediately: 3.7, 4.875, 5.286, then 2.643 and 2.533. Everything below roughly $50,000 in this range is geared to start and pull, which suits distribution work with frequent stops. The two Galaxies are geared to cruise, which suits intercity lanes where the truck spends its day in top gear.

The emission column moves the same way: Euro II, Euro IV, Euro IV, Euro VI, China VI, China VI. If your registration authority applies an emissions floor, that column — not the price — is the one that will decide which of these six you can actually put on the road.

Which one to shortlist

from $22,000 · 8×4

Foton Auman EST 8×4 330 hp Cold Chain Truck

$22,000 · 330 hp · Cummins ISGe4 10.5 L · Fast 10-speed · 3.7 axle · Euro IV

from $23,750 · 4×2

Foton Aumark EST-M 4×2 177 hp 22T Refrigerated Truck

$23,750 · 177 hp · Yuchai 7.2 L · Fast 8-speed · 4.875 axle · Euro II · ABS

from $34,300 · 6×2

Foton Auman MA5 6×2 22T Refrigerated Truck

$34,300 · 198 hp · Dongfeng Cummins 6.7 L · Fast 8-speed · 5.286 axle · Euro IV

from $46,700 · 8×4

Foton Auman GTL 8×4 Reefer 400 / 440 / 470 hp

$46,700 · 400–470 hp · Cummins X11 / X12 · Fast 12-speed · Euro VI

from $62,500 · 8×4

Foton Auman Galaxy 8×4 580 hp Refrigerated Truck

$62,500 · 580 hp · Cummins X13 12.9 L · ZF 12-speed AMT · 2.643 axle · China VI

from $65,000 · 8×4

Foton Auman Galaxy 9 8×4 620 hp Refrigerated Box Truck

$65,000 · 620 hp · Cummins A13 12.9 L · ZF 12-speed AMT · 2.533 axle · China VI

Where these numbers come from. Every price, dimension, ratio and emission level above is transcribed from the published specification sheets held in the tractor, cargo, dump and special truck categories of this site. Nothing is estimated. Where a sheet leaves a field empty, this page says “not published” rather than filling it in.

Questions buyers ask us about this range