A site foreman in Sierra Leone does not have the luxury of a single-purpose truck. The same vehicle that carries a survey crew to a prospecting cut also hauls spares to a generator that failed at 2 a.m., ferries an inspector between concession boundaries, and doubles as the runabout when the road out of the camp turns to red clay after the first rain. What you are really buying is not a "pickup" in the showroom sense — it is a mobile support node that has to start every morning and not strand anyone 40 km from the nearest workshop.

This article covers exactly one scenario: light-duty pickup and support work in Sierra Leone. We look at a single listed vehicle, the Foton Tunland S 4×4, and we take every figure below — engine, torque, dimensions, tank, payload — straight from its published specification. No other model is discussed, and nothing here is estimated.

1. The powertrain: a 2.8-litre Cummins and a 360 Nm torque shelf

The Tunland S runs a Foton Cummins ISF2.8s2161P, a 2,780 cc four-cylinder diesel. The headline rating is 120 hp, the displacement is 2.78 litres, and the published torque is 360 N·m. For support and resupply work the torque figure matters more than the peak horsepower: a loaded pickup climbing out of a river crossing wants low-end pull, not a high-rpm headline. The 360 N·m figure is what gets a 2,975 kg gross vehicle moving with tools, fuel cans and passengers aboard.

One honest flag for the buyer: the listing's detail line records the power field as "120" under a kW/rpm heading, while the headline states 120 hp (PS). Those two cannot both be exact — 120 kW would be roughly 163 PS. Get the exact rated power confirmed in writing before you pay a deposit, because it changes how the truck is taxed and registered, and because it tells you what the engine is really doing at the flywheel.

2. Gearbox, 4×4 and the 3.91 final drive

Drive goes through a Zhongma ZM015 transmission to a 4×4 system with a 3.91 drive-axle ratio. The 3.91 ratio is a sensible all-rounder for mixed work: low enough to find grip and crawling speed on a wet mine track, high enough to keep the engine calm on a paved run between towns. A shorter ratio would lug the engine on the highway; a taller one would leave you hunting for momentum in the mud. For Sierra Leone's blend of broken laterite and occasional tarmac, 3.91 is the right compromise.

The 4×4 layout is the part you will actually pay for on this truck. The use cases listed with the vehicle — mining and construction commuting, mobile resupply, fleet logistics support and field inspection — all share one theme: you leave the road. A 4×2 version would be cheaper but useless once the track disappears, and the Tunland S is specced precisely for the moment the road does end.

3. What actually fits in the bed, and the passenger count

The cargo box inner dimensions are 1,520 × 1,580 × 440 mm. Read that carefully: the floor is 1.52 m long and 1.58 m wide, but the side height is only 440 mm. That is a working flatbed for crates, jerry cans, a generator on a skid and loose gear — not a tall enclosed van body. Plan your load around a long, low, wide footprint rather than volume. The 440 mm wall height also means anything that can roll needs to be tied down, not leaned.

Inside the cab you get a double cab with five seats. For a field crew that is the difference between one trip and two: a driver plus four passengers, or a driver, two passengers and the rear bench folded for more kit. The seats are described as leather multi-function with Bluetooth, an airbag and pre-tensioner seatbelts (note the 2-point belt for the rear middle occupant, which is worth knowing if you carry a full bench on rough tracks).

4. The daily-driver details: suspension, brakes, tank and tyres

Front suspension is a double wishbone independent layout; the rear is a longitudinal variable-section leaf spring. That split is exactly what you want in a support pickup — the independent front keeps the steering readable on a corrugated track, the leaf rear soaks up a loaded bed without wallowing. Brakes are hydraulic with ABS+EBD, and the wheels are 265/70R16 on aluminium rims with an aluminium spare, so you are not stranded on a steel rim if you tear a tyre on a stump.

Fuel is a 76-litre tank and the truck is Left-Hand Drive, which matches Sierra Leone's right-hand-traffic rule. Electric air conditioning is standard. With a 3,105 mm wheelbase the turning circle stays manageable on tight camp roads. The 4+1 tyre count (four running plus one spare) is the honest minimum for remote work — if your routes are genuinely far from a town, carry a second spare, because the listing provides only one.

5. The emission badge, and why it is the first thing to check

The Tunland S is listed at Euro II. That is the one line on this sheet that can stop an import dead, depending on what Sierra Leone's clearing regime requires at the time you order. Euro II is an older standard; if your import permit demands a higher tier, this specific variant will not clear, and you would be negotiating a different truck entirely. Confirm the required emission level in writing against your permit before you commit — do not assume a Euro II diesel is automatically acceptable.

Pickup · Sierra Leone

Foton Tunland S 4×4 — 120 hp, 360 N·m, double cab

Foton Cummins ISF2.8s2161P, 2,780 cc · 360 N·m torque · Zhongma ZM015 · 4×4, 3.91 final drive · 2,975 kg GVW · 76 L tank · Euro II

Listed at $25,000 · Field support, resupply, inspection & crew transport

View full specification →

Axle-load law and the road reality in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone applies the ECOWAS harmonised axle-load standard through the Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority, with the statutory maxima of 10 t on a single steering axle, 18 t on a tandem and 24 t on a tridem, and gross combination weight capped around 50–55 t for a six-axle articulated rig. Freetown’s Queen Elizabeth II Quay feeds the iron-ore mines of the interior. The practical catch is that the mine roads are punishing and the wet season turns them to mud, so a tough chassis and parts supply decide uptime. The core business is iron-ore and mining haulage, and a truck that leaves the gate legal still has to survive the run to the interior before it earns anything.

For a tipper the binding constraint is the haul from the pit to the trunk road, where the the road authority weighbridge is the point where an over-loaded unit collects its fine — and iron-ore and mining haulage runs through here, so the box that fills to the headline weight on site can be over the axle caps before it reaches the highway.

What Sierra Leonean fleets already run

In Sierra Leone the reference vehicle is a used Japanese truck — Isuzu, Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso dominate the second-hand market — with Sinotruk Howo and Shacman as the main Chinese competition and Tata or Ashok Leyland on lighter rigid work. The used Japanese truck wins on parts density and driver familiarity but loses on age, odometer honesty and the rebuild cost that lands within a couple of years. The new Chinese truck wins on warranty and a clean bill of health but has to build a parts channel that is still thinner than the Japanese network. Foton’s pitch is the middle ground, which is exactly what a TCO-minded fleet buyer wants to hear.

6. Pre-order checklist for the Tunland S in Sierra Leone

Confirm the exact power rating. The headline says 120 hp; the detail line reads 120 under a kW heading. Get the rated kW and PS in writing so the figure on your import paper matches the engine.

Verify the Euro II badge against your permit. If clearance requires a newer standard, this variant will not do — confirm before depositing.

Count your spares. The listing carries one spare wheel only (4+1). For remote concessions, order a second spare and the correct jack.

Match the bed to your load. The 440 mm side height suits low, wide freight; if you need enclosed volume, spec a canopy and confirm it does not break the 2,975 kg GVW with a full bench aboard.

The Tunland S is a narrow, honest support truck rather than a heavy hauler, and that is its value: it is the vehicle you send when the job is "get the crew and the kit there and back." Every figure above is taken from the published listing, and the items on the checklist are exactly the places where you should get the supplier's written confirmation before money moves.