Type-7 TransporterTrading

The Type-7 Transporter is Lakon's mid-sized freighter: a cheap, no-nonsense large-pad hauler that carries ~310 tonnes and jumps well laden, for under 17M credits. It's the sensible bridge between medium traders like the Type-6 and the expensive big freighters — enough capacity to earn serious money, at a price a growing trader can actually afford.

Its good laden jump range is a real plus, making longer, more profitable routes efficient. But it's lightly defended, slow, and — oddly for its size — large-pad-only despite carrying less than some medium ships, so it can't use outposts. The Type-7 is a workhorse, not a thoroughbred: buy it to scale up your trading income affordably, then graduate to a Type-9, Cutter or Panther when the credits allow.

Four things make the Type-7 a sensible mid-tier trader:

• Solid cargo for the price. ~310 tonnes — a real step up from medium haulers — on a hull under 17M credits.
• Good laden jump range. Better than most freighters, making longer, more profitable routes efficient.
• Cheap and rank-free. An affordable large-pad freighter anyone can buy — the accessible scaling-up trader.
• Ten optionals. Deep enough to carry a big load plus a defensive shield without much compromise.

A cheap, rank-free ~310 t large-pad hold with strong ~34 LY laden range carries the score; light defences and large-pad-only docking are the limiters.

The 78/100 headline is a verdict against the trading role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Every table rates ships for trading specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Max cargo column is maximum cargo tonnage behind a shield; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.

Same class — large trading ships

10 large-pad trading hulls carry a rating, led by Panther Clipper Mk II (98). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the medium haulers

The medium-pad trading field (9 rated), led by Type-8 Transporter (76) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the small-pad haulers

The small-pad trading field (5 rated), led by Cobra Mk IV (52) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

At ~16.8M Cr the Type-7 is cheap for a large-pad freighter, with no rank gate. A trade fit needs little engineering beyond thrusters, FSD and a shield, keeping the all-in cost around 30M Cr.

It's an affordable scaling-up pick: buy it to grow your trading income before committing to a Type-9, Cutter or Panther. Just weigh it honestly against the medium Type-8, which often makes more sense.

A cheap bulk-trade fit that keeps a defensive shield. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the trade baseline; Engineered maximises laden range and survivability.

Buy the hull (~16.8M Cr) on the stock E-rated frame — the standard 5E Power Plant, 5E Thrusters and 5E Frame Shift Drive stay as bought. The hull ships with Lightweight Alloy bulkheads; leave them — a freighter wants mass low, not armour high. Fill the optionals with E-rated cargo racks and drop a basic 6E Shield Generator into one class-6 slot.

Mount a single 0E Shield Booster on the first utility for a little extra protection.

Leave the other three utility mounts, the size-3 shield cell bank slot and the size-1 scanner slot empty — those fill in on the A-rated pass.

A-rating priority for a mid-tier hauler:

• 1FSD → A — The Type-7's good laden range is a key strength; A-rate it. ~5M Cr
• 2Thrusters → A — Move the laden hull and escape interdiction. ~4M Cr
• 3Power Plant → A — Power for shields and modules. ~5M Cr
• 4Shield Generator → bi-weave — Protect the cargo from pirates. ~3M Cr
• 5Power Distributor → A — Sustain boost. ~4M Cr

Round out the defensive kit: a second 0A Shield Booster on the spare utility, a point-defence turret and a heat-sink launcher on the last two, a 3A Shield Cell Bank in the size-3 bay for emergency heals, and a 1I Detailed Surface Scanner in the size-1 for route scouting. Keep the Lightweight Alloy bulkheads — Military Grade adds armour, but the mass tax bleeds the laden jump range a hauler can't spare.

The trading engineering pattern: range, mobility and defence. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1FSD Increased Range first to exploit the Type-7's good laden range.
• 2Thrusters to G5 so the laden hull moves and escapes trouble.
• 3Bi-weave shield and boosters to protect the cargo.
• 4Fill the rest with the biggest cargo racks.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

Engineered, the Type-7 hauls ~310t with a strong laden jump range, for modest money — a sensible affordable freighter. Lightweight-engineered bulkheads and the bi-weave/twin-booster/shield-cell kit lift survivability above stock without taxing range, and a Low Emissions power plant runs cool and efficient. The hull is still soft; keep the shield up, fly carefully, and graduate to a tougher hauler when the credits allow.

• Exploit the laden range — the Type-7's strength is efficient long routes.
• Keep a bi-weave shield; the hull is lightly built and pirates notice big cargo.
• Weigh it honestly against the medium Type-8, which carries more and lands more flexibly.
• It's a stepping-stone — graduate to a Type-9, Cutter or Panther as capital grows.