***The Truckers Thread***

[Brad69]

I have drove the White, Freightliner and International cabovers not a fan of any of them.
The best was the White it was one of the last ones a early 90’s with air ride everything and a real fancy interior a Big Cam III 400 hp 9spd a big dog for the time it was a Road Commander II I think.
The International was about the same year as the video it was OK rode rough Big Cam 350hp 9spd it took quite a bit to get up to road speed.
Mid 80’s Freightliner spring suspension 8v71 Detroit 318hp 9spd it would beat you to death. I mean you felt every seam in the road it would make you sore from the beating you were taking. It wouldn’t pull a small hill without dropping two gears.

I guess some people think they are kool if they never lived in one for a week.

 

[Bigtanker]

I guess some people think they are kool if they never lived in one for a week.

I don't doubt that.

 

[Spear Dane]

You can live in a cab over for a week?

 

[Wstar425]

I ran team out of a single bunk cabover to the Left Coast for a while. We would put our suitcases and briefcases on the seats and kinda make a second bunk, if we got hung up somewhere. Early 80’s? Kinda saw freight and rates dry up where dispatcher went from a choice of loads to nothing today, tomorrow not looking good, call us back on the third day.

We were stuck at the Big Orange Ball in Ontario, CA with no A/C one night. Had the windows open as it was unbearable hot. I was laying on the doghouse with my feet on the drivers seat. We were by a big fancy hood on that side. I woke up to some black gal straddling my feet rummaging they the dash. I stuck my foot on her chest and gave her a big shove out the door, she hit her head on the door frame and bounced off the fancy truck. She came up spitting bullets and her pimp was gonna kill us. Then the truck driver next to us came out ready to kill whoever ran into his truck. That guy calmed down after he realized what happened and she never came back, anyway I’m still here! I don’t know if I’ve been back there since? Exciting times. For a fairly green kid at the time, likely in way over his head, I’m probably pretty lucky I didn’t have more issues from just ignorance.

You can live in a cabover for 5 or 6 weeks. After that I’m not sure.

 

[Wstar425]

That green KW had a Big Cam II, I think. All the electrical did was turn on and off the fuel solenoid. A while before that you would have to manually pull a lever, to kill the fuel to shut off the engine. There was a little valve you could turn on the side of the pump to over ride the solenoid, say if it went bad, of if you were trying to jump start maybe? That was a little before my time.

I'm guessing that’s what he was doing in the video with the handheld drill? I’m not exactly sure what he was doing with that, I kinda watched it, but couldn’t quite figure that part out. I wouldn’t put 30 seconds into restoring one of those old 9670 Binders, but then I never drove one. There was a KW double bunk sitting at Madison KW last summer and every time you drove by there would be a couple of people looking at it. It would be ok for a project or show truck, there’s a few around with stretched frames out to 280 or 300 inches, just kinda makes me shake my head.

 

[maxwelhse]

My understanding is that CAT got out of the On Highway business altogether because they didn't want to have to deal with meeting emissions standards.

Realizing this is an old post... I was working at Nav when CAT exited the on-road market and the popular rumor was that CAT made more money from toys (literally... like Tonka truck kind of toys) than on-road diesel and it just wasn't worth their time to develop a new engine when it became clear that EGR alone wasn't going to work. It really puts the size of a company into scale when you consider just now many CAT powered trucks were out there and they made more money from children's toys.

...then as a chuckle, it took Nav about 5 additional years after CAT to finally give up on their EGR only motors as well. Good old Uncle Harv always made great decisions.

 

[cmann250]

A guy that hauls out my plant now and again has a 362. He’s over 6’ tall and I asked him how he liked the COE. His regular haul is 28/32 (liquid fertilizer, to the city folks) and he said he lost 30lbs the first month he drove it.

I’d drive one once to say I did, but I prefer 2 rows of rivets out front.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Principal Skinr]

I don't think I'd want to use one of these as a work truck. The new stuff is really good. But to have an old truck just for fun? Absolutely. Maybe pull a camper around. Truck shows etc.

Cool picture too!

Agree. I have the career I want, so not trading. However, I still find them interesting and the restoration is a big part of it. I just love machines, and these tractors are amazing to me.

As for driving one, hell yeah. Living in one? Nope. I think if I had a farm or something, having one of these to haul grain a short distance would be just fine. Or, having one to haul Jeeps to Moab or wherever would be pretty cool, too.

I'm sure they rode horribly, even with air seats, sitting right over the front wheels. Still, they look like some kind of prehistoric beast, which is pretty neat.

Do you guys remember a dopey old 70's (I think) TV series called BJ and the Bear? He had a big cabover with a roof extension with windows. When I was a kid, my friends and I all thought that truck was cool, so we found plastic model kits of that kind of setup and built them.

I'll bet about 3 people in the US remember that show. It was short lived.

Edit....Found this....Lol!

[video=youtube_share;Rcozed_BJWM]https://youtu.be/Rcozed_BJWM[/video]

 

[Bigtanker]

Anybody remember or have any experience with the 372 Pete? I remember listening to a Kevin Rutherford on SXM talk about this one. Super aerodynamic I guess. You could access the engine without rasing the cab. It was dubbed the "football helmet" Pete.

And going on what Rutherford was saying, a main factor in why cab overs went away was workman's compensation claims. Company drivers kept getting hurt getting in and out of them. So the major carriers quit ordering them. They are still the most predominant used truck in other parts of the world due to their smaller size and better fuel economy. Paired with a good trailer, they are far more efficient than our "standard cab" designs.

 

[maxwelhse]

And going on what Rutherford was saying, a main factor in why cab overs went away was workman's compensation claims. Company drivers kept getting hurt getting in and out of them. So the major carriers quit ordering them. They are still the most predominant used truck in other parts of the world due to their smaller size and better fuel economy. Paired with a good trailer, they are far more efficient than our "standard cab" designs.

You'd know better than I would, so I'm completely open to being wrong here, but I thought COEs went away in the US because overall length requirements changed? This was all well before my time, but I thought it was something like you could be X long no matter what truck with a normal license, and then they changed the law to say the trailer had a max of 53' instead, so the truck could be whatever length + 53' max... Something like that?

If it's the way I think it is, COEs lost their appeal because they couldn't pull more cargo than a regular truck anymore.

 

[Bigtanker]

That's definitely a possibility. There was probably several main reasons.

My wife's uncle was a teamster in the late 70's up until about 10 years ago. He had a city route with a short(ish), maybe 42' trailer and a daycab COE. He says he could get into spots/docks that a regular day cab would only dream about getting in.

 

[JettaKnight]

When I was an engineer at Navistar I asked about cab overs (because I was totally new to the trucking world). I was told, "We don't make them because no one will buy them. Which is a shame because they're so much better in many respects."

 

[BugI02]

Anybody know if the COEs were at a significant disadvantage in MPG? I would think they would be higher drag, but the trailer might be the biggest contributor to total drag and mute any difference

 

[MCgrease08]

You'd know better than I would, so I'm completely open to being wrong here, but I thought COEs went away in the US because overall length requirements changed? This was all well before my time, but I thought it was something like you could be X long no matter what truck with a normal license, and then they changed the law to say the trailer had a max of 53' instead, so the truck could be whatever length + 53' max... Something like that?

If it's the way I think it is, COEs lost their appeal because they couldn't pull more cargo than a regular truck anymore.

This may be true for heavy duty class 8s, but cab overs are still very prevelent in the medium duty world, particularly urban delivery. Isuzu sells a crap ton of them in the US. Traditional cabs can't touch the turn radius.

 

[JettaKnight]

Anybody know if the COEs were at a significant disadvantage in MPG? I would think they would be higher drag, but the trailer might be the biggest contributor to total drag and mute any difference

The aero sucks, but it's partially offset by gains from a shorter wheelbase and weight savings.

 

[Bigtanker]

Anybody know if the COEs were at a significant disadvantage in MPG? I would think they would be higher drag, but the trailer might be the biggest contributor to total drag and mute any difference

With a good trailer set up, they will be on par or slightly better than most of our standard trucks.

Compared to a classic, long nose rigs, they do much better

 

[Bigtanker]

European rig.

 

[Wstar425]

You'd know better than I would, so I'm completely open to being wrong here, but I thought COEs went away in the US because overall length requirements changed? This was all well before my time, but I thought it was something like you could be X long no matter what truck with a normal license, and then they changed the law to say the trailer had a max of 53' instead, so the truck could be whatever length + 53' max... Something like that?

If it's the way I think it is, COEs lost their appeal because they couldn't pull more cargo than a regular truck anymore.

You got most of that right plus some additional intel. After there was supposed to be a nation wide 80,000 weight limit and the length laws as you mentioned, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, maybe Arkansas, Texas?? still maintained the 73,280# weight along with a shorter length. So, everyone with a hood, or too heavy had to run around that Mississippi corridor, or run the scales via backroads. Lots and lots of trucks off the NE would run 80 to Chicago, (no scales) go up to Wisconsin on 90, across Minnesota and then cut back south to LA or wherever they were headed. Sometime in early 80’s I think the Feds threatened to cut off Highway funds if they didn’t get on board. Lots of out of route miles put on while the .gov was also 55 mph nationwide due to fuel shortages and other BS. I think it was hard to believe, at least for me, that this was a real issue if you are making me go 400 miles out of my way due to a state holding up the show.

Trailers went from 40 foot, the first one I pulled, to 42.5 to 45, then 48 and now 53. I think it was the 48 footers when you could have any length tractor as long as you didn’t have a 53, so you would see guys with hoods and 48 footers and 53 footers with cabovers. But you had to stay on the “Designated Highway” which was usually the Interstate and maybe 2 miles from the exit. So, getting to small towns off the beaten trail could still be an issue.

Back in those days the speed limit was 55 nationwide, everyone was trying to do 70, thus team drivers and the CB was a huge deal. Our truck ran 23 hours a day, once we were loaded.

Today the speed limit is 70-85 mph and companies are limiting trucks to 65-68 or maybe less. It’s pretty crazy when you throw in cars often doing 90 or better not being all that unusual.

I started driving semi in 1978 and haven’t really ever done anything else.

 

[Wstar425]

Agree. I have the career I want, so not trading. However, I still find them interesting and the restoration is a big part of it. I just love machines, and these tractors are amazing to me.

As for driving one, hell yeah. Living in one? Nope. I think if I had a farm or something, having one of these to haul grain a short distance would be just fine. Or, having one to haul Jeeps to Moab or wherever would be pretty cool, too.

I'm sure they rode horribly, even with air seats, sitting right over the front wheels. Still, they look like some kind of prehistoric beast, which is pretty neat.

Do you guys remember a dopey old 70's (I think) TV series called BJ and the Bear? He had a big cabover with a roof extension with windows. When I was a kid, my friends and I all thought that truck was cool, so we found plastic model kits of that kind of setup and built them.

I'll bet about 3 people in the US remember that show. It was short lived.

Edit....Found this....Lol!

[video=youtube_share;Rcozed_BJWM]https://youtu.be/Rcozed_BJWM[/video]

Go back and look at the picture at the bottom of post #337! I never had a bevy of beauties chasing me like he did tho. I did marry my girl in 1981 and still married to her 39 years later, so that’s something.....

BJ had the double bunk version of the Aerodyne, 112” BBC I think, and mine was the smaller one, only 86”. Maybe that was the drawback?

That show, probably like most, was about as unlike any trucking I’ve ever done in my life!!! But, we watched it!! I think about the third year when it started to lose some ratings they introduced the women and the skin. For those days it was kind of racy as I remember. Got maybe another year or two then done.

 

[BugI02]

With a good trailer set up, they will be on par or slightly better than most of our standard trucks.

Compared to a classic, long nose rigs, they do much better

Thanks. My thought was if they did noticeably worse on MPG, that might explain why they would be phased out by companies who wouldn't pay much attention to driver or mechanic criticisms