I don't really have a question about cabover tractors, except this--where have they all gone? I don't spend a whole lot of time on the interstates, but I do a good bit of driving anyway. The other day I noticed a cabover going the other direction and it occured to me that they just don't seem all that common these days. (It also caused me to wonder how they all might have disappeared without me noticing.) I probably passed 30 conventional tractors in the rest of that particular ride, bit not another COE tractor. (Most of the garbage trucks still seem to be cabovers though.) Is it just my imagination, or didn't they used to be a lot more common?
To me, the biggest reason you do not see as many, is the thing called Driver comfort. I am sure ole jim will chime in on this one. It can be done, but it so much more comfortable in the roomieness of the conventional cab. No dog house clinging to you is one thing. Drive one for up to 700 miles in a day and you will see what I mean.
The original reason for cabovers was restrictive "total length" laws. By using a cabover, additional length was available for the trailer, and thus cargo. I think these laws have been eased, and with doubles and triples legal in many states, the need no longer exists. Will is right about driver comfort too! In a cabover, you sit directly over the front axle and feel every bump in total force! By sitting between the axles in a conventional tractor, the bumps are smoothed out a bit by the wheelbase. It's funny, I saw a fairly new Freightliner cabover yesterday and was thinking about how long it had been since I'd seen one!
As others said the biggest reason was driver comfort, drivers wouldn't drive the cabover if they could drive a conventional truck.
How about safety? Would this have been a factor for the decline? I know one guy around here who died when his cabover went head on into a dump truck.
the changing of bridge law formulas and length laws is what saw the almost demise of cab overs., My first few rigs were cab over and a 42 then 45 ft trailer. It would be another 15 years then the 48's started,. Now, most are 53 ft.. In 1974 total overall length allowed was something like 53 ft.. This is cac and trailer..
lamarbur, I do believe that there is a 63 foot out now too.
Not always, but you tend to see them more often in the cities, like NYC. Probably a little easier to see and maneuver one in downtown traffic.
I ran Jimmie cab overs with 318's and 318"s with a blower they called a 350. I am near deaf today with those screaming Jimmie's. They did their purpose.. Overall lengths were shorter then, than, some of the trailers alone that are on the road today. My last tractor was a 244 wheel base IH with the 60" walk in sleeper, now that was heaven.. I had just got my first flat floor box at 48ft compared to almost 17 years of pulling a single drop deck box. ( I hauled computers and military trade shows for a van lines agent) Both were a blessing compared to what we were required to use all the previous years.. If my legs didn't go real bad then, I had planned another three in trade shows, would have brought me a few months over 20 years, then transfer over to a tri-axle. Guess it wasn't meant to be. Winters were getting harder to get through.. At the time, most all the van lines got in on computer hauling, less work available, cost were being driven down to the point is wasn't worth taking the cut rate loads, and I was lucky.. I worked the local highway dpt each winter season running their machinery and plows. At least I could keep the rig in the yard through winter.. Most either lost their rigs or went on with the cut throating and lost them in early spring anyway.. Probably another blessing in disguise was the physical loss use of legs for 3-4 years, that knocked me totally out of trucks... By this time, deregulation was wreaking havoc on most companies and feight was probably the cheapest ever known to man at that time (mid 90's).. But, like all of us here, do your thing and move on to something else...
Ironically it came done to economics, no drivers wanted to drive cabovers so the big boys like jb hunt and schneiders quit buying international cabovers, they discontinued production, the freightliner argosy are having trouble selling, and the Kenworth K100 is available only by special order :bash
Cabovers {or livin in a treehouse} You are correct, there were more cabovers around in the past. During the 70's the Federal Highway Authority pushed all of the states into relaxing their length requirements for trucks and combinations. Missouri and Connecticut clung to the notion that semi-trucks could be only 55' overall the longest. Although driver comfort was a serious issue after the laws changed allowing the longer trucks, until the laws supporting longer trucks were in place, the drivers drove what was legal and the big boys bought what was legal. I suspect a conversation with a JB Hunt Executive would reveal that they bought 100% cab over internationals at first. As the effects of the move to longer trucks began to impact the truck market, the deal they were getting on COE internationals wasn't there any more and the "deal" was now on a conventional model that the manufacturers were producing a lot of. Although truck drivers, with just reason, hate cab overs ride, I would discount the possibility of truck drivers opinions being more than a very minor issue in the demise of COE design is the US. They are still quite common in Europe and Asia. After the length laws relaxed, the smoother- riding larger living spaced trucks, the conventionals, took over.
out here in colorado a lot of cabovers are still used to haul corn
Local company nicknamed the red army (manitoulin transport) runs cab overs still. New freightliners. They do the terminal to terminal runs and are known as super trucks since they haul a 52' trailer and have a container on the tractor also. Attached is a picture of a new truck they own from the 07 notre damn du nord truck rodeo.
I never liked driving cabovers.I just never felt comfortable. I'm a mechanic,so Im not the best driver in the world,but I could never get comfortable in one.
Here's the one I drive. Took some getting used to. After driving this thing for the last 2.5 years I can't wait to get another hood. This one's my wife's Uncle's.
Also, when or IF you are in a "head-on" accident, you are the first one there..safety is an issue...I'll post a picture of a '66 freighliner with the sleeper berth mounted ABOVE the drivers compartment.
Love that blue KW!
I understand that u don't like them because of comfort. Here in Europe there nearly ain't anything but cabovers. And the comfort has been changed extremly to the positive side. Today cabs ride on airbags, rubber mounted torsion bars and dampers on the side of the airbags.(u nearly don't notice the bumps the chassis have to cope with) All cabins got airseat and adjustable stearing wheels. Some of the long line trucks got a flat floor inside the cab too. It's a completely different world than just some years ago. U turn your seat around, and walk back to a full lenght bunk, watch tv when your microwave heats your dinner and grabs a coke from the fridge...
I have always liked the look of the Europeon cabovers. I wish more were here in the states. They must have great visisbility for getting around in tight spots . :drinkup
Cabovers were also a little lighter than conventional models.
This thread brings me back to the good old days of bouncing around in my dad's '77 KW. no air, no air seat on the passenger side, and the old vacuum windshield wipers, I hated unsticking them going up hills. I spent several summers and Christmas school breaks bouncing around in that truck, and my head still has the knots on top!
Looks like the cabover MKTEF is showing probably is a Volvo FH16, maybe 400 to 600 horse power range. Visibility and manoverability are indeed fantastic, ride is the best. Trouble is come bed time........I'm a big fella and that bed just didn't cut it:badidea
Down here its much as MK says, long noses are a dying breed with two notable exceptions. Operators can still go to Paccar to spec up their off road/outback haulers for the mines. These trucks spend up to 50% of their time on corrugated gravel, so the big Kennies live on. The other exception is the snub nosed Sterlings and Freightliners for On Road and this is because they are very competitive on price. Other than that the European Cab-Overs have a large part of the long distance heavy haul market due in main to fuel efficiency, comfort and far better safety than an American built truck. You might think having great lumps of steel in front of you is a good thing when it comes to collisions but the Europeans actually got with frontal and rollover testing/safety many years back for buses and trucks. http://www.scania.com.au/trucks/cabs/cab_safety/crash_test.asp Around town and for dump trucks it seems anything that has a bit of life and remains street legal will do....any half decent dump truck is out working no matter the style.
If I remember correctly Squizzy you have the same Volvo FH down there with a bigger bed (extended cab). I'm thinking every truck lands in OZ gets an injection of steroids before it hits the road.
Collin, that bunk would be called the "Day Cab" spec down here. Basic for grabbing a few hours or one night if you have to. The Long Haul cab specs are much bigger and very well appointed. http://www.scania.com.au/trucks/cabs/sleeper_cab/high_roof_sleeper/interior.asp Despite the reputation for RoadTrains the majority of trucks around are pretty much similar to that found elsewhere in world. My favourite truck was a Volvo FH12...once I got that RoadRanger sorted and the other truck I liked (for reliability and ease) was a Scania 114H...which is a long nose. But then, anything was better than the old Internationals I'd come from
Pics i have posted is from the new FH16 cab. Not the Globetrotter, it's got two bunks, and a lots of space over the driver. Regarding bunks, the standard length for bunks in a Volvo/Scania is 2,0m, around 6 feet. Thats the length of a normal bed in a shop around here too. U can get a bedroom bed thats 2,1m but they are special... In the Globetrotter the main bed is .70m wide, the nr 2 is .60 wide. I think many drivers here on the forum dosen't think that its possible with a bunk that long in a cabover, cause the cabs in us is so much narrower. U can stretch over and close the right door. Thats impossible in a european cab. U got to have very long arms to do that. I've added a crashtest pic from Volvo, and some old Macks from Iran.. Crashtests is very seriously business by Volvo. Crashed in all types of ways + investigation of bad accidents all over Scandinavia.
Neat! The two tractors would be fun trying to coordinate looks like. Maybe not would love to see that up close though.
I have driven both,its what ya get used to.Drove in the states for Pullen Brothers and had no problems, as far as comfort goes it depends on the road.Here in New Zealand we have both short and long nose rigs.
there are a heap of cab overs over here that i can see, a lot of argosy's and volvo's, god those argosy's look the goods
http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/detail.aspx?OHID=1591993&guid=7605B18159634DA08F04D79485502229 How cool is that??????????:cool2:cool2 Way overpriced but still very cool!!!!
Cabover? that is a new term to me. I refer to them as forward control cabs. Just goes to show that there is always time to learn. Tippers, mixers, loggers, freighters, horses, everything here is 'cabover'. We have a few Freightliner Columbias on the market, some short cabs and long cabs, but good cabs none the less. I recently went to our Eston Show, and they had a few trucks there, mainly cheapish Asian brands, but MAN and Mercedes Benz were there too. The Asian trucks, like Hino, Isuzu and Powerstar were mainly the daycab versions, but still very comfortable. I checked out an MAN TGA 33.410 Horse, and that thing was spiffy. Huge cab(enough space for me to stand) huge bunks, air suspension seat, ergo controls etc. Not quite a microwave, but our hauls that our truckers pull are no more than 700kms if going to Jo'burg from Durban, and around 2000 km from Durban to Capetown. Most of those operators use the fancy European trucks, Scanias, MAN, Merc, International cabovers, Freightliners, Volvo, DAF (which is now struggling along) but some of the operators going to Jo'burg use the Asian trucks, like Isuzu, Hino, UD and Powerstar. The powerstars are just remakes of the older Merc Powerliners and MAN F2000.
I think the term forward control is used here as a subtype of cabover like the Ford C cab models which have always been very popular for garbage and fire trucks.
On the downside...driving a COE tractor..in a wreck you are the FIRST one to the scene
Gary, If you compare a European Cabover to a long nose american truck that argument doesn't add up when it comes to the injuries sustained by the driver. European trucks have to pass very stringent crash test requirements and are very well designed in this regard. Your long nose has a whole lot of steel and controls thats going to come through and mess you up. There is little safety in sitting behind a whole lot of iron when it is these things that are going to injure you in a crash. I imagine when the legislation catches up with US manufacturer's (if it hasn't already) then things will be different. In the meantime, have a look at what good design can do in the real world: http://bridger.us/2002/12/16/CrashTestingMINICooperVsFordF150/
And the moral of the story: Friends don't let friends drive Fords :stirthepot
Actually forward controls are also called Cab forwards. This is usually a configuration like the one shown here. http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/detail.aspx?OHID=1528508&guid=e522dce87b964673bf54840da3d5ea7b here's another example http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/detail.aspx?OHID=1853812&guid=e522dce87b964673bf54840da3d5ea7b Cabovers became the nickname for C.O.E. (Cab Over Engine) trucks. like mentioned above with the advent of longer over all length laws, set back front axles, better bridge weight laws and a little thing called driver comfort the cabover went the way of the dinosaur. The freightliner argosy was the last class 8 COE available in America. and the one posted above takes me back to ye oldern days when there was many a cabover with a 15' dromedary's or "droms" pulling 43's. P.I.E. used to love them.
Hey 06Bowtie Guy, do you have or can you get any pics of Manitoulins Peterbilt cabover with the twin steer, two lifts and rear tandems with the tanker on it pulling the Toromont Cat trailer. That thing looks awesome. It used to go by everyday when I was working on hwy. 400 and I tried to get a pic but it never worked out. I just got a Kenworth brochure and in the off road section they now offer a K500 cabover. It is basically a DAF set up for off road It replaces the K100 they were offering on the C500 chassis. Wonder if we'll ever see a road version? I for one love European cabovers. I wouldn't mind running one over here. (tandem rear axle though) Most of those euro cabovers are like Australian trucks, they offer waaayyy bigger power plants than we can get. Like those big MAN V8's with almost 700 horsepower and over 2400 lb./ft. torque!
Paystar, I do know which truck your thinking about. It doesn't always have the toromont cat trailer but I'll keep my eye open for it.
Well, I don't know much about comfortable trucks but what I have come across so far is definately the MAN TGA 33.410, or the DAF CF85.430. Huge bed, maybe its quite small, I don't know, huge cab, and panoramic view. To be quite honest (TBQH), big trucks like yall and our Botswana neighbours use are just to big for our hauls, but if you got a huge country like yours, then driver comfort is important. But just to know, how long is a typical haul and how far do you travel?
There really are no typical trips. You can have produce from California trucked to NY, meats from the midwest trucked to NY or a load of gravel moved just a few miles. The trucks are set up for the type of work they do, be it long haul, intra-city or construction. The trip from California to NY can take 3 days or more, the midwest to NY 2 days. Produce is hauled up and down the east coast here which is a 2 day trip. I worked for a company doing local deliveries where I was home every night. The longest trips I made were 350 miles, and I ran what was called a day cab with no sleeper. Being a company truck, there were no frills, it was a base model truck.
In the mid to late 70's and especially at deregulation time, cabovers were getting less popular, losing sales to the coveted "long noses". My family (brothers) ran all big, double bunk Peterbilt coe's and my oldest brother especially, insisted they were the only way to go. (He also ordered brand new trucks with no power steering...) said you can't "feel the ice" with power steering. Being the imbisile that he is, I still to this day think he's crazy, because in my humble opinion, I don't wanna be feeling no ICE at any time under me Mr. Johnson...power steering or no power steering. I remember the reaction when I was with one of my bros either running down the road or at a truckstop, whenever a really nice conventional Pete or KW came around. They were so beautiful in that era anyways, with the classic looks and interiors, that it was an emotional preference with a lot of owner operators. A nice W900 A model KW with a 60" flatop or aerodyne sleeper was a thing of beauty in the 70's and 80's. A 359 Pete of similar specs was another nice thing to look at. Length laws definitely played a huge role in the transition from coe's to hoods, as did equipment resale value compared to a coe. Funny thing is as they say, history tends to repeat itself. Nowadays a lot of seasoned truckers are buying and restoring older vintage cabovers again, because they have become all but extinct, and the trend today is "dare to be different" it seems. Heck I'd love to have a 1976 K 100 Kenworth 110" VIT with a KTA 600, about 250 wheelbase all redone. Those things are beautiful! Especially since the invention of Cab Mate air ride cab mounts, and longer, tapered leaf front spring packs...things smoothed out considerably for those cabover drivers.
Did they at least have aircons, or were those also too expensive to include. I find it unfair that it was a base model truck, pity. P.S: I do know what a day cab is.
On a recent road trip up to Seattle I spotted quite a few COEs on I-5 in California. Most of the trucks were conventionals, expecially recent models but COEs weren't exactly hard to spot... ...so if you want to get pictures of cabover trucks, come out to the west coast!
If you have ever tryed to step out of a cabover and on to your'e tank/step you'll know why they got rid of them!(It only happned once)
Back when COEs were very common, I remember reading a report from some insurance group or other that the number 1 cause of truck driver injuries was falling off the trucks. Something like 30 % of truck drivers had fallen off at least once. Not always a doctor visit but I'm sure it always hurt! In the winter you would see them on the road with snow packed into those little steps they had in the cabs.
Back in the 1970's the congress passed a law that regulated the total length of trucks. So, truckdrivers who wanted to make more money either invented or invested in a shorter truck to be able to have a longer trailer to haul more freight. Pretty much the only way to make the truck shorter but be able to mantian the same amount of power and size, what they decided to do is put the engine underneath where the driver sits thus making the truck shorter. Eventually, I think in the late 80's, the law was taken out of effect. But, they regulated the length of the trailer to 53'. Anything longer, the person or company has to have a special "license" to own and drive that trailer.
I had an International dealer tell me several years ago that International stopped manufacturing COE's to get out of contracts with companies like J.B. Hunt. From what they told me the contracts provided for x number of truck per year at a certain price and it became impossible to manufacture them due to inflation. Might be true might not.
here we have a old guy think he is in his 70's that has a bullnose KW he is hauling pipe with will try to catch a picture and post it sharp looking unit for sure old truck are a lot better thanthe new stuff coming out now days and best of all NO FREAKING COMPUTER TO MESS UP AND cause you all kind of money jsut in tech time for them trying to find out what sensor is bad 7hrs tech time and 30mins to replace it sound about right OH Yea do not forget the wrecker bill . ask almost anybody that has a Cat motor in a Pete and the regenration filter stopped up . nothing more sad than to see a new truck hooked up to a wrecker . twj
This fellow loads out of a local fabrication shop occasionally. 1981 KW double bunk :notworthy Sorry the crappy pics, cell phone camera into the sun ointhead
Still using cab overs These are the industries that I'm finding still use cabovers on a regular basis. http://www.schwing.com/01_cpumps/boompumps/34/index.html http://www.mcneilusrefuse.com/Home.html
thought id through in a couple from deisel nats
Oh my God, I love that Emmeryville Hoeman.:notworthy The Kenworths are nice too. I always dreamed of owning a Transtar, but unfortunately never got to pilot one. I just like the looks of them. My cabover time is limited to double bunk Freightshakers and one of my all time favourite trucks: a Mack MH Ultraliner with an E9 500 V8 and Mack 12 speed. It was a very comfortable truck to drive, rode and handled well, but was cold on the legs in the winter. Did I mention cabovers are the only trucks I've ever wore a seat belt in
Whew, I know of a farm round these parts that have 5 or so cab over binders that haul grain to the elevator. Think ill have to see if I cant get a few shots.
Scania cab over Kill 2 birds with one stone as the saying goes. Pictures of the Scania and tri axle semi trailer that hauled my machine to its new work site a couple of weeks ago.
I take it that guy has no problem seeing at night Wow, I thought I had some lighting power on my truck Mean looking truck. Is Scania still mixed in with Mack/Renault since Volvo Bought Mack? What kind of excavator is that Rob?
Rob has a Terex, Atlas duck... Scania is not mixed with mack/renault, Volvo is. On Volvo's website u can choose to go to mack. Some of the Volvo trucks got renault engines, as mack can deliver some Volvo.. Scania is mixed with MAN, owned by Volkswagen. The bosses of MAN and Scania dosen't talk to each other, like cat and dog Discussion has been ongoing about MAN taking over the shares of Scania....That is not popular in Sweden... I count 14 extra lights in front of that Scania, our DOT would give us a driving ban, a big fine and discuss taking my driving license... Not allowed to move before the lights where removed... I bet he's got lights in all the spots in front on the grill too. More than thirty... But, still, nice paint and stickers!
renault magnum this is the back of the cab on a renault magnum that came into the garage my brother works at the front panel has a picture of a motor scraper pushloaded by a cat the new owner had these painted over lucky for me the front panel is cheap so a new one was fitted and the picture one now hangs up in the workshop cheers graham
MKTEF, I guess it has changed now. Back in the 70's and early 80's Mack and Scania used to share stuff. I drove for a company years ago that had Mack R models with small Scania motors in them. I have old Mack brochures that show them as options. MAN is who helped International develop their new MaxxForce engines. I wish we could get the MAN V8 over here. I like those Mack/Renault Magnums too. I remember years ago when cabovers were still popular, Mack announced they were going to bring the Magnum to the U.S. and Canada with an electronic controlled E9 500 V8 power to replace the Ultra Liner. Then right after they announced it, they pulled the plug. (on the truck and the E9). That was right at the time International and Freightliner announced they were pulling out of the cabover market.
Just wait some time, Western Star has a cooperation with Mercedes Benz. In some time you'll get their V8 in a WS... And they are not far behind MAN in Hp and torque. If u don't got something more than 600hp here around, just forget it. Step hills, 100'Lbs total weight and a very strickt behind wheel time, makes u go for trucks that can keep the speed up.
Do you run/ like MAN trucks, MKTEF? And whats this about WS with Merc? Very nice pics, Atlas Rob. We call those types of Scanias with the high cabs 'Watchtowers'.
Western Star and Freightliner are owned by Diamler/Benz.
You're completely right Steve! And Freightliner/WS already has one Merc engine in their programe. Bellboy; We got a couple of 2007-TGA's and a number of SX modells. SX2000 8x8 with crane and hooklift posted here. Posted some pics Here is more pics of the TGA's: http://www.mktef.info/Diverse sider/Mantga.html
I've never driven anything with the Merc engines, but when I was in the quarry a local trucking outfit bought either 2 or four trucks with them. About 6 months later they pulled the engines and put in cats because the Mercs where powerless on the bottom which is where they really needed it.
Daimler also owns the Sterling truck line, which will be dropped in March. Any of these trucks can be spec'd with a Mercedes engine in it. In addition, Daimler owns Thomas Built Buses which used to be the most popular brand school bus in my area, plus American LaFrance fire equipment.
Sterling being dropped? Never heard that one. No loss anyway, they're cheaply built junk since Ford sold out anyway. I think they are dropping the Mercedes name on the engines in North America though, as the new DD 15 is a joint venture and I was reading in a trade magazine that they will just use the more popular Detroit Diesel name over here. I'd like to try one of the new DD15's. I heard they pull pretty decent? I have tried a couple MB 450's. Didn't like them, way under powered for a 450. All the locals that bought them had lots or reliability issues with them, yet all the guys that had them down in Southern Ontario where I was working, all seem to love them. Maybe they last better running highway on flat ground compared to all the big hills around here? Hey Steve, I thought Thomas was Internationals bus line? I know Freightliner has their own bus division, but isn't it someone else? My new International calendar shows a school bus with a T emblem on the grill instead of the diamond. Int's web site has the buses, I just didn't go over to look at the name before I wrote this, but I thought it was Thomas. I could be wrong though. There was also an announcement that American Lafrance is going to partner with International to make a new line of low cabovers. Man, you can't keep track of who owns who anymore:Banghead
I should have checked first, you are right Steve. International owns ICC bus and now a joint venture with Neo Bus. It also says the American Lafrance partnership is to develop cabover vocational trucks, not just fire trucks.
All the Thomas Built buses around here used to be on International chassis, even from way back when I used to ride them. Since Daimler took them over, I see them on Freightliner chassis, and I don't see them near as often as I used to. International now has it's own in house bus division, the school district I live in uses a lot of them. From what I see locally, Thomas has lost a lot of sales to International.
Yeah, my area is dominated with the International's too. I've seen a couple of the Freightliners but they were new and just passing through. The only other ones we have are a couple of new ones that just showed up. They are Fords (Bluebird's). They look like Superduty grills with a more radical slope and they have BIG, Cat power decals on the hoods.
There are a few cabovers in california still running. Most were shipped overseas and to Mexico or scrapped.
This is the only cab over rig in our area that is used consistently. The others would be farm trucks. This guy hauls stone, sand, and asphalt. Mostly asphalt, sometimes hes lucky to be hauling to an area that is close to the sand pit. He gets rid of his load of hot rock, grabs a load of sand, and heads back to the plant. Nothing like double dipping. Nice rig
Nice michigan dump train turbo. Where were those pics taken? The rates in Michigan must be better than here, cause I'd sure hate to have to buy rubber for that unit! I saw two others running in MI. While loading in Fairview, MI. I saw a 9670 Transtar cabover pulling a live bottom agg. trailer and an old Cummins powered Freightliner with no power steering pulling a chip trailer. I'll have to see if I can get a pic. The old shaker looked pretty cool, had big straight pipes, was red and white and was pulling an aluminum Titan.
plenty candles I must admit it lights up like a Xmas tree at night, but is not that unusual, I spotted these coming down the Motorway the other morning. Not as extreme but still a few candles, on Scania's too Didn't notice until afterwards that its a 4 axle unit, which is unusual :cool2 Heres a MAN with boat aboard, doesn't look like it will fit under the gantry but it did suspect a few motorists thought the same as nobody was anywhere near him
I wouldn't even try to back that train into that asphalt machine. You need some training to get it straight..... I bet the asphalt crew loves him too, if he got those beds filled with asphalt. A long stretch without joints before he needs to change... There is some videos on youtube of a austrailian road train backing three pups on a parking area, that was realy amazing. Just a question to u US guys: Does this guy get increased payload because of the cab over? Is that the reason for the train setup? I havent seen many trains on pics from u...
MKTEF, the trains are almost exclusively a Michigan thing. Hence the name Michigan Train. Backing is not a major issue. The rear trailer has a 5th wheel just like the front trailer. The only difference is its connected to a dolly, that has a 5th wheel just like a regular tractor. The dolly connects to the lead trailer with a pintail type hitch. One would think it is difficult to back. This is not true as the dolly actually locks. You pull in straighten out, then lock the dolly. Instead of having three pivot points there is only 2, the 5th wheel on the tractor, and the pintail hitch. The key to backing them is not making hard turns. As for weight, he does not get to haul extra because his truck is a cab over. In Michigan you can register the truck at different weights. I believe 164,000 lbs is the highest loading in the state before overweight begins. Saying his combination of truck, and trailers weighs somewhere around 50,000 lbs, he can load is truck with 114,000 lbs of material. It is common for our trucks to haul 50 tons of material. Most of the time the material weight is usually 60% in the lead, and 40% in the pup. As far as trucks go, this is usually how asphalt is hauled to the paver in Michigan. Red River live bottom trailers generally rule the paving jobs. The typical procedure for trains on a paving job goes as follows. Truck 1 shows up, lines up, starts dumping the pup. Truck two shows up in the meantime. Once truck 1 has emptied the pup, truck two takes its place while truck 1 is unhooking his pup. Truck 2 finishes his pup and truck 1 comes back to empty the lead.
With fuel costs a factor more than ever now too a conventional is much more aerodynamic than a cabover.
hey those trucks look like Cab FORWARD trucks to me :beatsme : And actually one of the most if not THE most fuel efficient truck designs of all time was the peterbilt 372. They would regularly pull 10+ mpg grossing near 80K. I will say they were HIDIEOUSLY UGLY. A face a mother would even shun Peterbilts own tests coast to coast runs showed an 11+MPG average. I even have references http://www.peterbilt.com/eco/pdf/Aero WHITE PAPER-2.pdf
Thanks for that sir. I think the best cabovers are DAF, MAN and Scania. Those are the most beautiful and efficient trucks I know of.
Dualie you are completely right, the SX modells are cab forwards. The engine is behind the cab, and it suck cooling air down behind the seats. They even got 3 seats and a flat floor. The TGA is a cabover though.(its TGX/TGS nowadays) Regarding drag i can tell u nothing in the front of a TGA/TGS/TGX is plased there without a huge windtest program. There are many details today that are being used to improve drag. Trailers with skirts, covererd under, single smal tires at the tractor, and i can go on. Its a huge focus on this now. Authoroties are also running test riggs that are very long on public roads. Sweden now has some trucks running that are 90 feet long in total.Volvo FH16. That road train loads 63t(126'Lbs), total weight is 90t(180'Lbs) Transportcosts redused with 20-25%.
I once saw a test truck from MAN, it was one of those offroad arrangements, and it had all these decals on it, flashing lights, MAN dealerships from SA to Ghana, and what not. I think that the longest truck that I see quite regularly is a 24 meter length timber truck. Thats over 3 meters longer than the average truck, and by law, it needs an escort.
1970 Freightliner cabover to haul hobby toys I use an old 1970 COE Freightliner a few times a year to haul toys to the area parades and shows. Yeah, the ride is a little rough, but I put up with it because it's cheap to own and drive very occasionally. It has a Detroit 8V71 so it's not the quietest ride, but a local trucker told me how to handle the noise. When you get into the cab, make sure you slam the door on your fingers and then with all the screaming, you don't even hear the engine. By the way, the trailer is a 1951 Trailmobile 31' that I added a beavertail to, and the toy is a 1965 British Abbot (demilled, dangit....)
:usaOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just tried your buddy's advise. (just kidding not really) My Macks are not so bad that way for noise. Had a GMC 9500 series a long time ago with a 6-71 Detroit and 13 speed in it. Drove it like I hated it and it ran fine. What kind of toy is on the trailer there?
cabover Freightliner Yo! It's a self propelled howitzer, 105mm. Well, it used to be. It's neutered, now. Fun to putt around the neighborhood in.
Reminds me of the James Garner flick "Tank". Cool toy(both of them)
In-situ service.va!!! i work hard all the time---but i wouldn't want-to rebuild a cabover engine unless it had a wet-liner cylinder sleeve motor installed; because of the cab removal requirement for engine pull
Puppy love!! the sons of badran: Niki and isla luv yah!
It was weird, in one 600km trip I had seen 3 C.O.E's but on other trips that length I've seen none, I guess it's luck of the draw. But I see the odd C.O.E in the oil patch bobtailing with a pipe system on it. They aren't that common any more.
Not many long nose trucks here in SA due to the length laws. With a long nose you can only pull a tri-axle trailer but cab over engine can pull a link. Its all about money and time!!
Ya I bet.
I am seeing more and more cabovers on the road as new truck prices go up and up
You will find a couple here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/33654046@N03/sets/72157611655928908/
In the past month I have seen probably 10 cabovers, more than I have seen for over a year! I think they are coming back! Saw a nice Freight shaker today, great looking truck it was. :notworthy :canada
Haha, freight shaker. I like that
Never heard of that before? Well it isn't entirely true, Freightliner trucks are solid. :tong
with the economy the way it is, alot of guys are dragging the old paid for iron outta the fields putting good rubber under it and going trucking.
That is true. The one I saw was an Argosy, newer but not that new.
I was always a fan of cabovers. I liked them because they gave daycab like functionality in the city with short wheelbases and you could jump in the back for a quick nap if you were waiting for an offloading. It's always great to rest your eyelids even if it's for only 20 minutes. The ones that I always drove were pieces of crap with no air ride suspension or anything like that but for many other reasons I always said that I'd buy a cabover vs a conventional truck any day. The prices for them are always less on a resale basis... Like the old walmart trucks. I found same year, less miles cabovers for 13,500 and conventionals for mid 20's. If you are just starting out as a new owner operator, it's all about bang for the buck!