Hi Well we got new C 500 Kenworths the problems are that its hard to get the hood open from the ground, They have the tilt open hood and when you get a little mud on the fender its hard to open we had two guys lifting from both sides and it was hard because of the hood is do far off the ground. These trucks are running 1400 rubber and they are just big, you cant grab the hood pull and pull the hood open, Not counting the short guys they just can't open the hood. So I was thinking about a electric over hydraulic opener like the one on a Volvo articulated truck. any thoughts where I can find one. Thanks Kris
I remember a guy with a long nose Pete, who had an air cylinder assist to help lift the hood. It was a factory setup, there should parts(or info) around somewhere.
We have a quite a few C500's and C510's. The bonnets are a pain to open but not impossible. Do yours have the split bonnets where the guards are separate? If we lift the guards up first then the bonnet it makes it loads easier. A low tech solution is to tie a piece of rope to the grab handle in the middle of the bonnet and then on to the bull bar(if it has one), then when the bull bar is lowered the weight of it assists in tipping the bonnet.
The Cat rollers and loaders have a 24volt electric actuator. Seem to work fine for lifting a fiberglass hood.
HoodXpress, don't know if they're still around though. http://youtu.be/HIjTfyqkm84
That's pretty cool. Might be a nightmare if you butt dial it to the 'open' position at highway speeds...
Looks like will work now to find some .
Well Hood express is out of business any other ideas? I have had guys struggle with these hoods and I do want them to be able to.
I've seen electric screw type actuators on dump beds on utv's ....... Any chance of adapting something ? Pj
I think Mike in Idaho has the right idea. Pneumatic linear actuators are not that expensive (at least not on ebay) and they wouldn't be difficult to install. It's just a question of finding the stroke that you need and the cylinder diameter required to raise the hood. Another option would be to find some rear door struts for a station wagon or hatch back application that can be used to spring load the hood so that it's closer to being balanced- get it to where the driver only has to apply about 5-10 lbs of lifting force to get the hood open and then the struts to the rest of the work.
Yair . . . Absolutely bloody amazing that a truck comes onto the market with this problem . . . has someone taken one back to Kenworth and asked them for a fix. I would suggest that such a basic issue could come under the heading "not of merchantable quality" which as an ex manufacturer I know (in this country) to be a big deal . . . c'mon, I mean to say folks of all builds need to be able to flip the bonnet of a truck. I remember way back lifting the cab of something with a built in long travel hydraulic jack . . . easy-peasy and now Kenworth puts out a model where it's hard to lift the bonnet . . . sounds like it was designed on a computer by someone who has never had to open a bonnet to see what the hells that smoke. Cheers
How about a hydraulic type system.. Surely you all remember cabovers.
See the post right above yours
Any one have a hood express so I can see mounting points
Odd I come across this thread, I have been working this very problem with screw actuators, the problem i am having is no 2 motors out of factory will move at the same pace, possibly due to wire distance and or resistance. 18in travel is max with 41.5in at full stretch 24in collapsed. Haven't done much with mounting points and not nearly the problem child as travelspeed difference witch would cause the hood to not land in respective places, possibly Crack hood under stress. I have cteated a gate that functions very much the same way but not remote control and I find myself adjusting the potentiometer often and my direction switches are glued togather, looks kinda janky. Not very marketable but functions. I guess a driver wouldn't care as long as hood is automatic right?
It might be to expensive solution, but there are 12v actuators with revolvers for position built in. A box to read the positions and keep the actuators timed wouldn't be a big deal (to an electronic herder)
Seems kinda of expensive to use actuators over a cheap air cylinder
This is a bit redneck but might work. Gate openers for farm or driveway gates are 12 volt screws. It would require some engineering on your part but a quick search showed kits with 2 actuators. I don't know the load capacity of them either. Just a thought
What about some type of spring, or shock? Like a beefier version of an suv tail gate lift shock. . They have them on the hood of my grader. Had one fail, and it was a heavy lift.
Freightliner #A1719230001. Best thing to do is keep the mud washed out, and buy some Elton John platform boots.