Cab over

[Truck Shop]

Cab overs with short wheel bases like the ones in the photos below just beat the crap out of a driver, and it doesn't matter if it's equipped with air ride or spring. But I have driven
conventionals that rode just damn near as rough. It all depends on the axle spread, where the fuel tanks are mounted and type of suspension. I drove a 359 Pete day cab with a
210 wheel base and Pete Air Track that loaded or empty would just slap the front axle. It would turn ice cream into a milk shake and churn butter at the same time. You didn't
drink coffee you wore it. Preparation H liked truck manufactures that built crap like that.

 

[RollOver Pete]

Run EB I -10 thru Beaumont and Banning and youre gonna need a lot more than Prep H!

 

[Truck Shop]

Run EB I -10 thru Beaumont and Banning and youre gonna need a lot more than Prep H!

I-5 from Shasta to the Vine or 99 from Manteca to Bakersfield was a killer.

 

[Don.S]

The single axle truck i am currently driving is not a cab over bit it is absolutely terrible. If it is not a travel mug hung off the side of the air seat then you can forget about coffee. Took a look at the door sticker and its a 20k front and 23k rear with leaf springs and says 186 for wb. And to top it all of it turns like garbage

 

[DMiller]

Does not take much to make any truck worthless to be in. Pete I finally stopped driving was a Swimmer, Regular Pete Airleaf Suspension performing vocational work. Rolled in corners evilly and never stopped squirming under a U-bottom Dump trailer. I do not get motion sick but came close a few times in it.

 

[Truck Shop]

Talking about an A$$ beater here's one right here, no air ride, no air ride seat no nothing and Gimmer manual steering with probably 4x4 married boxes and a power house 220 when
it was new. There was one bonus though the dog house had a trap door on the drivers side by the shifter, set your can of beans on the manifold or top of engine and cook'em while
pulling the grade at 8 mph, Van Camps Pork & Beans cooked 220 style.

 

[Mother Deuce]

I never minded driving a cabover so much as those little airplanes flying around your head when you were climbing the side of the building to get to the seat. Then on top of it you had to wear gloves all the time...because after your arms stretched out from scaling the side of the cab. Your knuckles would drag on the ground behind you.

 

[RZucker]

Cab overs with short wheel bases like the ones in the photos below just beat the crap out of a driver, and it doesn't matter if it's equipped with air ride or spring. But I have driven
conventionals that rode just damn near as rough. It all depends on the axle spread, where the fuel tanks are mounted and type of suspension. I drove a 359 Pete day cab with a
210 wheel base and Pete Air Track that loaded or empty would just slap the front axle. It would turn ice cream into a milk shake and churn butter at the same time. You didn't
drink coffee you wore it. Preparation H liked truck manufactures that built crap like that.

View attachment 213577 View attachment 213578

Once back in the day, I got an invitation to drive a day cab Freightliner with an 8V-71T with a wheelbase consisting of front wheel-fuel tank-rear driver with springs on the rear pulling a short set of double grain trailers. 3 trips and "Never again" that was the worst ride i have ever had. It did teach me that a single drive could make a few bucks hauling grain with the right set up due to the light weight.

 

[cuttin edge]

Now I drove 359 and 379 peterbilts. The 359s ran 400 cats with 13 overs and 3:73s I think. The 379s ran 425 cats with an 8LL and 4:11s All had the peterbilt air ride. i found them to be great comfort. The 4 Kenworths they had, I found that 8 bag air ride always felt like you were driving on ice. They were all long trucks, like a 72 inch bunk, same spread. I used to let the air out of the seat and rest one finger on the wheel. First time I took one of the western star trucks we use for moving equipment where I work now, I stopped at a store to get a sub and a drink, I couldn't eat it because I actually had to drive with both hands on the wheel.

 

[Truck Shop]

And you of all people passed up that wonderful ride and the sound of Music, i would have never guessed. lol

 

[Truck Shop]

Now I drove 359 and 379 peterbilts. The 359s ran 400 cats with 13 overs and 3:73s I think. The 379s ran 425 cats with an 8LL and 4:11s All had the peterbilt air ride. i found them to be great comfort. The 4 Kenworths they had, I found that 8 bag air ride always felt like you were driving on ice. They were all long trucks, like a 72 inch bunk, same spread. I used to let the air out of the seat and rest one finger on the wheel. First time I took one of the western star trucks we use for moving equipment where I work now, I stopped at a store to get a sub and a drink, I couldn't eat it because I actually had to drive with both hands on the wheel.

It all depends on WB and the specs. Some wheel bases can slap the crap out of the front axle at certain speeds combined with distance between splices on a concrete road surface and just
how much dip there is after each splice which is created from truck traffic. I-5, 99 and I-90 were real bad before it was surface ground, but those highways are needing it again.

 

[cuttin edge]

A company my father worked for had a ford LTL. It had the extended leaf henderickson. It would slap you silly without a loaded wagon. Richard always said he needed a sports bra to drive it. They bought the identical truck 5 years later and it was smooth as leaf springs can be. My father checked the pinion angles on both rearends and there was quite a difference. Matched the older truck to the new one, problem solved

 

[Truck Shop]

It can make a difference but mostly it's wheel base and where the center of the fifthwheel sets.

 

[Tenwheeler]

A company my father worked for had a ford LTL. It had the extended leaf henderickson. It would slap you silly without a loaded wagon. Richard always said he needed a sports bra to drive it. They bought the identical truck 5 years later and it was smooth as leaf springs can be. My father checked the pinion angles on both rearends and there was quite a difference. Matched the older truck to the new one, problem solved

Drove a IHC similar to that a few times. Empty had to pull myself up close to the steering wheel with both hands. That kept the low back seat from killing me. No one mentioned how they want to swap ends while braking in the rain.

 

[mitch504]

I have had 4 different single screws on 144" wheelbases over the years (IH 1900, 2-2375s, and a CH612 Mack). A couple of long bridges around here, if you run between 50-60 mph, with no trailer, they will start hopping over the expansion joints harder and harder, till you either slow down or lose the truck

 

[DMiller]

IML Eagle Division was where had the K100 leased on, IIRC is was 160" maybe 168? wb Torsion Ride where at Gelco we had 24 Freight Shakers tandem with sleeper with 6" clearance front drivers to short large diameter fuel tanks and the exhaust stack mounted in a inverted C corner of the cab as could not frame hang, those were HORRID as to back slap having the INFAMOUS Bostrum West Coaster Spring ride seat. Cheap Pieces OS. IIRC those had a similar wb to Single Screws as close to 140", could NOT pull a reefer with one.

 

[DMiller]

Preferred Sheppard P/S gears for simplicity, Ross was OK in the early days better after TRW merge, were a couple that discontinued and do not remember most of those names, seem to remember a leak prone Rockwell series. Gemmer Manual gears seem to have been installed on any and every chassis.

 

[Old Doug]

I just got a single axle chevy i took it for a test drive down a ruff blacktop. I didnt know if i could drive it 3 hours home but after i got going it wasnt to bad until i came to a over pass i thought the seat belt was going to cut me in half. The belt needs work. The seat is air ride but because of the short pickup cab it dosent have much travel.

 

[Truck Shop]

Ah ha-Sheppard steering gears----------I hate those-like you hate Leece Neville.

 

[DB2]

Or Lucas

The prince of darkness