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Cab over

C

cuttin edge

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All this downtime is starting to get really boring. Thought of a post I meant to start a few weeks ago. Do they still manufacture cab over trucks? I'm not talking these little 3 ton trucks, I mean the BJ and the Bear lay down to put your pants on highway truck?
 
DMiller

DMiller

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I believe COE designs were stopped in production in 2018 in the US, are still some demand for them just not enough to warrant limited runs.
 
C

cuttin edge

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I see some guys with the extended frames, and the gearshift over their heads, older trucks obviously, but a few weeks ago I saw 2 going, no insignia that I could see, but they did have DEF tanks. Nothing fancy, steel buds all around, unfinished tanks, even painted bumpers. They seemed to be newer trucks though
 
5

56wrench

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i think over here in north america, cabovers are not popular because they don't need to be. cabovers are harder to work on(engine) and harder to climb up into. in europe, asia, nz, japan, etc., the bumper to back of cab dimension can be short to allow a tighter turning radius with a short wheelbase tractor-trailer unit which is a real benefit in cities(especially old cities). also saves on hood/bumper damage from bashing into stuff while turning in tight quarters. most north american truckers are used to having more room to manouvre than their europeon counterparts. some europeon tour busses i've seen even have steerable rear axles. its all a matter of operating necessities.
 
Nige

Nige

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Absolutely. Also most European countries have overall legal "nose to tail" maximium length limits that would preclude coupling a 40ft-deck trailer to a conventional tractor and still staying within the legal limit. IIRC the UK limit is 16.5m (about 53ft) for normal operations. A cabover is the only tractor setup that meets that law.

I agree with 56W, in N America most delivery/parking areas for Class 8 trucks are the area of the proberbial 3-acre field. You don't need a supremely-manouevrable truck/trailer combo to get into and out of them (although Ronsii seems to make a good living out of the drivers who are less-than-capable). In most European cities the streets were built centuries ago for the horse and cart. Aids such as steerable trailers and steerable thrid axles on tractors are very common these days, and it's by necessity not because they are the latest must-have fashion accessory.
 
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Truck Shop

Truck Shop

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Well that depends, there are still DC's that were built for 40' trailers and less. It's interesting to watch a 270 WB tractor with a 53' trailer bump the dock in some places. The power steering
pumps are getting over worked and hot as hell. Ruins the steering gears too. I replace at least 9 pumps a year on rigs with only 200,000 on them and at least four steering gears. Mostly it's
caused by poor backing skills, what am I talking about {most have trouble driving forward}. And that's running Freightliner Cascadia's-set back steer axle, but when backing up the tag has to be lifted
so all that weight goes on the steer axle {cooking the pump}.

But as I have said before, drivers here have a tendency of living in their trucks. So no COE's plus as I have said before it's hard to hoist all your biscuits and gravy up the side of a COE, not to
mention juggling a bucket of greasy chicken, three german dogs with all the fix'ins and a 48oz coke.

Inner city deliveries can still be a challenge no matter where you are.
 
C

cuttin edge

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Yeah I had an uncle that used to talk about some fish market in Boston that was designed for straight trucks, and they expected you in with a 48 foot van. Not sure what he would think of the 53 foot vans. He actually had a cab over Freightliner, and hauled refer trailer
 
R

RZucker

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Truck Shop said:
Well that depends, there are still DC's that were built for 40' trailers and less. It's interesting to watch a 270 WB tractor with a 53' trailer bump the dock in some places. The power steering
pumps are getting over worked and hot as hell. Ruins the steering gears too. I replace at least 9 pumps a year on rigs with only 200,000 on them and at least four steering gears. Mostly it's
caused by poor backing skills, what am I talking about {most have trouble driving forward}. And that's running Freightliner Cascadia's-set back steer axle, but when backing up the tag has to be lifted
so all that weight goes on the steer axle {cooking the pump}.

But as I have said before, drivers here have a tendency of living in their trucks. So no COE's plus as I have said before it's hard to hoist all your biscuits and gravy up the side of a COE, not to
mention juggling a bucket of greasy chicken, three german dogs with all the fix'ins and a 48oz coke.

Inner city deliveries can still be a challenge no matter where you are.
Click to expand...

I fondly remember the double "fat boy bars" and steps on the older Freightliners with the doublewide sleepers. I wasn't a fat boy but they were easier to get in and out of.
Oh, if you have a TV in the sleeper... tie it down before you tilt the cab, saw a guy dump the entire windshield out of a Pete COE once. It was the glass had 3 wipers and went all the way across.
 
Nige

Nige

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Truck Shop said:
But as I have said before, drivers here have a tendency of living in their trucks.
Click to expand...
So do a lot of European drivers. A typical trip from the UK/Ireland to Italy, Greece, or similar in Eastern Europe can have a driver away for probably up to a month. Maybe drivers over the other side of the Pond aren’t such fat b**tards as N American truck drivers..? :eek::eek:
 
Truck Shop

Truck Shop

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I drove plenty of COE's, I remember leaving Ellensburg, Wa on the usual Sunday morning and make it past the bay area headed to L.A. with a short nap in Los Banos.
I drove a KW-K100 110" sleep and a 352 Pete 110" sleep and a Freightliner 86" sleep plus conventionals . But the KW was the best out of the batch with a 240 WB and a 400 Cat.
The markets in L.A. and the Bay were not semi friendly.
 
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