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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

OT: Cabover semi's

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John S-B

09-04-2007 18:52:02




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I don't see anymore cabovers on the road anymore. I suppose this is due to crash safety? Are there any other reasons? Just wondering.




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Ry

09-05-2007 20:08:55




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
Two summers ago I watched an early 80's Peterbilt Cabover with a 400 Cummins sell on auction for 2,800 bucks. And man that thing was real close to perfect condition - even if it was green in color. Fresh recaps on the rear new front tires and real low hours on engine and trans. Even the interior was like new. I still kick myself for letting that ting pass!



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molinebob

09-05-2007 11:35:57




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  

The company I work for manufactures windows and doors, They have used cabovers ever since the company started, Just a couple of years ago they just started to buy conventional trucks, and thier fleet has about 80 cabovers in it right now.



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S M Himrod

09-05-2007 12:53:09




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to molinebob, 09-05-2007 11:35:57  
MOLINE BOB must be from or by warroad ??? First company I thought of was who you work for when I read the title of this post !!! I see alot of those yellow trucks go by !!!



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Moline_guy

09-05-2007 05:15:09




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
The reason is becaouse of the regulations like others said, but we have three cab over freightliners a 75,79, and an 83 model. They work well for us because we can get around approches to our fields and they manuever around the yard better, plus we only paid 1100 a piece and they run great. Once the cab is in the air they are easy to work on and if you have to put a clutch in i thinke its a little easir than a conventional, take care.

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john in la

09-05-2007 04:16:50




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
While they have a rough ride; and when in a crash the driver is the first thing at the point of impact; these things have nothing to do with why we do not see cab overs any more in the USA.
It all has to do with the fact that federal length laws changed. In the past we had total trailer length and overall length laws. Today we only have to deal with trailer length. In truth these over length trucks are only allowed 3 miles from roads that allow these size trucks OR to and from the point of loading/unloading. If you look at a true top of the line truckers atlas you can see these roads are marked by highlighting.
If you really start digging into the law you will see that most states do not allow 53' trailers or doubles. It is the federal law that allows us to use these rigs in those states but only on certain roads.

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bradley martin

09-05-2007 01:41:36




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
Cabovers are a buggar to get in and out of, Climb up, climb down. Ride is terrible. With the current driver shortage, companies have enough trouble getting drivers without forcing them to run cab-overs.



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old

09-04-2007 20:47:20




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
A lot has to do with how they ride and also how hard it is to work on the engine. Also the center of gravity it a lot high on them BTDT and have drove a good many of them and for some things they are fine but there front haevy and tail light so in many cases there just not very good



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John A.

09-04-2007 20:14:26




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
Boys, Ya'll aint in Texas!! The roads are lousy with them. Mexican local gravel haulers have a lot of them, and I-35 has its share of them too in NAFTA traffic.
Later,
John A.



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Rick(IA)

09-04-2007 19:52:54




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
In Europe the regs are still bumper-to-bumper, so cabovers are about all you see there, but they're all made by Scania, MAN, Mercedes and folks like that. They are cool though.



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iowa_tire_guy

09-04-2007 19:37:51




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
Air ride change the rough ride situation on cabovers. Air ride suspension and air ride cab made them pretty decent. Another problem was on most models you only had a bed in the bunk and you had to crawl into it. Once the walk in bunk became the norm in conventionals it was hard to convince someone to crawl into bed and dress laying down.



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Eric SEI

09-05-2007 18:18:00




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to iowa_tire_guy, 09-04-2007 19:37:51  
One thing I do know is that it is something to see when a trucking company sends one of those western cabs with a 48' trailer to do a in city delivery. I've had to tell the trucker to take his load back and have somebody deliver it with a straight truck because there was no way that he was going to get off the street and into our dock.

I've also seen a semi backed up to a convenience store. They were unloading directly in the front door of the store and the front of the semi was blocking the curb lane and one lane of traffic. During morning rush hour, of course.

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tractormiallis

09-04-2007 19:29:08




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
Oh yeah, you dont see them now, but you will, once the mexican rigs start. In fact, they already have begun coming in as Bush allowed it. Watch out, they will be wrecks on the road.



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flying belgian

09-04-2007 19:25:56




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
1st.--- The ride is extreemly rough as you are sitting ontop the axle. 2nd.--- There used to be length restrictions for tractor trailer rigs so guys would use shorter tractors hence longer trailers.
In the 70s I hauled tractor cabs for Hiniker Co. and so weight was not a factor. They had all cab-overs so we could use longer trailers and haul 1 extra cab per load.

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superman66

09-04-2007 19:25:46




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
I believe that rules and regulations re total vehicle length have been relaxed a bit and also standardized across all states, provinces and areas within "free trade" agreements. This has removed most of the reasons for the existance of C.O.E semi-tractors.They are more expensive, harder to work on and somewhat less crash-worthy than conventionals. My own ideas.....other views are welcome..S66



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DRL

09-04-2007 19:25:42




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
Don't know if it was a reason for their demise or not, but I've heard several truck drivers say that they really beat you to death b/c you sit right over the front axle. They would also cook you in the summer since you are sitting right over the engine also.



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Rickey h

09-04-2007 19:20:55




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
I been wondering that as well,,,,, fuel mileage maybe?



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willie in mn

09-04-2007 19:20:20




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
John
length laws changed about 10 years ago. until then it was "bumper to bumper" limits in many states, so the engine was tucked under the cab to allow for a bit more cargo space. Laws now have changed to be "trailer length", tractor can be whatever length you want. longer wheelbase rides better, & "nose" or "hood" makes servicing easier. many states still have "kingpin to center of tandem" or "axle 2 to last axle" limits especially if they have a lot of sharp curves in road. Willie in Mn
diesel pilot-retired

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Rickey h

09-04-2007 19:18:42




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
I been wondering that as well,,,,, fuel mileage maybe?



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RustyFarmall

09-05-2007 14:58:39




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to Rickey h, 09-04-2007 19:18:42  
Exactly. The conventional cabs are much more aerodynamic, which equals more miles per gallon, which equals lower operating expense and puts more money into the owners pocket. With fuel prices the way they are, the truck owners need every advantage they can get to remain profitable.



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RY

09-04-2007 19:15:34




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to John S-B, 09-04-2007 18:52:02  
Seems like back in the 70's and 80's cabovers where the dominant force in semi trucks. I saw some grafitti in an EXTREMELY small dumpy truckstop restroom one time on the back side of the john door - so when you sat on the pot it read "So this is what it must be like to drive a cabover!" When you sat down the john door was hitting your knees! Hey I got a good laugh out of it!



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Jon Hagen

09-04-2007 19:21:59




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 Re: OT: Cabover semi's in reply to RY, 09-04-2007 19:15:34  
I still use an old cab over IH transtar on my farm. They are cheap to buy cause no one wants them. they are shorter than a conventional cab so they get around a bit better. The biggest downside for me at 59 years old, is that getting into/out of the cab 20 times a day is kinda like climbing a tree 20 times a day.



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