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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:38:57 PM EDT
Last summer, I saw an old cab over engine semi going down the road hauling something. It struck me as odd since I hardly ever see these anymore. As a kid in the 70s and BJ & the Bear fan, they were all over the place. Now when I'm on road trips I find it kinda fun to notice one.
Saw this one the other day: 
It appears they were the result or were common back in the 70s as a result of Carter administration EPA foolishness regulating length of semi-trucks. Ever see any these days? |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:41:44 PM EDT
[#1]
The farm up the street from me has two matching ones, still used daily. They look like early '80s. My town's transfer station has a '60s Ford cab-over too.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:42:28 PM EDT
[#2]
Tag for more info.
And sexy truck pics 
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:43:02 PM EDT
[#3]
Truckers don't like them because:
It's hot and noisy sitting directly over the engine Nothing between you and a front end collision besides some sheet metal. I drove straight trucks and had a collision that would have killed me without the front end to soak up damage. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:44:29 PM EDT
[#4]
They ride like shit. They shift like shit. Very little room, can't stand up, etc etc
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:46:52 PM EDT
[#5]
For the record, I've never driven a big rig much less sat in one. And have no desire to. Just think it's interesting to see them these days.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:47:40 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
They ride like shit. They shift like shit. Very little room, can't stand up, etc etc I bet aerodynamics are shit as well. i.e. they burn more fuel. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:48:44 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I bet aerodynamics are shit as well. i.e. they burn more fuel. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
They ride like shit. They shift like shit. Very little room, can't stand up, etc etc I bet aerodynamics are shit as well. i.e. they burn more fuel. Drivers don't much care about that. 
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:48:49 PM EDT
[#8]
I see them all the time here hauling logs and such. Old school Optimus Prime.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:49:33 PM EDT
[#9]
We run across them more often in nor cal, Oregon and Washington. My first truck was an 88' pete cabover. I point them out to the wife and she says how glad she is we aren't in one now! Love seeing them restored!
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:49:38 PM EDT
[#10]
I learned how to drive in one of those, they do suck, cant see too well out of the right side, they are still made but the send them to mexico they build them here in NC
at the Mount Holly plant. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:50:47 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I bet aerodynamics are shit as well. i.e. they burn more fuel. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
They ride like shit. They shift like shit. Very little room, can't stand up, etc etc I bet aerodynamics are shit as well. i.e. they burn more fuel. I think up to about 55 they don't offer any worse areos than any other design. If they were popular during the 70's during the gas crunch and national 55mph speed limit, that would make sense. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:51:20 PM EDT
[#12]
There's no need for them in countries that don't have strict overall length requirements like in they have in Europe where they still use them.
Here we can have two (maybe 3) car road trains, but nothing like you see in Oz. 
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:51:58 PM EDT
[#13]
Another fan of the cabover style here. Always liked them. They may not be the best solution but they are nice to look at. 
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:52:23 PM EDT
[#14]
They suck hard to work on, and ride like a buckboard if the springs, shocks, load, and cab air aren't perfect.
That truck sucks balls HUGE because it's still long as hell, so the ONE advantage it could have had maneuvering and bumping docks isn't there. Pretty truck though.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:52:45 PM EDT
[#15]
I always loved the old 50's Chevy COE trucks.
.jpeg)
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Posted: 9/2/2015 3:54:06 PM EDT
[#16]
Cab-overs were needed because of overall length (cab and trailer) requirements.
I understand the conventional cabs are more aerodynamic and more fuel efficient.
It doesn't have to be a lot more fuel efficient to be a benefit when you're putting on 10s of thousands of miles a year. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:16:04 PM EDT
[#17]
I've always thought they were better looking, not that the other ones were ugly though.
There's a guy around here that has a restored regular truck though that's a day cab on a long ass frame, iirc the frame is painted and it looks like it's been lowered a little and has like 6" stacks on it. The thing is just beautiful. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:19:28 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Tag for more info. And sexy truck pics I think they were the best looking trucks built. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:22:22 PM EDT
[#19]
This one was in our shop a month or so ago...looks identical to the one 74novaman posted.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:24:09 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Truckers don't like them because: It's hot and noisy sitting directly over the engine Nothing between you and a front end collision besides some sheet metal. I drove straight trucks and had a collision that would have killed me without the front end to soak up damage. My dad died in a cab over accident in 1970, they were and are a terrible idea. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:27:26 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Cab-overs were needed because of overall length (cab and trailer) requirements. I understand the conventional cabs are more aerodynamic and more fuel efficient. It doesn't have to be a lot more fuel efficient to be a benefit when you're putting on 10s of thousands of miles a year. My family owns a trucking business and I never knew that! |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:30:42 PM EDT
[#22]
were they cheaper to make that way? I'm assuming they were since its obviously a shitty design compared to the regular engine out front.
ETA mike_314 answered, Interesting |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:32:19 PM EDT
[#23]
Cab overs get so freaking hot inside, I don't know why the Army decided to get a lot of them.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:40:18 PM EDT
[#24]
We had one on our farm.
Detroit Diesel with an air starter.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:43:17 PM EDT
[#25]
I see a lot of them around here on farms.
Not generally in places where they are being used heavily. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:44:39 PM EDT
[#26]
The real Optimus Prime.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:47:39 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Truckers don't like them because: It's hot and noisy sitting directly over the engine Nothing between you and a front end collision besides some sheet metal. I drove straight trucks and had a collision that would have killed me without the front end to soak up damage. Saw the result of a suicide where the person decided to go head-on into a cab over truck. Rear cab braces broke(if they even have any), cab hinged forward. Neither in the truck had their seatbelt on, passenger came out the windshield and hit the car, driver was stopped by the steering wheel. All 3 dead. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:54:25 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My family owns a trucking business and I never knew that! Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Cab-overs were needed because of overall length (cab and trailer) requirements. I understand the conventional cabs are more aerodynamic and more fuel efficient. It doesn't have to be a lot more fuel efficient to be a benefit when you're putting on 10s of thousands of miles a year. My family owns a trucking business and I never knew that! In Canada, the situation is reversed. The guys who still have them aren't allowed into Canada because they have a minimum length requirement and most cab overs are too short. Something about the weight footprint spread over too small an area of pavement. That's one reason so many of them disappeared from the big US companies' fleets when NAFTA went into effect. The companies wanted to be able to run in Canada with the same trucks they used in the US. But as normal, the US got screwed and the only people running in the other guy's country are the Canadians running here in the US. Very few US drivers get to cross the border into Canada. As far as COEs go, if they weren't such worn out pieces of crap, I didn't mind driving them. Never drove one long haul, but in captive service where I was home every night they were pretty good. The only thing I drove that turned tighter was a Freightliner Century day cab, which had the same wheelbase as the International cab overs I drove. But the cab overs were rough riding SOBs and the "dog house" engine cover took up a lot of floor space, making getting to the bunk a clumsy experience. The "flat floor" International "Condos" were nicer, but it was still awkward moving around in side of one compared to a conventional. The last cab over I drove was a bobtail trip from outside of Scranton, PA to Seville, OH to turn the truck in for transfer to its new owner; Halliburton. They bought a bunch of them that they shipped to Kuwait and Iraq for the American drivers who went over there. According to one guy who drove for Halliburton the US drivers were fighting to get those trucks, because the new Volvos and other European brand trucks being used were European spec, without the air ride suspension and air ride seat US trucks have. Much more comfortable than the spring-ride Euro-spec rigs. But the guy said the Iraqis saw them and decided to test them for RPG resistance. The fiberglass and aluminum cabs definitely weren't RPG-proof. The only good point was that an RPG would pass completely through before detonating. I wonder how many old Schneider and JB Hunt cab overs met their fates over in Iraq? |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:55:33 PM EDT
[#29]
Quoted:
Last summer, I saw an old cab over engine semi going down the road hauling something. It struck me as odd since I hardly ever see these anymore. As a kid in the 70s and BJ & the Bear fan, they were all over the place. Now when I'm on road trips I find it kinda fun to notice one. Saw this one the other day: http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb179/rasmuspa/9B1C1602-492C-4A32-914C-B81733ECBF18_zps7uynla0f.jpg It appears they were the result or were common back in the 70s as a result of Carter administration EPA foolishness regulating length of semi-trucks. Ever see any these days? That truck should have a reefer on. 
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Posted: 9/2/2015 4:55:46 PM EDT
[#30]
Cab overs are like diesels in small trucks, you have a small but vocal group that love them, but not enough for anyone to make a profit on them. You can get a brand new Freightliner Argosy if you want, but very few are being sold. I can count on one hand how many I have seen on the road, on the other hand I see an old school cab over every day. The COE fans love old school. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:03:17 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Cab overs are like diesels in small trucks, you have a small but vocal group that love them, but not enough for anyone to make a profit on them. You can get a brand new Freightliner Argosy if you want, but very few are being sold. I can count on one hand how many I have seen on the road, on the other hand I see an old school cab over every day. The COE fans love old school. I took a load of parts to the Freightliner plant in NC and the place was packed with brand new Argosies. All painted white, with off road style tires and marked for shipment to Africa. I know that Schneider shipped a bunch of its old cab overs to Africa, so I guess that they are popular over there. I never got to drive an Argosy, but with so much in common with a Century I think driving one would be pretty nice if you got to stay on smooth pavement. Driving across PA would certainly suck, as I learned driving an International Eagle across the state. Short wheelbase and pavement that has rhythmic humps would beat you to death when hauling a heavily loaded trailer. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:14:40 PM EDT
[#32]
My brother is a truck driver I asked him why they went away. He said its a safety liability thing. He learned on cab overs.
Your in an accident hoping that handle that flips the cab forward holds. Lots of bad accidents with them, phased out. Thats why so many ended up on farms cheap. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:15:55 PM EDT
[#33]
Quoted:
Last summer, I saw an old cab over engine semi going down the road hauling something. It struck me as odd since I hardly ever see these anymore. As a kid in the 70s and BJ & the Bear fan, they were all over the place. Now when I'm on road trips I find it kinda fun to notice one. Saw this one the other day: http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb179/rasmuspa/9B1C1602-492C-4A32-914C-B81733ECBF18_zps7uynla0f.jpg It appears they were the result or were common back in the 70s as a result of Carter administration EPA foolishness regulating length of semi-trucks. Ever see any these days? I drove one....
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:17:22 PM EDT
[#34]
Nothing is direct since you're so far forward, so lots of links for your steering and shifting, which suck brand new and are subject to wear which makes them suck way worse
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:19:15 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Truckers don't like them because: It's hot and noisy sitting directly over the engine Nothing between you and a front end collision besides some sheet metal. I drove straight trucks and had a collision that would have killed me without the front end to soak up damage. This. You are always the first one to the scene of the accident.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:24:11 PM EDT
[#36]
son-of-a-bitch
"cab over pete, with a reefer on...." now i know what that means......never put two and two together....
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:26:49 PM EDT
[#37]
Noisy, hot, rode like shit.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:33:55 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
They ride like shit. They shift like shit. Very little room, can't stand up, etc etc But B.J. and the Bear man! |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:36:32 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Drivers don't much care about that. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: Quoted: They ride like shit. They shift like shit. Very little room, can't stand up, etc etc I bet aerodynamics are shit as well. i.e. they burn more fuel. Drivers don't much care about that. HEY, hey, hey, unless the driver is paying for it, as in O/O.  |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:41:13 PM EDT
[#40]
Another reason (at least at the company I work for) they got rid of them is that they were dangerous to climb in and out of. From the floorboard it was at least a four and a half to five foot drop if you missed the step on the way out. I don't miss them.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:43:54 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Nothing is direct since you're so far forward, so lots of links for your steering and shifting, which suck brand new and are subject to wear which makes them suck way worse I agree on the "floating" shifting pattern. Sometimes it is here, sometimes it is there. The gear you want is never in the same place it seems. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:46:09 PM EDT
[#42]
You still see some in city use. Shorter turning radius. And loggers who drive them because they can't afford a newer rig, and don't want to beat a newer rig to death. Aerodynamics plays a big roll in fuel. Close to a 3rd of it. A 379 looks cool too but when the fuel bill comes from your wallet, cool don't pay the bills.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:46:53 PM EDT
[#43]
Still widely used in Europe...
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:48:04 PM EDT
[#44]
My old man had one when I was a kid.
I miss riding in it. Custom leather interior, air, air ride seats, and cassette deck. Used ones can go for good money, or so I've heard. People are buying them to rebuild/refurbish. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:49:00 PM EDT
[#45]
Will have to look for them.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 5:49:24 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
We had one on our farm. Detroit Diesel with an air starter. Blown 2 stroke that revved like a fucking chainsaw? Those old 2 stroke detroits sure are a blast to run. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 6:11:09 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Blown 2 stroke that revved like a fucking chainsaw? Those old 2 stroke detroits sure are a blast to run. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
We had one on our farm. Detroit Diesel with an air starter. Blown 2 stroke that revved like a fucking chainsaw? Those old 2 stroke detroits sure are a blast to run. Yep. Like this one only in green. 
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Posted: 9/2/2015 6:14:18 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
They ride like shit. They shift like shit. Very little room, can't stand up, etc etc But if you're ever in an accident, you're always the first one at the scene. |
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Posted: 9/2/2015 6:16:07 PM EDT
[#49]
I have worked on many of them . I had a picture of a 9760 with a 6-92 Detroit on my shop wall . I had to take it down it leaked oil on the floor.
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Posted: 9/2/2015 6:23:30 PM EDT
[#50]
Quoted:
Last summer, I saw an old cab over engine semi going down the road hauling something. It struck me as odd since I hardly ever see these anymore. As a kid in the 70s and BJ & the Bear fan, they were all over the place. Now when I'm on road trips I find it kinda fun to notice one. Saw this one the other day: http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb179/rasmuspa/9B1C1602-492C-4A32-914C-B81733ECBF18_zps7uynla0f.jpg It appears they were the result or were common back in the 70s as a result of Carter administration EPA foolishness regulating length of semi-trucks. Ever see any these days? I drove one for 2 years, give me a conventional ANY day of the week. God I hate the way CoE's ride
Not to mention, I don't think my knees should be the first line of defense in an accedent 
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