Don't Make Me Drive That Cabover!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2024
- Dave talks about his opinion from his past experiences, about the ride of a cabover.
No doubt about it, cabovers are awesome trucks to look at. They certainly had their place in the industry back in the day for superior maneuverability, help to stay within length restriction laws.
However, they could be REAL BACK BREAKERS!
Dave describes HIS personal experiences with cabovers, which turned out to be fairly short lived, due to the negative experience.
Be sure to share your opinion about the ride of the cabover in your truck driving career.
Awesome to look at and not bad for a leisure cruise, but not recommended for running team drivers nor a long haul truck. But hey, that's just Dave's personal opinion.
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GO TO www.smart-trucking.com/cabove...
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Back in the 70's and 80"s when I was a youngster I would ride in a cabover kenworth with my dad every chance I got. Man I loved every minute of it sure it was a rough ride but being a kid I didn't mind it at all. I remember one time my dad was driving and chatting on the old cb he told the other driver that he needed to stop to buy some cigarettes. Long story short my dad didn't stop to buy cigarettes because he pulled next to another cabover and the driver handed me a few cigs for my dad while driving approximately 70 mph down the highway. I'll never forget that. Lol try doing that in a conventional truck.
When I went from a cabover Ford with manual steering and spring suspension to a slant back Pete cabover with air-ride I thought I was in hog heaven. Those old trucks can’t even compare to the Pete I’m driving now, it’s like driving my pick-up. To bad some of these younger drivers didn’t get a chance to “ enjoy “ the older trucks it would damn sure make them appreciate what they are driving now ! 😉
Ain't that the truth! Dave
I think people embarking on Truck driving as a career should be trained in the older 40-50-60 transport trucks so they understand the nature of them plus to gain the experience of what they have to drive today. They should make them specifically for truck driving training. Start with the old manuals then upgrade to the newer technology.
Two story Ford?
But the roads were a lot better
I've never driven a cab over, however, I can relate to my first couple nights riding in the bunk. The only real sleep I got was when my team mate stopped for red lights.
European cabovers are a totally different thing from US cabovers. The ride is super comfortable and the cabs are extremely well designed to make the most out of a limited amount of space.
But the mention of a 'rubberblock suspension' sent shivers down my spine..all our cabs in Europe are air-suspended. Nice to hear about your experiences though.
Yeah but he's talking about US cabovers in the 70's. In the seventies you guys were still moving stuff with horses :p
I remember my first experience lifting the cab without checking the sleeper and the owners TV decided it wanted out through the drivers side windshield! Oops! Lessons learned. Stay safe!
Man, in the 80’s, my dad had a 1978 Pete cab over and whenever I was out on summer break from school I’d go on trips with him. I used to sleep just fine... when the truck was loaded down. Bob tail? Forget it. It was like a 7.8 on the Richter scale. He then got a Freight with air ride, and air cab, power windows, AC... That was nice. But that Pete, gave me and my family a good life. It was fast too. Gulped down diesel, but would fly up the grapevine.
79 freightliner coe. My dad had a few. I would go on the road with him. Sleeping in the back is exactly how you explain it. It’s far easier just to sleep in the passenger seat.
I drove for Schneider in the nineties, my first truck was an 87 international coe with a 300hp Cummins . No air ride, no Jake. The first time I went through the cross bronx expressway everything in the cab went flying my cooler went from the bunk to the passenger side footwell. It was brutal. My last truck with them was a new 99 International COE with a flat floor and rear air suspension, Jake, cruise and a great series 60 Detroit. I loved that truck. I never see them anymore, I guess everybody hated them so much they retired every one of them. The next company I worked for had brand new Volvo’s I never knew truck could ride that nice they were like a Lexus compared to the coe’s.
The truck can make or break any long haul, especially if sleeping in a hotel is inconvenient to the trip or you prefer sleeping during the run. This is why truckers are in high demand for some companies, because they don't realize having a new truck with the best comforts and air rides saves a heck of a lot on energy and fatigue, which also in turn saves lives. I'd rather have a well rested, alert truck driver behind the wheel than one fed up with the truck or even the dispatchers, suffering from complete lack of sleep while being forced to run a load hundreds of miles. Listen to your drivers, they know what they're talking about when it comes to road comfort, keep the cabovers to local or inner city runs since the nose won't be tough to navigate around tight spaces.
My dad drove a kw cabover, my favorite seat was right on the hump over the engine, best view of the road when I was about 5 years old.
Yes sir! Riding the doghouse! Dave
My first truck was a 1991 freightliner cabover for Burlington motor. I still love cabovers to this day.
I drove a 85 Freightliner COE spring ride . You really had to think twice about the the way you crossed RR tracks if you didn't want to smash your head on the roof. More than once I slid down the iced over hand rails . I looked like I was coming down a fire pole ! Glad those days are over .
Yeah, I wiped a few times getting out of them. I think my arms might still be a bit longer now from that! Dave
Started trucking in the early 80's, and just about everything I drove was an over-cab...and I drove 'em all too.
Petes, Freight-shakers, Intersmashable Crash-overs, KWs, Macks, GMCs (that had those huge aquarium windshields).
I now own and operate a '61 Pete 351, with a big mil and full air-ride, and I ain't going back.
Keep up with these great videos Dave!! Lotsa wonderful wisdom!
Thank you sir! Dave
dad had a Volvo F12 78 mod cabover. think it was serial number 253 for the F12 series so very early. he got it in 81 after it was rebuilt after it had burned to ground. all new front section. i grew up riding along in that truck. he loved the ride in it so kept it for 20 years as his only truck. and it was a comfy truck. no problem seeping while on the move in those old F12s. greatest trucks volvo have made. ever.
now my newest truck is a 14 mod Volvo FM. and even so it have the 9 tonne front axle and 23 tonne tandem it rides like a boss. air ride all around tho. coins and stuff on the dash dont even rattle hehe. the Volvo dynamic steering also makes the work much easier.
Hey Dave, I've a different cabover memory for you. I tried running team for about a year, in the mid-80s. I fondly remember the three-wiper Pete w/the un-neutered 425Cat. Man, I loved that truck! It'd pull almost any mountain without having to downshift. Road super high up, w/cars seemingly passing under my left foot. Of course, it did have air ride, w/an air ride cab. Still, I never did get the nack for sleeping w/the truck in motion. We used an air mattress, inflated halfway. Used to swap every 4hrs. Between getting the bare minimum of sleep, also mostly through exhaustion, & also some bad partners, I swore off running team. I still fondly remember that Pete, though. Glad I missed the slightly older cabovers. I also vividly recall one VERY huge driver who was climbing out of his KW cabover. I watched in amazement as he clung to the handle, high up, until getting a foot on the ground. When he let go of the handle, the truck about flipped over the other way ;-P
Those 362 cabover Petes were a nice truck [ 3 wipers ] and the cabover Ford CL9000 were the ones that leaned way the hell over when the big guys climbed inside! Dave
Those 1693TA Caterpillars were too reliable, but they were heavy motors. Hundreds more than any Cummins or Detroit. If you just let them lug down to 13 or 1400 rpms they would just pull and pull.
I drove cabovers for Schneider in 1998. The “bus type”, (International) truck, was more comfortable. The dangers of these trucks, was the shorter wheel base. Although, I loved them in “tight” situations!
I started out in a 76 GMC C/O only ran light on the intestate so was not to bad. Then I did NE Regional in a flat top single bunk freightliner when I was at BMC in the early 90's. Before that I trained with a A-hole in a double bunk sleeper. He used to tell me I had to sleep on the top bunk when he was driving. Craziness. Main thing was if you drove a place like NYC you just put everything on the floor.
The roads were AWFULL out there! I ran between Boston and Baltimore in a transtar, back in 76.
I was with Burlington from 93 to 94. My first company I drove for.
Mr Charles first of all thank you for your work.....personally I love cabovers!
Mr Charles those things were loud.
not too* bad.
I like cabovers
They always looked meaner and cooler than the conventionals
Just saying
Hi there. You have great videos. This one is funny/true. I drove double teams for Midwestern Trucking out of Ft Scott Ks with cabovers-just like you said, and i was young. Started otr with 71-73 coe freightliners, fun to recollect, wouldn't want to
do it again, keep up the good work.
I started on a 72 R Model Mack. First minute the guy who I was going to be learning from. (That's right someone worked with you then you upgraded your licences ...simple) Grabbed my ball cap off my head. (I sat there paralyzed) And he took pliers off his belt and ripped the steel button off the top. Then gave it back to me. and said. First I didn't want you getting your skull cracked. After the first bump. I understood why.
Good one! Dave
I drove a 95 International cabover. I hared it. It was too rough despite the full airride. I eventually got into KW T600 and loved that KW.
Love your stories! When I was a teenager on our farm we had a couple of cab overs one was a 74 Kenworth that had a 272 inch wheel base and it had a 5 and a 4 transmission with a 400 small cam Cummins engine and would do triple digits, her name was Scoots. It was the only truck that I've ever seen that had a torsion bar suspension set up! The ride was super smooth but when you went around a corner it always felt like you were going to lay it over! Our other cab over was a 76 White Freightliner and it had a 262 inch wheel base with 4 spring suspension and it rode pretty decent because of the longer wheel base. I'd say that it rode as good as our two 83 Kenworth W900's that were sister truck's that were air ride with 262 inch wheel base.
I loved my 1977 K100 cabover, drive it for 4 years.
350 Cummins, airride,
10 speed.
I drove a 1996 Freightliner cabover for Werner, back before I got my first Pete. This thing was air ride and I never had to sleep while another driver was at the wheel, but it still crunched my back pretty good. Going from that into a 379 was a pure delight.
I learned in spring ride Cornbinders, spent a few years in 'em before ever getting into a conventional (length laws were stricter back then), but I did buy a Peterbilt 372 in the mid '90s. Now, that was a smooth riding cabover, and the only truck I've driven, loaded, while getting 9 mpg.
I'm ok with a standard air-ride cabover, though... if I decide to do anything local, intermodal or the like, I'd consider 'em mostly for the maneuverability. I don't like to drive team. At all. I've been tossed out of the bunk, too.
Hauling a load of Dr. Pepper to a distributor in KS.... 2 liter bottles... in heavy fog. My co-driver had it floored to the governor, about 65 mph, and crossed a major highway without seeing the stop sign. DIP *bump* DIP *slam!* found myself wedged between the back of his seat and the bunk. Lost about 60% of the load, and that trailer stank of Dr. Pepper for years. That was in a conventional air ride Freightshaker.
Wow! Scary ride! Could have been a lot worse though! You were lucky! Dave
I love trucker stories from old codgers. My first truck was an orange international cabover in the mid 1990s. I bet you can guess what company it was.
'76 International Transtar with a 350 Cummins pulling a 28' coal bucket...had to keep my seat belt tight just to stay in the seat. Ahh, the good ole days. :-)
I wonder how a modern American cabovers would be like. In Europe that's all they ride! Yay Scania
In the mid 80's I drove a mid 70's (I'm not sure what year) KW cabover with torsion bar rear suspension. The 1st month me & the owner of the truck were going to run team. We were both young & friends at the time & he wanted to made sure I could handle it without just throwing me to the wolfs so to speak. Long story made not so long. We decided after a week of no sleep for either of us I was ready to run by myself. He started driving another truck he had bought used. I drove the KW for about a year & a half. It was a fine one person truck. The reason I stopped driving had nothing to do with the truck & everything to do with never going to work for a friend. Needless to say that was the end of me driving a truck & a friendship.
My first truck job was running team in a 84 coe freightliner from Oregon to southern California mostly but sometimes the western states. And it had air ride suspension and eventually we put in an aftermarket air ride on the rear of the cab which helped but it was definitely a kidney buster on the California highway. Your right about the only way to get any sleep was when I was totally exhausted.
until 11 years ago I drove cab overs for 21 years, lol
Thank you for the come back.
My first OTR job was in 78 Pete cabover with spring suspension...my next job was hauling gravel in a freightliner cabover with Hendrickson pad suspension I fully understand your pain LOL
You've got to experience it to understand! Dave
Good to know about cabovers. Also, I appreciate your storytelling.
Even though im young i drove around bobtail in a mack about a 81 or 82 model i think black with gold on it and a funky texas edition fuex leather interior old 300 mack screamed and i learned alot when the air brakes didnt work right on how to stop
I also liked the upright seating position and the almost horizontal steering wheel of the COE, more comfortable for me.
Great story. I love the turning radius of cabovers. Incredible
For city transfers, can't beat em.
I remember conventional's that road just as rough in the sleeper, my time as a team driver was short lived also
I started out running LTL doubles in 1988 driving a 1964 Mack F700 Cabover with a 280hp Detroit Diesel 2 Stroke and boy could she fly. No driver comforts of any kind in fact I kept a spray bottle with me and the windows wide open for those hot Sacramento Summer Days. She may have been a Dinosaur compared to the trucks of today but God do I miss that little beauty
We had a bunch of single axle GMC Astros with extremely short wheelbases that we pulled doubles with. They were the roughest riding rigs that I ever drove when they were empty. I used to get bruises on my thighs from hitting the bottom of the steering wheel.
I ruptured a disc in my back in 1992 running a 1979 Freghtliner COE with spring rears and a bad seat air bag valve. My back still isnt right.
My most favorite truck was a 95 Freightliner condo cabover with the setback axel 9 spd trans and 12.7 Detroit....I was sad the day my boss got rid of it for a conventional sleeper.
luv your story's. My Dad had a 70's Jimmy. It was a fun truck.
I drove several different cabovers and you are 100 per cent correct. A cabover was rough riding and in my opinion impossible to sleep in when moving. No joke I always had back problems.
Thanks for video was fun to hear that cabover story 😆😆😆 from old-school driver stay safe out there
I remember when I used to go with my dad when I was younger that old cab over was built in the mid 70s soild mount passenger seat would beat you to death and sleeping in the bunk was a ride of my life it was rough as a kid but they are cool to look at now and missing a step was a experience to trying to get out of one.
I remember being the first one to the scene of the crash driving an 84 cabover Freightliner.
Come out of it okay? Dave
I used to drive a short wheelbase single axle 362 Pete. I've also spent time in IH 9700's and 9670's. I'm reminded of my days in cabovers ever time I go to the chiropractor...
That's all my uncle would drive ! When he retired a few yrs back he said nobody will give me what it's worth. So it's still parked in his back yard lol
Wow! Betcha that's worth some money today! Dave
Smart-Trucking.com not here in TX for some reason. No one wants them. I see a few guys buy them to haul grain but that's it. Lol
Here's my experience with a cabover, note-I wasn't in it I was in front of it.
At the time I was driving a 1984 Ford Tempo diesel with a 5 speed manual trans.
I was coming out of Rogers Minnesota heading eastbound on 94 off 101.
I just got off the ramp and was up to 75 mph, made my way to the left lane.
Then out of nowhere was a cabover Pete right on my ass.. ....
I thought 'Buddy, you think I'm not going fast enough for you?'
So, at 75, I slip the trans into 3rd, just to open up the govener.
I can still see his grill and the inside of his cab going black from my exhaust. After that he had a profound respect for my little shit box.
And that's my cabover story.
Ed Spencer
Rare car haha I worked on one once.
The rabbit diesels, heh I’d be racing a truck and they wouldn’t even know it 😂
Ed Spencer Lol, Rogers MN. Spent many a night at the TA running down to Shakopee from home in Roseau on the out trip
"to open up the Govenor"
Main problem with the company cabovers was all your gear you had no storage so you usually just put all your gear on the bunk while driving and on the dog house when sleeping.
My first truck was a '76 White Freightliner COE. That 152"wheelbase and 44,000# spring ride was absolutely brutal pulling an 8,000 gallon asphalt tank (NO BAFFLES). It had a 430 detroit, 13 speed and 4.11 rears, so it did not have any idea what a grade was. 3.5 mpg would be a killer now however.
Hahah a teacher back in tech school told me about those unbaffled tankers, he said he would (try to) stop at a stop sign at the bottom of a big hill and the slosh would push ya forward every few seconds 😂
I Owned a set back International cabover, its was great but I was glad to get my first long nose truck.
When I first started driving in 1976, I work for a small family operation hauling produce between Florida and New York, for about 2 years I ran a 1970 International Transtar eagle with spring suspension, in 1978 they bought their first brand new truck and it was a 1978 Ford cl9000 with air suspension and an air ride cab, although it took a little while getting used to the swaying and leaning of the cab on its air suspension it didn't take long to feel like I died and went to heaven. Maybe ten years after that we went to conventionals and I thought it can't get any better than this
I remember those days well. Never did drive a cl9000 but I climbed up into one a friend back then had bought and I thought the thing was going to fall over on top of me it leaned so much! Dave
Drove a Mack cab over no sir but had a stainless steel fan on the dash to blow the hot air around in the cab.....sitting in that motor I'd have to say if it was 90 deg outside had to be 130 in the cab....no cruise but we had the dangerous poor man cruise called the throttle lock...rip that baby up twist lock it in place and pray you never had an emergency stop...lol
OH Driver, thank you SO much, I have not laughed so much in a long time. Brought back a lot of Memories. I drove cab overs in the early 90's, not quite so bad but still no caddie.
Be safe and have a good week.
You too Jerry! Take care! Dave
I remember going with my dad in the 70’s when he drove a brand new cabover Transtar sleeper to Canada. OMG that thing would jar your teeth loose!
1987, I drove a "2 story Ford" which surprisingly was smooth as silk.
I Stared Driving At 15.My First TruckJob Was A 22 White Mustang.They Had What Was Called
A Cab Forward 3000 You Set A Little For word Of The Steer Axle, GMC Astro, International With Little Windows By The Floor Board Etc.I Retierd In 2001.1947 To 2001
ive been at it since the early 90's. ive never driven a cabover, but i remember riding with my dad in his old frieghtliner very well. and i also i remember how uncomfortable it was even as a child. i also remember his complaints. cabovers are cool, but i wouldnt wanna drive an old one .... thanks for sharing your experience. it brings back alot of memories
Thank you sir! Dave
the modern cab over volvo scania merc and daf are an awesome looking truck and a good ride
Renault/Mack Magnum is my favourite looking modern cab over :D
Wet Lettuce noooooo... This is like the Multipla of the heavy trucks...
You dont have relativity though. The ones in America are far superior.
The most comfortable cab over can’t beat a more than average curb sniffer in America a
My first job after seven years of life was hauling steal with an old White/Freightliner this was back in 1980 give or take a year or two, worse truck I ever drive. Over the years I drove a KW., Peterbuilt & Freightliners, all cab overs. l always ran single and that had an advantage in tight place's. Over the years I drove several conventuals, running single they both had their good and bad points. I have not driven in over 30 years and I am sure everything is different now.
I'm sorry that should be after 7 years of army life.
Coming from someone who took up engine repair in high school, I can bet the guys who learned diesel repair must have hated working on those cabovers when hired by a company.
That story cracked me up, haha! My dad drove an International Harvester cabover his entire trucking career
Your vid’s are great! Thanks
Thank you! Dave
Hey big strapper, ty for the effort you put into these videos. I can only imagine how fun it would be running with you guys back then.
My first was a international cab over then went into a KW , they was something else, no power steering no air , you feel every bump.
I love your old days stories. I picture everything. My respects to you Sir.
Thanks! Dave
OHH Hell ya, I was driving a 1972 Frightliner ,290 Cummings pulled 41,000 lbs like a fright train ,loved that orange pumpkin
I was in trucking from 1969 until about 1993 and I had only driven a conventional on one trip the ride in that thing was amazing compared to what I was used to, I remember thse cab overs would beat you to death, heaters were terrible cold air would leak out of the floorboards into the cab, air conditioning? forget it! No power steering at all when I started they tried developing an air assist and another hydraulic one but they were more dangerous than anything, things started changing in abt the early 80s for the better though, I could go on and on but I wasted enough of your time already. Although I am an old man now I really enjoy your channel!
Ray Nagel God Bless You Sir! glad to here your still kickin
Don't forget air powered windshield wipers! This channel is great isn't it? It always makes me feel nostalgic for the good ole days. Somewhere along in the late 90's I'd say, trucking stopped being trucking.
Hey, you're not wasting my time, I love talking about trucks and trucking, especially from days gone by. Thanks for writing in Ray! Dave
Smart-Trucking.com Great idea for a video Dave. A lot of fun stories for the boys!
My first highway job was teaming with another kid in a new '76 White Freightliner. It was one of the first with an 8/92 in it. Truck and trailer combination/ spring ride, so it wasn't too bad loaded but a boneshaker empty. Drove several over the years, teamed a few times but like you said, I'm glad to see them for the sake of nostalgia, but I don't want to think about living in one again.
I hear ya! Dave
in the mid 70s I drove a 1968 white freightliner cabover with leaf spring suspension, I didn't have the issues you described, I crawled back in the sleeper and was soon sound asleep. also drove a 1965 ford cabover with leaf spring suspension, only soloed in it so it was sitting still when I was in the sleeper, which was basically a metal shelf with a thick pad for a mattress
My Dad ran team in a single bunk cabover pete back in the 70's. He transported swinging meat. Even though he was running team in them little trucks, he used to take me at times. All of his partners treated me like gold! We would get back from a trip, and I couldn't wait to go again! The truck were very simple. No insulation, no AC, no power steering and loud as hell! And I loved every minute of it 😁
My dad had a 90s international 9800, i have to tell you i remember nothing but but awesome things the huge doghouse in the center, and the little shifter up by the dash. Love your videos my friend keep it up.
Thanks Omar! Dave
Started out in a 1978 Road Commode (White) with air assist steering and a shiny 290 hauling a car rack. When you turned into the wind you were lucky to stay in top gear. No......I DON'T miss it. It would beat you to death just driving it. And Texas to Montana is a looooong trip in one of those old rigs.
Drove a 78 Freightliner C/O for a few years. Long wheelbase with airbags on drivers. No power steering but rode nice going down the highway. Nice truck, no A/C but I was young then, lol !
Back in the mid 1980's I road for a week (I didn't drive back then) with a buddy of mine who drove for National Freight out of Greensboro NC. I remember the tractor was a fairly new Rollen's (rental) cab-over. The drivers seat was ok but the passenger seat was small and didn't have a air-shock, I was only about 20 years old. Man that seat beat the hell out of me, my guts where literally soar for a month after I got home.
My dad had buddies with magnums back in poland and ran kamaz trucks himself. Europe has some sophisticated cab setups that ride super smooth. We got a International 9300 drop forward cab now and with air ride and long leafs under the front it rides awesome.
I drove a bunch of cabovers, Binders, Mack/Brockway, Petes, all built in the late 60s to early 70s with the low-back Bostrom ratchet adjustment drivers seat - they all about beat me to death. But in the early 80s I drove for a guy who put me in an almost new White Road Commander (Road-Commode) with a high-back floating air seat. If you adjusted it just right it was like riding in a floating rocking chair. It floated up & down and forward & backward, and you could adjust the tension. Some drivers couldn't get used to it, but I loved it! No back-slap at all if you didn't mind that every time you hit the brakes the seat would float forward and backwards when you pulled away from a stop sign. Best truck I ever drove, cabovers or conventionals!
That's how mine's set up! Comfortable as your lazy boy at home, maybe better!
1980 International cabover you are 100% right there was no comfort they were rough riding and you'd never get an ounce of sleep in that thing while it was rolling down the road
Great video Dave. I was lucky enough to have missed driving or riding in a cab over. I used to drive a snub nose pete. The only time I couldn’t make it home every night the company I drove for was cool enough to put me up in a motel. But mostly I came home at night, granted it was fairly late at night some nights.
Have a great and safe trip.
Be safe out there
Keep it between the ditches
Thanks for sharing
Air ride was around long before 1983. I had a 72 Astro that was on air ride from the factory. Nephew currently;y has an 82 Freightliner, and an 80 K100 both on factory air ride. That K100 rides almost as good as my dual pickup.
International cabover flat floor air ride 9spd no jake first truck I ever drove
My first trucking experience was working for a carnival. Had to drive a GMC Astro. Short runs, so it really wasn’t bad, and being a driver mean I got the bunk to sleep in. No more sleeping on a shelf in a box truck. The Astro broke down, and they get a rental. Two story Edsel, what a ride LOL. That air ride cab was a wild hoss. When I went OTR for the first time, international tractor, with a 48” bunk, though I’d died and gone to heaven.
The good old days!
I used to go for rides with my father back in the early to mid 90's when he was trucking and I'll always remember my favorite truck to go in was an International 9800 Cabover with a sleeper. I don't remember the ride being harsh, but then again, I was young and just loved going along for the rides!
By the nineties air ride cabs were becoming common and that helped huge! Dave
Had a 82 freighter that had been a tanker. Same ride. Didn't work team. But it rode so hard and bounced so much I stood up to keep from getting throne into the roof. Loved that truck. Low geared and pulled up hills like they were flat. I still like cabovers.
Drove a 78 freightliner, 350 Detroit !!! A international day cab cabover, 318 !
I went back to mechanic work !!
Drove a Western Star quad axle with a Chalmers rubber pancake suspension,
Thank God for a international 99i with air ride, and wide spread air ride flatbed
NY neck still hurts !!
I got cracks in my upper spine to prove it a WHAT A LIFE.
John Hutsenpiller Jr Praying for you Bro.
Thank god it was all for the huge paycheck, right? Dave
I drove a White Compact back in the early 70's. It was a bare bones machine with NO Creature comforts at all, Two-Fifty air conditioning in the summer. It sure makes one appreciate what we have today.
my dad told me store's like this you made me laft so hard
I learned to drive in a 69 4070A Transtar. It was a total old school truck. 144" wb, solid seats, camel back suspension, armstrong steering and a 238 Detroit.I learned real fast to use seatbelts. My first 5 miles on the first day I had 3 knots on the top of my head from getting thrown up to the roof before I buckled up. It was an old back and head killer but I loved it. I was driving a truck. The things we did as rookies back then just to learn to drive.
Yeah, but loved every minute of it! Dave
I just started trucking and I’ve never drove a cabover. But my pops had one back in the early 90’s I remember riding with him, it was rough as hell but I thought we looked cool as hell! I wouldn’t mind driving one now a days!
I liked them, especially the double bunks that came with air ride in the later years. Dave
Dave you are so right about how great those old C/Os looked. When you want to talk about the old days of trucking, The first trucks that come to mind are those C/Os. They really bring back all the nostalgia of that era in trucking... I drove a few of them like the old GMC Astro, and i remember it well cause it was in the winter time and my feet all the way up to my knees froze in that thing for two weeks, I was an agency driver then and they would send me to work at different carriers , and after two weeks i had had enough and i refused to go back there. The ones we still see today are the trucks that guys have restored to their original glory and show them off with pride as they work them everday..
God do I remember in 76 I was running team from Portland Ore to the refineries in LA hauling Hydrated lime in a set of bulk pneumatic (top heavy) doubles with a short wheelbase 65 freight liner that had a 250 with a turbo and 4x4, no jake, and a senior driver that wouldn't make a pimple on a drivers butt. He didn't stop at the break check on top of the old grapevine, and that brought me out of the bunk. I asked him WTF are you doing?, when looked back and saw the cloud of smoke and he was shifting up! Then the fool pissed himself and was crying because he said he couldn't hold it and didn't want to die. I took my 44 mag out from under the pillow and calmly said he better make it, because if he crashed us I promised him he wouldn't live through the experience. This conversation went down after he had blown by the escape ramp. Long story short we made it to the bottom, but instead of just letting it run out on the flat this idiot took the off ramp to go into the old truck stop on the other side of the freeway. I got out and found some rocks to put behind the wheels and told the fool to release the brakes, then made him get under the truck and put out the fire from the blown wheel seal. he went into the coffee shop and I stayed with the truck until I felt it wasn't going to start burning again. When I went into the coffee shop I asked if he had called dispatch (which he hadn't), so I called in and explained the situation and gave them a list of parts we needed before we could go unload, which was two wheel seals, five drums, and all the brake shoes. I also asked who was coming back by Greyhound and who was going to finish the run. I said I didn't care but I wasn't going to ride another mile with their senior company driver. They talked me into deadheading back and bringing him along, I said ok because he couldn't screw up much empty. You're correct Team in a short wheelbase cabover pulling a set of joints just plain sucked. He had enough seniority to pull local around Portland day shift, But bumped my Normal Partner off the haul because it paid 150 per week more than he was making local. I stayed until I got my three year safety award and bonus then I quit and went back over the road.
Wow! And he was their senior guy! You got to wonder how he lasted that long. You've got to wonder how he ever LIVED that long! You're lucky to have survived that ride. Thank god you weren't asleep.
When I was a kid my dad drove an early 70s White-Freightliner cabover, a stubby little single screw with an 8V-92 in it. Felt sort of like riding a paint shaker down the road, except with that Detroit scream coming through the doghouse and the smokestack a few feet behind my head. Good times.
Good description! Thanks! Dave
I ran cross country for Lee Way if you remember them. In those days cab overs was all there were. Lee Way had what we called "swing bunks". The mattress was suspended on springs from the ceiling. They were wonderful. You could really get a good night sleep. I teamed up with a really good driver that loved to run at night. I got a good night sleep every night. It was great. Best driving job I ever had. PS: Lee Way never screwed me on mileage or anything else !!
You had it made with those guys! What finally happened to them? Dave
Very cold in the winter, hot in the summer and loud year round.
Excellent description! Dave
I started driving with Schneider late 90s in their international cab over the stick shift was so worn out it basically slopped into gear
I had the same experience with an International Conventional pro star. All the other trucks was a relief when we switched.
My first truck was a 1979 cab-over Freightliner, bought it new in Hamilton, was 174" wheelbase, with 44,000 lb Hendrickson, had to to shorten it to 155" ( talk about short ! ) we ran ""a" trains out west , A & H Express.
I remember them! Dave
norman gilbert My grandpa bought his last truck new in 78. Was a 79 Freightliner COE with the Red Elizabeth paint job. The paint job was $3500 on top of the base price. Had a 430 Detroit that he had turned up and no one could pass him after that. He sold everything in 86 and retired all together. If I could find that truck, is restore it with my dad in his memory
Always liked cabovers which brought me to this video. Not a trucker but I have done that drive before in a dodge 2500 hauling a loaded 20ft trailer. Left Woodstock at 2pm for Elliot lake and made it home by 11 am next day. Only stopped for diesel and food. It was late November and man those snow squalls were something else once I got north of parry sound. I’ll never forget that run. Especially from parry sound to Sudbury, that is one heck a a hilly, windy , and almost no sign of civilization for 250km. Cheers
My first coe was in the late 50's, an IH. DCO 405, with a 185 hp Cummins, single axle pulling doubles. Then I custom ordered a 68 KW coe brand new. I've owned several more coe's and conventionals over a 43 year career. PS: I've just come upon your postings for the first time this past week. Keep up the good work, I enjoy your stories.