Dear Truck drivers,
I am currently a university student down in Melbourne, Australia. Attending Swinburne university, I am under going a project for a innovative truck interior solution to tackle the minimal space in cab over models. I am working along side a major trucking manufacturer that chooses to remain confidential at this stage of the project.

I was hoping to get the opinions of experienced truck drivers to see whether this design would be beneficial, and if there are any ideas that you wish to put forward that currently annoy you within the cab interior.

Here's the proposal, if the passenger seat could be hidden away when not in use, what would you use the extra space for? dining? storage, or

the intention of having a passenger seat that can be hidden, is to make it easier to access the sleeper berth, and also increase the space for any daily tasks that may need to be performed.

Any kind of feedback would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Anthony

Cabover models are very rare in the U.S. and I don't believe any manufacturer is still making them . We do have some Australian and European members on the forum though .

I was informed by a truck dealership manager a decade ago that cabover trucks had a higher injury rate among truckers in the USA, versus conventional trucks. When cabovers were prevalent, a lot of truckers sustained injuries while climbing up or disembarking from their trucks. The truck manufacturers had concluded that the higher injury rates were a potential lawsuit waiting to happen. Here in the USA, we have consumer protection laws against manufacturers marketing products that exposes people to an unreasonable risk of injury.

However, what is ironic is the lack of roof reinforcement on trucks built here in the USA. In Europe and most nations, trucks must have sufficient structural support to prevent the roof from caving in when the truck rolls over upside down. In the USA, this requirement applies to passenger vehicles marketed to the general public. But someone in Washington DC made the decision this protection would cost too much on semi trucks. This is why American-made trucks are banned throughout Europe, unless they're modified to meet their stringent safety requirements.

You may want to translate your inquiry to French, German, Spanish, Sweden, etc... then query the European truckers to get their feedback. Cabovers are prevalent in Europe, where streets are narrower in some places. You could also try contacting UK truckers. Their "lorries" are pulled by cabovers as well.

Edit► When cabovers were prevalent 2 decades ago, some owner operators and company drivers had unbolted and removed the passenger-side seat to allow more baggage room. I would suggest removable passenger seats that easily detaches, and can be folded & stored on the back, the roof, or the side storage compartment.

Thanks for the informative replies, and i will look into getting this out in the european threads, thought i would post here as this seems to be much more active in comparison to other forums i have found. In regards to the Cab over being a liability problem, i've tried searching the net for this information, but failed. Just wondering if someone could help point me in the right direction as to where i could find information in regards to cab overs being a foreseeable major issue. Thanks.

Just wondering with the conventional models, would it be handy if your passenger side seat was available for further storage or simply increase the space provided?

It's not as big a deal to have removable seats in a conventional tractor unless you have a small sleeper, then the extra room might help. I kept a cooler and a seat back organizer when I was running a small sleeper FLD, kept them on the other seat.

I once rode with a guy for training in a small sleeper International, he had removed the seat and attached his cooler on top of the HVAC unit. In that case it worked for him.

I have room to spare in a 70 inch condo sleeper, and the Western star has more room overall even though the sleeper isn't as tall.

given that we here in australia have small sleepers in general, any extra space would be welcome. Especialy in a Cabover.

the comments about cab overs being a hazzard to health mainly pertains to trucks like Kenworth K100-104-108 where you climb up and swing in. very easy to fall.

Go look at a Freightliner Argosy, while annoying to keep maintained, the swingout steps were designed to aleviate the needing to monkey around into the cab.

__________________

Melting turbos with the Techno and Cumapart Signature

Trucks are like pretty women, sometimes you know better than to mess with em', but you just keep on tryin' it 'cause it just feels right

yeh, ive checked out the argosy, had hands on experience with them at the BP oasis truck stop in melbourne, the guy had to keep opening and closing the door before the steps acctually came out, but he had the older model, i heard that they fixed up that issue.

While at the truck stop, i did realise that the space provided in kenworth cab overs are an issue, especially for those who drive in pairs, as when the 2nd driver is resting, the passenger seat doesn't offer the comfort that they may need.

musta been a while back, the BP oasis has been bulldosed.
Freightliner didnt getthe issues too fixed. they still do it.

The problem with the kenworth cabovers is the design of the cab doesnt allow the passenger seat to move back anymore, which leaves SFA leg room.
Also, havign such a large engine hump costs valuable space.

The true solution to our space woes, would be to allow longer prime movers to be used on our existong trailer fleets. Problem is the powers that be see anything larger than what we have as an increased danger... so they mandate stupid amounts of "saftey" equipment.

Something which would help, dependant on which co your talking to, would be to have a bed in the bunk that can be pushed up into a couch position with a fold out table. Much like the 86" kenworth bunks... ( on US kenworth site ) .
Working some better storage into the cab would be a huge help also.
On the cabs. like the argosy where the floor is relativley low, having both the driver and passenger seats being able to swivel around almost 180 would be good if there was a table that could be folded out.

Lots of ways to skin a cat, but no manufacturer is willign to invest the time and $ into options that most fleets wont spend up on. These things are already over priced as it is.. The AU market bites for truck prices.

__________________

Melting turbos with the Techno and Cumapart Signature

Trucks are like pretty women, sometimes you know better than to mess with em', but you just keep on tryin' it 'cause it just feels right

There's a new BP truck stop down the road from the old BP Oasis, but yeh i understand where you are getting at, alot of truck companies tend to stick with what has been selling and haven't taken a gamble in introducing something revolutionary, in fear that truck drivers won't accept the change.