The first truck I ever drove was an old 80's GMC Astro cabover, no power steering, spring ride suspension, heat never worked very good, no A/C,

then I worked up to a cabover Mack, still no power steering though but it had A/C, and I could lay across the doghouse to take a nap , those were the days

The only thing that I liked about the COE's was you had more real estate to work with in a tight alley.

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

I only ever drove two, both short WB, (one was a daycab) and they rode like buckboards! With my bad back I wouldn't want to crawl in and out a dozen times a day either....

IMO they served the purpose at the time but their time has gone...

I don't miss them either, even though some of them looked kinda cool. Especially the 9000 Ford IMO....

FWIW,

Bucks Owin'

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Bucks Owin'

I have looked every where on the truck websites and cant find any COEs this sucks I was hoping to get to drive them after I get a cdl. Ive just always loved coes since I was a little kid.

How about driving this monster????

Found that one on a old stamp!

My old neighbor in Iowa has a 1985 International COE for sale, 350 Cummins and a 13 Speed, it doesn't drive half bad, but its hard to climb into when you are older than dirt like me. It has a toggle switch on the gearshift for the jake, and air ride suspension.

Shelby Elliott has that one in his picture gallery of past trucks, he sells big sleeper monsters. I believe the gallery is trucks he has had his hands on at one time or another. Funny thing, even with that big sleeper I don't think the wheelbase is over 300", try that on a W900. lol.

COEs don't look too good in the wind resistance department. Not exactly aerodynamic. And safety? Where is the crumple zone on that body? Sorry, you could not pay me enough to ride in one for even a minute.

Wind resistance isn't that bad really, yes it has a flat front but todays large-car conventionals aren't much better, and some are worse. Look at the radiator/grill, the texas bumpers, the oddly shaped fenders that grab more wind than they shed, the huge stacks, mirrors, aircleaners, sleepers, wings on the roof,mirrors, antenna's, visors, headlight pods, etc... Considerable more surface area to throw wind over, around, and through than on an old COE. The COE just gets it all over with at once.

As for the crumple zones, you know the first thing on the scene at a coe accident is the driver. lol. Front row seat.
But all comedy aside, look at the driver position, very high. Above the damage in most accidents involving cars, small trucks and even flatbeds. And hey, no long sharp edged hood coming through the windshield to decapitate you, no engine or frame rails coming through the firewall to pin you into the truck, they are below and slightly behind you.

Truth be told, you can be injured or killed driving anything, hood or no hood. These trucks, with the possible exception of Volvo, are not built with crash survivability in mind. Seatbelts are your only protection in a big truck, and a large portion of drivers don't even use those.

I would have no reservations about driving a COE big truck, Been there before. Just don't hit anything. lol.