Older cabovers OTR?

There is a Swift cabover thread going on right now. Argossys are being made in the US for export. You can buy one in the US but only as a glider. Put your engine, trans, rear-end combo of choice in and off you go!

 

Had him send me a picture. Apparently he just sold it

 

I own two cabovers. One is a 1979 K100C Flattop with a double bunk, the other a 1984 K100C Aerodyne. Both have Cummins Big Cam motivation and 13 speeds. The 1979 has 4.10 rears, the 1984 has 3.73. Both average 5.5 MPG loaded.

Owning a cabover and utilizing it on the road today is NOT for most people. I, however, am a glutton for punishment, so it suits me well.

Seriously, I love cab overs and find that big nose on a Pete 379 awkward. I guess it's all in what you're used to. However, I am also the first to arrive at the scene of an accident versus the nose on a conventional tractor.

If you are dead set on a cab over, I would recommend you find a K100 Aerodyne. One poster mentioned the problem in cab overs about not having enough room to stand up...this is true in many cab overs, but the 108" Aerodyne has enough room behind the driver and passenger seats to stand up and stretch your legs. It also has two bunks, the upper one which folds up and out of the way if you're the only one in the truck.

As far as ride, that depends a lot on the suspension setup. Both of my K100s have the 8-bag air ride on the rear, hooked to one leveling valve. Out of the factory - at least on the earlier model K100s - there were two leveling valves, one for each side. It never worked as advertised, so a smart mod is to remove one and run both sides off one leveling valve. Both trucks also have the Cabmate air ride system where the back of the cab meets the frame. The front axles of both trucks have a three leaf spring pack on each side, which is a much nicer ride than the spring packs that utilize a lot more leaves in them. With the set up these tractors have, even with their relatively short wheelbases, I can say they ride just as nice as some Pete 379s and KW W900Ls I've ridden in - even when I'm bobtailing. The ride only gets better with a wagon in tow.

You HAVE to be able to tackle working on 95% of the truck on your own. You simply cannot make any money with an older cab over if you think you're going to farm everything out to the local dealership or mom and pop wrench turner outfit. First, most dealerships haven't seen a cab over in decades. Second, no one will know the truck like you do (or at least like you should). Third, you aren't as profitable in fuel efficiency - I had to laugh at the comment one poster made about them being 'the most aerodynamic truck ever built' - and that's one of your biggest costs, so you have to make up the difference somewhere. Every penny you can save by doing your own lube/oil/filter changes, rebuilding the air over hydraulic cab jack, redoing wiring that is 20+ years old, etc., is more money in your back pocket. By the way, in reference to the 'aerodynamic' comment...compare a cab over to a brick, and then look at one of those anteater T660s. You tell me which is more aerodynamic.

When it comes to fuel mileage, it all depends on what you're hauling. I do mainly flatbed loads, so I wouldn't benefit as much from an aerohood truck like an operator who is hauling a van or reefer would. I also tend to stay around 60-62 MPH, in the gear that allows me to keep the lowest RPMs without lugging the engine. In the 1979 with a Cummins Big Cam I turned up to about 450 HP I've seen 5.38 MPG, 5.45 MPG, 5.67 MPG over my last few fill-ups. Those are all near 80,000 lb gross weights. Compare that to the newer emissions trucks that are turned in sub- 5 MPG numbers, are spending lots of time in the shop, and that owner operators can't work on themselves and I think I win in the long run.

The bottom line is there are good and bad sides to cab overs, but you have to really have a passion for them to run them today. The one neat thing is if you have a relatively clean ride, you'll get lots of comments from folks who remember them from 'back in the day'.

Good luck no matter what you decide!

- W2W

 

I think you will too.

 

My son recently found his Grandfathers 1978 Pete 352 that he bought new at Peterbilt in Waukesha, WI.

Originally equipped with an A model CAT (we think) it now has a BCIII in it that was new in 1987 or thereabouts.

My son plans on running this truck OTR in a few years... he's been slowly replacing the air and fuel lines, installing new air bags, exhaust, etc. so the truck will DOT.


He plans on painting it this winter keeping the original colors with a slightly altered paint scheme.

This truck was as good as it it got "back in the day"....

 

Now that is an amazing story!!! Good for you guys.

2 years ago I found my grandfathers old 1979 Ranger bass boat in Las Vegas. He sold it in 1998 when he got ill and he passed in 2008. I bought it and am in the process of restoring it. I spent every summer with him that I could fishing on it in AZ. I can't wait to get it on the lake again.

I also had been searching for my dad's 1980 Pete 359 and wanted to restore it as his retirement gift but unfortunatley I found out it had been sold in the 90's to a operation in Mexico. So now the hunt is on for a replacement.

 

Nice ol Pete 352, Krooser. Your son will be proud.

 

Krooser - get your son on here and have him give us some updates! That is an AWESOME story!

The reason I got into trucking is because of my grandfather. He is a man I really respected, and he drove an old R model Mack for a steel company in NJ. When I was young I couldn't fully appreciate how he would run huge steel I beams on extendable flats into NY city...now that I look back, I can't imagine doing what he did.

Around that same time frame the tv show 'BJ and the Bear' was on t.v., and Convoy and Smokey and the Bandit had come out in the movies. To a young boy, those shows turned my grandfather into a star - though in retrospect, he was a real hero for many other different, more important reasons.

Those memories are the reason I bought my first K100, and once I got into it, it was only inevitable that I would probably buy another one and run them.

Krooser, good on your son for helping bring back 'old school cool'. It's something I'm trying to do in the face of increasing regulations, Diesel Bear hazing, an economic recession, and a society that has an ever-increasing 'I don't give a F--- about anyone or anything but me' attitude.

Here's a pic of my two rides together:

 

i dont see a chimpanzee...............

 

He's stuffed and in the copilot's seat.

Less apt to rip my face off and poop all over the interior that way.