Long Hood Peterbilt 359/379/389 and Kenworth W900

My world it would be pigs or cows

 

You not pulling a rack anymore?

 

I parked it. Probably get back under it first part of June. Guys have the rate knocked down so far it's stupid.

 

Exactly the reason I'm pulling a hopper again and home every night. Leased my pot out for awhile.

 

I understand, and it's always good to ask. last December I went over the 3 million mile mark (I could prove, but, I am an old outlaw who has reformed his ways). I started in cab overs and yeah, i'm that old, my first truck was a freightliner cab over, the second was a powerliner, and I've owned conventionals for the last 2. there really isn't a whole lot of difference in the ride with newer trucks with the newer technology, but there may be some. personally I wouldn't buy another extended hood for the reasons I've stated. there are some places where they are a real ##### to get into, not that you can't. it's more of a driver thing at that point and a good driver can do a lot that a bad driver can't do with a cab over. for me, as for others, it preference. that old line about resale value is garbage since, yeah, you can got more out of them, but you pay a lot more for them so it's pretty much a wash. there's a push by some trade groups to once again make trailers longer. 60 feet this time. if that happens it may well become impossible at some places to get into. personally, I hope that doesn't happen, but nobody listens to me anyway. best of luck to you when the time comes for you to purchase. there's a great deal to consider besides what to buy. I wish you, and everyone else all the best.

 

I've been looking. yeah the rates are pretty stupid. thinking about a tank and hazmat. looks like I can still make close to 4 a week. I dunno.

 

The extended hood was originally developed to fit a 1693 Cat engine into a 359 and/or W900. The standard hood is 119" BBC and the Extended hood is 127" BBC. It's 8" and when you get used to it, it's not a problem. Plus you get to stick your nose in the air as you pass trucks with a shorter hood.
The FLT Freightliners had a 132" BBC on their extended hoods.
The 1693 Cat engine had 425 HP and 440 HP as the most common versions. They were heavy, drank fuel and did not have a Jake brake available. They were very different from Cummins and Detroit in that as their rpm dropped, their torque increased. They reached peak torque at 1500 rpm. They increased horse power as the rpm increased but as your rpm dropped, the increasing torque caused the engine to pull harder. Parts were expensive too.. My favorite truck engine as far as being a pleasure to drive.

 

We have one truck at work, KW T800W with a 320ish" wheelbase. That truck has the worst turning radius of all of the trucks we have. Even the old 359 has a better turning radius. That being said the much shorter T800's have a very good turning radius. The W900 turns slightly better than the T800W. I got use to driving the T800W and I could get it into most of the places that I wanted too. I knew my limits and stayed away from certain situations that I knew would get me in trouble in anything but a Volvo.

 

I don't play the hood-measuring games. Yeah, they look good, but chrome doesn't pay the bills.
Cue haters....

 

It was nice driving trucks that only drop 1 or 2 gears on a hard pull. Up and over you go.