COE vs. conventional

Those aint trucks, they are mobile homes...lol

 

A few weeks ago, 3 of us were running into Toronto when one of the guys says "I just noticed now, but you know, you hardly see cabovers anymore." So we started keeping any eye out. If we see one a day, that seems like a lot. I saw one Friday night at our yard pulling for Highland Transport. It wasn't near as nice as any of the ones pictured in this thread LOL. Looked like it came from the set of a 70's truck flick LOL.

Never had the pleasure to try one out. Not even sure how I'd haul my large butt up into one LOL.

 

Considering the increasing girth of drivers, I find reason a difficult thing to comprehend regarding how these folk merely get around much less climbing in and out of even a conventional.
I've seen some rather LARGE folk climbing into COE's pulling Reefers and wonder how these folk manage this daily routine.

I think COE's are neat creations and I applaud those of you that own them and drive them!!

 

Climb in and out several times a day, it is like an excersize program. LOL. Your butt won't be large long.

 

I started in Pennsylvania with a 1993 Freightliner COE, series 60 Detroit. Man I loved that truck, it was great for the warehouses in Mechanicsburg. I miss the tight turning radius, but I don't miss idling, sleeping over "Count Basie" ( detroit diesels are not the quietist ! ). I think they will make a come-back someday. What do ya think ??

 

Noipe, they will never make a comeback in heavy trucks. They only existed because of the regulations tat were in place that restricted the overall length of a combination vehicle. Once that rule was lifted, and you did not lose cargo space by having a conventional tractor, then drivers and companies gravitated towards the conventional tractor becaus of the easier and less expensive maintenance, increased driver comfort and safety, and a host of other factors.

The only current cabover heavy truck in production stateside was the Freightliner Argosy, and they are dropping production of it because the limited demand makes it unfeasable to update the motors in them to the new emission standards. Cabovers remain popular in Europe, but they have considerably different conditions from here and those trucks are adapted to their conditions.

If you want to have a cabover, better buy one now, because as time goes by, they are going to get more and more scarce. I like them too, but they were a product of regulations, not built because they were the best solution to the needs of over the road trucking.

 

Thanks Burky,

I never knew that it was a regulatory act that provided these types of tractors. I'm glad to see de-regulation, it is a good thing over all.

 

The tractors themselves, or their designs weren't specifically mandated or regulated, but the overall length limits created them. If you are restricted to a set overall length for the vehicle, then that snazzy 6-7 foot long hood on your conventional costs you the same length of trailer, and that's a loss of cargo space. Since the basic length of an engine, transmission, reasonable length driveshaft and rear ends was the same no matter what you did, the manufacturers did what they could to shorten up the tractor, and the simplest way to do this was to put the engine directl underneath the driver. It complicated the steering gear, the shifter linkage, and the comfort of the truck, but it was the only way that the rules could be met and allow for longer trailers.

In Europe, they have developed becaose of road conditions and cities with very restrictive, narrow streets. And the weight laws are drawn differently there, so single axle cabovers are still the truck of choice there, usually followed by a 3 axle trailer, with steering capability on the axles for increased maneuverability.

 

Tandem axle tractors are more common in the UK than they are on in mainland Europe. Though the axle is usually a non-driven tag and is liftable.