Need help from drivers with 5+ years experience

I prefer leather seats, cloth seats make my jeans ride up. seats have become more comfortable and have many more available adjustments on them..would like a heated seat too..... most of the cab controls are more ergonomic now..easier to find with out taking eyes off the road...arm rest as far as i know have always been an option but some companies are just to cheap to spring for them..

 

This may help

 

Depends on your definition. They have gotten taller, with the bucket seat design. Before, you had short back seats.

I wasn't paying attention when they started.

It's a matter of personal opinion. But most companies will go the cheapest route.

They haven't gotten any smaller. But everything has been laid out better. Some designs lack more than others. And there is lots of room for improvement.

Reduced noise levels while in motion, not enough overall though. Tilt wheels, smaller wheels. Wider cab areas.

Too much for here.

They stayed cold in the winter...hot in the summer.

 

The 379 Peterbilt had'nt changed much over the years it was in production. I like cloth interior, deadens sound better. The dash was better as far as reaching the switches. Biggest thing I saw was interior sound went down. I like tilt steering and the telescoping steering wheel. I hate carpet. Too hard to keep clean.

 

Interior noise was extreme in the Cracker Box GMCs powered by two-cycle Detroit Diesels. I drove new ones in the mid 1960s. When stopped for lunch, my hearing would return about the time the meal was served. Before that, I had to read lips and point to items on the menu. I heard about after-market spray-on sound deadening material for the underside of the cab, but my employers did not use it.

I also drove B-model Macks. I had to lean to the right while driving because the roof line dropped too low at the left windshield and door post. The steering column did not line up with the seat, but was a couple of inches to the right. You might think that the seat should have been moved to the right to solve both of these problems, but the two gear shift levers were in the way. I drove other trucks in which reverse gear could be engaged only by jamming the shift lever against the seat cushion.

 

My ideal interior would have larger gauges. Seats would have better lumbar support and more effective fore/aft isolators. I had to modify every seat in every truck assigned to me. At least, I completed 40 years 9 months of driving without back trouble.

 

I like the dash layout of the FLD120 and 9000 series IH. Everything is easy to reach without having to lean forward. The aero trucks are a pain in not having much to grab onto to clean the mirrors and windows. I prefer cloth seats because they breath better. The trucks with the car-like dashes stink-on-ice.

 

Some seat manufacturers have improved their designs. They began with air ride many moons ago and have progressed to; extra wide, extra tall, side bolsters, lumbar supports, back of thigh adjustments, tilting, swiveling, locking mechanism to prevent seat from rocking back and forth, extra long slides for tall drivers to push the seat back, and even heat and massage in some top of the line models.

Was an option available for as long as I can recall (been driving for about 18 years now) albeit they were usually installed in o/o rigs. Companies normally spec their equipment as cheap as possible to keep the price down.

O/O's usually opt for the leather package (a prestige thing I think) while companies will opt for a durable fabric due to the cost. Personally I prefer the fabric seats as they allow more air circulation than the leather ones. Leather has a tendency to get real hot in direct sunlight and can burn the backs of a drivers legs if he sits on it. In bitter cold temps the leather can crack as well.

The dash layouts have gotten better. I recall Freightliner used to put toggle switches on the frame below and to the sides of the steering column. Handy place for them until a driver has an accident and then he winds up with toggle switches in his knees. The current dash layouts are pretty well laid out with a curved control panel which enables a driver to easily reach to the right and select which ever control he wants. The switches are normally over sized, labeled, and back lit for night time use as well as day. I prefer Volvo's dash cluster because it is encased within a plastic shield (which makes for easy cleaning).

More interior cabin space, larger, thicker, more comfortable mattresses, better designed seats, more powerful a/c's and heaters with bunk controls for climate adjustment, better quality sound systems with more speakers, lots of storage space, better insulation in the floors and walls which helps diffuse heat in the floors and helps keep the truck warm in the winter. Some trucks even have floating bunks (a type of spring mechanism built under the bunk to help smooth out the ride for team trucks).

Top of the line dual air ride seats (heavy duty fabric) with EVERY option available. Tilt telescopic steering wheel, cruise control, power windows and mirrors, heated mirrors and wipers, top of the line in dash satellite radio with CD/mp3 player, built in gps into original instrument dash cluster, special blind spot cameras with monitors built into the wing dash console. Extra padding and insulation in floors and walls to help control interior temps. Heavy duty rubber flooring (no carpet).

No air ride seats. Minimal insulation in the floor and walls. Cheap seats with no lumbar support and very few options for adjustments. Cheap radios and speakers. No cruise control. No power window. only 1 power mirror (passenger side). Mattresses were very cheap and uncomfortable. Little storage space available for a drivers gear and supplies.