Where to buy glider kits, engine, etc.

I was looking forward to pictures of Cowpie's new glider but instead found the GLIDER thread got highjacked by a cranky pants sales guy. Shameful. Besides, he's (Mr cranky pants) missing the point--it's about glider selection, not brand allegiance. The normal "I'm a KW man" dynamic changes when you are a glider customer vs a regular new truck customer. Since KW hasn't delivered any gliders yet, and was late to the party, he might want to wait to blow his horn.

 

I'm not actually sure if that guy is a salesman. If you look at some of his other threads, he talks about the new W900L that he just bought and what he's going to do with it. I think he's posing as a salesman. I have been checking and it isn't that hard to put a 3406E in place of a C15. I also wouldn't be surprised if KW does have some gliders sold. They don't usually come out with a large product change unless a fleet is willing to pre-order several. This happened with the split fender T660 (for fedex) the T680, the MX engine, etc. The new high HP MX, which I heard is going to be 500Hp and 1850 Tq, has been in testing since March of 2010, shortly after they announced the MX in North America. They are putting on twin turbos due to the fact that they were loosing HP at high elevations.

 

I can get those pictures up next week. The engine and tranny, along with some of the modifications I am also doing, are being put on today. The Air dam and and fuel tanks are getting painted, and then it will be ready to roll. Paperwork all done. Game plan is to have the truck rolling down the road on Thursday, if Murphy's law doesn't kick in. As a testament of the fact the glider is here and being finished up, the VIN is 1FVXA7003DLBZ9268, I have the final invoice right here beside my laptop, and it has a number already by the carrier it is going to be working with.... 999.

I have taken some abuse all along with getting this glider. Everything on how I spec'd it to the government black helicopters are going to intercept it and not allow me to operate it. That's ok. What I have done with this glider is not typical spec's and wasn't intended as such. The sales guy has made it clear he has never put together a glider quite like this one, and he is chomping at the bit to give it a drive. He has to drive it to verify it is ready for delivery to customer. It is definitely outside what would be considered "normal". Some things take time to get right. I would be really surprised if this truck doesn't pull a hill with the best of them and doesn't hit into 8 mpg territory. And it is coming in at a shade over !5,000 lb dry weight, and in top gear at 1600 rpm, it will bust 98 mph, not that it will ever see that speed. I have no desire to set a land speed record. Not too bad for $111,062 total cost.

 

. Hay cowpie, the two zeros in the middle of vin# that means it's a glider correct? And have you run into any glitches assembling it yet?

 

You are correct!! The zeros are the indication it is a glider. No issues on assembly. That is all done. Only waiting on painting to be finished on fuel tanks and roof air dam. Get them done and mounted and will be ready to go. Paperwork, insurance, IFTA, 2290 and everything else all done. Actually kinda nice to take a few extra days off and relax while waiting on the final touches to get done.

Won't have graphics I want to add on done for a little while, but will put it to work until they get all made up.

 

Ok.... here are some preliminary shots of my glider. We are still finishing up. Will get more later. These shots were done by the dealer and sent to me because of a couple of questions he had. It will be one unique looking Columbia.

 

i have question.....

how did you pay toll in US

is that by number of axles or by EPA norm?


here in europe even if we have those gliders almost no body would need one

because of expensive fuel(here every new generation of engines use less fuel) and by toll ( we pay it by Euro norm)


so even if you have good older truck with low millage and low norm you must get rid of it and get new or use it locally

 

The glider is done like any other truck, new or used. The plates are apportioned between the states that it operates. This glider will NOT be legal for California, due to its stricter environmental policies, but that is a non issue for me. Other than that, it can run all the rest of the country. Doing a glider this way, there is no federal excise tax on the entire unit. Nice little loophole in the tax code. And everyone thinks only the big corporations get to take advantage of the tax code. The EPA requirements are that the emissions must meet the year the engine was produced. Since it is a factory remanned engine that was made prior to the emissions standards were implemented, did not have EGR, SCR, or DPF, it is legal to operate as a pre-emission engine.... even in a brand new truck!! God Bless America!!!

As far as using less fuel, the way I have this one done, it should easily get and stay into 8 mpg territory once everything gets broken in, which is equal to or better than the new emission laden trucks. I have done a lot of modifications to the exhaust and intake, running wide based drive tires, will operate in direct drive on the tranny at road speed, etc. Once it settles down, at about 60,000 miles when it gets the first overhead run, it will also get an ECM reprogram that will make a difference as well. That 8 mpg is roughly 30% higher than the trucking national average of 6 mpg. Of course, we will have to see how that all plays out. Sometimes even the best plans don't work out. And the overall cost to operate when you factor maintenance costs, fuel, etc, it should be substantially cheaper in the long run, compared to any emission truck.

One can only guess at what the government will regulate in the future, so this may have a limited life. But if I worried about what the government "might do" all the time, I wouldn't ever leave the house, and I sure wouldn't be in trucking.