Back in the 70's and 80"s when I was a youngster I would ride in a cabover kenworth with my dad every chance I got. Man I loved every minute of it sure it was a rough ride but being a kid I didn't mind it at all. I remember one time my dad was driving and chatting on the old cb he told the other driver that he needed to stop to buy some cigarettes. Long story short my dad didn't stop to buy cigarettes because he pulled next to another cabover and the driver handed me a few cigs for my dad while driving approximately 70 mph down the highway. I'll never forget that. Lol try doing that in a conventional truck.
When I went from a cabover Ford with manual steering and spring suspension to a slant back Pete cabover with air-ride I thought I was in hog heaven. Those old trucks can’t even compare to the Pete I’m driving now, it’s like driving my pick-up. To bad some of these younger drivers didn’t get a chance to “ enjoy “ the older trucks it would damn sure make them appreciate what they are driving now ! 😉
I think people embarking on Truck driving as a career should be trained in the older 40-50-60 transport trucks so they understand the nature of them plus to gain the experience of what they have to drive today. They should make them specifically for truck driving training. Start with the old manuals then upgrade to the newer technology.
I've never driven a cab over, however, I can relate to my first couple nights riding in the bunk. The only real sleep I got was when my team mate stopped for red lights.
European cabovers are a totally different thing from US cabovers. The ride is super comfortable and the cabs are extremely well designed to make the most out of a limited amount of space. But the mention of a 'rubberblock suspension' sent shivers down my spine..all our cabs in Europe are air-suspended. Nice to hear about your experiences though.
79 freightliner coe. My dad had a few. I would go on the road with him. Sleeping in the back is exactly how you explain it. It’s far easier just to sleep in the passenger seat.
Man, in the 80’s, my dad had a 1978 Pete cab over and whenever I was out on summer break from school I’d go on trips with him. I used to sleep just fine... when the truck was loaded down. Bob tail? Forget it. It was like a 7.8 on the Richter scale. He then got a Freight with air ride, and air cab, power windows, AC... That was nice. But that Pete, gave me and my family a good life. It was fast too. Gulped down diesel, but would fly up the grapevine.
I remember my first experience lifting the cab without checking the sleeper and the owners TV decided it wanted out through the drivers side windshield! Oops! Lessons learned. Stay safe!
I drove for Schneider in the nineties, my first truck was an 87 international coe with a 300hp Cummins . No air ride, no Jake. The first time I went through the cross bronx expressway everything in the cab went flying my cooler went from the bunk to the passenger side footwell. It was brutal. My last truck with them was a new 99 International COE with a flat floor and rear air suspension, Jake, cruise and a great series 60 Detroit. I loved that truck. I never see them anymore, I guess everybody hated them so much they retired every one of them. The next company I worked for had brand new Volvo’s I never knew truck could ride that nice they were like a Lexus compared to the coe’s.
Started trucking in the early 80's, and just about everything I drove was an over-cab...and I drove 'em all too. Petes, Freight-shakers, Intersmashable Crash-overs, KWs, Macks, GMCs (that had those huge aquarium windshields). I now own and operate a '61 Pete 351, with a big mil and full air-ride, and I ain't going back. Keep up with these great videos Dave!! Lotsa wonderful wisdom!
The truck can make or break any long haul, especially if sleeping in a hotel is inconvenient to the trip or you prefer sleeping during the run. This is why truckers are in high demand for some companies, because they don't realize having a new truck with the best comforts and air rides saves a heck of a lot on energy and fatigue, which also in turn saves lives. I'd rather have a well rested, alert truck driver behind the wheel than one fed up with the truck or even the dispatchers, suffering from complete lack of sleep while being forced to run a load hundreds of miles. Listen to your drivers, they know what they're talking about when it comes to road comfort, keep the cabovers to local or inner city runs since the nose won't be tough to navigate around tight spaces.
I drove a 85 Freightliner COE spring ride . You really had to think twice about the the way you crossed RR tracks if you didn't want to smash your head on the roof. More than once I slid down the iced over hand rails . I looked like I was coming down a fire pole ! Glad those days are over .
My Dad ran team in a single bunk cabover pete back in the 70's. He transported swinging meat. Even though he was running team in them little trucks, he used to take me at times. All of his partners treated me like gold! We would get back from a trip, and I couldn't wait to go again! The truck were very simple. No insulation, no AC, no power steering and loud as hell! And I loved every minute of it 😁
dad had a Volvo F12 78 mod cabover. think it was serial number 253 for the F12 series so very early. he got it in 81 after it was rebuilt after it had burned to ground. all new front section. i grew up riding along in that truck. he loved the ride in it so kept it for 20 years as his only truck. and it was a comfy truck. no problem seeping while on the move in those old F12s. greatest trucks volvo have made. ever. now my newest truck is a 14 mod Volvo FM. and even so it have the 9 tonne front axle and 23 tonne tandem it rides like a boss. air ride all around tho. coins and stuff on the dash dont even rattle hehe. the Volvo dynamic steering also makes the work much easier.
Hey Dave, I've a different cabover memory for you. I tried running team for about a year, in the mid-80s. I fondly remember the three-wiper Pete w/the un-neutered 425Cat. Man, I loved that truck! It'd pull almost any mountain without having to downshift. Road super high up, w/cars seemingly passing under my left foot. Of course, it did have air ride, w/an air ride cab. Still, I never did get the nack for sleeping w/the truck in motion. We used an air mattress, inflated halfway. Used to swap every 4hrs. Between getting the bare minimum of sleep, also mostly through exhaustion, & also some bad partners, I swore off running team. I still fondly remember that Pete, though. Glad I missed the slightly older cabovers. I also vividly recall one VERY huge driver who was climbing out of his KW cabover. I watched in amazement as he clung to the handle, high up, until getting a foot on the ground. When he let go of the handle, the truck about flipped over the other way ;-P
Those 362 cabover Petes were a nice truck [ 3 wipers ] and the cabover Ford CL9000 were the ones that leaned way the hell over when the big guys climbed inside! Dave
Those 1693TA Caterpillars were too reliable, but they were heavy motors. Hundreds more than any Cummins or Detroit. If you just let them lug down to 13 or 1400 rpms they would just pull and pull.
I drove cabovers for Schneider in 1998. The “bus type”, (International) truck, was more comfortable. The dangers of these trucks, was the shorter wheel base. Although, I loved them in “tight” situations!
'76 International Transtar with a 350 Cummins pulling a 28' coal bucket...had to keep my seat belt tight just to stay in the seat. Ahh, the good ole days. :-)
I started in a 1985 International Double Eagle cabover. High class interior. 110 inch cab. White in color and chicken lights all down the side. 4 bag air ride. Dual air ride seats. 400 big cam 4 Cummins with the 13 speed short shifter on the dog house. Dual exhaust with the 3 stage Jake Brake. Aluminum rims all the way around. Chrome visor, chrome grill, polished fuel tanks, chrome dual air horns, and best of all, air conditioning. Man I loved that truck. Great memories. Wish I could drive it again. Take care.
I drove a bunch of cabovers, Binders, Mack/Brockway, Petes, all built in the late 60s to early 70s with the low-back Bostrom ratchet adjustment drivers seat - they all about beat me to death. But in the early 80s I drove for a guy who put me in an almost new White Road Commander (Road-Commode) with a high-back floating air seat. If you adjusted it just right it was like riding in a floating rocking chair. It floated up & down and forward & backward, and you could adjust the tension. Some drivers couldn't get used to it, but I loved it! No back-slap at all if you didn't mind that every time you hit the brakes the seat would float forward and backwards when you pulled away from a stop sign. Best truck I ever drove, cabovers or conventionals!
I started out in a 76 GMC C/O only ran light on the intestate so was not to bad. Then I did NE Regional in a flat top single bunk freightliner when I was at BMC in the early 90's. Before that I trained with a A-hole in a double bunk sleeper. He used to tell me I had to sleep on the top bunk when he was driving. Craziness. Main thing was if you drove a place like NYC you just put everything on the floor.
Love your stories! When I was a teenager on our farm we had a couple of cab overs one was a 74 Kenworth that had a 272 inch wheel base and it had a 5 and a 4 transmission with a 400 small cam Cummins engine and would do triple digits, her name was Scoots. It was the only truck that I've ever seen that had a torsion bar suspension set up! The ride was super smooth but when you went around a corner it always felt like you were going to lay it over! Our other cab over was a 76 White Freightliner and it had a 262 inch wheel base with 4 spring suspension and it rode pretty decent because of the longer wheel base. I'd say that it rode as good as our two 83 Kenworth W900's that were sister truck's that were air ride with 262 inch wheel base.
I ran cross country for Lee Way if you remember them. In those days cab overs was all there were. Lee Way had what we called "swing bunks". The mattress was suspended on springs from the ceiling. They were wonderful. You could really get a good night sleep. I teamed up with a really good driver that loved to run at night. I got a good night sleep every night. It was great. Best driving job I ever had. PS: Lee Way never screwed me on mileage or anything else !!
My first trucking experience was working for a carnival. Had to drive a GMC Astro. Short runs, so it really wasn’t bad, and being a driver mean I got the bunk to sleep in. No more sleeping on a shelf in a box truck. The Astro broke down, and they get a rental. Two story Edsel, what a ride LOL. That air ride cab was a wild hoss. When I went OTR for the first time, international tractor, with a 48” bunk, though I’d died and gone to heaven.
When I first started driving in 1976, I work for a small family operation hauling produce between Florida and New York, for about 2 years I ran a 1970 International Transtar eagle with spring suspension, in 1978 they bought their first brand new truck and it was a 1978 Ford cl9000 with air suspension and an air ride cab, although it took a little while getting used to the swaying and leaning of the cab on its air suspension it didn't take long to feel like I died and went to heaven. Maybe ten years after that we went to conventionals and I thought it can't get any better than this
I remember those days well. Never did drive a cl9000 but I climbed up into one a friend back then had bought and I thought the thing was going to fall over on top of me it leaned so much! Dave
I drove Freightliner, KW, Pete, Marmon, White, and Ford Cabovers, most of them were spring suspension, no power steering, Ran double for 2 years in a Frieghtliner.Missouri to California and back every week. 41years Truckun, reefer, grain, Bull's, Hay, explosives, Equipment. Loved it! Thanks
Never drove a COE commercially, but I started driving truck as a volunteer firefighter. Low-profile cabovers with spring ride, and the front seat is out ahead of the front axle. Only seat in the cab with air suspension is the driver's seat, all the rest are directly bolted to the floor. That experience gave me the advantage of a working knowledge of air brakes when I started training for my CDL.
My first highway job was teaming with another kid in a new '76 White Freightliner. It was one of the first with an 8/92 in it. Truck and trailer combination/ spring ride, so it wasn't too bad loaded but a boneshaker empty. Drove several over the years, teamed a few times but like you said, I'm glad to see them for the sake of nostalgia, but I don't want to think about living in one again.
I drove several different cabovers and you are 100 per cent correct. A cabover was rough riding and in my opinion impossible to sleep in when moving. No joke I always had back problems.
In the mid 80's I drove a mid 70's (I'm not sure what year) KW cabover with torsion bar rear suspension. The 1st month me & the owner of the truck were going to run team. We were both young & friends at the time & he wanted to made sure I could handle it without just throwing me to the wolfs so to speak. Long story made not so long. We decided after a week of no sleep for either of us I was ready to run by myself. He started driving another truck he had bought used. I drove the KW for about a year & a half. It was a fine one person truck. The reason I stopped driving had nothing to do with the truck & everything to do with never going to work for a friend. Needless to say that was the end of me driving a truck & a friendship.
I learned in spring ride Cornbinders, spent a few years in 'em before ever getting into a conventional (length laws were stricter back then), but I did buy a Peterbilt 372 in the mid '90s. Now, that was a smooth riding cabover, and the only truck I've driven, loaded, while getting 9 mpg. I'm ok with a standard air-ride cabover, though... if I decide to do anything local, intermodal or the like, I'd consider 'em mostly for the maneuverability. I don't like to drive team. At all. I've been tossed out of the bunk, too. Hauling a load of Dr. Pepper to a distributor in KS.... 2 liter bottles... in heavy fog. My co-driver had it floored to the governor, about 65 mph, and crossed a major highway without seeing the stop sign. DIP *bump* DIP *slam!* found myself wedged between the back of his seat and the bunk. Lost about 60% of the load, and that trailer stank of Dr. Pepper for years. That was in a conventional air ride Freightshaker.
I drove a 1996 Freightliner cabover for Werner, back before I got my first Pete. This thing was air ride and I never had to sleep while another driver was at the wheel, but it still crunched my back pretty good. Going from that into a 379 was a pure delight.
I started on a 72 R Model Mack. First minute the guy who I was going to be learning from. (That's right someone worked with you then you upgraded your licences ...simple) Grabbed my ball cap off my head. (I sat there paralyzed) And he took pliers off his belt and ripped the steel button off the top. Then gave it back to me. and said. First I didn't want you getting your skull cracked. After the first bump. I understood why.
I first learned in a 56 white mustang day cab 6 cl gas 2 axle 4 &3. This little 2 axle conventional beat the driver to death, thus when I upgraded to my first cab-over I was in heaven. My 75 Pete CO 12-71 Detroit w/ 13 speed, 165 wb was a dream truck. It was an early air ride truck and with the big horse a pure joy to drive
Drove a GMC Astro 95 in Okinawa back in '80. Wheelbase was so short, the front axle had "No" brakes, just spindles! Loved getting beat up by the roads. Then again, loved being 20 years old. Don't think I could survive these days!
I started out running LTL doubles in 1988 driving a 1964 Mack F700 Cabover with a 280hp Detroit Diesel 2 Stroke and boy could she fly. No driver comforts of any kind in fact I kept a spray bottle with me and the windows wide open for those hot Sacramento Summer Days. She may have been a Dinosaur compared to the trucks of today but God do I miss that little beauty
I drove Cabovers in the mid 80's for Virginia Carolina Freightlines. During training I ran doubles with a guy with an air ride cab Mack, which rode really nice, and another guy with an International. When I started driving solo, I bid for a KW. I loved that truck. Ride was fine. Handled like a dream. I wish I had her now.
My first truck was a '76 White Freightliner COE. That 152"wheelbase and 44,000# spring ride was absolutely brutal pulling an 8,000 gallon asphalt tank (NO BAFFLES). It had a 430 detroit, 13 speed and 4.11 rears, so it did not have any idea what a grade was. 3.5 mpg would be a killer now however.
Hahah a teacher back in tech school told me about those unbaffled tankers, he said he would (try to) stop at a stop sign at the bottom of a big hill and the slosh would push ya forward every few seconds 😂
Drove over 2 million miles in my 78 co. 96 inch bunk. long wheel base, spring ride. It's still going strong. Hauling grain and sugar beets! Center point steering too!
I just started trucking and I’ve never drove a cabover. But my pops had one back in the early 90’s I remember riding with him, it was rough as hell but I thought we looked cool as hell! I wouldn’t mind driving one now a days!
When I was a kid my dad drove an early 70s White-Freightliner cabover, a stubby little single screw with an 8V-92 in it. Felt sort of like riding a paint shaker down the road, except with that Detroit scream coming through the doghouse and the smokestack a few feet behind my head. Good times.
ive been at it since the early 90's. ive never driven a cabover, but i remember riding with my dad in his old frieghtliner very well. and i also i remember how uncomfortable it was even as a child. i also remember his complaints. cabovers are cool, but i wouldnt wanna drive an old one .... thanks for sharing your experience. it brings back alot of memories
My dad had a 90s international 9800, i have to tell you i remember nothing but but awesome things the huge doghouse in the center, and the little shifter up by the dash. Love your videos my friend keep it up.
In1985 got into a cabover freightliner.had been driving a 250"wheelbase conventional but changed jobs.yea it was a back killer but I ran solo so wasn't trying to sleep while going down road.i was glad when I finally got into a conventional after about 9 months.
I learned to drive in a 69 4070A Transtar. It was a total old school truck. 144" wb, solid seats, camel back suspension, armstrong steering and a 238 Detroit.I learned real fast to use seatbelts. My first 5 miles on the first day I had 3 knots on the top of my head from getting thrown up to the roof before I buckled up. It was an old back and head killer but I loved it. I was driving a truck. The things we did as rookies back then just to learn to drive.
OH Driver, thank you SO much, I have not laughed so much in a long time. Brought back a lot of Memories. I drove cab overs in the early 90's, not quite so bad but still no caddie. Be safe and have a good week.
On I-81 in Virginia, I often pass a beautiful 1980s vintage International cabover. Never drove one myself, but that guy must really like it to still be running it 30+ years later.
Two things about a cabover that i love, sitting high above everyone and being able to put elbows while resting on the steering wheel! But the ride is brutal in older models!
When I was just a young buck, the first tractor-trailer rig I drove was a cabover White Freightliner with a 40' flatbed. I roasted to death in the summer and froze my ass off in the winter while getting pounded to a pulp in the process! It had one redeeming quality, however. It wasn't afraid of work! That 350 Cummins and 10-speed Roadranger took it all in stride without breaking a sweat! It also was equipped with power steering, which was not so common in these stripped-down units. It was a fantastic truck for a rookie to cut his teeth on and develop technique as long as your body stayed together in the meantime! Now that I'm older with all 206 bones in my body aching, it's hard to imagine how I did it back then!
Always liked cabovers which brought me to this video. Not a trucker but I have done that drive before in a dodge 2500 hauling a loaded 20ft trailer. Left Woodstock at 2pm for Elliot lake and made it home by 11 am next day. Only stopped for diesel and food. It was late November and man those snow squalls were something else once I got north of parry sound. I’ll never forget that run. Especially from parry sound to Sudbury, that is one heck a a hilly, windy , and almost no sign of civilization for 250km. Cheers
First job I bobtailed a GMC Astro from Philadelphia to Hartford. Felt every bump on 95. It was rough.... but I stuck it out... and they gave me a better truck later. That was in 1982..... I’m retiring from trucking next year..... I learned a lot about trucking, and life, in 40 years.
I drove a White Compact back in the early 70's. It was a bare bones machine with NO Creature comforts at all, Two-Fifty air conditioning in the summer. It sure makes one appreciate what we have today.
We had a bunch of single axle GMC Astros with extremely short wheelbases that we pulled doubles with. They were the roughest riding rigs that I ever drove when they were empty. I used to get bruises on my thighs from hitting the bottom of the steering wheel.
Hi there. You have great videos. This one is funny/true. I drove double teams for Midwestern Trucking out of Ft Scott Ks with cabovers-just like you said, and i was young. Started otr with 71-73 coe freightliners, fun to recollect, wouldn't want to do it again, keep up the good work.
My first truck job was running team in a 84 coe freightliner from Oregon to southern California mostly but sometimes the western states. And it had air ride suspension and eventually we put in an aftermarket air ride on the rear of the cab which helped but it was definitely a kidney buster on the California highway. Your right about the only way to get any sleep was when I was totally exhausted.
My first OTR job was in 78 Pete cabover with spring suspension...my next job was hauling gravel in a freightliner cabover with Hendrickson pad suspension I fully understand your pain LOL
I was in trucking from 1969 until about 1993 and I had only driven a conventional on one trip the ride in that thing was amazing compared to what I was used to, I remember thse cab overs would beat you to death, heaters were terrible cold air would leak out of the floorboards into the cab, air conditioning? forget it! No power steering at all when I started they tried developing an air assist and another hydraulic one but they were more dangerous than anything, things started changing in abt the early 80s for the better though, I could go on and on but I wasted enough of your time already. Although I am an old man now I really enjoy your channel!
Don't forget air powered windshield wipers! This channel is great isn't it? It always makes me feel nostalgic for the good ole days. Somewhere along in the late 90's I'd say, trucking stopped being trucking.
Dave you are so right about how great those old C/Os looked. When you want to talk about the old days of trucking, The first trucks that come to mind are those C/Os. They really bring back all the nostalgia of that era in trucking... I drove a few of them like the old GMC Astro, and i remember it well cause it was in the winter time and my feet all the way up to my knees froze in that thing for two weeks, I was an agency driver then and they would send me to work at different carriers , and after two weeks i had had enough and i refused to go back there. The ones we still see today are the trucks that guys have restored to their original glory and show them off with pride as they work them everday..
My truck driving days were back in the Mid sixties. Learned how to drive in an old B-61 Mack with a dead tandem hauling steel out of Birmingham and Gadsden Ala. The owner bought a cabover CMC that none of the seasoned drivers wanted to take on. I was only sixteen, and illegal as all get out, but I didn't have to unlearn much in order to drive the contraption. Five speed with a road ranger elec rear end. Piece of cake, a good ride and made enough money to buy a cat. Good memories of that ole truck.LOL
I started driving trucks in 1990 for a small company called Pacific Inland. We drove International Cabovers (flat tops) and pulled double 28 foot dry boxes. The newest truck they had was a 1985. That 1985 was the only truck they had that had a cruise control. The only air ride any of their trucks had was on the drivers seat.
My most favorite truck was a 95 Freightliner condo cabover with the setback axel 9 spd trans and 12.7 Detroit....I was sad the day my boss got rid of it for a conventional sleeper.
I used to go for rides with my father back in the early to mid 90's when he was trucking and I'll always remember my favorite truck to go in was an International 9800 Cabover with a sleeper. I don't remember the ride being harsh, but then again, I was young and just loved going along for the rides!
Had a 82 freighter that had been a tanker. Same ride. Didn't work team. But it rode so hard and bounced so much I stood up to keep from getting throne into the roof. Loved that truck. Low geared and pulled up hills like they were flat. I still like cabovers.
In the years before I became a driver myself, one of my dads first trucks was an old '78 International Transtar. I tell you, I got more sleep sitting in the passenger seat, laying over the doghouse than I ever did in the sleeper. I remember some hiways, and the rhythmic ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump. But yeah, if my dad hit a particularly big pothole, you'd get a head-ache from hitting the roof of the cab. I also won't forget how sometimes he would make little jerking movements while I was sleeping, leaning against the door of the cab. Good-times, no matter what pains were experienced.
I drove for Thomas Produce out of Greensboro NC in the early 1980's. They had a fleet of new Ford CL900 cabovers with a Cat engines and 9 speed transmissions. We ran from NC to CA which is 2500 miles and at the time the speed limit was 55 mph. Their trucks were governored to run 62 mph flat out. A trip would take anywhere from 7 to 10 days depending on the number of stops and layover time. We would be home for 1 or 2 days before the next run. We were paid by the trip, not by the miles. I never drove a conventional cab, only the cabovers so I didn't know the difference in the ride quality. I didn't drive for them for very long. They had a high driver turnover rate. I went to driving local in 1983 for $6.25 an hour.
I Stared Driving At 15.My First TruckJob Was A 22 White Mustang.They Had What Was Called A Cab Forward 3000 You Set A Little For word Of The Steer Axle, GMC Astro, International With Little Windows By The Floor Board Etc.I Retierd In 2001.1947 To 2001
Drove a 78 freightliner, 350 Detroit !!! A international day cab cabover, 318 ! I went back to mechanic work !! Drove a Western Star quad axle with a Chalmers rubber pancake suspension, Thank God for a international 99i with air ride, and wide spread air ride flatbed NY neck still hurts !! I got cracks in my upper spine to prove it a WHAT A LIFE.
I used to drive a short wheelbase single axle 362 Pete. I've also spent time in IH 9700's and 9670's. I'm reminded of my days in cabovers ever time I go to the chiropractor...
The secret to a cabover is the wheel base. I remember Dad drove for F. F. E. Back in the 70's. He had a new 73 White Freightliner with a short wheelbase tractor and spring suspension, you could feel every bump and hole in the road. Then he went to work for Swift, back when they had real trucks, and even though he still had a cabover, 77 Kenworth with air ride suspension, the wheelbase was longer and rode so much better. So a longer wheel base was the key to a descent 8 or 4 hour break. Depending on how you broke up your hours of service and time in the bunk.
I remember when I used to go with my dad when I was younger that old cab over was built in the mid 70s soild mount passenger seat would beat you to death and sleeping in the bunk was a ride of my life it was rough as a kid but they are cool to look at now and missing a step was a experience to trying to get out of one.
One of the first trucks I ever drove was a 74 GMC Astro 95. It was one of dads old tractors that got pressed into service as our farm truck when he bought a new one. He retired the Jimmy in the early 80's and traded the old Mack that we'd been using on the farm for a new Pete...I believe it was a 359? For the next 5 years or so, I used it to pull our grain trailer to the co-op about 30 miles away and that was plenty! I never tried to sleep in the Jimmy while it was on the road, but, I can believe how hard that would be. I recently tracked this truck down and bought it at an auction. I'm currently working on restoring it, but, I have no intention of putting it back in service. Give me my big ol Freightshaker Classic over a cab over any day! The Jimmy will be a show truck.
Back in the mid 1980's I road for a week (I didn't drive back then) with a buddy of mine who drove for National Freight out of Greensboro NC. I remember the tractor was a fairly new Rollen's (rental) cab-over. The drivers seat was ok but the passenger seat was small and didn't have a air-shock, I was only about 20 years old. Man that seat beat the hell out of me, my guts where literally soar for a month after I got home.
My first coe was in the late 50's, an IH. DCO 405, with a 185 hp Cummins, single axle pulling doubles. Then I custom ordered a 68 KW coe brand new. I've owned several more coe's and conventionals over a 43 year career. PS: I've just come upon your postings for the first time this past week. Keep up the good work, I enjoy your stories.
Not my first driving job, but my first day with the second employer. Another guy and I were hired at the same time. 2 trucks to chose from, both slightly converted so they could run the road until a 6 month local gig would start again in the fall hauling beets. One truck had a sleeper on it, but it wasn't hooked up to the cab. You'd have to get out of the truck, and climb in the sleeper door from outside. When that door shut, it was as dark as the ace of spades in that little 32" bunk. I didn't get that one, I got the one without a sleeper, but it had carpeting. At night, I would curl up around the shifter to catch a few z's. We maintained our own trucks at that time too. We did our own oil changes, grease etc. But they gave us a mechanic to help us when we had to do a brake job. Still don't understand to this day why when we needed an overhaul in those days, it was 24 hours down-time, but now it takes several days. Used to get about 500K before an overhaul back then, 24 hours downtime, and we were good for another 500K. It's a bit different now....
Started out in a 1978 Road Commode (White) with air assist steering and a shiny 290 hauling a car rack. When you turned into the wind you were lucky to stay in top gear. No......I DON'T miss it. It would beat you to death just driving it. And Texas to Montana is a looooong trip in one of those old rigs.
Dave; You said to share my memories, so here goes. I can sure relate to the back breaking ride of the old 2-axle cabover freightshakers (Freightliner cabovers from the 1960's) I ran up and down Hwy 99 and I-5 (CA), in the 70's and 80's. Does anyone remember the concrete slab construction of some of the highways? The slabs were 15 or 20 feet in length; they would work themselves loose after years of use and would raise up and then slam back down as you drove over them. With the short wheelbase of the 2-axle cabovers the length of the slabs were perfect to cause every up and down rocking action of the slabs to act like a jackhammer on your spine and neck. (No air ride seats, or air ride anything!) And if it was raining you could look in your mirrors and watch the water squirt up about two feet in the air from the corners of the seams every time you drove over the next slab. There was a patch of those slabs coming northbound on Hwy 99 into Livingston, CA for a mile or two before you got to the Livingston light. That section of slabs were really old when I ran that road with a set of joints, they would bounce you extra hard. I used to drive that section with tears coming out of my eyes (involuntary), it hurt my neck and back so much. Sometimes I would just stick my head out the window and just scream as loud as I could. Somehow I thought that made the pain more bearable. It made no difference how fast or slow you drove, and was only slightly better if you were running empty. Thirty years later I paid for all that abuse to my body with two different back surgeries. Is there anyone out there that remembers those slabs coming northbound into Livingston, CA? Or any old road with that slab construction that made it so painful to drive a set of doubles on? If you drove over those same slabs with a 3-axle cabover tractor and trailer the pounding motion of the slabs was not nearly as pronounced; not the hard slamming action you experienced with a 2-axle rig! Those were the "God Old Days" (haa haa)
You dont have relativity though. The ones in America are far superior. The most comfortable cab over can’t beat a more than average curb sniffer in America a
Air ride was around long before 1983. I had a 72 Astro that was on air ride from the factory. Nephew currently;y has an 82 Freightliner, and an 80 K100 both on factory air ride. That K100 rides almost as good as my dual pickup.
I did a seat hack for the 1978 White Road Camode cabover for the 439 miles of New Mexico beating the heck out of you with a load of garbage for NYC. Let the seat all the way down, hook a bungee cord from the seat to the floor/seat belt anchors, sit in the seat and adjust the air pressure on the seat. The seat didn't top out or bottom out anymore, that's all that mattered. New 1978 Mack cabover Ryder rental and got pulled over in New Mexico for a noise decibel test, he ran the test and was shocked how quiet that truck was inside and out. I told him before he started the test that this truck has to be the Quietest Truck I've ever driven, and most have always been new. Good riding truck too!! Try this with a long hose. I going 80-E and stopped in Wyoming for fuel then wanted to get back to 80-E but ended up going North on the I-25 overpass, oops, wiped a u-turn on the overpass with a '77 International and a 42' refer back to 80-East.
I trained on a CabOver as well as a conventional back in 1999. Never liked them in school and I sure don't like them after hearing your story. Really enjoy all of your stories about trucking through the years. Keep,them coming.
That's all my uncle would drive ! When he retired a few yrs back he said nobody will give me what it's worth. So it's still parked in his back yard lol
The truck I started in was a cab over 1979 International Transtar II. The steering wheel on that thing was so huge, if you had a flat tire you replace it with that steering wheel and make it to the truck stop. If you wanted to make a sharp turn, you would have turn the wheel 15 times. But I loved those cabovers. It’s what first learned to drive. I started with McClendon Trucking out of Lafayette Al. Trained under the expert tutorage of various old school hard nosed drivers at the company. I wish I could find an old cabover museum. My favorite, the cabover Pete from the 70’s. I don’t know the model number but it had a gigantic sleeper.
Drove a 78 Freightliner C/O for a few years. Long wheelbase with airbags on drivers. No power steering but rode nice going down the highway. Nice truck, no A/C but I was young then, lol !
