'77 is one of the last ones that say White Freightliner. Just after that they only said Freightliner. I used to love their adds in the trucking mags "The Efficient Machine" BTW...do they still make glider kits?
ya know i have no idea, i haven't heard of one being put together in over 10years, at the time G-Paw ordered his they said it was the most expensive glider kit ever ordered, the axles and trans. came out of the astro and the screamer was brand spanking new.
Cab overs were popular when overall truck length was restricted. They ride rougher and which one would you rather be in in a collision, a cab over or a conventional?
Would the rough ride still be true on today's cab over's? With air ride suspension, air ride cabs, and air ride seats I would think it'd be smooth. I know they are big in Europe, but I suspect that has more to do with the tight roads over there. As far as collision goes I can't see that it would make any difference unless you hit head on with another truck. Most of the time I would think an accident would involve a normal cage which is going to hit really low on the truck, low enough that the bumper would take care of things.
I'm no expert but I think all that air ride stuff has been around for quite some time. I wonder if class 8 (big rigs) has safety standards?
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Even with the air ride suspension, cabs, and seats those things are just rough riders. You are basically sitting over the front axle, and any movement it transferred to you in an upward motion. Also limited interior room with a doghouse between the seats. Mike
The Freightliner Argosy wasn't too bad a ride. Well layed out and had some very nice features. Unfortunately, while it was intended for fleet use, it was too late to be of any interest, as cab-overs were relegated to histoy for the most part by the time it came around and most companies preferred the conventionals for ease of maintenance..
FWIW, as of a year or two ago they were still building Argosy's (in NC, IIRC) and selling them outside the US. And as of just a few years ago, you could still get them as gliders, but it was hard to do for some reason. Not sure about now. I think the EPA has found a way to put an end to that practice, because the only real reason for gliders was so folks could install older drivetrains in new trucks, which is exactly what the EPA doesn't want. They ride good and they have the best steering cut of any FL, matching that of the Volvo's and PACCAR trucks (but I don't think any of the other FL's do, though maybe they fixed that on the new line of trucks again). As for the collision thing, it's well over-played. We have nose trucks because truckers here like nose trucks better, period (and the length restrictions were eased). I really wanted an Argosy as the starting point for my big RV, but it just wasn't meant to be as I had to have a two pedal automatic, too, and the last of the US Argosy's were at best autoshifts and were just too long in the tooth to be a starting point for such an expensive RV. So I ate that 6' of space with a Volvo 670 instead. *sigh* --Donnie
Here's a couple of pictures of some cool big rigs This Scania is pretty wild. You can shave using the side of this truck.
I've heard of army units getting in the habit of keeping spare windshields around for these... ...when they raise the cab to do the daily inspection, there may be times when they miss securing something heavy in the cab and it can end up punching out through one of the windshield halves. DAM[Brother-in-law]HIK
I've always likes COE rigs but as mentioned above, they fell out of favour for various reasons. In addition to those mentioned, aero-styled conventionals get far better mileage (or so I was told by a couple of truckers back in the 80s) as a COE is about as aerodynamic as an airplane hangar. A guy I knew used to drive a COE (KW IIRC). I remember him saying that because the transmission was so far behind the driver's position, the gear shift was connected to the gearbox via cable linkages. From the time the rig was new, there were 2 or 3 gears he could never get due to the linkage set-up.
COE's went away here in the US when they changed the length laws because most drivers really did not like them due to the fact they ride much worse than conventional's and engine work was a pain te ones I drove had a really long rod from the shifter to the tranny, not cables
Could've been rods too I guess, this was a conversation in passing 20+ years ago so I may not be recalling it exactly.
Driving comfort was shit, particurlarly on rough roads when your ass is right over the front axle. It will launch you right out of the seat. You also had to remove or secure everything when raising the cab for maintenance. Mike
In the linked video they have outriggers on multiple axels that don't touch the ground. In the picture and other videos they aren't there. What are the purpose behind them?
