Ford F-Max class 8 tractor

[Renze]

We would rather have the slight inconvenience of putting the stuff back in the proper storage spaces so kindly provided by the manufacturer than needing three football fields to make even the slightest maneuver and still won't fit on most places.

And we do have plenty of axles for heavy loads too, most are able to steer.

Do you work for Laso ? We had a Laso convoy here last month to pick up a 175 ton demolition excavator.

 

[4570Man]

We would rather have the slight inconvenience of putting the stuff back in the proper storage spaces so kindly provided by the manufacturer than needing three football fields to make even the slightest maneuver and still won't fit on most places.

And we do have plenty of axles for heavy loads too, most are able to steer.

The main reason for a cab over is to meet length restrictions that we don’t have anymore. The visibility and turning radius might be a little better but not enough to justify it.

 

[oliver1555]

An old picture of a truck I drove, taken in 1978. The company bought two used 260 inch wheelbase cabovers with tandem steers in about 1980 and put self loaders on them. They didn’t work out and were gone in short order. IH and Peterbilt conventionals all the way.

 

[nisaacs]

Three football fields?

Can you say farms bigger than some country's. This always amazed me, the sheer size and scheduling involved. It is so cool when you see a convoy of them traveling on the highway.

When I was a kid, we had an Allis-Chalmers combine with a 13 bushel hopper, then we upgraded to a 17

 

[oliver1555]

When I was a kid, we had an Allis-Chalmers combine with a 13 bushel hopper, then we upgraded to a 17

That would take a spell to put 1,000 bushels in a hopper trailer!

 

[ptsg]

Do you work for Laso ? We had a Laso convoy here last month to pick up a 175 ton demolition excavator.

No, I don't. They are the biggest specialized transport company here in Portugal and they've been growing amazingly all over Europe.

They've been getting some of the hardest and/or heaviest transports in Europe.

 

[ptsg]

I do like a classic Pete 379 though. With straight pipes and just the right length of pipe above the cab. A proper Cummins or CAT 3406 engine with loud jakes. Sounds awesome to me. But no stretch at all, that's just terrible what some people will do.

 

[Renze]

The main reason for a cab over is to meet length restrictions that we don’t have anymore. The visibility and turning radius might be a little better but not enough to justify it.

In heavy haulage you need a weight, length and width permit anyways so it doesnt matter. In any other transport than volume goods (dumptrailer, tanker, etcetera) length is not an issue, yet they still dont use hooded trucks for that here.

Another aspect is that European truck suspension is more advanced than American, so for driver comfort, you dont need to have the drivers seat in the middle between front axle and tandem.

I worked for an air suspension manufacturer, they met a new customer on the IAA commercial vehicle exhibition in Germany: It was a Canadian manufacturer of feed delivery trailers, looking for a better suspension than Hendrickson because they ripped them apart on farmyards. When we benchmark tested the Hendrickson suspension on our standard lateral load test (welded, pressed steel trailing arms with a big sloppy rubber bushing to allow lateral ground following) they sent us, against our standard, run off the mill European spring steel trailing arm suspension, the Hendrickson set lasted only 20% of what the standard European load collective is, while ours was lighter in weight too...

I just dont hold American vehicle design in high regard because they held on to archaic designs for decades too long... and when you look at it, Cummins is the only American designed truck engine available (Paccar is Daf, Detroit is Mercedes, Navistar is MAN, Volvo/White is off course Volvo) most vans in America are European or Jap (Sprinter is Merc, Ford Transit is European, the Chevy van is a Jap designed Nissan, the Ram ProMaster is an Italian Fiat Ducato...
Ford bought Volvo years ago, in order to put their Taurus and Crown Vic on a unibody, borrowed from the Volvo S80...

 

[oliver1555]

So, being that you hold European design in such high regard, it’s great that you live there. I’m sure we Americans can continue to limp along with our archaic machines, like we have for years and years. I guess I’m done here.

 

[4570Man]

So, being that you hold European design in such high regard, it’s great that you live there. I’m sure we Americans can continue to limp along with our archaic machines, like we have for years and years. I guess I’m done here.

If you can’t at least acknowledge the superior development of European machines you must live under a rock.