Pro's And Con's On Cabovers

Hi. It's been awhile since I've been on here. Anyways, I've been wondering what it would be like to drive a cabover. My father drove one when I was younger, Locally in California. And I remember acouple of times, when he would sneak me in, letting me hold the steering wheel for awhile while he did the other controls. Later on when I got of age to drive a truck. Trying to get into the industry before the industry etched them pretty much out. Anywho, what's the pro's and con's on driving a cabover?

The only con I could think of was all your stuff tumbling to the front of the cab when you had to tilt the cab forward to access the engine. I miss not seeing them on the road. However, in Europe, cab-over are all you see.

I've seen a few "new" cab overs on the road. I think some companies are testing them out, because they can get a longer trailer behind them.

Seriously, I don't see much of an advantage, but I've never driven one.

Dave

I drove one pulling a grain hoper, what I remember was getting in and out of the truck was a task. It had more of a lader than steps. It turned into a chore after a while! Especially when trying to load things in the cab.

Turning radius and front visibility are two advantage for the driver. For me the greatest disadvantage would be available space in the sleeper bunk. Crawling on all fours is the only way to move around in one of these if it's outfitted with a bunk.

IMO they do have a "coolness" factor, especially the KWs, Freightliners, and Pete 352 from the 70s.

Pros:

1) They're shorter and there's no hood sticking out so they maneuver better in tight places

Cons:

1) They don't ride as well because of the shorter wheelbase and the fact that you're basically sitting directly over the front axle

2) They don't get the fuel mileage because they're shaped like a building

3) They're more difficult to climb into

4) It's difficult to make a convenient and comfortable interior layout because of the engine sitting in between the two seats

And also your the first on the scene of the accident!!!

If you're talking about older cabovers, then yes they were a pain. Climbing over the hump to get in the back, tilting the cab and such to do morning checks were all a challenge. The freightliner Argosy changes all that. There is no more hump, it's an open walk into the bunk area, has power fold out staircase for entry and the enormous grill opens up for engine access (no more cab tilting). They steer well, ride a little rough with the short wheelbase but do provide better creature comforts than the days of BJ and the Bear. I wouldn't want to run one personally because I like having the extra safety of the hood, engine and some frame in front of me in the event of a collision. The idea of the dash and windshield being the impact point doesn't turn me on lol. I've seen some good looking ones though with longer frames to smooth out the ride that looked pretty nice and the drivers didn't seem to have any complaints.