Truck Customizing Questions

Ive noticed some KWs on the roads have some snorkal looking attachments to their air intakes. Are they useful? What is their purpose? Do they create a massive blindspot?

I also wanted to know your opinions on the top 3 absolutely rediculous modification you have seen or heard about. I know truck mods are quite diverse and can range from subtle to "HEY IM HERE!" from over a mile away.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! I was wondering if anyone knew or not....

Aside from the few truck "aficionados" here - every one is a COMPANY DRIVER - driving a truck they aren't allowed to modify.

Rick

Reaper...other than Gingerbread, the snorkel is to help force the air into the intake through the air filter.

Oh ok. Thanks g town. And i know people here are mostly company drivers and cant modify trucks, but seeing modified truvks and hearing stories in truck stops im sure are common.

Oh ok. Thanks g town. And i know people here are mostly company drivers and cant modify trucks, but seeing modified truvks and hearing stories in truck stops im sure are common.

Reaper, that's right. You got the sound of crickets with this question because as company drivers we aren't allowed to even drill a hole into the bunk cabinets to hold down a TV.

All those magazines showing off truck chrome, chicken lights, and custom sleepers are in the realm of people who own their own equipment.

I know i was wondering if anyone has seen anything on the road or heard about anything on the road. Thats all. I guess gossip and o/o talking about their rigs arent really all that prevalent in truck stops.

I know i was wondering if anyone has seen anything on the road or heard about anything on the road. Thats all. I guess gossip and o/o talking about their rigs arent really all that prevalent in truck stops.

Well, then there's the CAT Scale weigh tickets. Each one comes with a collectible trading card for a SuperTruck. My training mentor had several books of his collection.

See now this is funny lol, also what i was expecting for people who misunderstood what i was asking.

Ive noticed some KWs on the roads have some snorkal looking attachments to their air intakes. Are they useful? What is their purpose? Do they create a massive blindspot?

I also wanted to know your opinions on the top 3 absolutely rediculous modification you have seen or heard about. I know truck mods are quite diverse and can range from subtle to "HEY IM HERE!" from over a mile away.

The snorkels you are talking about do serve a purpose depending on their height. Typically, a snorkel that is raised above the cab is to eliminate excess road dust getting kicked into the air intake. This is especially useful if your truck runs a lot of dirt roads and or runs in convoys with other trucks that can send up big clouds of dust. They probably do create a blind spot depending on the truck it is installed on but much like driving a long hood Pete..... You might not see as well as a sloped nose Freightliner but you get used to it. I have never personally seen a snorkel affixed to KW's side mounted air cleaners but if it only sits on top of the stock air cleaners then it most likely just for looks and only serves as a cowl. You do however see a lot of snorkels on the Aussie road trains as they have to tackle hundreds of miles of thick, red, dusty roads. And you do see them in Military applications as well.

This isn't my picture but I seen a lot of these armored International tractors running around Iraq when i was there in 2008. They were used by civilian contractors hauling oil out of the fields in the southern parts of the country. Notice the air cleaners on them, they actually have a "pre-filter" called a cyclone that has a spinning apparatus that rotates even when they are shut off to spin out sand before they can clog up the filters.

As for top 3 ridiculous mods? I guess it really is all to opinion. One driver might say he or she cannot live without something on their truck while another driver may think it is totally ridiculous. However......

1. The mega huge, metal CB antennas that have the coil in them. I am told they can handle up to 2000 watts of power.....good luck getting your truck/radio to make that.

2. Those big ARI 140" + sleepers. I get that they are probably super awesome to live in especially for those guys who are on the road for 6 weeks at a time but whenever I see them I can't help but think that you cannot haul ANYTHING over 20k LBS and I assume the drivers who have them do little to no backing. Makes for a comfortable but useless tractor IMO.

3. Some of ultra flashy, custom paint, drop visor, drop bumper show queen trucks I have seen in person and online. Some of them are so over the top with so many custom "one off" parts on them that I can't help but laugh when the owners claim they put down 2000+ miles a week in them with a reefer on it. I've pulled reefer loads out of paved lots that would completely tare off some of those low slung bumpers and and side steps with neon lights attached. There is no way I would run a rig with parts that cannot be readily replaced out on the road. And I also believe a working truck can still be a sexy piece of machinery without staying up all night worrying about who is trying to back into the spot next to you.