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It’s interesting that the designer even styled the sleeper, and that sleeper window is both something new and fits in well in the overall design. I’m thinking this designer is experienced in semi tractor design.

Cabovers. Will they come back in style? Of course, they are used in Europe, and the cabover is one solution to length limits anywhere there are length limits.

This custom vehicle concept is part of a contest held by Local Motors Forge in conjunction with Peterbilt. It’s a kind of open source, online platform where any would-be semi tractor designers can submit their plans, and Peterbilt of course gets the benefit of outsourcing so much talent it wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

The stated plan for the contest is that Peterbilt is aiming at manufacturing a more fuel-efficient sleeper cab tractor. It wants to retain the Peterbilt look, but also have a new design. The prize is announced at $10,000 dollars. UPDATE: This particular contest seems to be over, and the Local Motors Forge appears to no longer be online. Anyone with any further information on this semi concept design project, let us know what’s going on.

Visit Edmund Keefe’s semi truck concepts and other concept vehicles (click here). View the other future truck (click here).

Death and Dying…

I was watching the news at lunch today. There was a man on the TV set who was giving his opinion. Some reason I felt as though he was judging the actions of a situation I am sure he had no knowledge to do so. I suddenly was reminded of something I had heard earlier in the day from another man who said something to the effect that people will judge someone strictly by their accent, how they dress, what they look like without even knowing them…hmmm! And there I was…right there judging this man with his opinion. Even though he was doing the same judging… did that mean then I am to change my behavior to mirror his? And why was it so easy for me to put myself into defense mode by him? How many times in a day does a person feel the need to defend themselves?

I suppose we could blame the news programs who report all the negative things going on in the world. Of course then what would happen to the news…they would have to either report on only the good things in life or we would have no news. Mostly likely the news would cease to exist. We are accustomed to hearing only the negative things on the news. Perhaps we have reached a point where we have become numb to what I define the news as “Death and Dying” time. Have you noticed how everyone not only has an opinion about what someone is doing wrong but when asked what should be done…the question is either ignored or there is this murmur sound from the lack of knowledge, knowing what to do. I catch myself when I am listening, which I know I am choosing to listen…to respond to the question myself as though I have the answer. Again, everyone has an opinion…even me!

Heavy Duty Wrecker

This heavy duty wrecker belongs to the Schultz’s who have Homer’s Towing and Service in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is only one of their trucks: they have a 55-ton and a 21-foot bed rollback carrier as well.

The services run by Homer’s include towing, winching and recover, and they prefer the make of this truck pictured here: the Jerr-Dan. This truck caught the attention of Homer Schultz, the owner, in 1997, and he bought his first Jerr-Dan. The company has been in business since 1965, by the way, and Homer is the second generation of owner. It’s a 25-ton 1100/550 heavy-duty wrecker.

Schultz ws impressed not only by the looks of this machine, but also the size of its underreach (the underreach allows these trucks to lift up underweight big long vehicles like fire trucks, industrial trucks and others) and pin of the T-bar. He said he knew it would withstand lifting heavy units without wearing on the pin.

The other of their Jerr-Dan heavy-duty wreckers, the 55-ton, has a 35,000 pound drag winch.

Schultz said the wreckers get a lot of use in Milwaukee due to the weather.

Picture 1 Picture 2

Visit Homer’s Towing

Big Yellow Wrecker

This big yellow wrecker is a Kenworth W9 cab with a twin steer tri drive 80 ton Jerr-Dan rotator (I’ve read 80 ton but I’ve also read the owner speaking of it in terms of 85).

This is the Big Wheels Rotator. It’s the longest rotator built so far. Big rotators like these can lift 40,000 to 60,000 pounds (how do they produce a shaft that strong?) at 30 to 40 feet out from the unit. They can take that weight and swivel 360 degrees around.

There are a number of these big rotators being built to purpose. That is, they’re not just tow trucks being converted to rotators. They’re built from the ground up to be rotators. The main/sub frame is huge and the truck is long.

The owner himself has chimed in about his truck. He said that there is a lot of planning that goes into building an 85-tonner, and it costs a lot as well. He said that one of the main problems is that when you order the chassis for the unit, the number of additional options a buyer has available to choose from is “endless.” Including comfort, which he said was very important in the way the truck will function as a used machine. The builders/dealers won’t advise you what you will need either, he said. The buyer himself has to scrutinize every minute detail, which can take months of planning. He said that the years of experience he had in buying other rotators with things he later found missing that he needed or wanted and which he thought would just be part of the package helped in figuring out what was needed on this one.

His name is Bob (at Big Wheel Truck Sales) and he said if anyone is thinking of doing this, they can give him a call. He even gave his number. It was a while ago so I don’t know if it’s the same. You can just look up their website. They’re in Massachusetts. Some have said they think the outriggers are too close together. Other criticisms include that the SRS system could be installed on their rotator for stabilization. Visit Big Wheel Truck Sales.

“Big Belly” Custom Kenworth W900L

Nothing is known about this truck other than the model and name, so it has been put in the photo section. When we have more information on any of the trucks in the photo section, we’ll create write ups for them. If you know something about it, let us know.

They Don’t Make These W900s Anymore

This is an early 1980’s Kenworth. Kenworth no longer makes these W900As, to many people’s disapproval. A lot of folks have voiced their opinion that the W900A could have stayed the way it was for years and could keep selling.

This one is a Seminole two-toned blue and white tractor with painted fuel tanks to match, and air cleaners painted to match too.

These were popular trucks with trucking companies back in the day. Some companies had exclusively W900s and W900Ls. Common to see in them would be 5×4 and 6×4 transmissions and Cummins twin turbo or a 3408 Caterpillar. There was enough room under that big hood for a big engine.

They had 8 bag suspension and the trucks rode nicely compared to contemporary truck models. They were also comfortable because of the insulation. The considerably luxurious interiors (thick leather padding, shelf in the bunk for a TV), were warm because of the insulation. They had air conditioning, some of them, for the warmer days of the year.

This large car was a favorite of many truckers, too. People liked and like the trucks for their profile and overall proportions. The truck has the signature long hood and tall stacks which many people identify with what a semi tractor should look like.

Not only that, at the time when they were making these, cabovers were in style. So the rare site of a long hood. The K900s were a bit of a head-turner, it has been reported.

However, Kenworth stopped making the long hood W900s in the early 80s, despite protests from large hood fans, and many switched to Peterbilts, which still made long hood tractors.

Visit Smart Trucking.

Old Kenworth Bullnose

This is an old Kenworth Bullnose. It was owned by Norman Pick and was photographed by David A Bontrager. Bontrager thinks this classic tractor is owned now by Randy Pick. The Picks are in Cimarron, New Mexico, so if anyone’s out there maybe you can let us know.

Kenworth 500 bull noses were made after World War II. The produced these trucks in vintage times. 1948 to 1956. They were the first postwar trucks with the cabover layout. They used the doors, roof elements and chassis from the conventional models of the same 500 series. The cab of this truck didn’t tilt up to get at the engine. It was fixed to the frame. To service the bullnoses, the driver or mechanic would get at their engines from the cockpit or from below the truck. The bull nose Kenworths came in both day and sleeper models. The range included model 521 (4×2), 523 (6×4) and 524 (6×2). As you can probably guess, the name of the trucks was a nickname. It refers to the shape of the front end of the tractor.

These old trucks originally cost around $25,000 new. Here’s (at the bottom) another couple of Kenworth bullnose just so you can get an idea of what they were like.

This photo at the top of the page has become quite popular, but it’s originally from The David A. Bontrager collection on Hanks Truck Pictures. Visit them.

Here’s an update, thanks to all the people commenting on the social media posts. A lot of owner operators and truck drivers know and remember this truck — both the model and this particular one. It’s been spotted north of Indy, and in Logan Utah.

But two fellows named Steve Blaschke and Ed Blaschke were able to give some detailed info: it’s a 1955, and it still has compression brake. The classic semi truck is a fried of his families.

BJ and the Bear Truck

This cabover is the one used in the comedy adventure B.J. & the Bear. This is the original B.J. & the Bear truck and it received a build/restoration job a few years ago, and then it was sold to a new owner.

The work required to restore it was significant though. It has been used for many years, and they had to pull everything off the frame rails ” from the back of the cab to the end of the rails, replacing broken crossmembers, broken gussets, and anything else that was rusted, corroded, or missing,” said Chris Andreychik of Higher Power Transport, the new owner of the BJ and the Bear truck. He said they did the custom restoration just in time or they would have had to re-rail the truck entirely. The truck is a 1984 Kenworth K100 Aerodyne cabover. It’s not the most customized truck out there. The thing that makes it “custom” now is just that it’s a truck from the show.

The show was about a young driver who had been in the Vietnam war and who returned to drive truck across the US with a pet chimpanzee. It’s a far cry from what trucking is today, with the change in laws regulations, and recruitment. With some trucking companies using a company similar to Tenstreet to help with their recruit, it’s highly doubtful that they would have allowed a pet chimp get pass them.

Often in the show Billie Joe was pitted against a corrupt local police sheriff and his team. Then later on in the show, B.J. moved to LA and opened his own trucking company. The trucking company – similar to these trucking companies edmonton – he started was called Bear Enterprises. In LA B.J. was matched against a politician who also owned part of a trucking company.