So owner-operators and other truckers sometimes get curious about how things are going on the other continents, so lets take a look at Scania trucks over in Europe for a white. This one’s a Scania cabover R620 v8 Longline STH.
It started to get attention a couple of years ago at the Truckstar festival, it seems. This truck is referred to as “Black Amber” by its owner, Patrick Vandenbulcke (that’s the English way, but they also spell it Patrick van den Bulcke-Borde), whose name is emblazoned on the side of the cabover cab.
Featured music of the day:
To subscribe to this musician, click the red button:
Scania cabover specifications for daycab version of R620 (only 100 units were built of this model, with various sleeper sizes):
Length: 5940 mm
Width: 2490 mm
Height: 3935 mm
Engine: DC16-21 16,400 cc V8
Power: 730 horsepower and 3500 Nm of torque, which gives off at 1000 rev / min. Gear: 14 speed (12+ Creeping 2
Does anyone know whether the company, STH, is from Belgium or France? UPDATE: It seems like its France. The upholstery is done by Specialinterior Urk.
How many of you have taken a look at the armored motorhomes used by the President? There are a lot of high quality luxury RVs and motorhomes out there, but what about when you consider the special requirements of a head of state? Probably not something you’d find on a “local RVs and motorhomes for sale” site!
These luxury RVs are referred to unoficially as Ground Force One (a take on the name of the Presidential jet). The President takes them, but so do other dignitaries.
In years past, the President rented luxury RV buses (the Secret Service took care of the RV rentals) for the motorcade of the President, and modified these motorcoaches as required with communications and security.
Then in 2011, during the campaign up to the 2012 election, the service introduced a permanent fleet of RVs. People are guessing as to why the purchase, but it probably has something to do with saving the taxpayer money by avoiding recurring RV rental / customization costs as well as the ability to maintain and improve the motorhome’s technology better as the US leader does his job.
The shell of this motor home is a X4-45 VIP 3-axle Prevost, and the custom outfitting of the coach was done by Hemphill Brothers Coach Company in Nashville. Yep, that’s right, its the same sort of luxury diesel pusher Prevost a lot of other people have. Then the Service outfitted it themselves with special equipment.
RV Specifications:
– 505 square feet (47 meters square) interior space
– Flashing (police type) lights
– Plain black paint job
– Number of units: 2 (One was used by Obama, the other by Mitt Romney)
– Uses: transportation of President, and at other times can be used to transport visitors
– Special equipment: uncertain security and communications equipment
Cost for each of the 2 buses in the Presidential fleet was $1.1 million. Photo: president and associate catching what could be a quite rare moment of rest on the road. Anyone who’s ever worked while RVing or motorhoming probably thinks that there’s a lot to do, but on a presidential schedule, even a luxury Prevost coach like this one might not be comfortable enough to distract from the work of the day!
This custom Pete has caught our attention again and again, and finally I had to search it out and write about it.
It’s a 2009 Peterbilt 389 tri-axle, and the guy who pointed us toward this great truck is a member of the Facebook page, John McCabe.
The owner-operator of this truck, heavy hauler Randy Supak, calls the truck “Bad Habit,” and it runs for Equipment Express out of Texas (Caldwell), a trucking company that does pipeline equipment and other transport. This custom semi truck has a 600 horsepower Cat engine pulling it and a 315 inch wheelbase, and that custom blue and silver paint job that stretches across the truck and its decent sized sleeper unit — not a big studio sleeper like the ARI sleepers we sometimes feature, but one that suits the style and type of vehicle here — that might just have gotten into a nice sweet spot between not too much and just enough. I wonder what this guy would do with a giant studio sleeper or a motorhome-ized tractor!
Note that this custom Peterbilt is not to be confused with the other truck called “Bad Habit”, which is an International Lone Star created for Regional International by Elizabeth Truck Center. That one’s a cherry colored new International with “tribal” style custom paint.
You might also confuse this one with another of Supak’s custom trucks. You see those racing flag type graphics on the photo above. Well, he has another truck with a paint scheme where it was blue like it is but with silver-grey outlines trailing from the nose backward on the sides, also a tri-axle, but a Kenworth. I wonder what this guy would do with a giant Here’s an interior shot:
This is a Scania R5000 Longline called by its owner “Larod Akeri.” It’s been making its rounds at custom truck shows for a few years. The truck is a 2009. I think it used to be employed by Roland Stinger Transport, but since then they’ve changed the appearance in a custom way (the colors seem to remain though, that orange).
They even make a model of this Swedish custom Scania.
The custom semi is actually a rare Longline version of the Scania R series, and that series isn’t produced any more.
People say that, despite the popularity of the truck with some truck enthusiasts, not many may have made it to certain markets because of the length limitations.
Big Wrecker Trucks!
Well, it looks like there is some competition for the title of “biggest wrecker.” No matter what, these are some great tow trucks.
First off, this all started out with a big yellow wrecker out of Freetown, Massechusetts. The owners call it “Big Wheels.” Here’s a write up on it: “Big Yellow Wrecker.”
According to its owner, Bob at Big Wheel Truck Sales, this wrecker has a twin steer tri-drive 85-tonne Jerr-Dan rotator.
Here’s a few more, though, which are big wreckers and nice to see all the unique styles:
Riehl’s Towing – 85-tonne 360-degree rotator Peterbilt wrecker, shared by Dan Rau.
2. Aren’s Services – Kong 100-tonne B&B certified at 80% (so 80 tonne, it seems), shared by Robert Wheeler.
Redman – 85-tonne Tator, shared by Jason Cummins.
Ed’s 24 Hour Service (and Dick’s Towing, and Keebler’s Towing) – Shared by Andy Saum.
C.L. Chase, shared by Preston Mahan.
Highpoint, 100-tonne rotator, shared by HPG Towing.
Jim’s Towing – Kenworth T800 with Trebron Holmes 850 conversion, shared by Mike Barbacovi.
Kauff’s Transportation Systems – Kenworth T800 Twin Steer with Century 75-tonne rotator, shared by Tow Times.
Waffco Towing – JerrDan unit, shared by Tommy Earnest.
Ernie’s Wrecker Service – Peterbilt 378 with Century 75-tonne rotator, shared by Mike Barbacovi.
(For those who shared a photo and we didn’t put it in the featured image, don’t worry guys, we’ll rotate the featured image and share it several times, so everyone can see your trucks!)
The big size and big capability comes with a sizeable pricetag as well. According to Andy Saum, his truck’s cost is “Pushing near a million … It’s got all the bells and whistles. Is pretty awesome in action. Some serious raw power.”
Giant Trucker Retirement Plan Motorhome
Approaching this big luxury motor home from the back, you might think you’re coming up on a burgundy Greyhound bus or a big luxury Prevost mobile, but then you’d see those stacks sticking up and that long nose at the front, and finally that Pete symbol.
The trucker retirement package here, or for the trucker who wants to retire but doesn’t want to give up his truck. Trucks can grow old in different stages of life, too, depending on their owners, I guess.
Fuel on this toterhome might be a bit high, but other luxury big RV motorhomes, like Prevost diesel pushers and such, also consume a lot to transport their owners in comfort.
Where would you go if you had a motorhome like this one? Would you just drive around the continent seeing the different regions and be in no rush to decide where to stop?
For those wondering about CDLs for this one, you can register it as an RV and then you don’t need the licence. However, since its still a private motor coach, the owner-operator still would need to get an air brakes endorsement for it.
For all the sleeper units we feature here because of the comfort of a big studio sleeper (and its interesting to see the sleeper conversions being done and how they do them differently), a sleeper that stretches all the way to the back — ie a motor coach — is probably the most comfort you can get without adding a second deck to your motorhome.
Well, it looks like there is some competition for the title of “biggest wrecker.” No matter what, these are some great tow trucks.
First off, this all started out with a big yellow wrecker out of Freetown, Massechusetts. The owners call it “Big Wheels.” Here’s a write up on it: “Big Yellow Wrecker.”
According to its owner, Bob at Big Wheel Truck Sales, this wrecker has a twin steer tri-drive 85-tonne Jerr-Dan rotator.
Here’s a few more, though, which are big wreckers and nice to see all the unique styles:
Riehl’s Towing – 85-tonne 360-degree rotator Peterbilt wrecker, shared by Dan Rau.
2. Aren’s Services – Kong 100-tonne B&B certified at 80% (so 80 tonne, it seems), shared by Robert Wheeler.
Redman – 85-tonne Tator, shared by Jason Cummins.
Ed’s 24 Hour Service (and Dick’s Towing, and Keebler’s Towing) – Shared by Andy Saum.
C.L. Chase, shared by Preston Mahan.
Highpoint, 100-tonne rotator, shared by HPG Towing.
Jim’s Towing – Kenworth T800 with Trebron Holmes 850 conversion, shared by Mike Barbacovi.
Kauff’s Transportation Systems – Kenworth T800 Twin Steer with Century 75-tonne rotator, shared by Tow Times.
Waffco Towing – JerrDan unit, shared by Tommy Earnest.
Ernie’s Wrecker Service – Peterbilt 378 with Century 75-tonne rotator, shared by Mike Barbacovi.
(For those who shared a photo and we didn’t put it in the featured image, don’t worry guys, we’ll rotate the featured image and share it several times, so everyone can see your trucks!)
The big size and big capability comes with a sizeable pricetag as well. According to Andy Saum, his truck’s cost is “Pushing near a million … It’s got all the bells and whistles. Is pretty awesome in action. Some serious raw power.”
Approaching this big luxury motor home from the back, you might think you’re coming up on a burgundy Greyhound bus or a big luxury Prevost mobile, but then you’d see those stacks sticking up and that long nose at the front, and finally that Pete symbol.
The trucker retirement package here, or for the trucker who wants to retire but doesn’t want to give up his truck. Trucks can grow old in different stages of life, too, depending on their owners, I guess.
Fuel on this toterhome might be a bit high, but other luxury big RV motorhomes, like Prevost diesel pushers and such, also consume a lot to transport their owners in comfort.
Where would you go if you had a motorhome like this one? Would you just drive around the continent seeing the different regions and be in no rush to decide where to stop?
For those wondering about CDLs for this one, you can register it as an RV and then you don’t need the licence. However, since its still a private motor coach, the owner-operator still would need to get an air brakes endorsement for it.
For all the sleeper units we feature here because of the comfort of a big studio sleeper (and its interesting to see the sleeper conversions being done and how they do them differently), a sleeper that stretches all the way to the back — ie a motor coach — is probably the most comfort you can get without adding a second deck to your motorhome.
This custom semi is called by its owner “Daredevil.” It belongs to Jason Underwood and it was recently customized on the show Trick My Truck (on CMT), where they took a quite plain Jane Kenworth conventional with a good sized sleeper unit, double-axle, and transformed it into the truck you see above.
The owner of this truck is Jason Underwood, as I mentioned, a trucker who spends a considerable amount of time away from his wife and kids, making the family’s income.
Because he spends so much time in a semi trucking down the road, his wife wanted him to enjoy that time as much as possible, and that was the impetus behind getting Jason’s truck on CMT’s Trick My Truck show, where they customize people’s trucks for them.
The owner-operator of this custom semi also dirtbikes, as do his 4 kids. And that interest got transferred onto the custom build. You see that gear and that helmet on the side of the truck’s custom paint job? That’s where it came in.
To learn more about the episode, visit CMT (click here).
Is that a fifth wheel with a slide out that has a slide out of its own? Yeah, that’s what we’re looking at here.
This is a Thor Redwood fifth wheel, it’s a 38-foot long RV trailer with the exterior paint option on it. Some of you may know Thor motorhomes and RVs from some of our other posts. They’re one of the leading manufacturers these days.
Jacks, steps, hydraulic slide outs, hitch pin, its all done by one manufacturer, so its simpler to deal with anything that might need work.
Thor was trying to make a high-quality residential fifth wheel when they built this one. It has huge storage bays underneath as well, with awning controls, options for an external entertainment system. The vacuum is easy to reach there as well.
This luxury trailer has frameless windows, alpha-ply roof, a residential door with a peep-hole, and all kinds of amenities for residential RV buyers.
Those slide outs with slide outs: They’re Schwinn-tech slideouts, to give more storage in the bedroom.
THe 5th wheel RV also has a 6-point automatic levelling system, which allows you to push both buttons at the same time, so you can break camp quicker, just setting the RV down the way you lifted it when you parked it.
It also has a lot of insulation — the most of any residential RV made in the industry (although they’re constantly topping each other, so who knows if they still have the record). I’ve heard these ones can be around $26,000 (used, I think). You can read more about this luxury 5th wheel at B Young RV (click here).
" >
