![]() 07/12/2020 at 23:07 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
Spotted this parked at the United Motor Freight yard today - looks like a Freightliner Argosy. Extra sexy in black with the gold pinstripe.
![]() 07/12/2020 at 23:21 |
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Mayyybe.
![]() 07/12/2020 at 23:36 |
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It’s a john player special
![]() 07/12/2020 at 23:42 |
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Woah, haven't seen one of those that I can remember. Cabover semis have basically disappeared from the road.
![]() 07/12/2020 at 23:56 |
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Second-gen Argosys are quite rare birds, only available as glider kits, and the cabs are mostly made for markets like Australia and South Africa rather than North America.
I definitely haven’t seen one. There’s really no practical reason to have a cabover on North American roads as we don’t have the length limit laws that they have in Europe or Australia, and lots of the cabovers sold in North America in the past were much less comfortable and easy to live with than the conventional/hooded equivalents. That, and owner-operators are far more common in North America, so drivers are more likely to choose something big and comfortable that you also don’t have to tilt the cab over to service and can just open the hood.
That being said, Scania are introducing their XT dump trucks to the Canadian mining truck market, maybe cabovers will make a comeback? The European cabovers, especially the Scanias, are far better equipped than the North American cabovers like the Argosy were. Just compare the interiors.
![]() 07/13/2020 at 00:00 |
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Cabover trucks, the preferred mode of transport for cartoon villains!
![]() 07/13/2020 at 00:05 |
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Aren’t conventional cabs more aero?
![]() 07/13/2020 at 06:04 |
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Here in Europe it’s the opposite. The trucks with noses are going extinct. None are offered as new since 2005. Construction workers seem to like the nosed ones though . One Scania and one Volvo operate in a tram line construction site that I have to pass daily. B oth are starting to look quite worn out.
![]() 07/13/2020 at 07:46 |
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![]() 07/13/2020 at 09:02 |
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The nose also helps with fuel efficiency. So they don't make sense based on load limit laws and they don't make sense to live with. I understand why they went extinct here.
![]() 07/13/2020 at 09:04 |
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The US has load limit and tongue weight laws that were changed in a way that unintentionally made cabovers not make sense anymore. That and driver’s oft en own their own vehicles and the noses make them more fuel efficient and comfortable.
The conventional design still makes more sense in off-road applications. I don’t remember ever seeing a cab over dump truck in the US but a few semis were briefly popular.
![]() 07/13/2020 at 09:20 |
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no, no cab over love here at all....
![]() 07/13/2020 at 09:40 |
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I thought it was the overall length that drove their extinction. That’s why they exist in Europe. A semi if Europe can only be x feet long and to maximize cargo, they get cabovers.
![]() 07/13/2020 at 09:42 |
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I think the US laws about tongue weight in proportion to the length of the vehicle were changed so that cabovers would not be able to legally haul as much.
Strange that the other way around would be the death of the conventional cab.
![]() 07/13/2020 at 17:06 |
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European cabovers have actually surpassed American conventionals when it comes to fuel efficiency, but that mostly comes down to more efficient engines rather than aerodynamics.
That being said, a lot of newer American trucks do use European engines that have been rebadged. A modern Detroit Diesel is really nothing more than a warmed over Mercedes-Benz engine, same with the Mack engines which are essentially slightly modified Volvo powerplants.