At the show, I really thought I was taking some pictures of an exemplary, modern owner-operator tractor unit. Yet after some searching, it turned out that the 2011 Scania is owned by a retired trucker. It’s a genuine, full-size leisure vehicle, driven only for pleasure.
The tractor arrived from Denmark four years ago, then it was thoroughly overhauled and upgraded, a job largely done by the current Dutch owner. After spending decades behind the wheel professionally, a man’s got to have a hobby, you know.
Normally a 27 tonnes (59,525) tractor, but now ‘detuned’ to a registered GVWR of 11,990 kg (26,433 lbs). I guess the 500 DIN-hp, 15.6 liter V8 is still singing its song loudly.
Nothing illustrates an owner-operator tractor better than a rear quarter perspective. Everything’s fully covered, tight, solid, free of gaps, and -literally- nothing hangs loose or sticks out like a sore thumb. In short, the vehicle must look like a rolling sculpture.
Strictly for pleasure, so you might as well cover up the fifth-wheel coupling too.
Going all the way, which means the interior must get a custom upholstery job just as well. The air-suspended and endlessly adjustable seat is of course a standard, factory feature.
Speaking of endlessly adjustable, that also applies to the steering wheel. Fun fact, many young(er) drivers prefer a rather vertical steering wheel position, as if they’re sitting in a car.
Big, RWD, comfortable, lavish, two doors, and powered by a massive V8. The classic ‘Personal Luxury Car’ for a retired trucker right there!
(interior pictures courtesy of BUFFL Customizers)
Here in the US there is also a big difference between fleet trucks and those owned by owner-operators. Some of the O-O tractors are clean enough to eat off of and have plenty of chrome and lights to show pride of ownership.
I especially remember the US O-O tractors from the late seventies/early eighties, when I read about them in the magazines from those days. The man-wife couple motorhomes, fully dressed up (inside and outside) and with fantastic paint jobs. Almost all of them Kenworth or Peterbilt, (very) long-wheelbase cabovers included.
I still have them. The magazines I mean.
JP you would like this grade of Scania the fleet version is pretty cool, I did swaps amongst a fleet of this model 8x4s towing 5 axle drawbar trailers, they drove nice great lights when the overhead spotlights are on its like daytime @ 50,000kg more horsepower for our uncooperative terrain would have been nice but real nice trucks to drive, Ive been in various trim levels of Scanias, 6s, V8s, manuals and opticruise automagic its very cool gear,
Wow, super impressive by the owner. Now that almost rivals this below that is currently for sale. Landing Craft Utility.
Show up in the local marina with that and surprise everybody!
Very nice! I recall meeting a retired trucker at a campground several years ago. I bought a used Kenworth, and hauled a 5th wheel trailer with it (I’ve seen several other such combinations on the road as well, so it seems to be done occasionally). It didn’t look quite as nice as this Scania though!
The usual route is that a now-retired trucker drives/owns something much older, so a model from the seventies/eighties/early nineties. The Scania 143-series V8 for example, introduced in 1987, is a highly popular classic these days.
This was actually the first time I came across a fairly recent model that is brought back to an absolute ‘showroom condition’ -with a lot of added owner-operator parts- and is only driven for fun trips. Never saw that before.
…oh yes, regarding a ‘used Kenworth’, there was this too (the whole picture will follow later down the road).
Wow, that is beautiful.
Swedish beauty.
Scania, king of big trucks.
500 HP in 2024 is nothing to sneeze at.
500 HP in 2011 = Fire breathing dragon/ griffin!
In 2005 when I was doing the job the god squad claimed you needed 500+ to average 90 kmh on our roads towing a Btrain the limiter was set at 103kmh because cameras kicked in at 104, I got the HWY 5 trip, 214 kms every am as fast as it will go, stay shiny side up.
The current Viking-horsepower-battle situation:
Scania: 770 DIN-hp from a 16.4 liter V8.
Volvo: 780 DIN-hp from a (new) 17.3 liter inline-six.
Too much? Certainly not, given their weight limit of 74 tonnes (FYI, that’s more than twice the weight of a US 18-wheeler). Not to mention the Australian Road Trains and the global heavy-haulage market.
We had a couple or R500 8×4 tractor units on rubbish, very underpowered for the job 12 speed manual transmissions and 5 stage retarders, they struggled from brand new whoever specced them didnt have to drive them, nothing else in the fleet was under 600hp, they went ok on the leachate tanker only 38 tonnes loaded, real povert spec interiors Ive driven Hiline cab Scanias they are nicely finished quiet and smooth the el cheapo fleet specials are quite ordinary, not a favourite truck, WE had a few young guys who had class 5 licences but couldnt drive a 18 speed roadranger so they got the Scanias full syncro they shift like a car.