On my two-month hitchhiking trip to the West Coast in 1972 I saw many new things for the first time, but one of the more puzzling ones were these COE (Cab Over Engine) trucks that had a bizarrely long wheelbase. I knew that West Coast trucks were bigger and longer, due to less restrictive length regulations; that’s why long-nosed conventional trucks like the Peterbilt and Kenworth were such common sights. But why these COE trucks with all that wasted space behind the cabs (this is a Freightliner)? They just looked so odd too.
Was there a good reason?
As a frame of reference, this is what I was used to seeing, a typical COE (a Kenworth here) hauling a 40′ trailer that did not exceed the 53′ maximum overall length then in effect in much of the country. This was clearly a long haul truck, unlike these other lwb trucks I will be showing you. COE trucks were created specifically to maximize length for the payload and still comply with the various restrictive length regulations in most of the states except the West Coast.
And as another frame of reference, this Kenworth conventional represents the more common West Coast truck of the times, which was of course the model that all more recent US semi trucks have adopted. Its wheelbase was probably the same as the COE truck at the top and some others below.
Here’s another one, also a Freightliner. Freightliner only made COE trucks for decades, starting in the 1940s, and didn’t build the first conventional trick until 1974.
This is another Kenworth, hauling steel pipes. So we need to answer the question: Why did they do this, with these long wheelbases? There were several. It was felt that a long wheelbase rode better and were more stable. The ride would have been better, but not so much so right over the front axle. The conventional tractors did have a better ride in the middle of that long frame. b
The other reason was that to optimize maximum weight per the “bridge formula”, which allowed higher gross weights if the axles were further apart.
And of course it made room for possible additional cargo. This Freightliner has a bed back there, although not loaded here.
This Freightliner has a cargo box.
This Olympia Beer hauler has kegs, probably empty ones, loaded there.
These are referred to as “dromedary” trucks, where the cargo are is utilized regularly.
And this Kenworth is now a maximum dromedary, with a day cab and dedicated freight box. This hauler specialized in hauling empty aluminum cans so weight was not an issue.
Here’s a high-riding International. That’s the same cab as used in a wide range of their trucks, including their pickups.
An early Peterbilt “bullnose” COE. Although Kenworth and Peterbilt did offer COEs, the majority of their production back then were their iconic “needle nose” conventionals.
Here’s Peterbilt’s later COE, hauling what looks to be steel reinforcing mats.
And another Pete hauling food for Sambo’s restaurants.
All of these shots were taken at a rest area off I-5 near Lebec, CA.
Related CC reading:
Automotive History: The Rise and Fall Of The American COE Semi-Tractor
Truck History: International’s Emeryville Trucks – IH Goes West Coast, Big Time
Great series of pictures from the ’50s and ’60s, note they have the pull down door handles before they went to the paddle type in the lower corner of the door in the ’70s. the W900 in #3 would be, I think, prior to ’63 and the fiberglass tilt hood. I was always told these “California Streachers” were for the “bridge laws”. Another West Coast thing is full truck and trailer, a tandem axle straight truck pulling a full trailer with a dolly, like the doubles you see today. Used to be and may be still, individual state weight limits, PA was #73280, NJ was #80000, guys would load steel Fairless Hills and run for the boarder!
I thought I recognized the setting .
Great pictures and many fond memories, thanx Paul .
-Nate
Possibly, one long chassis was used for both COE(cab-over) and conventional tractors with a large sleeper in back.
I”m not sure what a long chassis has to do with bridges. perhaps someone can explain it for this layperson.
If you google “Hendrickson bridge laws” you’ll get a good explanation of the what’s and whys. Basically the laws exist to protect bridge infrastructure from damage due to overloading by spreading weight distribution out over the length of the truck.
Retired:
Thanks, you encapsulated it in a nutshell. Makes sense.
Man those old cabovers didnt give you much in the way of steps to get in the thing, looks like a real PITA even for a young, fit driver. Imagine driving thru a blizzard and the truck being coated in ice. I always joke the real reason cabovers went away were trucking companies were tired of paying workers comp claims when their drivers fell out of the dang rigs.
You get the picture…
Dutch:
How a tiny seat like that would hold that driver in place during even ordinary driving is beyond me!
The seat seems to be bigger than the average bar stool in a truck stop. So I don’t see a problem.
How about the need for weight out in the back so in an emergency stop when running without a trailer they wouldn’t tip onto the nose.
Thanks for this explanation and the images. This is something I’ve wondered about when I’ve come across photos of trucks like this.
I did a quick search to find the most exaggerated examples of this kind of setup, and this Peterbilt takes the prize – long wheelbase, big dromedary, a sleeper on top of the cab, and two steering axles:
Looks like Ringsby Trucking had more than one of these trucks – the example above is #4000, and here’s 4002, with trailer attached:
Coles Express ran four rigs like that back in the 60’s. They ran them between Bangor Maine and Aroostook County. Theirs had oil tanks mounted behind the cab. This allowed a paying trip in both directions hauling fuel oil North pulling an empty trailer and hauling potatoes South with an empty tank. Changes in the laws led to their elimination.
dman did a post on these here at CC:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/truckstop-classic-peterbilt-451-cab-over-engine-and-sleeper-over-cab/
A secondary benefit of these long wheelbase rigs was lots of room to properly hang tire chains. There was the odd company that ran these in BC but it seemed like more of a trend on the US west coast. Bridge laws were not a factor in BC, though they should be. There were lots of interesting configurations “down south” that we didn’t see for sure. Another was amazingly long drawbars for pup trailers, likely due to the same cause.
To me, this always defeated the one advantage cabovers had which was better manueverabilty in tight spots. Cabovers were rough riding, noisy and hot (AC was a luxury back then). I was always told they were cheaper to buy, thus thier popularity with fleets.
The comment about compensation claims is no joke, I know several drivers who took bad falls. Ice and snow on rungs and grab handles made getting out of these in winter an adventure.
I miss seeing them, but I don’t miss driving them!
I’m pretty sure the long drawbar on pup trailers, if they were dump trailers towed by an end-dump truck, was to allow the truck to back into the dump site, dump the trailer, then pull forward and reverse at a slight angle to jackknife the trailer. The long drawbar allowed enough clearance to dump the load from the truck without disconnecting the trailer.
Cab with climbing wall is a pet hate of mine Freightliner tried with swing out steps on their later Argosy model COE but they rarely work properly, cabovers are common here every brand has them,
OK there are 4 steps into the cab of the cabover Hino I drive at the moment but they run up the A post when the door is open not up the outside of the cab, 3rd cabover Ive had this season the other two a Volvo and Isuzu were set up the same easy to get in and out of and little chance of a fall,
Plenty of hairpin turns on the highways here and those super long wheelbase chassis simply do not fit in one lane around tight bends so we dont have them and that huge airgap between cab and trailer must have played nasty with fuel consumption, but horses for courses.
The key difference regarding cabover entry and exit: set-forward vs set-back front axle, see Benz Actros below. Furthermore, the steps and vertically placed long grab handles (left and right) are protected from the elements these days.
I climbed in and out a Renault Magnum a while ago (set-forward axle). I must have looked like an ape in the zoo.
It baffles me as well. We had a mixed fleet at work and the short cab overs were great for in town work where shorter was always better. The only explanation I can come up with is that those long wheelbase cab overs used to be straight trucks when ordered new and had a van body, flat deck or box on them then they were converted to a tractor later by a new owner, but a sleeper cab isn’t usually necessary on a straight truck.
I thought the background looked familiar to me as it made me think California and probably US 5. Gorman is the peak of the Grapevine at 3848 ft. with Lebec just north at 300 ft. less so the beginning of the long northbound downhill ride to the Central Valley floor at 300 ft. So that rest stop would be the last place to check brakes before heading down. Can tell you it is a hell of a ride if you don’t use your brakes. I coasted down many times in the early to mid-70s as it wasn’t crowded like today. Could hit 90 mph, in neutral, just coasting and assuming no CHP was around.
Always heard the long wheelbase COE tractors rode smoother than short wheelbase units. This was before cab air ride suspension and most tractors in those days used leaf springs or rubber suspensions which rode harshly. West coast states had more liberal length laws making long tractors possible there.
That “Sambo’s” truck sure brought back memories. Not of trucks, but of the restaurant. My first “real” job; four-and-a-half years starting as dishwasher at $1.67 per hour; moving up to “cook” before I was legally able–the manager liked my attitude.
Sambo’s was fully competitive with Denny’s; I’m thinking that one chain had larger restaurants, but the other had a larger number of restaurants. Kinda thinking that Sambo’s had more stores; and at their peak they opened three new stores a week. Sambo’s had their own trucking company, their own real-estate company, and…of course…their own politically-correct detractors who couldn’t or wouldn’t understand that Sambo was from India not Africa, and he was the hero of the story, having saved his entire village from the nasty Tiger.
“Jolly Tiger” restaurants were a supposedly up-market version of Sambo’s. Not many locations; and side-stepping the racial backlash.
COEs are still the configuration of choice outside of Show-Me! country, including in
the Philippines:
https://pinoydeal.ph/oc-content/uploads/239/31508_thumbnail.jpg
Paul, nice essay! When I first started selling trucks, I had to take a rigorous course from The Truck Marketing Institute in California. So, these West Coast models were part of the course even though in The East we were not selling the setup. Memories.
I still see the flat bed version of the dromedary on trucks hauling hay. My guess is that hay is light enough that they can get more bales while staying under the weight limit.
Bridge…. referring to the distance between front and drive axles
Interesting how almost all the vintage photos show an oil stained road. Modern cars + oil catch trays have made a noticeable difference
It was so about making u turns and not jack knifing….period
California was the real only state that allowed u turns…long wheel base made it simple
As an Australian truck driver we have always been restricted by overall lengths and long wheelbase prime movers would only lead to shorter trailers. Can’t understand the Bridge Formula as the real weight is between the Drive and the bogie (tandem) this weight can not change by very much at all regardless of how long the prime mover is.
Many thanks, Paul, for the awesome photos! I didn’t start trucking until 1996, so I never got to drive a Cabover. (Would’ve loved delivering the Northeast U.S. in one. Before trucking, I served in Germany with the USAF and wondered why we didn’t have trucks like Scania and Volvo in the U.S. My last 22 years was on a dedicated retail account and we went to slightly longer chassis and removed air fairings to reduce damage in tight turns and maneuvers…