What happened to cab over trucks

by Alex
(Chicago)

Cab Over Trucks On The Interstate

Years ago, I drove 24' straight-jobs for local deliveries in the city. Between the cab-overs and conventional, I greatly preferred the cab-overs as I had a much better view while maneuvering into tight spaces.

There used to be quite a few cab-overs on the road (straight-jobs and tractors), why are there fewer cab-overs on the road?

Why the preference for conventional?

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Jan 18, 2023
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The Cabover Became Less Favored
by: The Crazy Trucker

Of course we always love having the new and latest iteration of things.

I imagine as new highways were built with more room and laws changed to allow longer size trucks on the highway it was a natural evolution to op for conventional trucks.

Especially since a conventional truck provides a much smoother ride than sitting on top of the engine.

I've read that safety was also an issue though, which makes a lot of sense. In a cab over you are right at the point of contact in a head on wreck.

With a conventional there is all that room for reinforcement and crumple zones to protect the driver.

That being the case, I wonder was insuring a conventional also cheaper. If so, that makes it VERY easy to see how larger companies switched over to conventional trucks.

Then you have to consider most drivers would rather not have to climb over that engine to get to the bunk. And don't forget to take into account that as truck stops also upgraded and food evolved as well. The sheer size of the average trucker likely increases and made it even more cumbersome to climb over the motor to get to the bunk.

I imagine comfort in the ride and living quarters was something most drivers preferred and as more and more trucking companies competed for drivers they needed to find ways to attract them more than the next trucking company.

Definitely cab overs provide better maneuverability and is easier to back up but I think the pluses of the conventional hoods simply outweighed the Cab Over for trucking in the USA.

Although they are still used heavily in some other countries.

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