Ice Road Truckers

[McColm]

Hi,
In the UK we don't see Kenworth or Peterbilt trucks as they are too heavy for our roads. Although the odd truck appears over on the continent and Chris Eubank based in Brighton had on as well. (not too sure if he still has his.)
Just a few questions:
1) What are the differences between the two makers, The Peterbilt 387 and the Kenworth W-900?
2) Are there any Whiffs examples?
3) if you have the HGV III  license could you drive one of those?
4) Do they come with a semi-automatic gearbox?

The tow/breaker truck looks interesting to build and I wouldn't mind building a mobile home based on a truck.
modelsforsale.com

[rallymodeller]

Well, these are easy.

1) Mechanically, very little. Both makers are owned by the same company; as a rule of thumb Peterbilts are somewhat more expensive and bespoke, while Kenworths are more for the fleet buyer. There is also a choice of engine for each, from Mercedes to Caterpillar to Detroit Diesel but they ride on the same frames.

2) Probably, but I don't have any to hand.

3) Not sure how the licensing works over there but over here (Canada) anything over a certain GVWR (Gross vehicle weight on the Road) requires an "A" license with a "Z" modifier indicating you can operate air brakes.

4) Generally, no. The norm over here is a six- to nine-speed gearbox (often crash-type w/ no synchros) with three ranges for a total of up to 27 gears. Often the differential has ranges of its own making for about double that as well.

Manitoulin Transport in Northern Ontario and Quebec operate units that consist of a 27-30' box cabover straight truck, with a fifth-wheel, pulling a 50' trailer. Take a look at this:



Sure, it's no Road Train but they are the largest (heaviest and longest) semis in regular service in North America. My cousin Paul used to drive one of these monsters.

[Hobbes]

There are a couple of reasons Kenworth or Peterbilt trucks are rare in the UK:
- no right-hand drive available
- they aren't being imported in Europe, due to different market demands etc. So you'd have to import one yourself.
- As far as I know, the European truck brands started much sooner with fuel savings programs than the Americans, so an American tuck is more expensive to operate here.

The weight isn't a problem, as far as I know. If you import one of these trucks, you can run it without special provisions. As you say, they're rare, but there are a few fans who run these trucks in Europe. In the Netherlands, I've seen a few, often finished as show trucks (lots of chrome, special paint etc.).
The length can be a problem: the 'torpedo' trucks (with the engine in front of the cab) are so long you lose a lot of loading volume compared to cab-over-engine designs.

HGV III is a general 'heavy lorry' license? That should cover these trucks.

Truck whiffs are rare; there's so much variety on the market that it's hard to find a concept that hasn't been tried in real life.

One I'm aware of is this:


In real life, DAF only supplies a cab-over-engine version of the XF.

[McColm]

Thanks Guys