Cabover truck
Kenworth cab-over dump truck
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Various |
| Also called | COE, Forward Control |
| Production | 1899 - present |
| Assembly | Worldwide |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Light, Medium, and Heavy |
| Body style | Cab Over Engine |
Cab-over, also known as Cab Over Engine (COE), cab forward (U.S.), or forward control (UK), is a body style of truck, bus, or van that has a vertical front, "flat face" or a semi-hood, with the cab of the truck sitting above (or forward of) the front axle. This contrasts with a conventional truck where the engine is mounted in front of the driver.
This truck configuration is currently common among European, Japanese and Chinese truck manufacturers. European regulations set restrictions for both the total length and the length of the load area, which allow a cab length of 2.35m in combination with the maximum load area length. This allows a sleeper cab with a narrow bunk, and would allow a bonneted day cab. Nonetheless, no manufacturer in Europe produces such day cabs with bonnets. The last manufacturer of a conventional in Europe, Scania, stopped production in 2005. (Reason was a decline to less than 1000 units worldwide, with European sales tanking by 50% and sales in South America by 90%, within one decade.)
Cabover trucks are widely used in the United States for refuse collection, terminal tractors, and other vocational applications requiring a tight turning radius or frequent ingress/egress by the driver. , the oldest surviving motor vehicle manufacturer in America, produces only cabover trucks. Although popular among United States heavy truckers and trucking companies during the 1970s because of strict length laws in many states, when those length laws were repealed, most heavy-truck makers moved to other body styles. One of the reasons is the Federal Bridge Formula, which is unique to the USA, and encourages spreading out the load. If axle distances are too tight, the maximum load allowance is reduced. For COEs operated at maximum weight in the USA, this required an axle directly behind the front bumper. This cab design caused an awkward climb into the cab for the driver, forcing them to climb up behind the front wheel, then moving to the front and into the cab. European or Chinese or Japanese truckers enter their cab in a straight fashion with handrails left and right.
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Wikipedia