ID IDEAS BRAVE THE NEW WORLD
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You can always rely on Stateside truck shows to combine technical innovation with a little razzmatazz. The Mid-America show did just that, but some exhibits had a surprisingly European flavour.
• To European eyes many working American trucks wouldn't look out of place in a custom show, and the border between serious business and show business does seem to be less clear cut than on this side of the Atlantic.
At the Mid-America Truck Show, for example, the carpark was packed with more than 100 custom trucks competing for trophies throughout the threeday event.
Inside the hall the biggest crowds were drawn by a European-style sleeper-cab from International, In place of the usual separate bedroom behind the cab, the Pro Sleeper combines the widest conventional (bonneted) cab with a sleeping area under a one-piece roof. Freightliner added a sleeper to its Business Class 6/7/8 cab but once again the 1111.11 Americans seem
Nft to beopean picking up
Eur habits Eur habits because instead of the usual luxurious Stateside sleeper this stretched cab is what British operators would describe as a rest cab.
While its competitors were stretching day cabs into sleepers Peterbilt was going in the opposite direction, combining the suspension and rear cab construction of its integrated Unibilt cab but leaving off the sleeper portion to make a day cab. New heating and air conditioning with long seat slides make this a comfortable working environment.
Kenworth moved down a class to launch a Class 7 (15tonne GVW) conventional which will compete with Freightliner's Business Class and to offer heavy-duty alternatives to the
built-to-a-price Ford, GMC and International two-axle rigids.
With the conventional (bonneted) W900L Kenworth has what is generally accepted as the biggest, most comfortable factory sleeper on the US market. It is 1.88m (6ft 2in) long, has a folding sofabed and an impressive array of home comforts, It was launched last year but still pulled big crowds at the MidAmerica Truck Show.
Freightliner's cabover is about as close as American truck makers get to a Europeantype tractor. Cabovers now account for 12% of the US market.
Federal Bridge Law determines maximum permitted axle loads and GVW: in the construction sector manufacturers have resorted to some unusual configurations in a bid to maximise productivity within the legal limits. Mach showed its CL600/1--leil artic tipper, comprising a 6x4 tractor and tri-axle semi.
Ford didn't come up with any major launches at this show, but
drew visitors to its stand with its seminal car crushing Bigfoot, complete with its custom transporter. The factory is believed to be concentrating its efforts on the top-secret HN80, which is expected to break cover some time next year.
American vehicle designers have traditionally believed that big is beautiful, which would make Great Dane's 16.15m (53ft) semi a real stunner.
This combined reefer/van has been built for versatility. It's reefer section can chill down to 18°C.with a 20% margin, leaving plenty of room for ambient-temperature goods. A floor width of 2.54m helps boost cube to more than 113.27mi. It weighs 6.35 tonnes.
Fruehauf was at the MidAmerica show with a flatbed made of steel centre beams with weight saving aluminum crossmembers and rub rails. It has a sliding front axle which alters the outer axle spread to meet various weight laws in Canada, US and Mexico.
As previously reported in CM. a shortage of experienced HGV drivers has led some operators to launch recruitmernt drives. Marten Transport. bought
stand space and took a truck along to use as a recruitment office—this is becoming common practice as US shows.
Each American state has its own traffic laws and this was reflected by some unusual exhibits. A Ford LTL 9000 was shown with a brace of triaxle tipping semis in an Australianstyle roadtrain which is unique to Michigan. Weight in that state is entirely dependent on the number of axles up to a maximum of 11: the roadtrain's GVW was over 60 tonnes.
One of the mostb striking contrasts on a single stand was the relatively diminutive GMC Top Kick alongside an imposing Chevrolet-badged Kodiak. They hold roughly 30% of the Class 6 and 7 market; a share matched by Ford and International.
In the same sector is another vehicle on the GMC stand, but behind the badge the low. height cabover is an Isuzu. To improve market acceptance by conservative US hauliers it is available powered by a GM 5.7-litre veeeight petrol engine and automatic transmission.
:1 by Steve Sturgess