Carryfast:
FarnboroughBoy11:
Kiowan:
Problem is our roads can be be very tight, moreso than a lot of other countries, especially through towns and villages, with a full size trailer and a large american bonnetted sleeper cab i’d imagine you have a high chance of being physically unable to make it round certain junctions (such as those with bollards/islands in the middle of the road etc Result being there’ll be a lot of stuck trucks in towns and villages that can’t get round corners, and ofcourse without re signposting the entire country you couldn’t warn drivers.
I completely agree. The majority of industrial estates and business parks you just wouldnt be able to get into a position like u can with our euro cabs. But saying that the driver obviously makes it work for him what ever he does, port to port or what have you.
If a conventional won’t go there chances are a cab over won’t either.
youtube.com/watch?v=vAEzprnn … re=related
Carryfast wisdom at it’s best,the voice of experience 
flat to the mat:
Carryfast:
FarnboroughBoy11:
Kiowan:
Problem is our roads can be be very tight, moreso than a lot of other countries, especially through towns and villages, with a full size trailer and a large american bonnetted sleeper cab i’d imagine you have a high chance of being physically unable to make it round certain junctions (such as those with bollards/islands in the middle of the road etc Result being there’ll be a lot of stuck trucks in towns and villages that can’t get round corners, and ofcourse without re signposting the entire country you couldn’t warn drivers.
I completely agree. The majority of industrial estates and business parks you just wouldnt be able to get into a position like u can with our euro cabs. But saying that the driver obviously makes it work for him what ever he does, port to port or what have you.
If a conventional won’t go there chances are a cab over won’t either.
youtube.com/watch?v=vAEzprnn … re=related
Carryfast wisdom at it’s best,the voice of experience
Did’nt hear that driver moaning about not having a cab over (even though it also probably had a 53ft trailer on not a 45 ft) and it was just a ‘bit’ tighter than the average Brit or Euro ‘industrial estate’. 
For carryfast … my 53ft trailer every day in and around Boston.
Pat Hasler:
For carryfast … my 53ft trailer every day in and around Boston.
0
That job in the video looked a lot more difficult to get to and tighter than the similar type of delivery places for the big stores here in Kinston town centre.Not saying that the job there would’nt probably be easier sometimes with a euro type cab over but the Brits seem to make too much of an issue about using larger sized trucks.If the issue was that bad then a lot more of the North American industry and it’s drivers would be calling for smaller euro type cab over wagons which just is’nt the case 
.
The Volvo has the best turning circle in the US, I have driving dinosours that would take up the space of a super tanker to turn.
I would still love a Scania cab over with a nice 13m trailer mate 
Just adding to this, there is a bonnetted VN rigid running around as well.
Yesterday I was crawling up the hill northbound on the M1 from J28 when I was passed (albeit quite slowly) by a bonnetted VN rigid. The truck had a long GRP box body on it - either a 6x4 chassis (could have been a former tractor unit streched) or a 6x2. Cab was maroon in colour. I was driving a left ■■■■■■ so I did not see if it had UK plates until it was past me and I coudnt see any registration plate on the back possibly because it had a horrendous overhang at the rear.
Any body know anything about this - maybe a picture or two would be great!
if its an older truck then isn’t it an NH rather than a VN? the dutch have plenty of NH’s running about but i though the VN’s were even bigger?
Carryfast:
flat to the mat:
Carryfast:
FarnboroughBoy11:
Kiowan:
Problem is our roads can be be very tight, moreso than a lot of other countries, especially through towns and villages, with a full size trailer and a large american bonnetted sleeper cab i’d imagine you have a high chance of being physically unable to make it round certain junctions (such as those with bollards/islands in the middle of the road etc Result being there’ll be a lot of stuck trucks in towns and villages that can’t get round corners, and ofcourse without re signposting the entire country you couldn’t warn drivers.
I completely agree. The majority of industrial estates and business parks you just wouldnt be able to get into a position like u can with our euro cabs. But saying that the driver obviously makes it work for him what ever he does, port to port or what have you.
If a conventional won’t go there chances are a cab over won’t either.
youtube.com/watch?v=vAEzprnn … re=related
Carryfast wisdom at it’s best,the voice of experience
Did’nt hear that driver moaning about not having a cab over (even though it also probably had a 53ft trailer on not a 45 ft) and it was just a ‘bit’ tighter than the average Brit or Euro ‘industrial estate’.
I’m sorry carryfast but I totally disagree.
You can’t argue against the laws of physics…if one unit has a shorter wheel base than the other, then you would be able to get the shorter base one into places and around corners that the longer based one couldn’t. Obviously I’m talking really really tight, and by the way that video was not what I would call tight… Bit of a pig but not tight.
Also look at country lanes,single tracks and 90 corners leading up to farms, city and town centres with central islands in the middle of the road with no room for error with regards to trailers cutting in.
Sorry but I disagree, your saying just because yank tank with a 45ft trailer won’t go, our 4x2 euro cab won’t go either. And I think that’s just not true
FarnboroughBoy11:
Carryfast:
flat to the mat:
Carryfast:
FarnboroughBoy11:
Kiowan:
Problem is our roads can be be very tight, moreso than a lot of other countries, especially through towns and villages, with a full size trailer and a large american bonnetted sleeper cab i’d imagine you have a high chance of being physically unable to make it round certain junctions (such as those with bollards/islands in the middle of the road etc Result being there’ll be a lot of stuck trucks in towns and villages that can’t get round corners, and ofcourse without re signposting the entire country you couldn’t warn drivers.
I completely agree. The majority of industrial estates and business parks you just wouldnt be able to get into a position like u can with our euro cabs. But saying that the driver obviously makes it work for him what ever he does, port to port or what have you.
If a conventional won’t go there chances are a cab over won’t either.
youtube.com/watch?v=vAEzprnn … re=related
Carryfast wisdom at it’s best,the voice of experience
Did’nt hear that driver moaning about not having a cab over (even though it also probably had a 53ft trailer on not a 45 ft) and it was just a ‘bit’ tighter than the average Brit or Euro ‘industrial estate’.
I’m sorry carryfast but I totally disagree.
You can’t argue against the laws of physics…if one unit has a shorter wheel base than the other, then you would be able to get the shorter base one into places and around corners that the longer based one couldn’t. Obviously I’m talking really really tight, and by the way that video was not what I would call tight… Bit of a pig but not tight.
Also look at country lanes,single tracks and 90 corners leading up to farms, city and town centres with central islands in the middle of the road with no room for error with regards to trailers cutting in.
Sorry but I disagree, your saying just because yank tank with a 45ft trailer won’t go, our 4x2 euro cab won’t go either. And I think that’s just not true
What I’m saying is that if a yank conventional with a 53 ft trailer will go ‘most’ places that a euro box with a 40/45ft trailer would go then it ‘should’ be able to go to ‘most’ places that euro box will go ‘if’ it’s coupled to that same 40/45ft trailer.But there is a point where a 90 degree farm track corner will defeat both just the same if it’s tight enough and it’s more often than not that would be the case than the type of case where the euro box could go where the conventional can’t . Which is why the topic has got on here because someone has reached exactly the same conclusion.
I have done a ‘U’ turn in a european truck with a 13 m trailer on the A5 south of Towcester and other places, there is no way I could do that over here with a US monstrosity. In the past when I had the VN I was asked quite a few times to drop my trailer and put some other drivers trailer into a spot because his tractor was too long to do it…
Although the Frieghtliner comlumbia I drive now has not got the same tight lock as the VN it has a very short hood and only a 45ft tank and will turn almost as well.
Pat Hasler:
I have done a ‘U’ turn in a european truck with a 13 m trailer on the A5 south of Towcester and other places, there is no way I could do that over here with a US monstrosity. In the past when I had the VN I was asked quite a few times to drop my trailer and put some other drivers trailer into a spot because his tractor was too long to do it…
Although the Frieghtliner comlumbia I drive now has not got the same tight lock as the VN it has a very short hood and only a 45ft tank and will turn almost as well.
It’s obvious that some of those yank units have taken the idea to an extreme but just as a general rule there seems no reason why that Pete in the video would’nt be manageable in ‘most’ situations found here if it was coupled up to a 40/45 ft trailer instead of what was probably a 53 ft .What surprised me was just how easily that outfit seemed to manage those inner city turns like with the UPS van in the way and turning off that,not exactly wide,street into the entrance of that loading area.Put a 40/45 ft trailer on and he probably would’nt even have noticed.
I would agree that the logic of some of the modern day yank ideas on artics does seem to be a bit silly though compared to the idea of just using the things as a 6 wheeler rigid coupled up to a 40 ft drawbar trailer using a two axled dolly instead.It would probably provide more load deck space,they could have more axles and therefore increase gross weights,and the thing would turn a lot easier.
I have a licence to pull two 48 footers on the NY thruway or the Mass Pike but I am glad I don’t have to do it
Our company use doubles out of Albany terminal and they once asked me to pull and extra trailer down to NYC but I declined.
I had a Volvo VN, it had the same wheelbase as my Pete and was a lot more manouverable, especially going backwards, you can as FTTM said, see things other than your stacks when you look out of the window, they also have a much better lock than the Pete, but they would still be a total PITA in the UK, they’re too big, simple
Last weekend Nianiamh and I went out on a boy’s day out, I had to pick up a FGB mirror that Mrs I want as much expensive furniture as it’s possible to fit in a single house took a fancy to, so I was sent to collect it, anyway, we had a little diversion into a curry house for a spot of Vindaloo (very nice too) and popped into the Volvo dealer, we both drive Petes, I have the man’s version, Nianiamh the girl’s one and we both said we’d swap for a VNL780…until we went to Peterbilt and saw the 389 they have on display, it was a 63" flat top, so smaller than our current trucks, but it was a stunning looking thing, we both said we’d suffer the cramped bunk just because of the look of it 
Pat Hasler:
I have done a ‘U’ turn in a european truck with a 13 m trailer on the A5 south of Towcester and other places, there is no way I could do that over here with a US monstrosity. In the past when I had the VN I was asked quite a few times to drop my trailer and put some other drivers trailer into a spot because his tractor was too long to do it…
Although the Frieghtliner comlumbia I drive now has not got the same tight lock as the VN it has a very short hood and only a 45ft tank and will turn almost as well.
I think I have done that u turn in the same place 
heading north bound just before the racecourse there is a lay by on the left, pull in, then jack it round to go back south bound?? I remember as I was trying to make it to jacks hills cafe but I only had about 4 mins driving time left so I turned around and stopped at that smaller cafe further back down 
Still can’t understand the logic.Over there the designs reflect the demands of drivers and operators 
I can foresee some arguments breaking out between the Brit ex pats drivers and the yank drivers when it’s time for ordering new wagons.