Kenworth T700 .... & more ...

I ventured to one of my favorite websites the other day, which is kenworth.com .

This, by the way, is definitely a proof that I was not wired correctly at birth... lol ....
According to society I should be worrying more about the new spring line from Coco Chanel & the newest line of Coach purses, and I should certainly not muddy my girl brain by checking out the new models from Kenworth .... Alas, I am what I am, which means that I find myself spending hours clicking through the trucks on kenworth.com or peterbilt.com or whichever make catches my interest (or my eye).

So, it was Kenworth that was on my mind this time! During one of my daily commutes, I had spotted the truck that is pictured below, and I mistakenly thought it was a previous model (such as a T660) that had been updated with a new grill. I went to their website to check out their new line and it turns out that this is an entirely new Kenworth model, namely the Kenworth T700! I think it's exciting when a new truck is born, so I figured I'd share my joy!

Anyway, the shape & styling of this truck is apparently not only for cosmetic reasons, although Kenworth never fail to make their trucks look stunning and the T700 is no exception.
According to the brochure, the shape of the truck creates the lowest aerodynamic drag in the history of Kenworth trucks. Other new money saving technologies (and I'm sure those are much welcome & much needed!) include a special material on the bumpers & chassis that doesn't require new paint jobs, they are fade & impact resistant, which means less trips to the shop:)

Other stats:
8 ft Cathedral ceiling
60 cubic feet of interior storage
96 inch head room

If you want to read more about the T700, please click here for the brochure. It also has more photos of the truck & the interior.

(And just for the record, no I do not work for Kenworth LOL .... this was written voluntarily for no other reward than some cool new personal knowledge of a great new truck on the road ;-))

OK ... so while I was at it, I figured I'd look up some photos of the 2011 truck fleet from Kenworth... There aren't that many 2011 photos out there yet, I think I'll need to visit a local Kenworth dealer on my own & bring my camera :) Hopefully they won't be too disappointed when they find out I'm not in the market for a truck!

I did find a few photos though, and they are displayed below:

2011 Kenworth T660

Here's an entire row of 2011 Kenworth T660s in every color. Looking good!

2011 Kenworth T800 - love that bright green!!

Anyway, finally I found a really cool montage on the Kenworth website of all their truck models! I'm sad not to see the T2000 on there ... could it be that the T700 replaced the 2000? (I can't think of any other reason for the T2000 not to make it on to the montage ....).
Even without the T2000 (*sniff*), this montage looks very good, wouldn't mind a full-size poster of this up on my wall somewhere, alas sadly these photos are too small to blow up & print.



Ok... guess I better head over and see which Jimmy Choo's are in this year. ...

Heck, who am I kidding ... next stop Peterbilt! ;-)

Have a nice day ... be safe!

Eye Catching Trucks: United Van Lines - Golden Eagle Moving Services (Upland, CA)

I've noticed that the trucks and the trailers for moving companies are usually pretty spectacular!
Obviously I'm not expert on this particular subject, it's just an observation I've made through the years .... I have no idea why moving trucks have all those extra drawers & trailers that almost reach all the way down to the asphalt (I call them "skirts" in my head lol... I'm fairly sure that's not a valid term!!), but they look nice! (If anyone is in this particular niche of logistics & would care to enlighten me on the subject, I'd be most interested actually :))
Anyway, most Mayflower trucks certainly are headturners .... North American have some pretty sweet rides, as do United Van Lines.

As a truck enthusiast, I feel pretty lucky to have a logistics company right around the corner from where I live! The company is Golden Eagle Moving Services (United Van Lines), and they have some really nice trucks!! If I still live here when I retire, I'll probably camp outside their truck yard & stare at their semis all day long ... lol. (Not creepy at all, I'm sure ... of course I'll be an old blue-haired lady at that time so I may not be seen as a threat ;-)))

For now, I just wander up there with my camera every now and then and catch some of the trucks they have sitting out there. I pass their drive way on my way to and from work every day, and I always make sure to peer down the road where these trucks are parked sometimes to see if there's a beauty sitting out there. Below are some photos I took of a couple of their trucks, I'm sure I'll have more eventually.... (And if anybody who reads this is actually working @ Golden Eagle & you see some chick out there with a camera, don't worry... I'm really only photographic your trucks for my own enjoyment! :))

Anyway, here are 3 of their trucks as caught by my lens on a few different occasions. There's a Freightliner & two Kenworths - a T2000 & a T600 (if I'm not mistaken ...). Enjoy!

Historic Trucks: 1918 Mack Dump Truck

Well, I may be a sucker for polished chrome & custom grills, but there is something to be said for these old faithful trucks that are still around today. I do like vintage cars, vintage trucks even better, and this 1918 Mack dump truck caught my eye while I was attending a birthday party.

I'm glad I finally get to blog about Mack! I've repeateadly sat down to try to include the story of Mack trucks in my big rig chronicles, but their history is so long with so many changes, it is taking me awhile to get my thoughts wrapped up and sorted into a blog ... (it'll happen some day ... you just wait & see...)

Of course, I hadn't brought my camera that day! I guess that should teach me to leave the camera at home because you never know when you'll run across interesting blog material!
Well, I made another trip out there, purely for the purpose of photographing the truck. Once I'd seen it, it didn't want to leave my mind!

This truck is displayed at the Travel Town Museum in Griffith Park. The museum consists mainly of trains, but they did make room for a few cars, and amont them this truck.

The following information is taken straight from the information sign that the museum had posted by the truck:

'This Mack Truck has special significance for Southern California. Unlike most Mack trucks of the period, it did much more than haul the usual loads of gravel, bruck, and logs. It was used during delivery and installation of the telescopic equipment at the Solar Observatory, which stands atop Pasadena's Mt.Wilson.

The Mt. Wilson Observatory, founded in 1904, contains two solar telescopes, one of which is a 60-inch reflecting telescop - the largest in the world. Our 1918 Mack truck was one of the several trucks used to haul the parts of the telescope up Mt. Wilson's winding toll road of dirt and gravel. The trucks, often wider than the road, had to make their way up a 12 percent average grade carrying the parts of the 4 1/2 ton telescope.

The 100-inch reflecting telescope was in operation by late 1918. Although it was closed in 1985, due to its costly operation, it remains a unique part of Los Angeles' istory, as does this 1918 Mack dump truck."


Here are the photos I took of the truck:

1918 Mack Dump Truck

1918 Mack Dump Truck - front tire ... don't know about you, but I just can't help
but compare these tires to the tires today's trucks are using... Maybe the evolution of truck tires
should be a blog topic some day.

1918 Mack Dump Truck - front crank. Funky stuff ... lol.

1918 Mack Dump Truck - nice side view

1918 Mack Dump Truck - rear view

1918 Mack Dump Truck - rear tire

1918 Mack Dump Truck - front

1918 Mack Dump Truck - side view

1918 Mack Dump Truck - shot of the grill

Certainly doesn't look bad ... for a 92-year old :) It hasn't aged a bit, its only problem is that time kept on moving and so did the evolution of trucks... oh well :) Still looks good to me!

Is that really an International???

I saw this truck on the freeway yesterday. First I watched it drive by as I was heading down the on-ramp and it's massive grill caught my eye. My head was spinning and I was thinking "What the heck was that truck??" When I finally got on the freeway, I stepped on the gas in order to catch up to this truck. Normally that wouldn't be difficult, since trucks normally go 55mph and this one was no different, but it was a Sunday and you know what they say about these Sunday drivers ... they were out in force!

I was finally able to roll past the 18-wheeler. The mudflaps on the truck said "International" ... and I was thinking "no way"!!! Turns out the mudflaps didn't lie! It was indeed an International. This was my very first encounter & sighting of the International Lonestar.

Now, I don't mean to bag on the International trucks, but apart from the occasional Eagle that I see, I find that International trucks don't really stand out that much when it comes to design. That's why I was so surprised and thoroughly impressed when I found that this beautiful specimen of a truck actually was an International!

Visiting International's website, I found that the Lonestar truck was originally inspired by the 1939 D-series. Inserted is a photo of a D-39.



Now go ahead and compare it to the following photos of the International Lonestar, which I borrowed from http://www.internationaltrucks.com/ They have a lot more photos of the International Lonestar on their website, I just picked out a few to show for my blog :) You may want to roll on over there once you're done with these photos & check out the rest of them.

Please enjoy & please refrain from drooling on your keyboard ...

Eye catching trucks: Steelcase

I love companies that put thought & effort into making their trucks look good and make an impression as they roll down the highway. After all, it's literally a rolling billboard! (Of course, I DO realize the value & reasoning behind unmarked trailers, don't get me wrong.... )

One of the nicer looking trailers I see around is Steelcase! Love their dark blue trailers with that rainbow colored logo, usually pulled by a dark blue or black truck! Below are some Steelcase photos, they are borrowed from http://www.hankstruckpictures.com .... (LOVE that site! :))

Heavy load!

Someone on Facebook posted this very cool photo, I had to steal it and post it here! What I wouldn't give to see this transport coming up the road!!

All hail the Cabover Trucks!

Poor cabovers, sorely neglected in trucking photos around the globe :) At least in the US where the cabovers are no longer a hot item and most of the ones we see on the road are fairly worn.

I love seeing the cabovers that have been taken care of over the years, there's a couple of them that I pass in traffic every day to work that have a shiny new coat of paint on them and seem to have been pampered by their owners.

Cabover trucks are the "flatnose" trucks where the cab is positioned on top of the engine. It was due to length regulation that the cabovers were popular. Until 1956, trucks could only stretch out 42 feet from nose to taillight and no doubt, a company would want most of that length to go to the trailer where they keep the goods, thus the flat noses made very much sense! In 1956, the length regulations were increased to 65 feet and in 1976 to 75 feet. Since 1976, the COE's have been on a decline in the United STates but are still popular and necessary in other parts of the world.

Anyway ... I recently went to Universal Studios and I was able to check out the back lot. There were some nice trucks there, I found a couple of cabovers that caught my attention & here they are.

First, my affection for Kenworths made me stop and take a few shots of this one. I don't know what year it is, if anybody does, please eduate me :)

I think the Kenworth COE is pretty stylish, even after a few years in the business, like the truck below :)

Here's another truck I found, it's a custom Universal Freighliner COE, by the looks of it, used to pull generators (most likely out to movie sets etc). For a cabover, this one is pretty sweet! :)