Originally posted by Parallax Two things really stood out on this one. One was that, as I said, it seemed new and the other was that the wheelbase seemed as long as a conventional. I swear the 5th wheel was good 10 - 12 feet behind the back of the sleeper.
Watching it take off from stop lights was fun though. It was towing a low-boy with a road grader on it. At the initial start and the first two shifts it looked like the cab was going to twist right off from the torque. I know that twist occurs on all to varying degrees depending on load, HP, and other factors, but it was really pronounced on this.
The last Kenworth cabover in the US was the K100. There is a cult following for them, custom paint, chrome, drive wheel fenders, engines built for huge power. Many guys who build and operate older trucks use the Cummins KTA, an industrial engine that can be built to put out much higher HP and torque numbers than the road engines. If a driver is pulling a very heavy load, and really gets into the throttle, it will pick up the left front wheel, and maybe even the right.
Here is a K100 I snagged from the innerwebs:
And although there are no cabovers, this video is from the Camion Du Nord, an annual event at Norte Dame du Nord, Québec. Lots of hot rod trucks pulling fully loaded B-doubles up a hill.
Lots of black smoke and frame twisting torque.