They roam the Interstates and highways of the country and truly, the world over, and they play in the dreams of little kids who look at the massive machines out of the windows as they roll on by. It’s hard to not be enamored with big rigs. To this day, there’s a part of me that would love to drive one of these massive machines further than around a truck stop parking lot. Blame my father, who drove for a well-known mover of food products for years as I grew up. It was common for my siblings and I to get shoved into the Chevy Cavalier we had at some unholy hour of the morning to go drop off or pick up my dad when he rolled into the lot and put the truck up for the weekend. Air starters were the norm, and on one trip where I was smuggled aboard to head west one year, I got to see tons of the country…I guess that’s where I get my roaming streak from.
Ever since I’ve been driving, though, I’ve paid more and more attention to the way these trucks looked. As a kid, they all looked like Peterbilt 359s or Kenworth W900s to me: conventionals, squared-off hoods, almost perfectly matching headlight setups and grille shapes. When I first hit the highways in 2000 on my own, though, I started to see different shapes I liked: Freightliner Centurys, International Eagles, and Kenworth T2000s all caught my eye. The weren’t like what my dad drove. They were sleek, they were aerodynamic, and they looked the part.
The lead photo is of the latest from Mack. It’s called the Anthem, and it’s the inspiration for today’s question: what big rig has been your favorite? Out of all of the ones I’ve named, only one tops the list: the Freightliner Argosy. I don’t know what it is about the COE, but I first saw one about ten years ago and I’ve loved the idea of one since. A contract driver that served Fort Lewis had one in emerald green with a large sleeper on it, and I always envisioned that as the perfect RV conversion semi tractor out there.
That’s my rambling on the subject, now let’s hear from you!
My first love as a kid was the MACK R-model. My Uncle worked for a company that ran a fleet of crude oil tankers all pulled by early 70’s MACKs. I also loved the look of White-Freightliner cab-overs from the early 70’s. The trucks I drive are 2016 Freightliner Cascadias and they’re junk. They have no personality like the old rigs did.
1965 Atkinson with a Gardner 6D diesel engine. My first ever job was at working weekends at a local haulier to earn the money to pay for my mod suit. I had to lie on frozen ground in the winter using a grease gun the size of a machine gun to grease every one of its 26 grease nipples and In spite of the cold and discomfort I grew to love that truck and its wonderful engine,
Volvo VNL880 without question. One test ride will make you a believer.
Lets go way back. How about a White 3000.
I worked construction for 36 years. Years ago all companys used R model Macks if they had dump trucks.They had the camel back spring set up. Posi in both axles .A 300hp” plus” engine .That with a little work could be closer to 400hp. I have seen these trucks with a big load in a dump trailer lift a wheel when they take off. And do it all week long . Just a good heavy duty truck. Not real pretty or cumfy. But a great truck
My uncle ran a small transport company in South Western Ontario (my cousin still does) and I remember he bought four Kenworth T600s when they first launched in the mid 80s. I thought they were the coolest things on the road back then.
Mack
1985 Kenworth K100 Cabover Aerodyne Sleep, with an extended sleeper. I grew up with B.J. and the Bear.
International Lone Star! Very art deco looking… rarely see them.
Peterbilt 379’s have always had a special place in my heart, but a Mack CH will do in a pinch.
Old school Peterbilt 379s or if we are going modern then a Cat CT series
L series Ford of course, best most versatile truck ever made!
GMC Astro 95. Built an model of one as a kid.
Those offset cab Macks always caught my attention. Talk about Design by Necessity. When I was a kid in central PA there were quite a few of them hauling coal. I’d always point them out to my Dad as we drove by.
My favorite semis are Peterbilt\’s and Kenworth\’s
Peterbilt 379
I’m with Bryan on the Argosy. Sadly Freightliner no longer sells them in North America, but they are still built for the Australian market.
Somewhere on the Internet, there is in fact an Argosy RV conversion. Also, Bruce Canepa coverts them into a sweet non-articulated race car transporter.