Numbers 1 and 2 could be done from the engine compartment. Many memories are attached to the old cabover trucks models.Many truckers and retired truck drivers alike, lament about the classic cabover truck models, that once ruled the highways of North America. Ive seen a number of really nice ones, rebuilt and re-finished and restored back to new condition. International Cabover A 1974 model, powered by Cummins 400, 13 speed transmission, owned by Mark Johnson. Its great to know so many truckers still appreciate these trucks. (Ever the penny-pinchers, they opted to apply the same logo stickers to the trucks as they did to their boats.). The GMC Astro 95 was introduced The trailers, each one brand-new and built to their specifications, were a sort of light-duty lowboy that attached to this odd hitch, upon which the boats could be stacked two high along their entire length of forty-some feet. Because of the regulations for length, this style of rig was very popular in it's day. Today, it is one of the most recognizable marques in the industry. In addition to the regular cab, a sleeper cab was available as an option. Tires are good. It is a medium-duty truck commonly used as a basis for dump trucks, cargo haulers, and other commercial or industrial purposes. The early ones, like the red one at top, are better looking than the later ones. convenince and comfort, and safety for operators. With that in mind, we have gathered high-quality GMC parts and accessories that work the first time, every time. It featured an all-aluminum cab with a 108-inch or 116-inch hood. In 1943, General Motors absorbed Yellow Coach, a Chicago-based bus manufacturer, forming the GM Truck and Coach Division. Somewhere on the back roads near Pine City, MN, as I recall cant give more detail than that without actually retracing my steps. The cabover has a smaller seat in the middle, two doors on either side, a small handle in the middle, and a small door on each side. One of the other farms runs a fleet thats all GMC on the older stuff. I am actually the current owner of the truck on this article. EnterpriseVander Haags Inc Sp Spencer IA. The old semi-cabover A series was replaced by the all-new H And so came the companys latest investment, circa 1987: a fleet of new-to-them tractors with brand-new trailers. Its a working truck, too! uplevel sound and CB systems. But every end is merely a new beginning. Used. Speaking of aluminum, perhaps the strangest item offered for bids was the right to sweep the floorswhich the auctioneer claimed would yield barrels worth of aluminum shavings if done correctly. The one thing that cabover interiors are best known for is the way they can camouflage some of their interior panels. Just like this big Bedford and the Astro. In 1959, GMC introduced its Class 8 cabover trucks, replacing the previous "Cannonball" fixed-cab cabovers. I thought the truck fit me perfectly and I became a part of it whenever we were on the road. Since 1966, General Motors has been manufacturing a line of buses based on a traditional cowled chassis. 1972 GMC Astro Cabover Truck - Walkaround Exterior Interior Tour - 2021 Clifford Truck Show 4,021 views Sep 9, 2021 109 Dislike Share Save TruckTube 186K subscribers Welcome to TruckTube!! They had great visibility though. The cabover truck design is outdated for the North American highway infrastructure. I got to test drive one with a 9L CNG motor and Heil Frontloading refuse body Dec of 2012 and was impressed with it. Thats probably half the reason I was brought in: I worked cheap, I was willing to horse around with their archaic equipment, and I could manage to keep a sense of humor about it. The International was brand new when I got it 1978, had a 290 Cummins and 10 speed Roadranger transmission. Company owners said should just have to put new batteries in and change the fluids and should start up. I also have a soft spot for the Astro along with the Brigadeir and General. The GMC truck in the fourth photo immediately reminded me of the cigarette truck barelling down the streets of Detroit in Beverly Hills Cop to the Neutron Dance soundtrack by the Pointer Sisters. me with questions and comments! The replacement for the F/D-series "Crackerbox" COEs, the Astro was marketed by Chevrolet as the Titan, serving as the largest cabover trucks ever produced by General Motors. The cabover is made of metal and the interior is black. GMC ASTRO INTERIOR FOR AMERICAN TRUCK SIMULATOR - YouTube 0:00 / 0:57 GMC ASTRO INTERIOR FOR AMERICAN TRUCK SIMULATOR Caterpillar D8N 701 subscribers Subscribe 1.2K views 11 months. He later ran an early 90s GMC Brig as his assigned tractor for Yellow Freight before retirement. Werent the other two trucks Internationals? My boss arranged to swap out the General with an older model 1975 Astro 95. Sleeper Type: CAB OVER: Part Info (877)238-5030 Request Info. Of the seven, five were sixteen feet long, and two were seventeen feet. It was supposedly a big advance in truck design for its time. Upgrades to the truck's suspension improved its handling and ride, as well. I might have even worked on this one. If every driver of EVERY vehicle on the road followed these safety tips, our roads would be SO much safer. It was hell. American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, Big Truck Outtake: GMC Astro 95 It Makes Me Want To Go Boating. Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Yugo When Was The Last Time You Saw One? model in the middle of 1949. This went on after the HD line was sold off. 1986 GMC Astro cabover day cab. Required fields are marked *. Astro featured many things that made it popular and innovative at the Your commercial medium- or heavy-duty truck needs to be in perfect working condition to be able to make money. If I remember I bought it for only $2000 and was used just as a yard truck. The Freightliners could be as cold as the Arctic, even with the heaters on full! Luckily the shop we are in was originally a heavy equipment shop. A collection of trucker tips from million milers and experienced drivers. . We take a look at the exterior and interior of the vehicle, so you can receive a general idea and appreciation of a certain brand or model.Our coverage is from Truck, Auto and Commercial Vehicle Shows in USA, Europe and Canada.Thanks for watching!! As the trucks aged the cab had a tendency to shift to the right as it lifted, older ones would snag the safety hook. The gmc astro cabover features a black interior with a white caboose. A walk-in version was added in 1985. This interior is one of the highlights of my apartment. The first 1,000,000 miles of my driving was in trucks like these. The California Air Recourses Board made me put a 2002 N-14 engine in it and a super large catalytic converter/particulate filter, but it dynoed super clean and the Astro 95 can be used until 2027. Despite everyones best efforts, the business finally went under in 2013. I drove one in 71 for two years, with a V12 Detroit engine. Updated: Mon, Nov 14, 2022 1:32 PM Get Shipping Quotes - (Opens in a new tab) Apply for Financing - (Opens in a new tab) No image. The white cabooses may be aluminum, but the black caboose is made of metal. custom built, and that GMC had been experiencing slightly slumping sales during 1983 Freightliner COE Rig This gorgeous rig was on display at the Clifford Truck Show. In 1977, GM started producing the GMC General, its largest conventional-cab semi truck powered by a diesel engine. The truck had plenty of power and did a good job on the New England highways that I drove on. Maneuverability. This included special paint, a larger chromed front The Astro 95 had superior driver visibility. An Australian truck driver talks about the REAL BAD BOY big rig trucks that run through the Outback of Australia. From the second picture on, I knew it would be enjoyable! All Rights Reserved. GMC Astro had a windshield that seemed to come down to knee level! My client roster once included a manufacturing firm called Ercoa. Perhaps even these Jeeps were big trucks in a past life. cylinder engines, and Cummins power was available. 94, with LT1 power, velour seating, and a trunk rack. This truck is very rare as we are finding out. and they will be posted! VIN. After a couple years of testing the idea was dropped due to the turbines poor fuel consumption. Safety. The truck has a 3406 A model cat 13 spd GM air ride. The vehicles were mostly fitted with school bus bodies. The Titan had a 290 Cummins and 10 speed Roadranger and the A/C worked! A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running. The yard owner and I were talking at the time, and I congratulated him on his win. This truck had plenty of power and I was able to easily beat a friend on mine driving the International cabover out of a toll plaza. The cabover truck is an icon. I dont think Id ever consider trying to restore one. Others say for every minute spent organizing and reducing clutter, an hour is earned All manufacturer names, symbols, and descriptions, used in our images and text are used solely for identification purposes only. A veteran 40+ years truck driver shares 10 of the all time, tried and true truck driving safety tips ALL professional truckers should know AND follow! Generals were actually a pretty good truck, at least competitive with the Transtar 4200/4300 and better than the various Loiusvilles from Ford. The Astro offered many improvements over the "Crackerbox" trucks. 800,000 miles, and a rebuild. In contrast to other GM brands, a key requirement of GMC franchisees of the time was the ability to sell and service the entire GMC product line. The ultimate custom truck show and big rig event schedule for U.S. and Canada. When the truck manufacturers decided to increase driver comfort in these trucks, their price increased as well. In contrast to the Crackerbox, the cab of the Astro was lengthened nearly six inches into a 54-inch BBC length with two sleeper cab configurations available. Great truck and photo. All were late 70s vintage cabovers with sleepers and rooftop air deflectors, painted white, with the obligatorylogo on the door. The TM had 4 head lights and double bumpers to differentiate it and they had larger more powerfull engines than the TK range but the cab was shared. Anytime the driver wants anything from the bunk, the process is the same. The interior is ruff, Dan is rebuilding the engine so as to keep it orignal. Given the design and material information I hung onto from earlier, I expect to be able to finish their construction fairly easily. The model was discontinued in 1987. The gmc astro cabover features a black interior with a white caboose. Its too bad they dont make them like that any more. Mainly, they were Restoration completed recently. Maintenance and Repair A cabover is repaired by tilting the entire cab forward. To get in the sleeper bunk the driver of the rig must crawl through a hole. For the paddleboat, of course. And run they did. The location makes sense. (c) 2000, Evan McCausland. In 1930, another GMC truck made a similar journey from New York to San Francisco in just 5 days. As such, several other trucks will be standing in for it at various points. We had to do allot of work to use it in the state of California. Related > The Clifford Truck Show Best Cabover Collection EVER. I also lucked out on a few items from their shop, such as this toolbox. Get to know the CB lingo used by truckers, so you can get in on the conversation, cmon. Gmc ASTRO Cab, Misc. [1], In a major change from precedent, when introduced in 1969, the Astro/Titan were marketed exclusively with diesel engines. Right down to the furnishings, the place honestly looked like a time capsule from 1991 (just when I thought Id seen the last of NetWare 4, Compaq products with a rainbow stripe on them, and the unmistakable beeps and chirps of Merlin phones). I believe that a gas turbine was optional in limited quantities, yet The next year I was put in a brand new leased 1979 GMC General. In 1981, General Motors ended sales of heavy trucks by the Chevrolet Division, leading to the cancellation of the Chevrolet Bruin, Bison, and Titan. The Pete 362 cabover launched in 1981 featured cab suspension as well as a wraparound dash that I worked on, which may have been subliminally inspired by the GMC. The GMC Astro is a heavy-duty class 8 cabover truck that was unveiled in 1969 as the replacement for the GMC cabover semi truck produced during 1960-1968 that received the nickname Crackerbox for its boxy-shaped cabin. Its Hall-Scott gas engine was still running well, but the truck just was too slow to be competitive in the late 1960s, and it was actually driven to its resting place in the woods at the local wrecking yard, where it sat for years before being scrapped. The cabover interiors are usually made with a black finish that makes them look like they have some kind of black paint on them. This must be the Astros counterpart from across the pond, the English 1974-1986 Bedford TM. Broken lights and lenses throughout. The doors were a little wider on the Astro than the International and I thought the Astro was easier to get into and out of. Overspray bedamned, Ill take it! As I recall they were much easier to deal with than most boat companies who prefer to use their dealers for all customer support. In 1987, GM ended the production of the GMC General. The H model was a redesign of the semi-cabover design, with a more rounded look as the GMCs at the Im very familiar with both the Astro and the Transtar. Right on about the crappy service with GMC dealers. They were mostly Astros, these older small-grille versions, in dark blue. Some articles may contain affiliate links. Orders went through Ma Bell. We like the way they roll. Gmc astro Sleeper on HeavyTruckParts.Net. It used a single hyd cylinder on the right hand side of the frame. There were approximately seven built, all told; they were prototypes for a new line that never got off the ground. There was also the memorable wrap-around dashboard, all decked out in woodgrain. The cabover has black, red, and white interiors. Owned by Ryan Wichtner, FL. Shopping with us, you get parts and accessories that work hard just like you, built tough just like your vehicle. At SMART TRUCKING, were also avid fans of the cabover truck. From some of the old Overdrive magazines Ive seen, Ford was even worse for HD parts and service to the point they refused Fords advertising for years over it. They were deadly in a head on crash. The Astro 95 was the best-styled truck of its time, and one of the best ever. I can remember the day we got in a shipment of tools and manuals for the 91 Syclone. Nothing on earth sounds as good to me as a screamin Jimmy Diesel. Save $2,894 right now on a Chevrolet Astro on CarGurus. Cab is up in the air, a crack noise followed by some crunching sounds. The Astro died honorably with This particular 1977 GMC Astro 95 has an interesting backstory in the fact that it was order by NASA and used very sparingly at the Wallops Island facility in Virginia. Today, you can still find a fair amount They are also typically found on the rear of a car, but they can be found in other areas. I actually had to call Ercoa once working a claim on a boat. My Astro had an 8V71 Detroit and a 13 speed Roadranger. Succeeding the F/D-series "Crackerbox" cabovers, the Astro was marketed by Chevrolet as the Titan, serving as the largest cabover trucks ever produced by General Motors. You could get Cummins and later the 3406 Cat, but the vast majority had 71 and 92 series Jimmys in them.