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Originally Posted by PackRatTDI
They're pretty much the only game in town in Europe due to length laws.
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Actually, companies such as Scania and Volvo AB do make conventional tractors available for the European market. They're more commonly used for shorter bulk trailers, but a lot of companies may buy a conventional to serve as a "flagship" of their fleet.
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Russia and other former Soviet republics are a common destination for used US equipment in Europe nowadays since a US market truck can be bought cheaper even with shipping than a true Euromarket truck.
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South (and southern) Africa is a popular destination as well, although a lot of fleet owners ideally would import from Australia instead, as South Africa (like Australia) drives in the left lane, and a right hand drive vehicle would be much more ideal. However, as you've stated, it's much cheaper to import from the US nowadays.
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Scania did produce the "T" series conventional that saw some used in some specialized hauls, but they discontinued that due to slow sales.
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They discontinued manufacture of right hand drive models, because of slow sales in the UK, and a lack of interest in other countries which use right hand drive. The T-cab is still manufactured, and you can even get one with the 'Longline' sleeper (although your allowed trailer length is severely hampered at this point). The T-cab also comes in standard 4x2 configuration for hauling non-specialty loads (as does the Volvo FH, which is better known in the US as the VNL series). Scania also offers a militarised version of the T144 as a military prime mover and tank transporter.
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Originally Posted by ColtsFan
I spent 3 months in Germany during the fall of 05. 99.5% were COEs. Usually Scania, Mercedez, and MAN. I believe the MAN's (cant remember what it stood for) are made near Munich. From what I gather, they are considered of the best and offers more luxury than some others there.
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Umm... no.. Scania (particularly the T-cab, Topline, and Longline tractors) are typically considered more the luxury truck. MAN/ERF... is closer to a basic working man's truck.
Brand names can be a bit... ambiguous. With buyouts, new management, etc, a lot of companies are simply manufacturing a rebadged variant of a product offered by the parent company, or, may simply be an assembly plant for another company's product. For instance, Leyland in the United Kingdom is now used to manufacture DAF trucks, and the Foden brand name was discontinued in favour of DAF products, as well (all three brands are owned by PACCAR)... whether the Foden factory is still operational as a DAF factory or not, I don't know, however.
As for the question of cabovers, personally, I wouldn't do it. I ran a cabover pulling a 40 ft end dump trailer, and it was quite alright (the truck was a 98 I-H 9800i). The thing I would worry about most is availability of parts. I know the Argosy is still in production, as is the International 9800... while the latter isn't sold on the US market (I think they're manufactured in Brazil now), I don't see why you wouldn't be able to get parts still. But how easy is it to get parts for something like the Kenworth, Peterbilt, Mack, Ford, etc. cabovers? Maybe it's not as difficult as I seem to think, but I'm a bit skeptical.
That aside, if you keep anything in a cabover, and forget to secure it, it'll go all over the place in that cab when you have to crank it forward to service the engine or drivetrain, and look at some of the wheelbases available on conventional tractors - I'm looking at an online ad now for an '02 Freightliner Columbia. With a 70" sleeper, it only has a 239" wheelbase. I see another ad for a Columbia with a 70" sleeper and only a 212" wheelbase. And if you're running short hauls, and don't expect to spend much time in the sleeper, a truck with a 51" sleeper would have an even shorter wheelbase. All things considered, I just don't think the added bonus of a short wheelbase compensates for the shortcomings og choosing a cabover.
