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That Sinking Feeling !, originally uploaded by brianb60.

It is hard to believe, in the modern atmosphere of concentration on safety in the road transport industry, accidents like this one in the photo can happen. This is a disaster for the operator and the owner of the site and the apportioning of blame will have gone on for quite a while.

Luckily, the driver was not injured in this case but if they had been in the cab it could have been much more serious. The accident does illustrate a number of the things we need to think about.

How come a bulk tanker on an industrial site wasn’t fitted with a brake system which would not let a driver leave the cabin without applying the handbrake. Even a buzzer when the door was opened without the brake applied would have done the trick.

And what about the plant safety regime? There is no barrier between a road on an industrial site and a deep body of water. What were they thinking?

Working in the modern transport industry we are constantly complaining about the stupid small restrictions being placed on us, the procedures we have to follow and the forms we have to fill out. However, everytime you see a picture like this it reminds us we are working in a dangerous profession and anything which might save a life has got to be worth it!

This video posted on YouTube is intriguing. Watching it doesn’t provide any answers, it just poses a large number of questions. What we do know, is this a tipper and dog trailer, somewhere in the USA, the rest is a mystery.

The first question is, where is the drawbar? This is answered later in the video. Secondly, you have to ask, how come the guy can move the tipper body so easily? Third question, why do they put one tipper body inside the other body?

When the truck returns, the ability to move the tipper back onto the dog trailer seems extremely easy. When the driver picks up the drawbar, how does he move the truck back to the right position. He definitely got out of the drivers seat and is not signalling to anyone to move the truck.

At the end of this video, which is said to be the first trip with a new truck there is one big question hanging over the whole story, why???

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KW T609, originally uploaded by quarterdeck888.

This is one of those truck redesigns which is going to divide opinion right across the board. One thing is for sure, feeling about it will be strong on both sides. There may be a lot of discussion about the new look but, probably, not a lot of agreement.

Here at etruck.com.au, I have to say I am very taken with this particular style decision. It is an improvement on the bonnet design of the T608 and moves the look of this classic interstate prime mover back closer to that traditional Kenworth style.

By opting for a heavier looking, wider radiator grille the shape of the nose is harking back to the ‘anteater’ days, while still retaining modern cues like the curves around the headlight and the bottom of the grille. As a bit of a traditionalist, who does tolerate change when it is an improvement, I think this new look T609 is going to go down well with the majority of truckies.

New cabover grill K200, originally uploaded by quarterdeck888.

This photo from Alice Springs of the new Kenworth K200 demonstrates just how radical the change has been in the look of Australia’s most popular cabover truck. The big rectangular radiator grille which dates back to the sixties is gone and is provoking strong comments here on etruck.com.au.

The reason for the change is clear, there are many more square inches of air inlet in this design compared to the Kenworth K108. The addition of the two small vents above the headlights shows us just how necessary it is for Kenworth to get much more cool air in under the cab and working to destress the engine by reducing the heat.

KW T403, originally uploaded by quarterdeck888.

Looking at the new shape for the Kenworth truck range, the new shape for the T403 will probably be the most acceptable of the oval grille designs for the fiercely traditional Kenworth fanatics who have been commenting in strong terms about the new look.

This new bonnet sees a small widening of the original grille to get more cool air into the engine compartment to keep things cool. As such it does represent such a marked shift in shape as seen elsewhere in the range.

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57′ Van Trailer, originally uploaded by FormerWMDriver.

This photo from the US is enough to give the RTA nightmares. At 57 feet this trailer would create a semi trailer 21 metres long. Three metres overlength is bad enough but then consider the positioning of the trailer’s axles. The amount of tail swing on this combination will be phenomenal, you can imagine a few cyclists being flicked off their bikes at road junctions and rear underrun bars gouging car doors.

The pressure is on in Europe to extend semi trailer length rules, which will only work with steering trailer axles. This is likely to stimulate a large investment in technology to improve steering systems which will trickle down for trucking operators around the world to use. However, even with state-of-the-art steering systems on trailers we can still expect a few cyclists to cop a whack at road junctions.

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These images of the new look for the Kenworth range have had to travel quite a way before etruck could get hold of them to post them up here on the website. New Zealander Rod Simmonds is attending the 10th anniversary Trucking Hall of Fame event currently taking place in Alice Springs. He e-mailed the images across to the UK to Brian Weatherly who then proceeded to post them on his blog, the biglorryblog. This is where we found them and posted them up.

The new trucks do represent a radical redesign and rethink for Kenworth. The company are not known for making radical change at any time, Paccar are a conservative company who will make a change only when it needs to happen. This time around the rethink had to be in the modernisation of their long-standing and well loved cab over the K 108. The result is we now have a new kid on the block, the K 200.

Continue reading Radical new Kenworth look