Is it Time To Bring Back The Cabover?

In the past, the length of a transport truck was an important issue, as the maximum vehicle combination length (truck and trailer) was regulated – a longer truck meant it had to tow a shorter trailer. Truck manufacturers were under pressure to shorten their vehicles – the "Cab Over Engine" (COE) design was their solution.  

Nowadays North American pickup trucks are getting longer every year. The overall length of the latest ultra-crewcab long box trucks is nearly twenty feet! Perhaps it's time for us to revisit the cabover configuration. Back in the 1980's I had a 1966 Dodge A100 pickup just like the one shown below. That truck had a pickup bed 8-1/2 feet long and a very spacious cab, in the same length as a compact car!

In both Asia and Europe this style of truck is the most common, again mainly for packaging efficiency and greater manoeuverabity in the tight spaces common in their cities.

Why can't North Americans have a pickup design that provides the same amount of usable passenger and cargo space as the current crop of full-size trucks, but in a much shorter package? One that actually fits in our ever-shrinking parking spaces. As an added bonus, with its shorter wheelbase the truck would have a tighter turning circle.

Shown below is my concept for a new Ford Cabover Pickup! A vehicle with virtually the same space in the bed and cab as our current crop of full-size pickups. Pardon the pun, but Ford has gone to great "lengths" to reduce the weight of their new aluminum bodied trucks – just think of how much lighter it could be if it was three or more feet shorter.

I suspect your first impression of my concept's different proportions will be less than favourable. But give it a serious second look, I mean REALLY study it – and its bulldog-like cabover shape will grow on you. Combine that with its improved functionality and I think you'll conclude it's a winner!