Big Rigs

Classic semis, cabovers and long-hood legends: where they came from and how to spot them.

Close-up of a worn black truck shift knob with a metal lever on its face, rising from a rubber boot in a dusty old cab, with pedals, gauges and a sunset field outside the window.

How to Shift an Eaton Fuller 10-Speed (and Why the Super 10 Differs)

How to shift an Eaton Fuller 10-speed: range lever, shift pattern, double clutching, rpm, downshifts, common mistakes and how the Super 10 differs.

Two large inline-six diesel engines on wheeled stands in a truck shop, one painted red and one dark gray, both with exposed turbochargers and intake piping.

Big Rigs

Cummins ISX15/X15 vs Detroit DD15: Specs, Problems, Trucks

Cummins X15 vs Detroit DD15: displacement, hp and torque, fuel systems, turbo compounding, known recalls, service intervals and which trucks use which.

Dark blue sloped-hood aerodynamic semi truck with a chrome grille, tall stacks and a reefer trailer parked at a truck stop at sunset, other trucks under the fuel canopy behind.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 386: History, Specs, Engines and 386 vs 389 vs 579

The Peterbilt 386 aero long hood: 2005 launch, design, Cat, Cummins ISX and PACCAR MX engines, sleepers, 386 vs 389 vs 579, and used-buying tips.

A weathered maroon long-hood semi truck with its hood tilted forward at sunset, showing a cream-colored inline six diesel engine, parked on a muddy lot beside a shop.

Big Rigs

Cummins Big Cam Engine: History, Specs and Ratings (855)

The Cummins 855 Big Cam explained: what the bigger camshaft changed, Big Cam I to IV years, NTC 350 and 400 ratings, trucks, rebuilds and the N14.

A dark blue long-hood semi with tall chrome stacks and a covered grain trailer parked on gravel in front of grain silos at sunset.

Big Rigs

Ford LTL 9000: History, Engines and How to Identify One

Ford's long-hood LTL 9000: Louisville Line history, AeroMax, Cat, Cummins and Detroit engines, the Freightliner sale and how to identify one.

A weathered dark blue and silver flat-nosed cabover tractor with amber roof lamps and a rectangular grille, parked on a wet truck-stop lot at sunset with a box trailer behind it and a fuel island in t

Big Rigs

International 9670 Eagle Cabover: History, Engines and ID Guide

The International CO-9670 replaced the Transtar II in 1981. Its Eagle trim, engines, the 9600/9700 family and why US cabovers faded.

A red conventional tractor with a chrome grille, round fender headlamps, polished bumper and twin stacks parked on grass at a truck show at sunset, other trucks behind it.

Big Rigs

Mack R Model: History, Engines, Variants and How to Spot One

The Mack R series, 1966 to 2005: R, RD, RL and RW Super-Liner variants, Maxidyne engines, the Maxitorque five-speed and how to identify one.

A dark green long-hood semi with tall chrome stacks hauling a yellow excavator on a lowboy trailer along a mountain highway, with snow-capped peaks behind.

Big Rigs

Cat C15 Engine: History, Specs, 6NZ vs ACERT and Problems

The Caterpillar C15 from 1999 to 2010: 6NZ, MBN bridge, twin-turbo ACERT and 2007 versions, horsepower, torque, common problems and why Cat left.

A weathered green V8 diesel with a blower and a chrome air cleaner in the engine bay of an older dark green truck, the hood tilted open beside a farm field.

Big Rigs

Detroit 8V92: Two-Stroke V8 Diesel History, Specs and Sound

How the Detroit Diesel 8V92 two-stroke V8 works, its displacement and horsepower ratings, why it screams, the Silver 92, and what replaced it.

A dark blue long-hood semi with a square chrome grille, tall chrome stacks and amber cab lights parked with a tarped flatbed at a wet truck stop under an orange dusk sky.

Big Rigs

Freightliner Classic and Classic XL: History, Specs, Engines

Freightliner Classic vs Classic XL: 120- and 132-inch hoods, Detroit Series 60, Cat and Cummins engines, sleepers, and how to identify one.

A dusty dark blue long-hood semi with tall chrome stacks and a grain trailer parked on gravel beside grain elevators and silos at sunset, next to railroad tracks.

Big Rigs

International 9300 Eagle: History, Specs and How to Identify One

International 9300 and 9370 long hoods explained: Transtar roots, Eagle trim, engines, set-back axle, the 9900i successors and what to check before buying.

A dark green long-hood truck spattered with mud hauling a full load of logs on a wet forest road, with misty mountains and a lake behind.

Big Rigs

Western Star 4900: History, Variants, Engines and Specs

Western Star 4900 guide: Kelowna roots, Freightliner ownership, EX, SF, SB and XD variants, engines, logging and heavy-haul work, and how to identify one.

A dark blue conventional tractor with a steeply sloped hood, wide rectangular grille and dual rectangular headlamps, parked in the rain at a truck stop with a silver trailer behind it.

Big Rigs

Kenworth T600 Anteater: History, Specs and How to Spot One

The 1985 Kenworth T600 'Anteater': wind-tunnel origins, the 22% fuel claim, set-back axle, T600A and T600B, engines and the T660 and T680 that followed.

Two semi tractors side by side at sunset on a grassy lot: a maroon truck with a sloped hood and headlamps in wide fenders, and a black long-hood truck with a tall square chrome grille and twin stacks.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 377 vs 379: Aero Hood vs Long Hood Differences

Peterbilt 377 vs 379: years, sloped vs square hoods, set-back axles, engines, fuel economy, how to tell them apart and which is worth more.

Two long-hood tractors parked grille to grille on grass at sunset, a black one and a maroon one, both with tall chrome stacks, polished bumpers and sleeper cabs.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 379 vs Kenworth W900: Differences and Which to Buy

Peterbilt 379 vs Kenworth W900: shared PACCAR roots, aluminum vs fiberglass hoods, how to tell them apart, engines, ride and resale.

A blue aero-hood semi tractor with a mid-height sleeper pulling a white dry van trailer on a highway through winter farmland with bare trees and a silo.

Big Rigs

Freightliner FLD 120: History, Engines, Sleepers and Buying Tips

The Freightliner FLD 120 explained: when it was built, which engines and sleepers it had, how to tell it from a Classic, and what one costs at auction.

Black-and-white AI render of a woman in a wool coat and cap driving an early open-cab stake-bed truck through a muddy small-town street, with a horse-drawn wagon behind her.

Big Rigs

Women in Trucking History: Pioneers From 1918 to the CB Era

Luella Bates, Lillie Drennan, the WWII drivers and the 1970s Coalition of Women Truck Drivers: how women earned their place behind the wheel.

A woman in a hooded jacket and yellow safety vest crouches by the front tire of a dark semi truck, checking the wheel with a flashlight on a frosted lot at sunrise, with other trucks and a fuel canopy

Big Rigs

Women Truck Drivers Today: Numbers, Safety and Getting a CDL

How many US truck drivers are women, what WIT and ATRI data show on safety and harassment, and how to get a CDL and start driving.

Two long-hood trucks parked nose to nose on grass at sunset: a black one with round headlamps and a maroon one with rectangular headlamps, both with tall chrome stacks and polished bumpers.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 359 vs 379: Differences, Years and Engines

How to tell a Peterbilt 359 from a 379: windshield, turn signals, years, engines, why the 379 replaced it, and which is more collectible.

A flat-faced cabover with a striped cab and a long-hood conventional with a tall sleeper parked facing each other on wet gravel at dusk, with power lines and an orange sky behind them.

Big Rigs

Cabover vs Conventional Semi Trucks: Why Cabovers Faded

Why U.S. fleets ran cabovers, how length laws and the 1982 STAA ended their reign, the ride and maintenance trade-offs, and why Europe still uses them.

A close view of a worn gearshift knob with a flat top panel and a side button inside a dusty truck cab, with a large steering wheel, gauges, a cloth seat and a sunset through the window.

Big Rigs

Eaton Fuller 13-Speed vs 18-Speed: What's the Difference?

Eaton Fuller 13-speed vs 18-speed: how range and splitter shifting differ, which jobs suit each, the 10-speed baseline, and why automated manuals took over.

AI-generated render of a box-trailer semi truck heading down a mountain highway with evergreen forest and a winding road in the valley below

Big Rigs

Jake Brake: How an Engine Brake Works and Why Towns Ban It

What a Jake Brake is, how a compression-release engine brake slows a diesel truck, who invented it, and why towns post 'engine braking prohibited' signs.

A dark green long-hood truck with its hood open, showing a yellow-painted inline-six diesel with a chrome air cleaner and polished intake pipe, other show trucks with chrome stacks lined up behind in

Big Rigs

Cat 3406 Engine (1973-1999): Versions, Horsepower, Specs

The Caterpillar 3406 from 3406A to 3406E: years, horsepower, mechanical vs electronic, which trucks used it, and what to check when buying.

A black long-hood truck with the hood open at dusk, exposing a large inline-six diesel with a turbocharger and big intake pipes, parked on a wet lot with trailers in the background.

Big Rigs

Cummins N14 Engine (1987-2001): Celect, HP and Specs

The Cummins N14 explained: mechanical, Celect and Celect Plus versions, horsepower and torque, trucks that used it, and what to check before buying.

A white truck with its hood tipped up inside a service bay, showing a dark inline-six diesel with a large silver intake tube and a turbocharger, tool chests along the back wall.

Big Rigs

Detroit Diesel Series 60 (1987-2011): Specs, HP and History

The Detroit Diesel Series 60: 11.1, 12.7 and 14.0 L versions, DDEC electronics, horsepower, the EGR era and what to check when buying a truck with one.

A mud-spattered dark red long-hood truck with its engine bay open, showing a red V8 diesel with a large turbocharger and a silver intake pipe, beside a stack of logs on a gravel yard.

Big Rigs

Mack V8 Diesel: E9, Maxidyne and Specs

Mack's V8 diesels from the 1962 END 864 and Maxidyne ENDT 865 to the 998 cu in (16.4 L) E9: horsepower ratings, trucks and a murky end date.

Two large diesel engines on rolling stands in a workshop, one painted yellow and one cream, each with a turbocharger on the side and worn, oil-stained paint, with tool chests behind them.

Big Rigs

Cat 3406E vs Cummins N14: Which Big Rig Engine Won?

Cat 3406 vs Cummins N14: years, displacement, power, mechanical vs electronic, what owners say, a note on Detroit Series 60, and why Cat left trucks.

A weathered red Mack long-hood tractor with chrome stacks pulling a trailer loaded with logs along a wet gravel road through a dark evergreen forest, mud on the front bumper.

Big Rigs

Mack Superliner (1977-1993): E9 V8, Specs and History

Mack's flagship conventional, 1977-1993: the R-series cab, Maxidyne sixes, the 998 cu in E9 V8, the Super-Liner II and its Australian afterlife.

A dark red long-nose Kenworth W900L with gold striping pulling a silver grain hopper trailer down a dusty gravel road beside a cornfield in late-afternoon light.

Big Rigs

Kenworth W900L (1990-2026): History, Specs and Sleepers

The Kenworth W900L (1990-2026): how the long-hood W900 began, W900L vs W900B, Studio sleepers, engines, the ICON 900 and the end of production.

A black long-hood Peterbilt 389 with twin chrome stacks and amber cab lights parked under a fuel station canopy at night on wet pavement, with trailers in the background.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 389 (2006-2023): History, Specs and 379 vs 389

The Peterbilt 389 (2006-2023): why it replaced the 379, how to tell them apart, its engines, the 389X special edition and the end of production.

A cream and maroon cabover with a black-and-chrome grille and chrome bumper standing beside a weathered wooden grain elevator, with dust in the air, a grain trailer behind it and a cornfield in warm l

Big Rigs

International Transtar 4070 (1968-1981): History and Specs

The International Transtar cabover from the 1968 CO-4070A to the 1974 Transtar II 4070B: engines, how to tell them apart, the Eagle trim, and why it ended.

A blue cabover tractor with silver and red stripes parked in a truck-stop lot at night, its twin chrome stacks and amber cab-roof marker lights glowing in the orange haze of sodium lamps, with other t

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 362 (1981-2005): Cabover History, Engines and Specs

The Peterbilt 362 cabover (1981-2005): how it replaced the 352, its cab and engine options, and how the 1982 length law changed US cabovers.

A dust-streaked, pale-metal cabover pulling a dry van along an empty desert highway, with twin exhaust stacks, amber roof marker lights, guardrails and red-rock mesas in the distance.

Big Rigs

White Freightliner Cabover (1951-1970s): History and Specs

How Freightliner's aluminum cabover went from a Consolidated Freightways in-house truck to the White Freightliner sold nationwide, and how it ended.

A green classic long-hood conventional tractor with a cream side stripe hauls a flatbed of chained-down lumber around a curve on a mountain road, with pine forest and a rocky hillside behind it.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 351 and 281 (1954-1976): Needle Nose History & Specs

The Peterbilt 281 and 351 needle nose conventionals: 1954-1976 history, single vs tandem drive, engines, the Duel truck and what replaced them.

A weathered copper-brown Kenworth W900A pulling a white Thermo King-refrigerated trailer down a two-lane desert highway at golden hour, exhaust trailing behind it as bare mountains rise under a pale s

Big Rigs

Kenworth W900 (1961-2026): Engines, Specs, W900A vs W900B

The Kenworth W900A, star of Smokey and the Bandit: its history, W900A vs W900B differences, engines, and how to spot one today.

A weathered red Mack B-61 tractor with no trailer parked in front of a chrome 1950s diner at golden hour, with a classic car and pickup truck in the background.

Big Rigs

Mack B-61 (1953-1966): Thermodyne Diesel, Specs and History

How the Mack B-61 and its Thermodyne diesel became the classic picture of "built like a Mack truck": history, engines and specs.

A white and orange-striped GMC Astro 95 cabover tractor with a box trailer backed up to a loading dock at a weathered brick warehouse.

Big Rigs

GMC Astro 95: History, Engines and the Last Great GM Cabover

How the GMC Astro 95 outlived its Chevrolet Titan twin and became the longest-running cabover General Motors ever built.

A dark blue Kenworth K100 Aerodyne cabover pulling a weathered trailer across a rain-slicked highway at dusk, headlights on and "KENWORTH" lettered on the bumper, with braking traffic streaming past i

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Kenworth K100: History, the Aerodyne Sleeper, and Its Legacy

The Kenworth K100 cabover and its 1976 Aerodyne sleeper: why trucking went cab-over, B.J. and the Bear fame, and why it disappeared.

Sunset view through the windshield of a classic semi sleeper cab, with a CB radio mounted overhead and two gear shifters rising from the floor

Big Rigs

1970s Semi Truck Cabs: CB Radios, Twin Sticks and Tuck-and-Roll

Inside the long-haul sleeper cabs of the CB radio era: twin-stick shifting, tuck-and-roll seats, and why truckers loved channel 19.

A white and teal Peterbilt 352 Pacemaker cabover truck with a dry van trailer parked beside two gas pumps at a small roadside station at golden hour.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 352 Pacemaker: The Cabover Built to Beat the Length Laws

Why Peterbilt built the 352 Pacemaker cabover, how the 352H differs, and why the flat-nose trucks that ruled US highways nearly vanished.

A maroon long-hood Peterbilt 359 day cab parked on a gravel lot at dusk in front of a lit wooden building, with classic cars parked nearby under a cloudy sky.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 359: History, Engines, and How to Spot One

The 1967-1987 Peterbilt 359, the truck that set the template for the classic American big rig, engines, specs, and how to tell it from a 379.

A dark blue Peterbilt 379 with chrome stacks and amber cab lights parked at a nighttime truck show, surrounded by other trucks and a crowd.

Big Rigs

Peterbilt 379 (1987-2007): Years, Engines, Horsepower and Specs

Peterbilt 379 years (1987-2007), engine options from the Cat 3406 to the C15 and Cummins ISX, horsepower up to 625, and how to tell it from a 359.