Two American icons face off at B&D Walter in Canada, so we put on our mirrored aviator shades and pretend we’re in the movies as Peterbilt takes on International
By Dougie Rankine
PHOTOGRAPHY Dougie Rankine
This month we take a departure from our regular Truck on Trial, as on this occasion we have two trucks based not in the UK, but Canada. Last year, we spent two weeks in the company of Alberta-based trucking firm B&D Walter, and during that time were able to get close up with two real American icons; a Peterbilt 388 and an International 9900i.
These trucks are traditional conventional units, meaning their styling hasn’t changed for decades. And why? Because in North America, a lot of operators and drivers simply love the classic looks. You can buy a huge selection of aerodynamic, smoothed-off trucks, but a good old-fashioned classic remains popular. But while these trucks may look similar to those immortalised on film between the 1960s and 1980s, underneath they are modern, complex vehicles.
Sum of parts
Proprietary components are still extremely popular, with every truck maker offering engines from Cummins, gearboxes from Fuller, and differential gear from the likes of Rockwell. Truck makers such as Freightliner, which is owned by Daimler, now offer Mercedes engines under the banner ‘Detroit Diesel.’
Read the rest of this feature in the August 2014 issue of Trucking. Buy the magazine here
