Daily Driver Reliable: 1987 Peterbilt 362
This 1987 Peterbilt 362 is a sharp cabover model that has seen regular use hauling loads near and far. The seller is a recently retired driver who notes that he just made two 900 mile round trip deliveries to West Virginia with no issues, and that the tuck is daily-driver levels of reliable. The paint and bodywork still look good and the shiny bits will likely come back to life with some detailing. The asking price is $27,500 or best offer and it’s listed here on eBay, located in Franklinville, New Jersey.
The modern era of hauling has seen truck cabs become much more streamlined, obviously in an effort to drive any efficiencies possible when facing a potentially autonomous future. This includes the design of the trucks themselves, rendering this brick-lick profile a thing of the past, at least in the U.S. – I still see plenty of overseas model utilizing the cabover design, and there’s an interesting reason behind this: European laws limit the length of the load drivers can carry more than the U.S. does, which means conserving length wherever possible, starting with the cab.
This means you still see most modern cabs with traditional hoods that lift up for working on the drivetrain. I’m not sure what prompted the trucking industry to abandon the cabover design in its entirety, but when looking at what they still drive overseas, I can’t help but think it’s a way more attractive design. Regardless, if you want a traditional cabover in the U.S., you’ll have to consider buying a vintage model like this 362. Thankfully, the owner has done a nice job of keeping it in serviceable condition despite being used daily up until just recently.
The seller notes, “…the 3406c cat engine is strong with minimal blow-by,” so while the next owner may have some work down the line to freshen up the drivetrain, it doesn’t sound like it has immediate needs. The air ride suspension, brakes, and tires are all said to be in good condition, and there are no cracks noted in the frame. The seller does mention a crack in the passenger-side windshield glass, but no other major cosmetic flaws are noted. If you’re looking to be your own boss and live on the open road, I’d consider a classic Peterbilt like this one every time.
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Comments
I might Need one of these someday 😎
Good old Clatterpillar. A friend of mine had a conventional Pete with a 3408. Those things make a clanking sound that was music to my ears. Great engines if you’re okay with 4.5 mpg. 😎
I worked for years on a wheat farm when I was growing up, operating Cat D5s and 6s. Beyond regular maintenance, the engines needed nothing.
For the record, the “Clatterpillar” was the 1693.
Can you put a dump bed on this style of truck?
It’d be a pretty stubby dump bed unless you lengthened the frame and moved the tandem back. Lots of work and money for a $10k truck.
In North America we went away from cabovers because it is no fun to climb up and down ten or twenty times a day, and because it is also no fun pumping the cab up to do minor maintenance. They stuck with them in Europe because they had to.
The 3406C was the first electronic cat and a pretty good motor. Same as the bullet proof b model but wider bearings and good for 6 mpg and not 4 or at least that was my experience.
I learned to drive in one just like this. I really like driving cabovers. When I started with the dairy 32 years ago, I ran one in Philly delivering to grocery stores, and the shorter wheelbase was great for that purpose. From what I understand, the cabover was created out of necessity to comply with individual state length laws.
When it comes time to go through the Cat, it’s not something most folks want to undertake. Not in the driveway at least. Not like rebuilding a 350 at all. The parts alone are crazy money. Having it done will approach if not exceed the current asking price. I’m a mechanic for a school district. We only have 3 Cats left in our fleet. Take my word for it, when they’re good, they’re great engines. But when they’re not, they’re terrible!
Anyhoo, kinda refreshing to see an old cabover.
This guy wonders why they quit making cabovers I mean knighted states probably cuz they couldn’t find anybody to drive them if you had an accident you were the first one at the scene, we couldn’t keep them warm in the winter , they Road rougher than hell, plus they were a pain in the butt the crawl in and out of the bunk that’s why cabovers aren’t popular
I understand Cab-overs were unpopular with drivers because the driver sat directly over the front wheels. Both vertical and horizontal front wheel travel had to be somewhat limited, which made the ride even more uncomfortable.
One thing about a cabover, if ever in a wreck your the first one there!
Nice old Pete. My first semi was a ’77 Freightliner cabover. Big cam 400 with a 13. Did a lot of learning in that old truck. You never forget your first!
That 3406C engine is a good engine. Not as much tendency to break the crank at #2 throw and start throwing things through the side. Not a bad engine at all. I never thought they were all that ridiculous to overhaul unless something major was broken. I had a lot of customers who drove the wheels off them then brought them in for a rebuild. Nothing questioned until you mentioned that they had to rebuild the injection pump; it became like pulling teeth. They could never get used to the fact that the fuel system had as many hours as the rest of the engine. And yes, you could throw $3.5K into the injection pump alone. But it ran so much better…
Being a retired truck driver, you can imagine my surprise seeing this. Rarely does a road tractor, much less a Peterbilt, come through here. This, or a KW K-100 was the nicest ( as if) cabover you could buy. Diamond Reo made a nice cabover too, but stopped making them in ’75. Cabovers, as described by others, were created by archaic length laws. Shorter pulling unit, means longer trailer. I think, for years it was 65 ft. total length. Once that was abolished in the 80’s, it didn’t matter how long the truck was, and cabovers fell out of favor. Some drivers loved them, others would quit a job if they had to drive one. I hated them, but drove what the boss told me to drive, which included several cabovers over the years. You could always tell someone that was new to a cabover, their right side wheels would be going down the shoulder. You do sit right over the left steer tire. Cabovers have some nasty pitfalls. Terrible right side blind spot, rough ride, and service is a pain. The 362( and it’s predecessor, the 352) were the best you could buy. Air ride, comfy interiors, and of course, big Cat motors to push the wind, it is basically a box. This, I believe , is a 400hp, or 425, and 3:70 gears, makes an 80 mph truck, at the time, unheard of for semis. Very popular motor, run rings around any ring ding Detroit or Cummins. Problem was, they are a handful ( and wallet full) to repair. I had BC Cummins motors in my trucks, and they served me well, just can’t be in a hurry. Naturally, I think the price is too steep, however, non-emission trucks ( pre-2005?) are making a big comeback, mostly because of the hassle in repairing newer trucks and a lot of drivers want old trucks. I got out of trucking about 15 years ago after spending 30+ years in that industry. A big company would never touch trucks like this, and being an owner operator, who this truck would appeal to, has got to be one of the most foolish endeavors one could do today and it costs too much for a hobby truck. I’d pay maybe $10g’s, and make a camper out of it, but to run this down the road, at 5 mpg is foolish. I think this has a steel frame, many had aluminum, prone to cracking, big rubber (24.5’s), getting hard to find, and straight pipes, no mufflers. That’s cool for about a half an hour, the rest of the time, it’s annoying, trust me. Hope I didn’t bore you, trucking was my thing, and this truck was during my heyday, thanks, Jeff.
The whole reason I clicked on this was to read Howard and Geomechs comments. Neither disappointed!.
Howard, I’d like to hear your thoughts why being an owner operator is such a bad idea today. I can think of a few but I am interested to hear your learned and considered view on the matter.
You definitely know what you’re talking about Howard. I’m a 20+ year owner operator and, if I had to make the choice today, I’d stay a fleet driver. While I’ve never driven a cabover o.t.r. I have driven a few as grain haulers for friends. They look cool all shined up at shows but I wouldn’t want to sit on top of that bus unit for 600 miles every day. As I said, I’ve been an owner operator for over 20 years but I’ll never buy a new tractor for myself to drive. I ordered my 2006 Freightliner Classic XL new in 2005 with a Cummins ISX15 @600hp, Eaton 13 over and Rockwell 3.73 rears. I’m 52 years old and own 4 other tractors. As far as my Classic goes, after a few more years on the road, my wife (a nurse practitioner) and I will be retiring. The Classic will be converted into the baddest motorhome in the campground and I’ll dispatch my drivers from wherever we happen to be at the time.
Nothing beats the sound of a Scania 720hp V8, cab over of course
People in the states wont have a flying idea what a Scania is (Im more of an aircooled tatra tractor fan)
Actually there were a few Scanias made it into the States. Scania (Scania-Vabis) was distributed by Waukesha and was sold as power units, and even picked up by companies such as Mack, and Case-International. Lighter duty Mack trucks used a DS-8 (Mack-Scania) which was a 500 CID (8 liter) six. I understand that Macks in Australia used the larger Scania engines. Case four-wheel-drive tractors used a DS-11 six (300 hp), and larger units used a DS-14 V8, which was about 400 hp.
To show you how popular cabovers were, this footage was shot in the the mid-70’s, right when I started trucking. I had to recite the 1st two verses of this song to get my chauffeurs license,,,kidding, but it literally didn’t take much more than that, unlike today. Sharp observers will see some glaring mistakes in the video, that’s not a cabover Pete with a reefer on, it’s a Freightliner, and trucks in the 70’s never went 98 mph, and I never saw the Army either, sorry, C.W. The most popular cabover? Why, the IH 4070 Transtar. The biggest motors in most of these trucks was 290/300hp, many still had 238 Detroits, so if you had 400+hp, you had a “left lane truck”. Mercy sakes, no cops, hammer down!!,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVifNkBrn7E
Oh, another thing, in the video, you’ll notice drivers in a cafe, arm around each other, because I had some great friends that trucked, do anything for you, and visa versa. There were no cell phones, we were on our own. CB radio was more important than good tires, we relied on it. It was a great time to be a trucker, and I miss those days dearly. BTW, any you old timers know what a “swindle sheet” is? ( hint, ELD’s put an end to those) :)
You want to see a convoy? When they close the Siskiyou summit in Oregon the trucks all stack up in Redding Ca. Once the highway opens there will be up to 30 minutes of non-stop trucks climbing the grade. Several years ago after a fire on I-5 I stopped counting after over 500 trucks passed by. It would have been a good video, especially since there was A LOT of passing going on!
Swindle sheets, ah, yes. I just came across a box full of ’em in my father-in-law’s house as we work on getting it ready for sale. He drove from the mid-1950s to around 1970 or so and then went back to it about 10 years later hauling clay pipe, then switched to driving tour bus. Finding all those old log books brought back memories of the several years in the late 1970s when I drove. I never kept my old logs, though! Of course, Pop has kept a lot of other things, too.
Great tune Howard! Thanks! Never heard the term swindle sheet, gotta be the log books. Always ran with a handful. Take care, Mike.
Bingo! Not to be confused with “bingo cards”. Years ago, you’d get a sticker for every state you went through, and affix them to a cardboard sheet you kept in the cab. It looked like a bingo card. You also got a plate or sticker for the truck, which is why, trucks used to have a bunch of license plates. Log books were the biggest joke, and still are. We used to run ’round the clock, when I asked my boss, “how am I supposed to log all this”? His reply, “don’t worry, you can get it real close with a pen”, meaning, you could write anything, and since there was no electronic trail, you could get away with that. It was no big deal.
I still remember what I was doing the day I heard ‘Convoy’ for the first time. Great song and it sure attracted a lot of guys into the trucking game. Some stuck it out while others got out of it as soon as they started. Myself, I was already in the repair business, doing a bit of weekend driving so I just left things the way they were. 1974 was about the time the horsepower races were really coming on. The 350 Cummins was the ultimate achievement for a lot of drivers. Do a little tweaking with the PT pump and you could get a significant boost in power. I was kind of surprised that the Cat 1693 with ratings as high as 425 didn’t power a lot more trucks than it did. The Detroit 8V-92 was a major upgrade from the 2-Stroke Joke camp but it still gained a lot of devoted followers. Yeah, 98 mph. I had our GMC J9500 doing just under 80–empty–pinned, and I was on a bit of a downhill. I saw a lot of trucks doing 75 back in the day but 90+ was a bit of folklore, even when the ‘Bandit’ told the ‘Snowman’ to keep it “wound up to around 90.” Can you imagine trying to stop 80,000 lbs going 90?
Try googling “Convoy GB” by Laurie Lingo & The Dipsticks (bound to be on U Tube) – even worse than the original by CW!
I can’t speak to this perticular Cat engine, but believe it or not, when I was in the service, we ran Cat generators under load for an entire YEAR at remote sites. Switchable sumps and remote filters with selector valves for oil, filter, and coolant maintenance. Same drill with Kubota’s. Incredible engines.
When I started driving these in the mid 70’s, cab overs were about all you saw east of the Mississippi do to length limits. Once you got west of the river the conventional ( west coast ) cab became much more prevalent. My last truck was a KW K100 double cab “high top” with the 400 Cummins and fuller 13 spd. After owning an O-92 Detroit in a Ford CL, (the O-92 was still a 2 stroke) I swore I would never own another, that thing burned more oil tha fuel. Once Detroit decided to abandon thi 2 stroke design and went to the 60 series in line 4 stroke the became very dependable. I have seen some at over half a million miles without even an in-frame. This truck brings back some fond memories. Drove c/o’s for over 10 yers in the north east.
I HOPE you meant over 1.5 million miles without an overhaul on a 60 series. 1/2 million is just getting broken in for pretty much any big diesel. On the other hand, my dad and his buds all loved their Screamin Jimmy’s back in the day. The first tractor I ever bought (used) was a 1995 Freightliner FLD120 with an M11-Celect+ Cummins @ 370hp. A few years later, I “upgraded” to a brand new 2001 FLD120 with a 12.7 Detroit 60 @ 500hp. Both engines were rated @ 1850tq but that lil Cummins would out pull the Detroit because the torque came on at slightly lower rpm. Both tractors had Super 10 transmissions and 3.73 rears. ALL manufacturers build great engines these days but, I’ll stick with Cummins because even today (other drivetrain components the same), the torque comes on just a little lower. I know that the M11 would out pull the Detroit because I kept the old tractor and put a driver in it. We loaded at the same place with the same weight and tested them. On flat ground, the Detroit was fine. With the slightest grade though, it couldn’t keep up with the Cummins. I own 5 tractors now, including that 1995 FLD120. The 2001 FLD got traded in 2005.
I don’t know about half a mil just getting broke in. I drove a guys Freightliner that had a 500 Detroit, with over 800K, and never opened up, but was getting tired. I’ve heard of million mile Detroits. I had Big Cam Cummins motors, and if you got 400K out of one, it didn’t owe you anything. I agree, all motors today are pretty good.
Diesel engines are lasting longer now than they did years ago. We used to do a lot of inframes at 300-400 K miles. Running them longer was when you dropped valves and spun bearings. Opening them up and having a look inside also gave you peace of mind for the condition of the camshaft. When the Detroit 60 came out there were a number of camshaft failures; the injection lobe always bore the brunt of the problems. I might add that the Cummins Celect, Cat 3176 and 3406E also had some camshaft problems. If you could (legally?) get rid of all that emission control crap you could probably get some fantastic miles out of an engine today. However, maintenance items such as bearings can still give you problems. I would still be dropping the pan and rolling in a new set before 500K.
I’m confused, how is this a barn find? Like most of the offerings now, they are just for sale ads for “classic” cars.
Don’t be. I’d say a good 75% of the for sale stuff is not a barn find. I think the staff has moved on, but probably too tough to change the name. Besides, this qualifies more than most. When we were done for the day, we’d put the “horse”( truck) back in the “barn”( garage).
This truck is a conundrum. The conundrum is “What is its Value?” Is $27K too much for a good truck in good condition? Or is the value to be determined by “How much work can you get out of this truck without spending more on fuel and maintenance than you take in?”
Awkward segue here: 4-5 MPG is expensive over a long distance. But if trucking is too expensive why aren’t we using more trains?
To answer your question about O/O’s today, one word, insurance. I think as these mega companies begin to under ( Celadon, been in business over 30 years just laid off 3,000 drivers) you will see smaller companies hiring O/O’s again. The freight is there, just these big companies can’t pay the insurance, and one infraction costs them millions. When I had my truck in the 80’s-90’s, I’d run for .90-$1.00/mile, and did ok. Today, you have to at least double that to pay the bills. Also, ELD’s( electronic logs) ruined it for anyone trying to make a buck. We used to drive until we got tired, and took a small nap, and back at it. It was incentive work, you didn’t make any money sitting still, which, today, with these stupid regulations, I don’t know how someone could make it with 14 hours off everyday. Service too. Unless you can do your own work, like I did, repair shops charge over $100/hour, and on a major repair, that adds up quick. There are so many good trucking jobs today, it’s foolish to have your own. I’ve already turned down several local trucking jobs, each paying $25+/hour, home every night( or day). Nobody is applying for these jobs, that years ago, there would have been a line to apply. It’s a sad state of affairs, that’s not going to get any better anytime soon. Also, trains do haul a lot of freight. I did that for almost 5 years, rail containers. It saves on long distance trucking, but someone still has to take it from the rail to the customer, and that’s where the driver shortage is. A big reason why self-driving trucks can’t work.
Thanks Howard. I know emissions laws changed which forced older trucks off the roads. A friend had a nice 1965 Freightliner COE single axle that I wanted to buy figuring I could retrofit a more compliant engine. He cut it up for scrap one day (without telling me) before I could buy it. That was heartbreaking.
Something like this? It’s sitting in a freight yard near me. These were very popular trucks. I drove one once, what a nightmare. Rattle your teeth, it would.
Maybe worth half of the asking. You can get historic plates for these in NJ and tool around without the need for a CDL. When they relaxed the lengths for tractor trailer combos that was pretty much the end of the road for COE.
I liked reading about this Pete (built a model of one many, many years ago) but I really enjoyed all of the truckers’ comments. Thank you all for sharing.
This would be perfect to park next to a strip bar and rent it out by the hour.
Ha! Probably make more than driving it,,
It’s a beauty for sure.
Certainly replace the mattress in high order. Knowing several truckers and the antics that ensue out on the open road certainly beg for fresh bedding. Otherwise a great old rig!
Back in the 70’s and early 80’s my Dad’s business was next to Zimmer’s truck stop in Whittier. The lot lizards ran amuck.
I can say, that was seriously overblown. BS reigns supreme with many truckers. It’s a lonely life, and most of those stories are fabricated. I’m sure those shenanigans went on, but I never encountered anything like that, but I wasn’t looking for it either.
I’ll agree with you Howard. There was surely some embellishment but there were those hair raising truths also!
Howard, Yes, very much like that one. It was a good truck. I was crushed the morning I came to work and discovered my friend had cut it to pieces overnight. Just an inexplicable act of stupidity on his part, in my opinion.
My plan was to use it for local work around the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern CA. Not full time. I had found myself to occasionally need a load moved and thought I might as well do it myself if possible.
I found the History of Freightliner appealing as well. Where is that one located?
These typically had Cummins motors, probably a 250 or 290. This one is in central Colorado. Not sure what the freight company does with it. With as many that were used, California had doubles long before most other states. CF, T/C, P.I.E. all used these there has to be one near you. They were basic trucks. A guy I knew drove one for CF, it had a 250 Cummins and 7 speed. The dash consisted of an air pressure gauge, a warning light for low oil/high water temp. and a tattletale( speedogragh)
I had to laugh when you mentioned the ‘tattle tale.’ We called them ‘Stool Pigeons.’ The county maintainers had them in their motor-graders. They came on every time forward motion ceased, and then the operators were grilled (read: interrogated) on the downtime. Every truck driver I knew hated them because they felt that they weren’t trusted. Maybe some couldn’t be trusted. They did keep an honest man honest…
Yeah, I was being nice. They were also called, pimps, narcs, and a couple more I can’t remember. I heard of drivers drilling a small hole in the plastic bezel at 55,( when that was the speed limit) and insert a pin, preventing the needle to register over 55 on the disc and they could speed on. I never had to worry about that, as most of the trucks I drove didn’t go 55 anyway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachograph
I’m not far from Emeryville which was once home of many Freight outfits. Yellow, P.I.E, Consolidated and others all had yards along Hiway 80 where you could see the trucks all lined up. The Bay Area was a great trucking scene in the 60s-70s-80s with quite a variety of trucks. Everything has changed of course and space is at a premium.
The following comments are from a friend I forwarded this posting to in an email. You might enjoy his response:
“That’s a good looking COE but the comments make a good factual case for why they disappeared. Safety is the primary reason I think of when on rare occasions I see these trucks. Bad ride is a close second. I only ever drove these on the rare occasion and I really liked them back then. But they were not the easiest to drive since visibility to the right was poor. My biggest reason for liking them was sort of alluded to in the comments. Someone said you freeze in the things in winter. I suppose that may be so but I drove in summer. The Mack and other conventionals I drove were broilers. Temps in the cab routinely went over 100 degrees. Then it got HOT. Those trucks back then had zero insulation of any kind. A guy borrowed my Mack to move mowers from place to place. He had a contract with the state to mow the freeway rights of way and had to get those big tractor drawn mowers around. His drivers stopped at a McDonalds or something and stole a couple of those linen roll towels they used back then and cut them up to stop up the air leaks into the cab. They also took the glass out of the rear window. It was still too hot.”