From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Sat Dec 04 2004 - 16:32:16 PST
Hello Bjorn,
>Has anyone driven a cab-over type truck in the brush?
I have a Pinzgauer 710M and it is a cab-over design. I drive it along
very rough, highly uneven, narrow, and heavy vegetated trails on some
remote property I own. There are many features that the Pinzgauer has
which makes this possible to do and impossible for any other truck I can
think of. One of them is the cab-over feature.
From my lay-man's experience I've found the cab-over feature offers two
very big advantages when operating in tight terrain. The first is that I
don't have to take into consideration any "nose" of the vehicle. I turn
when I want and where I want as long as the angle is not too radical and
the length of the turn too short (this is where the Pinz's short wheel
base, narrow width, and extra turning capabilities really help.
The second advantage is that I can literally see what my wheels will be
going over. With a standard design you have to guess because in tight
terrain usually you don't have the luxury of driving straight for more
than a couple of feet. That means with a standard truck you see the
obstacle and by the time it is to your bumper (remember you can't see
directly in front!) you might have to turn, which means having to guess
where that obstacle pass under your truck. Not good if you are trying to
avoid stumps or rock outcroppings as I have to.
Anyhoo... I'm not saying that standard designs are inferior in all cases
to cab-over designs. In fact, in a fender bender I'd rather have a lot
more in front of me than a couple pieces of sheet metal and glass :-)
But driving around in close terrain... the Pinz is my 1st choice if I
need something bigger than my MULE.
Steve
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