At Acela Truck Company, we often hear how cool our trucks look. And while we tend to agree, we see a lot more than just a good-looking vehicle. What truly sets the Monterra apart is the access our truck provides. The cab over engine design and componentry that is intended for regular on and off-highway use is what makes the Monterra just as capable as it is cool.

Cab-over-engine (COE) trucks are globally the most common truck; however, they are noticeably absent from North America outside of a few specific categories: refuse, city transport & delivery, and fire apparatus. These applications share the need for agility, which is exactly what a cab over engine provides compared to the conventional counterpart that dominates North America’s roads.

The conventional cab is more aerodynamic, and with a huge trucking industry that covers millions of miles every year, the conventional cab unseats cab over utilization and thus, availability for commercial use. For the operators that aren’t spending thousands of hours at highway speeds per year, the benefits of a cab over chassis are worth exploring.

Agility: cab over engines provide more aggressive angles of approach and departure due to the geometry of the vehicle. These vehicles also tend to have tighter turn radii than similar size and weighted conventional cabs. The agility a cab over provides means your equipment can access tighter spaces. Utility vehicles servicing narrow roads or alleyways can benefit from easier turning and parking maneuvers. In more challenging terrain, such as rock or sand (click here to learn more about the Monterra’s Central Tire Inflation System), cab overs can navigate more easily due to better visibility and a lower center of gravity, which brings us to...

Safety: the driver's location in cab over design greatly improves visibility around the vehicle, particularly in the front. Conventional cabs have a massive blind spot forward of the cab, which is why you see vehicles like city buses utilizing cab over designs; they can see if someone or something is in front of them. In addition to visibility, the cabover design also provides a lower center of gravity, meaning reduced likelihood of rollover accidents.

Real Estate: with a cab over engine, body builder shave more space to utilize on the frame rails of the truck due to the cab utilizing less of the overall length of the vehicle footprint. This means more room for tools, equipment and storage, without the need for excessive rear overhang or increasing the height of the build.

The cab over design can enable organizations to operate more safely, more efficiently and with greater versatility than a conventional chassis. When it comes to fleet management, the choice of truck design can have a significant impact on cost and overall effectiveness of the equipment and operation.

While a cab over engine may change some of the ways your organization operates, it doesn’t mean you will need to deviate from your fleet standard operating procedures. The Acela Monterra features reliable, globally serviceable parts. From the Caterpillar engine to the Allison transmission, any diesel mechanic will be able to troubleshoot, maintain and stock parts to keep your Monterra chassis running without the need for extended and expensive trips to the dealership.

Check out the Monterra’s maneuverability here(https://youtu.be/70mD9JoBjaI?si=1f0SLlgi4_m7o33K)

Still have questions about cab over engine trucks? Contact our team today.

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