Remember when truckers ‘had to drive’ cabovers?

Reader Greg Stanton asked the question attendant to his upload of this sharp Freightliner COE to Overdrive‘s Reader Rigs gallery. After we shared the pic — and the question — on the Facebook page, lo and behold, turns out drivers do well remember those days. And, of course, for some the “had to drive” portion of it was a bit of a head-scratcher. “Drive mine every day,” noted Don Porter, sharing this picture of his Peterbilt in the caves in Independence, Mo.:

For others, the memory of driving a cabover was just that, but no less alive.

Billy Giffen “wishes he would have kept” this 1977 Peterbilt, his first truck as an owner-operator.

Todd Modderman: I started out in a 1978 GMC Astro, 8V-92 and a 13 speed.

Mike Weldon: Love them. I started in a 1972 KW 8v71/8-speed. I want another one.

Gregg Mattox: K100 VIT and a three-story Ford.

Robert Wendt: My 1st truck was an ’83 IHC 9670. Hated that truck. Beat me to death.

David Sterner’s “everyday ride.”

James Moore: Loved driving a cabover. Drove one when I drove for Baylor Trucking years ago, when I first got into trucking. Loved that wrap-around panel it had.

The first truck reader David Baldry owned “was a Peterbilt 362 … with a 244-inch wheelbase,” he says. “Great for long loads without a permit. Mine was red.”

Chris Cooper shared this shot of a custom rig he says “a friend of mine built.” Rodney Lee: “What a ride, sir.”

Brett Willnauer: My baby.

Sherry Owens: I used to have nightmares of bobtailing and having to hit the brakes hard and landing on my face.

Ed Gosselin “hauled a lot of hay and grain with [this] old girl,” a 1985. “Formula 300 with an 8LL behind it. Not the best for the hills in Northwest Oregon! But we got ‘er done!” Gosselin replaced the truck with a longer-wheelbase FLD120, Cummins N14 “with a 9L. Never the right gear, but enough power. (Yes…the sheen on the ground is ice. About a half inch of it.)”Catch more shots or share your own via the original post on Overdrive‘s Facebook page here. 

You can add pictures of your own trucks to our Reader Rigs gallery via this link.