Driving Peterbilt's 335
Tom Berg
Equipment Editor
Take a medium-duty chassis, slip high-capacity axles onto a seriously beefed-up frame, turn up the power to propel the anticipated weight, and you've got a true Class 8 vehicle. With a midrange engine, the informal term is Baby 8. But let's make that "Heavy 7" because that's what Peterbilt prefers calling its medium-heavies.
This particular Pete is a Model 335, the restyled and redesigned 330 that the builder announced last spring. Driving it on the streets around Fontana, Calif., was a fun and safe experience - fun because of its snappy acceleration and good maneuverability, and safe because the truck had "short legs" that limited top speed to about 58 miles an hour.
This 335 was set up to deliver fuel oil. It had all the piping and hoses, plus power reel and meter, so it was ready to work. Not this day, however, because the tanker was empty and I was free to simply experience the drive.
The engine was a 300-horsepower Caterpillar C7, which should be able to easily deal with the truck's rated gross weight of 56,000 pounds. That comes from an 18,000/20,000-pound Dana steer axle on 16,000-pound taperleaf springs, and 40,000-pound Dana tandem rears on a 40,000-pound Peterbilt Air Trac suspension. Ride was fairly good even though we were empty.
The frame had 10 5/8-inch-high rails with three-quarter-length inserts and heavy duty crossmembers. It's made to take the stresses induced by broken pavement, driveway aprons, curbs and other urban challenges.
The Cat snarled nicely as I went through the Fuller 10-speed manual transmission. The tranny shifted well and I skipped gears often because of our unladen condition. Many buyers prefer to stay with a manual in a heavy chassis. Fuller automated transmissions and Allison full automatics are the other choices, and they would seem wise when there's plenty of stop and go in a driver's schedule.
Interstate 10 stabs through Fontana and after trundling around on surface streets I climbed on the freeway about where the old Kaiser steel mill still sits. I upshifted quickly into 10th and quickly ran out of revs as the tandem's 5.29 ratio made itself felt. That aforementioned 58 mph was reached with the Cat spinning at 2,500 rpm. I didn't cruise the freeway long enough to engage the cruise control, and I didn't need the Jacobs Extarder. The truck was obviously set up for streets, not expressways where traffic often moves fast. It would work very well in hilly terrain because the truck's gearing could almost allow it to walk up a wall.
Tanker service is among the applications envisioned for the 335. Others are construction, wrecker, beverage and, of course, pickup and delivery. Aside from a made-to-order frame, designers have included many features that make this model well suited for what both truck and driver see in city duties.
Steps and handrails are well placed so it's an easy climb up and into the cab. Here the driver sees some of the interior upgrades that highlight the 335. These include a nicely trimmed instrument panel with bright-metal bezels around the gauges; business-like toggle switches for most functions; and easily understood and operated rotary switches for the heater-ventilation-air conditioning.
There's no engine doghouse to hinder leg room, but I found the accelerator mounted a bit too far off the floor and I couldn't comfortably rest my foot - a quirk I find in most Peterbilts (but is it my quirk or the truck's?). The accelerator is adjacent to and closely resembles the air-brake pedal, and it took me a little while to feel which was which.
The cab is not the widest and roomiest in the industry, but so what? Most city trucks leave home with only one guy - the driver. With a compact cab, the driver sits comparatively close to the window on the right-side door, and the window is large and easy to see out of. A sizeable peep window on the curb-side door gives a view of what may be lurking alongside.
The sloped hood offers a fine view to the front, and the West Coast mirrors with round spot mirrors were simple but effective. This cab's large rear window and rear-corner windows were somewhat blocked by the body and the vertical exhaust stack on the right, but I still liked 'em because they remind me of a classic '49-55 Chevy or GMC pickup. The cab's aluminum structure cuts weight and should hold up well against corrosive pavement salts.
New styling touches on the composite nose include a chromed grille bezel and air intakes adjoining the Peterbilt oval. Fenders exhibit a smooth, round contour that's both simple and attractive. High-intensity headlights are mounted behind Lexan lenses. Headlights are combined with turn signals and running lamps, which is the style on most trucks and cars these days. I prefer the looks and practicality of the headlight pods on Pete's own 357, 378 and 379. They're on either side of the hood and away from the corners where they could be whacked. A variety of available bumper styles complete the front-end package for anyone spec'ing out the truck.
Peterbilt emphasizes the "value" inherent in a 335, and buyers may well agree. Does it have the "class" of a 379? In a smaller way, yes, but pour on the right components and it'll be plenty heavy.
