Finally here is our KW T-600 review...
I hate this truck. It is the 2007 T-600. It was not designed by or for a "real" trucker. Your carrier will probably require you to spend at least two weeks living in this "beast" until you are "permitted" to return home and recover. In reality, we have spent upwards of 8-10 weeks in this thing. To be fair, there is one really great thing about this truck - the CAT engine. Ok, so much for the good stuff. The rest is all downhill. This vehicle was designed either by a soccer-mom or MBA or worst, both. If a trucker did provide any input into the design of this truck, he either was ignored or has never driven OTR before. Tomorrow is Saturday morning and we have some down time and a new Pentax camera. We will try and take some shots of the interior and what we have had to do to it to make it more workable and livable. Specifically, the interior of this "ant-eater" is just to damn small. If you're fat, this is not the vehicle for you. If you're fat and have a fat wife or girlfriend, your life will be miserable in this truck. If you're thin with a fat butt, you will have trouble getting past the two front seats into the back. If you just kinda overweight and have a big (fat) dog, both of you are going to be extremely unhappy. If you don't love your passenger to death, plan on plenty of arguments in this truck. The space between you and the other person is closer than two people playing at a poker table. After a few miles, you're going to feel like the person next to you is not next to you, but riding with you in your lap. The front of this truck is like working in a broom closet. The bunk will remind you of sleeping on top of a washer-dryer in a hot garage. I've seen two really fat folks get out of a T-600 with 3 dogs, a cat and three kids and wonder where the hell they all came from. To make life more "reasonable" the time we do spend in this vehicle, we need a cb, a laptop, a compass, a qualcom, a television with both a dvd and vhs tape player, a toaster, a microwave, a coffee maker, laundry basket, clothes for cold, hot, wet and "in-between" weather. We need a refrigerator or cooler, we need water, food, silverware, bowls and coffee cups. We have pillows, several blankets, a heated blanket, an emergency sleeping bag, emergency supplies and a first-aid kit. We have work boots, sneakers, hats, a "safety" hat and a Sirius and XM satellite radio. We have a camera kit. We have a printer and paper. We have a CD player with headphones and two cell phones. We have a scale, a circular saw, 100-ft extension cord, a tool box. We have a GPS unit. There is no provision in this truck for any of what we have just described. We had to trade in our old Galaxy because the moron who designed the CB holder did not make it large enough for the "typical" AM/SSB cb radio. If your microphone cord comes out the side of the radio, sorry, you're out of luck unless you plan to drill a large hole in your new $100K truck. There are four "cigarette" lighter holes to plug in stuff. We had to immediately add a Cobra inverter. We have yet to gain control and organize all the wires and plugs were have going everywhere, to make everything work. The "closet" next to the bunk was designed for "Barbie" and not Bob. If you wear size 00 tops, and "Daisy-Dukes", this closet was made for you. Anything larger than a 9" tv will not fit anywhere. There are four shelves on either of the bed that can hold about 5 cans of spaghetti and some VHS tapes. The storage space under the bed (not available with the double bunk unit) will hold 4 pillows or two small soft sided pieces of luggage. There are two drawers next to the bed - simulating a night stand - that can hold underwear, sox or books and vitamins and aspirin. You will most likely have to put everything you have on the bed during the day and on the floor at night. The curtain is the same one that KW has used for years with the "heavy-duty" zipper that will surely break on you at about 70,000 miles. Moving back up to the "work" area, all the old dials and toggle switches are gone. Even the new "smart" steering wheel is nothing like the big "ole" truck steering wheels that could be easily replaced and customized at your favorite chrome shop or Iowa 80. Forget about opening the windows for fresh air - they're too large and will blow everything out or around. There is a "modern" ac/heating system that is always on - you cannot shut it off unless the truck is shut down. This feature is very annoying. It makes you want to tear the whole thing apart to find the one wire that will make the air not blow. The interior lights are so bright, you will think you're sitting at a night game at Yankee stadium. With the lights on, you will be seen for miles by bears, aircraft flying overhead or the voyeur trucker on the other side of the highway. We have yet not been able to replace these new bright bulbs with anything "softer". The bunk area is lit by a large overhead fluorescent lamp that makes you feel like a dead corpse waiting to autopsied. There are two other yellow spot lamps that generate enough heat to make a onion ring feel right at home. The drivers seat in this truck was replaced by our carrier with a Bostich "more comfortable" (more expensive?) seat. If you regularly read this blog, you know our feelings about this seat. It is terrible. The KW factory installed model would have been far better. After 8 hours driving our asses are literally burning. After 11 hours (with regular breaks) driving, we need to use a cold compress to ease the welts on the back of our legs. Whatever our weight, the seat should have been designed better. But then it matches the complete lack of logical common-sense design that was employed throughout the entire vehicle. As we said earlier - there could not have, at any time, consulted a "real" truck driver. Just look at the dash - it looks like a Jeep Cherokee. The strangest thing is that KW made a little space below the steering column for a small plastic smoked color clipboard with the KW logo on it. What the hell is that all about? Why would anyone take more than a second to think about this? It is a complete waste of time, effort and money. It seems more thought was put into this nonsense than talking to "real" truckers who have to work, live and drive this vehicle in order to make a living. We give this truck a big fat "D" for dumb. We give the Caterpillar folks an "A" for the engine which easily pulls 48,000 lbs. up a hill without much effort or downshifting. KW - what were ya'll thinking?
I hate this truck. It is the 2007 T-600. It was not designed by or for a "real" trucker. Your carrier will probably require you to spend at least two weeks living in this "beast" until you are "permitted" to return home and recover. In reality, we have spent upwards of 8-10 weeks in this thing. To be fair, there is one really great thing about this truck - the CAT engine. Ok, so much for the good stuff. The rest is all downhill. This vehicle was designed either by a soccer-mom or MBA or worst, both. If a trucker did provide any input into the design of this truck, he either was ignored or has never driven OTR before. Tomorrow is Saturday morning and we have some down time and a new Pentax camera. We will try and take some shots of the interior and what we have had to do to it to make it more workable and livable. Specifically, the interior of this "ant-eater" is just to damn small. If you're fat, this is not the vehicle for you. If you're fat and have a fat wife or girlfriend, your life will be miserable in this truck. If you're thin with a fat butt, you will have trouble getting past the two front seats into the back. If you just kinda overweight and have a big (fat) dog, both of you are going to be extremely unhappy. If you don't love your passenger to death, plan on plenty of arguments in this truck. The space between you and the other person is closer than two people playing at a poker table. After a few miles, you're going to feel like the person next to you is not next to you, but riding with you in your lap. The front of this truck is like working in a broom closet. The bunk will remind you of sleeping on top of a washer-dryer in a hot garage. I've seen two really fat folks get out of a T-600 with 3 dogs, a cat and three kids and wonder where the hell they all came from. To make life more "reasonable" the time we do spend in this vehicle, we need a cb, a laptop, a compass, a qualcom, a television with both a dvd and vhs tape player, a toaster, a microwave, a coffee maker, laundry basket, clothes for cold, hot, wet and "in-between" weather. We need a refrigerator or cooler, we need water, food, silverware, bowls and coffee cups. We have pillows, several blankets, a heated blanket, an emergency sleeping bag, emergency supplies and a first-aid kit. We have work boots, sneakers, hats, a "safety" hat and a Sirius and XM satellite radio. We have a camera kit. We have a printer and paper. We have a CD player with headphones and two cell phones. We have a scale, a circular saw, 100-ft extension cord, a tool box. We have a GPS unit. There is no provision in this truck for any of what we have just described. We had to trade in our old Galaxy because the moron who designed the CB holder did not make it large enough for the "typical" AM/SSB cb radio. If your microphone cord comes out the side of the radio, sorry, you're out of luck unless you plan to drill a large hole in your new $100K truck. There are four "cigarette" lighter holes to plug in stuff. We had to immediately add a Cobra inverter. We have yet to gain control and organize all the wires and plugs were have going everywhere, to make everything work. The "closet" next to the bunk was designed for "Barbie" and not Bob. If you wear size 00 tops, and "Daisy-Dukes", this closet was made for you. Anything larger than a 9" tv will not fit anywhere. There are four shelves on either of the bed that can hold about 5 cans of spaghetti and some VHS tapes. The storage space under the bed (not available with the double bunk unit) will hold 4 pillows or two small soft sided pieces of luggage. There are two drawers next to the bed - simulating a night stand - that can hold underwear, sox or books and vitamins and aspirin. You will most likely have to put everything you have on the bed during the day and on the floor at night. The curtain is the same one that KW has used for years with the "heavy-duty" zipper that will surely break on you at about 70,000 miles. Moving back up to the "work" area, all the old dials and toggle switches are gone. Even the new "smart" steering wheel is nothing like the big "ole" truck steering wheels that could be easily replaced and customized at your favorite chrome shop or Iowa 80. Forget about opening the windows for fresh air - they're too large and will blow everything out or around. There is a "modern" ac/heating system that is always on - you cannot shut it off unless the truck is shut down. This feature is very annoying. It makes you want to tear the whole thing apart to find the one wire that will make the air not blow. The interior lights are so bright, you will think you're sitting at a night game at Yankee stadium. With the lights on, you will be seen for miles by bears, aircraft flying overhead or the voyeur trucker on the other side of the highway. We have yet not been able to replace these new bright bulbs with anything "softer". The bunk area is lit by a large overhead fluorescent lamp that makes you feel like a dead corpse waiting to autopsied. There are two other yellow spot lamps that generate enough heat to make a onion ring feel right at home. The drivers seat in this truck was replaced by our carrier with a Bostich "more comfortable" (more expensive?) seat. If you regularly read this blog, you know our feelings about this seat. It is terrible. The KW factory installed model would have been far better. After 8 hours driving our asses are literally burning. After 11 hours (with regular breaks) driving, we need to use a cold compress to ease the welts on the back of our legs. Whatever our weight, the seat should have been designed better. But then it matches the complete lack of logical common-sense design that was employed throughout the entire vehicle. As we said earlier - there could not have, at any time, consulted a "real" truck driver. Just look at the dash - it looks like a Jeep Cherokee. The strangest thing is that KW made a little space below the steering column for a small plastic smoked color clipboard with the KW logo on it. What the hell is that all about? Why would anyone take more than a second to think about this? It is a complete waste of time, effort and money. It seems more thought was put into this nonsense than talking to "real" truckers who have to work, live and drive this vehicle in order to make a living. We give this truck a big fat "D" for dumb. We give the Caterpillar folks an "A" for the engine which easily pulls 48,000 lbs. up a hill without much effort or downshifting. KW - what were ya'll thinking?
