LEGO CUUSOO

Continuing with the Logging Crew theme that I started a while ago (see the Skidder and Forwarder and the Tracked Harvester), I have created a logging tractor/trailer truck.

These trucks are used to haul cut timber from the harvesting site to the lumber mill. They do a very difficult job. The payload on a log trailer can weigh as much as 50 tons and the trucks are often required to travel on rough mountain roads. Not surprisingly, these rigs are among the biggest and most powerful on the road, sometimes topping out near 1000 horsepower (for comparison, a typical long-haul semi tractor/trailer that you might see on an interstate highway would be rated at 300-500 horsepower).

Some logging trucks have an integrated knuckleboom crane for loading and unloading the logs, but most do not. For the larger logging operations, it is more efficient to have dedicated loading equipment at both ends of the truck's route.

Below is a picture of a real Kenworth logging truck. Kenworth is one of the major players in the logging truck industry. The company was founded 100 years ago with their main objective being to build a truck that was rugged and powerful enough for logging operations in the American Pacific Northwest.