Kenworth 8x8 XM1074 PLS - Steel Soldiers::Military Vehicles Supersite

M1075 · 04-10-2008, 07:38

I am putting together a Palletized Loading System using prototypes built by Kenworth and would like any input or history you can give me on the truck or trailer. As a stroke of luck, ARMYMAN30yearsplus had been saving one of the original manuals for these from original testing in the late eighties. He was gracious enough to send it to me free of charge. Big

to ArmyMan!

This Kenworth truck and Knight trailer represented Paccar's proposal for the PLS contract. Other competitors included Oshkosh and MAN (GM). Each submitted 9 vehicles for testing and Oshkosh came away with the contract. Unlike the competitors 10x10, the Kenworth is an 8x8 with power available to all wheels with interaxle and differential lockups. Cummins 444 engine, auto tranny, front and rear axle steer, central tire inflation system, load handling system, material handling crane, and hydraulic winch complete the package.

A few others have posted they were involved with initial testing of these of Fort Hood and Fort Carson. I have heard they were prone to rollovers but generally outperformed the Oshkosh platform and also have a smoother ride. I would like to know more about your experiences.

Angus1 · 04-10-2008, 09:09

I can tell you that the cummis 444 and 444XT were great motors. But Injectors were very expensive. And be sure to run the overhead every 100,000 miles. I like it and wish I could get my hands on one.

No.2Diesel · 04-10-2008, 09:36

Wow It looks like you have most of the ingredients already.

That is a unique find! It has the potential to carry out multiple operations. That would be neat if you found or fabricated a large rolloff bed so it can be a dump truck/dumpster truck instead of just having a the flatbed. How many degrees of travel does the one armed ooga-booga provide? Now you just need a KTA

No.2Diesel · 04-10-2008, 09:48

Here's a pic of PLS

maddawg308 · 04-10-2008, 09:57

That is a really unique truck! Love to see that at a rally like Aberdeen someday!

Be sure to keep us in the know with plenty of pics as you restore her...

bigbee · 04-10-2008, 18:33

M1075--
Would that have been tagged as an XM1074? Do you have any info on the Pilot/prototype serial numbers or USA registration numbers? I am (foolishly) trying to fill in holes in the Mseries number list that's on wikipedia and was posted here some time ago.

I'd love to see that fully loaded and parked to an Oshkosh PLS.

M1075 · 04-10-2008, 18:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angus1

I can tell you that the cummis 444 and 444XT were great motors. But Injectors were very expensive. And be sure to run the overhead every 100,000 miles. I like it and wish I could get my hands on one.

Thanks for the tip. I have heard others mention problems with the injectors too. Good thing is the truck only has 14,000 miles on it and I'll never get it to 100,000 in my lifetime.

M1075 · 04-10-2008, 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by No.2Diesel

Wow It looks like you have most of the ingredients already.

That is a unique find! It has the potential to carry out multiple operations. That would be neat if you found or fabricated a large rolloff bed so it can be a dump truck/dumpster truck instead of just having a the flatbed. How many degrees of travel does the one armed ooga-booga provide? Now you just need a KTA

The PLS is a smart design for the military or just about any other user. One truck to handle a variety of tasks. I have several of the flatracks and a few of the water distributors. I have thought about fabbing up some sort of dump body like you said.

M1075 · 04-10-2008, 18:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigbee

M1075--
Would that have been tagged as an XM1074? Do you have any info on the Pilot/prototype serial numbers or USA registration numbers? I am (foolishly) trying to fill in holes in the Mseries number list that's on wikipedia and was posted here some time ago.

I'd love to see that fully loaded and parked to an Oshkosh PLS.

Yes, it is an XM1074. It has the same NSN as the real M1074 made by Oshkosh. I'll check into the registration numbers and get a picture of it and the M1075 parked side by side.

ARMYMAN30YearsPlus · 04-10-2008, 18:45

James:
Thanks for posting the thread that is an awesome truck. It was back in 1985 when we ran the test at Fort Hood Texas. I took our Medium Truck Company down from Fort Devens Mass to run them side by side with these test PLS systems. The test was centered out of North Fort Hood and used the area as a Corps Storage Area for ammunition. There were dozens of forklifts and thousands of dummy loads of ammuniton staged for the test. The PLS flatracks were all pre-loaded and pre-documented with all shipping docs complete. Our loads were loose pallets of ammuniton that had to be forked onto our M872 trailers.

On the first day of the test PLS after PLS rolled out of the CSA headed on a route that went around the perimeter of all of Fort Hood which is over 100 miles. Not one of my trucks had departed, they were all lined up loaded waiting at the office, so I walked over to the dispatch office and found one specialist on a typewriter one fingering the TCMD. There were about ten Soldiers there standing around so I went off on them, told them each to grab a pen and a stack of TCMD's and go out and document each of the loads waiting to go. In about ten minutes all my trucks were on the road. Back then 88M's were called 64C and my guys loved to drive.

It did not take long for our trucks to begin to outhaul the PLS in tons delivered. I had a visit from the test director who questioned my TCMD tactic and told me I screwed up the test. I told him flat out that my Soldier were here to train for war and that we had a unit mission to haul ammunition for a corps and that all of the documentation was correct so it was how we would fight. He gave up and in the long run we hauled almost 40% more than the PLS.

Today in Korea we have one PLS company that exists to haul ammunition in forward areas everything else is shipped on flatbeds, or straigh trucks. I hope the Army never gives up on the universal capability of a fifth wheel.

The PLS does have its place and I am very glad that James got one because those KW's were the coolest ones in the test.