It wasn't hard to find Lyn and Lindalee Lengele at the sprawling truckstop, partly because of the magic of cell phones ("I'm standin' in front of the store...where're you at?"), and because theirs was the only Kenworth T800 in line at the truck wash. There were Freightliners and other types of KWs and, of course, Peterbilt 379s there, but only one road-goin' T8, and I walked right up to it and introduced myself.

We were in Portland, Ore., and had arranged to meet here so I could take a gander at their rig. They knew I'd be shooting pics so they were intent on removing more than a week's worth of road grime. Its bronze paint - a story in itself - soon glistened as Lyn pulled it out of the wash bay, and we headed out toward Interstate 84 and a short jaunt to Multnomah Falls.

The "T8" is far from rare (see accompanying story), but you don't find many set up as large-car-style highway haulers. Very few have the AeroCab Studio Sleeper option, which became available for the T8 barely a year ago. The Studio, first introduced on the W900B, is long and tall and has room aplenty, plus a feature or two that drivers really like.

Specifications Tractor 2001 Kenworth T800 AeroCab, 120-inch BBC plus 82-inch Studio Sleeper Engine Cummins Signature 600, 600 hp @ 1600-2000 rpm; 2,050 lbs-ft. @ 1000-1400 Transmission Eaton Fuller RTLO-18913A Super 13-speed Clutch Eaton Fuller 15.5-in. Solo Driveline Spicer HD Front Axle Dana Spicer 12,000-lb. E12001 Tandem Dana Spicer 40,000-lb. DSH40 w/ 3.70 ratio, on Kenworth Airglide 200 8-bag air-ride Tires & Wheels Bridgestone 285/75R24.5 on Alcoa polished aluminum Fuel Tanks Twin 150-gallon Brakes Dana Spicer S-cam w/ Meritor-Wabco ABS

For instance, it's one of the few sleepers available with a bed that folds up into a couch. Lindalee was back there as we left the truckstop, and said she enjoys sitting on the couch, watching through the big side window as the scenery goes by, while Lyn wheels down the road. She doesn't make every trip, but when she's along, she does spell Lyn at the wheel. She also handles paperwork, fixes meals in the microwave and, of course she is good company for her hubby.

T8 Suits "The Boss"

Lyn started into trucking back in the '60s, hauling cattle and logs. Since 1980, he has been hauling foodstuffs and other freight, most of it through brokers. During much of that time he has dealt with Sterling Transportation in Redmond, Ore., and General Transportation in Van Buren, Ark.

He has his own hauling authority, which allows him to grab other loads for the 48-by-102 Trailmobile reefer trailer he also owns. This beats leasing to a motor carrier, he believes.

"My dad - he was a construction worker and a truck driver - he used to say, 'If you're going to own the truck, you may as well be your own boss,'" Lyn said. "'If you lease to somebody, you may as well let him own the truck, because you're not much more than a company driver anyway.'"

His previous two tractors were also Kenworths - a T2000 and a T600B before that. He says he liked the T6 but "the T2000 just didn't fit me. I never could get sitting right; to reach the pedals with my short legs, I had to be sitting right up against the wheel. And if you're going to be out on the road a lot, you'd damn well better be comfortable."

So after three years in the T2, he bought this T8. He chose it because the cab is more his size, and he likes its styling. It combines traditional lines with some of the advantages of aero tractors, namely, smoother air flow and good visibility over the steeply sloped nose, and a tight turning circle with the setback steer axle. The cost of fuel is always a consideration, and visibility and maneuverability are important on some city streets and in some dock areas.

He spec'd a lot of what's on it, from engine to paint. Most of the engines in his trucks over the years were Cummins, and this one'll really hum: It's the Signature 600, the strongest of the 15-liter new series engines from Indiana. So far it's done what he's expected of it.

The engine's sounds can be heard in the cab, but only faintly, because the AeroCab Studio Sleeper comes with extra insulation for quietness. I appreciated the quiet as we motored along I-84, because I'm hard of hearing, yet from where I sat in the passenger's seat, I could not only hear Lyn's comments from behind the wheel, but also Lindalee's from way back in the sleeper.

One thing they did like in the T2000 was its wider cab. The T/W cab is comparatively narrow, and the seats are close enough together that you have to turn slightly to move between them.

Kenworth T800: Popular, Versatile The T800 is Kenworth's most popular model, accounting for about 40% of all KWs built. Most T8s are vocational trucks, set up for logging, dump and concrete mixer duty in places off the interstates. But its versatility allows it to be equipped for a variety of highway hauling jobs, from a local or regional daycab to an out-and-gone over-the-roader with a long-and-tall sleeper. The T8's cab is the same as that on the T600B and W900B, and so are its sleepers. The AeroCab Studio Sleeper is among nine sleeper boxes available with the "T8" and its cousins, the aerodynamic T600 and the traditionally styled W900B/L. The Studio is the biggest, but like others, can be removed to convert the tractor into a daycab. That's an advantage these days, with too many sleeper-equipped tractors sitting on used truck lots. The AeroCab design dispenses with the bulkheads used with other sleepers, freeing 4 to 12 inches of linear space. This adds living space but retains the conversion advantage of the separate box structure. Kenworth sells a conversion kit that adds a back wall to the AeroCab after the box is taken off. What's the difference between the T and the W? The steer axle's position. The T6 and T8 have setback front axles while the W9 has a set-forward axle. So if you see a high-hooded Kenworth with a setback axle coming at you, you'll know it's a T800 (even if it looks like a W9), and if you see a sloped-nose KW with a set-forward axle, it's a W900 (even if it appears to be a T8).

Power Plus Good Economy

Lyn pulled to the shoulder about 20 miles east of Portland. We switched seats, and I drove the few miles to the Multnomah Falls rest area. Its lot has a turnaround at the eastern end that is tight for long-wheelbase tractors with forward-set steer axles. You can just make it while kissing the left curb slightly with the tires of a 48-foot trailer, but a 53's tires will go over the curb, as tracks in the mud attest. It's a fairly easy U-turn for more modern tractors, though, and the T8 was definitely easy.

The pics I shot here show some nice background scenery - the main reason this is a popular stop for motorists and truckers who run along I-84 as it passes through the Columbia River Gorge - and I think the KW looks pretty nice, too. It has a flat nose and squarish lines around the headlamps and fenders. Its exposed steps, fuel tanks and air cans give it a classic look, while the sloped hood and high roof line provide some aerodynamics.

He left off the small roof fairing, which probably would've saved some fuel, because he wanted a traditional look. "It gets between 5 and 5.5 miles a gallon," Lyn said, "and that's about what I expected, with all the square stuff and the big cans sitting out in the open, and all the ponies." The Cummins N14-525 in his T2000 averaged 5.9 to 6.2 mpg, so aerodynamics do help.

When I drove it, the truck had just under 30,000 miles, and it had about twice that when I talked with Lyn two months later. So far it has given them no trouble, and, of course, its power is pleasing.

13 Speeds Mostly for Fun

The trailer carried a load of canned goods but the Cummins didn't seem to care. Acceleration was brisk as I went through the gears, and I split-shifted the 13-speed mostly for fun.

A 10- or 9-speed tranny would've had enough ratios to do the job, I believe. But multi-speed transmissions go with Big Power engines, and Eaton's Super 13- and 18-speeds are the only models strong enough to take the Sig 600's 2,050 pounds-feet of torque.

Anyway, I could float-shift this tranny a lot because it was set up just right - something Kenworth manages to do with most of its models. But I wasn't that familiar with it, so I used my usual trick of declutching to pull it out of a gear, then floating into the next gear.

Time was short (isn't it always?), and so was this trip. I drove us to the Troutdale TA, where we ate supper, and then Lyn and Lindalee dropped me at the Portland airport. That was almost the end of my information gathering, except for talking to Lyn via cell phone again in late March, during which we recalled his story about the T800's paint color.

"I had seen the color I wanted - it was almost a cream," Lyn said, "on another truck at a dealer's, and somebody told me it was called Mandarin Gold. "So when we were filling out the order form, the salesman (Terry Morgan at Roberts Motors in Portland) started pulling out the paint book, but I said, 'No, I don't need to look at that. I know what I want. It's Mandarin Gold.' So he put it down.

"When it came through with this, which is much more of a brown, I started accusing them of painting it wrong. But we looked at it in the book and there it was - Mandarin Gold. But now I don't think it looks so bad." "I like it," Lindalee declared, and that should be the end of it.