improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . march 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message this article includes a list of references but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . september 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message peterbilt motors company type division industry truck manufacturing founded 1939 headquarters denton texas united states products see listing parent paccar website www.peterbilt.com peterbilt assembly plant and headquarters in denton texas . peterbilt 379 truck model . peterbilt motors company founded in 1939 in oakland california is an american manufacturer of medium and heavy duty class 5 through to class 8 trucks . it operates manufacturing facilities and has its headquarters in denton texas . it also has a factory in sainte th r se quebec . contents 1 facilities 2 history 3 peterbilt models 3.1 2008 and beyond 3.2 sleepers 4 see also 5 references 6 external links facilities edit from 1939 until the mid 1980s the company was based in the san francisco bay area of northern california . the original plant was in oakland which closed and in 1960 to move to newark california also in the east bay . its headquarters and a new state of the art manufacturing plant opened in newark in october 1960 . truck production there ended at the close of 1986 . division headquarters and engineering remained in newark until 1992 when a new administrative complex and a new engineering department at the denton plant were completed . the new madison nashville plant opened in 1969 in madison tennessee for the east coast market . originally it only manufactured the 352 282 cabover then conventional production began in the 1970s until it was closed in 2009 . production of class 8 trucks continues at the denton texas plant . history edit in the early part of the 20th century tacoma washington plywood manufacturer and lumber entrepreneur t.a. peterman was faced with a lumber logistics problem . he could not get logs from the forest to his lumber mill quickly or efficiently . he sought to improve upon the methods of the day floating logs down river or the use of steam tractors and horse teams . peterman knew that if he could develop the then nascent automobile technology and build trucks he could solve his problem . peterman was rebuilding surplus army trucks improving the technology with each successive vehicle . then he put a battery on the starter instead of the crank and soon purchased the assets of fageol motors of oakland california in 1938 to supplement his need for a custom built logging truck chassis . fageol had gone into receivership in 1932 . by 1938 the great depression had driven the value of the assets to nearly zero . peterman acquired the defunct truck manufacturer and although he produced two chain drive logging trucks they were unsuccessful . in 1939 he began selling his trucks to the public . t. a. peterman died in 1944 . his wife ida sold the company less the land to seven individuals within the organization . they expanded it into a major producer of heavy duty trucks . in 1958 ida peterman announced plans to sell the land to develop a shopping center . the shareholders not wanting to invest in a new manufacturing facility sold the company to pacific car & foundry co. then primarily a manufacturer of railroad freight cars which was looking to expand its truck manufacturing presence . pacific car & foundry co which had acquired the assets of kenworth in 1944 was already a competitor in the heavy truck market . in june 1958 they acquired peterbilt motors as a wholly owned subsidiary . one year later pacific car started construction of a modern 176 000 square foot 16 400 m2 manufacturing facility in newark calif. in august 1960 peterbilt moved to the new facility and became a division of the parent firm . pacific car and foundry co. changed its name officially to paccar in 1971 . peterbilt models edit a 1955 peterbilt 281 peterbilt 386 2009 peterbilt 379 . peterbilt model numbers traditionally started with a 2 for single drive rear axle tag axle models and with a 3 for dual drive rear axle model from 1939 until 1981 with the 362 . peterbilt eliminated this distinction in the late 1970s . citation needed 200 265 small truck with volkswagen man g90 based cab . similar to the l80 cab series volkswagen production continues today in brazil 260 334 on highway built 1939 1941 . 270 334 345 on highway built 1941 1949 . 354 355 364 heavy duty built 1941 1949 . twenty eight model 364s sold to navy contractors in 1942 . 280 350 this is the classic iron nose conventional built from 1949 to 1957 . it has distinctive cycle type front fenders and a long grille with vertical shutters . main article peterbilt 281 281 351 the classic narrow nose butterfly hood peterbilt made from 1954 until 1976 . the truck was made notorious with the public with the release of steven spielberg s 1971 thriller duel which featured a 1950s peterbilt 281 . this truck was not a 351 because it had one tag axle . the 351 was also available after 1971 in a setback front axle sbfa configuration peterbilt s first such design aimed at the east coast market . nicknamed the autocar fighter by some staff . the design of the companion trucks made way for later models as the 351 sbfa evolved into the 353 . 282 352 tilt cab cab over engine model that replaced the model 351 non tilting cab over with panoramic safe t cab in 1959 . formally nicknamed the pacemaker by a staffer at peterbilt after an in house name contest in 1969 the winner got a color tv . 1959 early 1969 headlights closer to radiator . the unilite cab was all hand tooled . pacemaker style sheet metal 1969 1980 . the pacemaker cab was refined through the 1970s . pacemakers 352s were available in cab sizes ranging from 54 to 110 bumper to back of cab bbc . a 352 pacemaker appeared in knight rider as super truck goliath and the cab over pete is referenced in the classic cb radio song convoy . 352h high cab model introduced circa 1975 for larger engines with higher cab and 1 512 sq in radiator instead of the normal 1 050 sq. in radiator . the 352h was available in 86 and 110 bbc lengths and the very rare 63 bbc cab . 358 the 358 288 single drive was peterbilt s first tilt hood . citation needed basically a tilt hood 351 . later available with a fiberglass hood . peterbilt s design engineers received a u.s.patent for the tilt hood design . 358 was available from 1965 until 1976 . citation needed 359 introduced in late 1967 this was the first wide nosed conventional for peterbilt even though it did offer a tropic radiator wide front 351 for export at the time 289 single drive . 359 was available in 119 and 127 long hood bbc configurations . the long hood was only available for specific engines such as the detroit diesel 12v71 . in 1967 1972 it had the small windowed unilite cab . in 1973 the 1100 series cab with bulkhead style doors debuted late 1972 the distinctive dash of class was developed in 1976 . the 359 was in production until 1987 when it was replaced by its successor the model 379 . in late 1986 peterbilt offered a special limited edition 359 classic a limited run of 359 trucks with numbered dash plaques although more than 359 were built . the bulkhead style doors of the 1100 series cab are still used today . 346 the second rarest peterbilt ever made . it was made from 1972 to 1975 and only 10 were made . the 346 was intended to be a concrete mixer dump truck or snowplow with 4 4 versions planned but never built . the first 346 featured the unilite cab and was sold to rinker construction . in traverse city mi there is a 346 crane truck still in operation . jb selvidge 348 the 348 was a fiberglass hood aimed at mixer and dump truck applications . the sloped hood afforded additional visibility . this was peterbilt s first fiberglass sloped hood 1970 . the 348 was in production from 1970 until 1986 . the 349 was similar but with a slightly wider hood . 349 was later marketed for lightweight highway duty in the 1980s . the 348 6 6 used a modified 359 113 sbfa hood . 353 the 353 replaced the 351 flat fender and 381 construction models in 1973 . the 353 had flat pit style fenders butterfly hood and was aimed at construction . citation needed 387 the 387 1975 1987 looked similar to a 353 but had a heavier frame longer hood full flat fenders and under cab steps larger bumper and overall heavier specs . originally designed as a coal hauler the first 387 was built in the madison tennessee plant in 1976 and can be seen in the 1977 working class brochure as a coal truck . jb selvidge 362 the 362 replaced the aging 352 in 1981 as the company s flagship cab over . the 362 was available with a large one piece center windshield with three wipers or two center pieces with two wipers . the later refinement was the 362e which had a slightly set back front axle for longer front springs . the last 362 was built as a sbfa for oilfield use in august 2005 . the 362 was available in cab sizes from 54 to 110 bbc with sbfa and tandem steer options . there was also an 8 8 362 . 372 designed for high efficiency and driver comfort this was the most aerodynamic citation needed peterbilt cabover ever built . the nose piece of the cab flipped forward similar to the old 350 coe of the 1950s allowing access to maintenance items . the 372 was in production from 1988 until 1993 . the 372 proved that 10 mpg can be achieved with a class 8 truck . citation needed the truck has the distinction of being the most unusual peterbilt design offering a sinister darth vader look citation needed that some by whom also thought looked like a motorhome think winnebago or a football helmet . 377 peterbilt s aerodynamically designed conventional with a fiberglass hood and headlights incorporated into the fenders . available in set forward front axle sffa with a 122 bbc and set back front axle sbfa in 120 configurations . available late 1986 until 2000 . replaced by the 387 in theory but continued as a 385 120 . 378 similar to the 379 the 378 has a fiberglass hood and steeper hood slope . it was not available in a long hood but was available in set back front axle sbfa configurations . the 378 was popular in local and vocational trucking as well as over the road applications . citation needed available 1986 2007 . whereas the 378 and 379 both are available in a 119.5 bbc the 378 sits two inches higher above the frame rails compared to the 379 . this accounts for the slight downward angle to the hood . 357 the 357 looks like a 378 sharing the various hoods sbfa sffa