Peterbilt

Peterbilt 359

Peterbilt Motors Company is an American truck manufacturer specializing in the production of heavy-duty (Class 8) and medium-duty (Classes 5–7) commercial vehicles. The namesake of company founder T. A. "Al" Peterman, it was established in 1939 from the acquisition of Fageol Truck and Motor Company, and has operated as part of PACCAR since 1958. Competing alongside sister division Kenworth Truck Company, it sustains one of the longest-running marketplace rivalries in American truck manufacturing. Peterbilt trucks are identified by a red oval emblem that has been in use since 1953. A "bird"-style hood ornament has also been used on conventional-cab trucks since 1965. Headquartered in Denton, Texas, the company also manufactures trucks at PACCAR facilities in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec, Canada and Mexicali, Mexico.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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History

=== Background === Peterbilt was born out of the Pacific Northwest logging industry. In the first third of the 20th century, transporting logs remained time-consuming, primarily moved by steam tractors, horse teams, rail, and water. T.A. Peterman was a lumberman located in Tacoma, Washington, seeking to modernize log shipment to lumber mills to manufacture plywood. In 1934, Peterman acquired 30,000 acres of forestland in Morton, Washington; instead of using railroads, he built roads and acquired a fleet of trucks, purchasing White Motor Company trucks surplused by the U.S. Army. For logging use, the former military vehicles underwent several refurbishments and modifications; along with upgrades to their durability, the trucks underwent a degree of modernization, notably replacing hand cranks with electric starters. Safety changes included the addition of air brakes and air-cooled (finned) brake drums. On a 1938 business trip in San Francisco, Peterman learned that Fageol Truck and Motor Company was to be sold. Seeking an opportunity to expand into new vehicle production, he acquired Fageol from Sterling Motor Company for $50,000, receiving the 13.5-acre Fageol plant in Oakland, California, its tooling, and parts inventory; the purchase was completed in 1939. 1939-1940s. In 1939, the Fageol plant in Oakland opened for business as Peterbilt Motors Company. As part of the design process, Peterman and his company engineers sought input from truck owners and drivers on how to develop trucks; initially planning to develop chain-drive trucks for the logging industry, the company transitioned towards vehicles intended towards highway freight transport. In April 1939, Peterbilt released its first vehicles for public sale, the single-axle Model 260 (chain drive) and the tandem-ax

Models

=== Current === Medium-duty trucks (Class 5-7). Model 220 COE (Class 7, 2011 – present) Model 535 (Class 5, 2021 – present) Model 536 (Class 6, 2021 – present) Model 537 (Class 7, 2021 – present) Model 548 (Class 7, 2021 – present) Heavy trucks (Class 8). Model 365/367 severe-service/vocational (2006 – present) Model 379 conventional extended-hood semitractor (1987-2007) Model 389 extended-hood on-highway semitractor (2007 – 2024) Model 520 low-cab COE, vocational/refuse (2016 – present) Model 567 severe-service/vocational (2013 – present) Model 579 aerodynamic-body on-highway semitractor (2012 – present) Model 589 extended-hood on-highway semitractor (2024 – present)

Facilities

From its 1939 founding to 1960, Peterbilt was based in Oakland, California, using the former Fageol facilities. In 1960, the company was required to relocate, moving to Newark, California. To supplement truck production, the company opened a facility in Madison, Tennessee (suburban Nashville) in 1969. Originally producing the 352/282 COE exclusively, the Madison facility added conventionals during the 1970s; the facility remained open through 2009. In 1975, the company opened Peterbilt Canada in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec (part of Greater Montreal), dedicating production to low-cab COE vehicles (primarily for refuse applications). After its closure in 1996, the facility was demolished in 1997 and rebuilt with an all-new facility opened in 1999. Currently, Sainte-Thérèse assembles Peterbilt medium-duty trucks. In 1980, Peterbilt opened its current facility at Denton, Texas (northern Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs). At the end of 1986, the company closed its Newark facility, shifting production to Denton; corporate and engineering headquarters remained in California through the end of 1992, after which the company consolidated operations in its Denton facility. In 2009, the Madison facility was closed; all Peterbilt Class 8 conventionals are currently manufactured in Denton.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q90020880CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PeterbiltCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377719104 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peterbilt_359_-_Flickr_-_mick_-_Lumix.jpgCC BY 2.0 · Photo: Mick from Northamptonshire, England · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.