Peterbilt 281/351

The Peterbilt 281/351 is a line of tractor units built by Peterbilt, the American heavy truck maker, between 1954 and 1976. The two numbers mark the axle layout: the 281 had a single drive axle and the 351 had two. Truckers knew the conventional-cab trucks as the Needlenose because of their narrow nose and butterfly hood, which gave easy access to the engine and good visibility, and the trucks carried only two small round headlights. The design grew out of Peterbilt's Oakland, California assembly plant, and tilt cab-over-engine versions followed in 1959. The 351 outlasted the 281, which was ended in 1976 in favour of the larger 359. A model 281 had a prominent role in the 1971 television film Duel, directed by Steven Spielberg.