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| The "Cruisewhopper" was really a Kenworth K123 Cabover painted and upfitted to resemble a Mack Cruiseliner. As you will read about below, Fred Bruhn provided many of the support trucks for this movie both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. In the case of Pig Pen's extra truck, the producers used one of Bruhn's K123 cabovers. In fact, the truck used was identical to the Bruhn K123 used "as-is" with the belly dump trailer that followed the Rubber Duck through most of the movie. |
I have captured a number of photos from the movie which clearly show the reworked Kenworth. If you notice, the producers went through some work to not only replicate the paint scheme of the Cruiseliner, but also the bull bar, single headlight, "MACK" name above the griller and the passenger side "ram" air scoop behind the cab. Unfortunately, they didn't do anything with the roof mounted A/C condenser or the Kenworth factory air cleaner pipe on the driver's side. |
Not appreciating the difference in the two trucks, the studio used this Cruisewhopper as a second unit truck, being sent out on the road when Pig Pen's real Cruiseliner was tied up filiming close-ups and in-cab shots. As such, this Kenworth appears in random shots throughout the movie. It was understandably used for the barrel hit at the first weigh station, but it was also used in: Passing by Big Nasty and Bald Eagle "lookin' at them rigs up on the hill" and again in the end of the movie pulling the casket trailer onto the highway. Curiously, the Cruiseliner was used for the in-stadium shots with the casket trailer, but then the Kenworth was substituted for all of the credit shots with the casket trailer. The Cruiseliner WAS used in the Alvarez Jail hit, and damage to the truck and exhaust stacks can clearly be seen as the truck backs out and then drives past the jail. |
| The Cruiseliner was a new truck from the factory, and featured a Maxidyne 300 with a Mack 5 speed transmission. With that engine and transmission combo, the truck was likely a model WS786LST. During filming, the truck was driven by a stunt man named Alan Riggs. After filming, the truck was returned to Mack and subsequently auctioned off as a promo in the LA area. At the time, a man named Mike K. was one of only a handful of trucking companies with an all-Mack fleet. Having established a good report with the local Mack delaer, the dealer's staff let Mike know what he needed to bid to win the truck, and sure enough, he won. After the auction, Mike talked a great length with Kris Kristofferson about the movie and the filming process. There were also a few other stories about Barbra that I won't put herein. herein. About a year after purchasing the truck, one of Mike's drivers totaled the truck in a jackknife wreck on the I-5/I-205 interchange in Los Angeles. Mike had the truck towed back to the shop, but there was nothing left to rebuild. The truck was sold for scrap, pink diamond tuck leather, mirrored ceiling and all. |
