In 1957, eight years after the Van Doorne crew started the production of rolling chassis, DAF introduced their first heavy-duty chassis-cab, known as the 2000-series of trucks and tractors. The first model was the 2000 DO, rated at a gross combination weight of 35 tonnes (77,162 lbs).
The new heavy cabover was immediately recognizable as a DAF, as the truck and trailer manufacturer simply widened their existing all-steel cab and gave it a small snout to house a serious inline-six diesel engine.
At first, only 4×2 truck and tractor chassis were available. In the course of 1959, the 2000-series got an in-house drive axle with an axle weight rating of 10 tonnes (22,046 lbs). The six-speed constant mesh transmission was sourced from ZF, synchromesh was optional. Air brakes were standard.
The ‘serious inline-six diesel engine’ I mentioned was the Leyland O.680 (11.1 liter) from the UK, good for 165 SAE-hp and designated as the DO engine by DAF.
A factory sleeper cab was also offered. After all, heavy-duty commercial vehicles tend to cross borders. The seemingly contented driver in the picture is sitting behind the wheel of a DAF T 2000 DO (the letter T for a 4×2 tractor), towing a dry bulk tanker semi-trailer. And what a wonderful picture it is!
The outstanding flatbed truck I caught in October 2024 is a 1967 DAF A 2200 DO 505, the number 505 refers to the vehicle’s wheelbase in centimeters. By then, the O.680 diesel had a maximum power output of 180 SAE-hp. Such a straight truck was typically used to haul hay, straw, or bagged goods; its GVWR is 15.4 tonnes (33,951 lbs).
The year 1968 marked a turning point in the production of DAF engines, as the license-built Leyland 680 evolved into the long-standing DAF 1160-series of diesels, turbodiesels and turbo-intercooling diesels, all of them with 11.6 liter displacement. Initially, there were three variants: the DKD 1160 (180 SAE-hp), the DK 1160 (230 SAE-hp), and the DKA 1160 (250 SAE-hp). As per usual, the letters were part of the vehicle’s model designation.
Naturally, the 2000-series got the in-house engines too, like this 1969 DAF A 2200 DKD 548 flatbed truck with a full trailer.
The roughest and toughest of them all was the 226 SAE-hp, DAF ATE 2400 DP with a 6×4 drivetrain, introduced in 1965. From the late sixties onwards, these brutes were known as the ATE 2400 DK, so powered by the DAF DK 1160 engine with 230 SAE-hp. They were built until 1980, yet at that point only for export markets (read: the African continent), and were superseded by the conventional DAF N2800-series.
At the October 2024 DAF event, the 1967 truck was accompanied by an equally splendid 1989 DAF FAS 2800 Turbo Intercooling with a 6×2 drivetrain.
Let’s end with a 1968 DAF T 2400 DK in its element, the owner is taking his 4×2 tractor with a sleeper cab out for a spin. Enjoy the ride and the scenery.
The smoothness with which the driver in the video changes gear is wonderful!
Don’t we love these old truck
That is a lovely example in a great colour. I am glad someone is still taking care of it.
The current owner certainly took good care of it, this is how it looked prior to its salvage:
(collection Vincent Theisen/website Wim Lagerweij)
Nice post Johannes, looks like a tough, hard-working truck. The front end remined me of a 1955/56 Ford F-100 pickup.
A mid-fifties Ford pickup Jim? How about the pickup that DAF built in the fifties, powered by a Hercules JXE-3 engine.
There are so many detail things on Euro trucks that make them so very much more stylish than other ones. The tightly curved guards/mud-protectors: two-tone colours; use of wood in the bed bits: peculiarly Euro wheels (which often as not somehow resemble alloys, though not really here): can’t quite name the other things just now. Dare I say it – and not to a trucker of the day – they’re always pretty-looking devices.
This particular one has the lovely curved upper cab somehow reminiscent of ’30’s Art Deco jobs, though it must be said the lower nose has a fair dose of the fairly hideous ’58 Packbaker about it. But oddly enough, the whole effect is also similar to a Bedford TK from 1960, so maybe it’s just of its times.
Never seen a truck with that massive cab roof-rack thingy before: what’s it for, stadium seating?
The roof rack could be used for stadium seating, absolutely. But the original thought behind it was this:
(courtesy of Historisch Transport/Klaes Fritsma)
Great cab shape
Pictured below a contemporary ‘Frog DAF’. Narrower than the 2000-series and no snout (because powered by much smaller engines), yet clearly the same shape, dating back to the early beginnings.
A bit of a similarity to the British Dodge 500 with that lower snout.
Another one with a protruding lower snout.
My father sold axles for Rockewell in the US The dry bulk tanker and the flatbed both have Rockwell axles There easy to identify by the ( ) on the axle hub. Must have been a division in Europe as well.
Yes, Meritor (previously Rockwell) is an established name in Europe too.
BB, your comment about the ( ) on the axle hubs made me curious, as DAF opened their own axle/differential plant in 1958.
Pictured below a duo of DAF 2676 drive axles, forming the 26 tonnes 2676T tandem, on a 1973 DAF-IH dump truck. Here’s the whole article with more pictures:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/trucks-and-heavy-equipment/construction-site-classic-1973-daf-nat-2506-6×4-dump-truck-the-binder-reminder/
Sharp eye though, I never paid attention to that specific detail!
Just getting to this after my outing in the Sierras; thanks for this homage to one of my favorite European trucks. Love this cab, from a time before they all became more like cracker boxes. I used to see all kinds of lovely ’50s trucks crossing through Innsbruck and over the Brenner Pass as a kid.
…I doubt if a 165 hp DAF ever ‘flew’ over the mountains like this, seems to be quite steep!
The artist is Charles Burki, who did many DAF jobs in the fifties and later years. Brochures, cutaway drawings, etc.
Lovely rendering.
We commonly hiked up the foothills from our house and could see the old Brenner Pass road with long lines of cars behind the trucks that were practically crawling up the pass. It must have been very frustrating for all the Germans desperately driving to Italy for vacation. It was a major impetus for building the new Brenner Pass highway. The famous Europa Bridge was under construction just as we were leaving Innsbruck. That alone was quite a sight to see.