The K300 was Kenworth’s medium-duty cab-over. It arrived in 1987 as the Mid-Ranger, the first medium-duty truck the company had built, and it went through two identities: a Brazilian-built model derived from the MAN G90, and from 2000 a truck with the cab of the DAF 45.
Kenworth K300 at a glance
| First introduced | 1987, as the Mid-Ranger |
|---|---|
| Role | Kenworth’s first medium-duty truck |
| Origin | derived from the MAN G90, a wide-body version of the Volkswagen LT |
| Built | Brazil, shared with Peterbilt |
| Renamed K300 | 1992 |
| Production from 1992 | Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec |
| Second generation | 2000, with the cab of the DAF 45 (Leyland Roadrunner) |
| Replaced by | K270/K370 line of 2008, based on the DAF LF |
| Maker | Kenworth, a PACCAR company |
Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on Kenworth; the K300 is described there in the company history, so this page covers only what that article states.
History of the Kenworth K300
Kenworth had built heavy trucks since the 1920s, but no medium-duty model until 1987. In that year it introduced the Mid-Ranger, a cab-over developed jointly with Peterbilt and produced in Brazil. It was derived from the MAN G90, itself a wide-body version of the Volkswagen LT, which made it a very different kind of Kenworth from the W900 and K100.
In 1992 the Mid-Ranger was renamed the K300 when PACCAR moved its production to Sainte-Thérèse in Quebec. The change of name came as the company reorganised where the truck was built rather than as a new model, and the K300 carried on as the medium-duty cab-over of the range.
A second generation arrived in 2000, when Kenworth redesigned the medium-duty cab-over range around the cab of the DAF 45, also known as the Leyland Roadrunner. PACCAR had bought DAF in 1996 and Leyland Trucks in 1998, and within the group DAF developed cab-over trucks for Kenworth and Peterbilt. The K300 was replaced in the 2008 modernisation of the range by the Class 5–7 T170/T270/T370 family, and the low-cab COE returned on the DAF LF as the K260/K360, renamed K270/K370 for 2013. Those K270/K370 lines were among the models given battery-electric versions for 2021.
Design and features
- Medium-duty role: the first Kenworth below the heavy Class 8 trucks.
- Cab-over layout: a short truck for urban and regional delivery work.
- MAN origins: the first generation came from the MAN G90 via a Peterbilt joint project.
- DAF cab: from 2000 the K300 used the DAF 45 cab.
- Long line of successors: the K270/K370 continued the medium-duty cab-over idea.
Kenworth K300 versions
- Mid-Ranger (1987–1992): the original Brazilian-built model.
- K300 (1992–2000): the same truck under its new name, built in Quebec.
- K300 (2000–2008): second generation with the DAF 45 cab.
- K270/K370: the DAF LF-based successors from 2008.
The K300 was the small relative of the heavy K100 cab-over. The medium-duty conventional side of the range was covered by the T300 and later by the T370. More trucks are in the Kenworth collection.
Video: 2001 Kenworth K300 – for sale in Bethel, PA 19507
Video by zhirsch2306 on YouTube.
Sources
- Kenworth, English Wikipedia: Mid-Ranger of 1987, K300 of 1992, DAF 45 cab of 2000, K270/K370
