The Peterbilt 330 of 2000 was the company’s first medium-duty truck with a conventional cab, as opposed to the cabovers it had sold until then. It used the cab of the heavy conventionals with a new hood, and it stayed in the range in updated form until 2021.
Peterbilt 330 at a glance
| Maker | Peterbilt Motors Company (PACCAR) |
|---|---|
| Production | 2000–2021 |
| Class | medium-duty, Class 6 |
| Layout | conventional cab |
| Cab | 1100-series cab from the Class 8 conventionals |
| Hood | all-new, with integrated twin headlamps |
| Later update | single-piece windshield from the 2007 generation |
| Non-CDL use | yes, in Class 6 form |
| Hybrid | 330 and 335 diesel-electric offered from 2006 |
| Assembly | Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec |
History of the Peterbilt 330
Peterbilt had entered medium duty in 1987 with the Brazilian-built Mid-Ranger, a low-cab cabover, and followed it in 1998 with the DAF-based 210/220. The 330 of 2000 took a different route: it was a conventional truck, with the engine ahead of the driver, built around the same 1100-series cab used by the Class 8 conventionals. The cab was familiar, but the hood was new, with integrated twin headlamps that marked the medium-duty models out from the heavy trucks.
The truck was assembled at the Sainte-Thérèse plant in Quebec, which PACCAR had rebuilt after closing the original Peterbilt Canada factory. In Class 6 form the 330 was light enough to be driven without a commercial licence in the United States, which made it attractive to businesses that wanted a truck their staff could drive on an ordinary licence.
In 2006 Peterbilt added the 330 and 335 hybrids, the company’s first diesel-electric vehicles. A revision of the medium-duty line brought a single-piece windshield from the 2007 generation, and the 330 continued alongside the 337 and 348 until 2021. By then the medium-duty range had become a full family, with the 330 at the lighter end.
Design and features
- Class 8 cab: the 1100-series cab gave medium-duty buyers the same cab as the heavy conventionals.
- New hood: the medium-duty hood with integrated twin headlamps set the 330 apart from the heavy trucks.
- Non-CDL operation: Class 6 weight allowed the truck to be used without a commercial licence.
- Hybrid option: from 2006 the 330 could be ordered as a diesel-electric hybrid.
- Single-piece windshield: adopted with the 2007 revision of the medium-duty line.
Peterbilt 330 versions
- 330 (2000–2021): the standard medium-duty conventional.
- 330 Hybrid (2006): diesel-electric version, the first hybrid Peterbilt.
- 2007 generation: revised cab with a single-piece windshield.
- 337 and 348: the heavier Class 7 and 7/8 models developed alongside the 330.
The heavier medium-duty models are covered with the Peterbilt 335 and the 348; the cabover that came before is the 200 Mid-Ranger. All Peterbilt trucks are in the Peterbilt collection.
Sources
- Peterbilt, English Wikipedia: 2000 launch, 1100-series cab, Sainte-Thérèse, hybrids, 2009 revision
- List of Peterbilt vehicles, English Wikipedia: production years, class, single-piece windshield
