After four months of renovation work, Rainier Truck & Chassis, LLC,of Yakima, Wash., has finally got its pilot production plant operational. Currently, the company is continuing to spec and secure components for production of its "low-cost/low-tech" common cab/chassis cabover engine platform.

According to Gary Jones, president of Rainier, "The Pilot plant facility is 6,000 square feet located on 13 acres. The plant will be responsible for producing our first 200 trucks, which will be stall-built in six work stations. We will also have an assembly area for pre-assembly of axles/suspensions, engines and transmissions, fuel and air tanks, cooling and steering systems, etc."

Additional expansion plans are in place for the future, according to the company. 

Rainier has added a 36,000-pound GVW Class “Baby” 8 COE truck model to its lineup called the RT 3600. The RT 3600 shares the same cab/chassis components with the rest of the Rainier lineup, except with higher gross axle weight ratings, and heavier-duty suspensions and steering components.

In addition, the RT 3600 comes standard with the Cummins B6.7L 325hp with 750 ft.-lbs. of torque, which is mated to an Allison 3000RDS 6-speed automatic with push button shift selector. With the addition of the Baby 8 model, Rainier can now offer its dealers and customers a complete COE line up from Class 4 to 8. In the future, the company said it is looking to offer higher-horsepower engines and GVW’ ratings in the COE category.