20 Weird Facts About The Trucker’s 1955 Peterbilt 281 Duel

🚛 THE TRUCK THAT TERRORIZED AMERICA 🚛

In Steven Spielberg's 1971 thriller Duel, the 1955 Peterbilt 281 became cinema's first true vehicle villain—a faceless mechanical monster that hunted Dennis Weaver across California highways for 90 minutes of pure automotive terror.

In this DriveFlix episode, we're diving deep into 20 incredible facts about Hollywood's most terrifying truck. Discover the secrets behind this legendary movie vehicle!

🔧 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
• Why Spielberg auditioned seven trucks before choosing this specific Peterbilt
• The deliberate modifications using oil, insects, and real roadkill
• Engineering secrets including the fake tag axle deception
• The Caterpillar engine problems that constantly halted production
• Creative camera tricks that made a slow truck appear terrifyingly fast
• The mysterious license plate collection suggesting previous victims
• Dangerous proximity stunts filmed inches from Dennis Weaver
• The real cliff plunge captured without CGI at Mystery Mesa
• Which truck survived filming and exists today
• How this Peterbilt established the vehicle-as-villain tradition in cinema

From its origins as a Union Oil tanker to its fiery death at the bottom of a canyon, this is the complete untold story of Duel's mechanical monster.

💬 DROP A COMMENT: Which fact surprised you most? What's your favorite movie car villain?

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