 | |
| Predecessor | Kleiber & Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1900 |
| Founder(s) | Paul Kleiber |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Products | trucks, automobiles |
| Website | https://kleibermotors.com/ |
The Kleiber Motor Company was an American truck manufacturer located in San Francisco, California, USA. The company built trucks, chassis, and automobiles.
History[]
Paul Kleiber founded Kleiber & Company in 1900 to manufacture wagons and buggies of his own design in San Francisco, California. Kleiber & Company was sold in 1912, and with the proceeds, Paul Kleiber founded the Kleiber Motor Company.[1]
Kleiber built trucks from 1½ to 5 tons. By the late 1920s the company was offering trucks from ½ ton to 10 tons. From 1924 to 1929 Kleiber also offered some automobiles, mostly large touring types. Kleiber developed a reputation for building quality, durable trucks; but it remained a fairly small manufacturer only building a few hundred trucks per year. In 1930 the company added a 6 wheel chassis and in 1932 diesel engines became an option.
In the early 1930s Kleiber acquired a Studebaker dealership. Sales of Studebaker cars was more profitable and combined with the effects of the depression on truck sales, more priority was placed on the Studebaker franchise. Kleiber went out of business in 1937 or early 1938.
Fire Apparatus[]
1929 Kleiber search light truck
In 1926 Kleiber built two tractors for the San Francisco Fire Department. These were initially attached to shop built city service ladder trailers. In use these trailers were too heavy for the trucks, and in 1928 they were removed from service with the ladder companies and used to pull water towers.
In 1928 Kleiber built two search light units for the San Francisco Fire Department.
In the late 1920s Yosemite National Park received a Kleiber forest fire crew truck.
Products[]
- 1-ton truck/chassis
- 1 1/2-ton truck/chassis
- 3 1/2-ton truck/chassis
- 80 1-ton truck
- 260 7-ton truck
- 340 10-ton truck
References[]