Hot Wheels Steering Rigs was a line of detailed semi tractor and trailer sets that were released in 1981 and 1982. On the back of the trailer, there was a large wheel on top which could be used to steer the rig. See detail below:
Steering wheel detail.
They were produced in two locations: Hong Kong and France. Both pieces will have the country of manufacture on them. The differences between the France and Hong Kong can be very minor (just the base) or significant (colors or opening doors). The French weren't too discerning when putting the tractor and trailer together. There have been several examples where the semi and trailer were mixed up, i.e. a Peterbilt semi with a Allied Moving trailer (should be a Mack semi). In 1982, along with the blue Hong Kong packaging, red packaging was introduced like the French pieces.
Another special feature of the Steering Rigs is a piece of rubber on a set of the semi wheels and a set of the trailer wheels, see the following pictures. The rubber is needed to give the wheels grip. Without it, you can turn the wheel but the truck will continue to go straight.
Vehicles[]
| Year | Toy # | Name | Cab Color | Trailer Color | Country | Notes | Cab Photo | Full Photo | Boxed Photo |
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| 1981 | 1917 | GMC Hauler | Yellow | Yellow | Hong Kong | 
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| 1981 | 1917 | GMC Hauler | Yellow | Yellow | France | Brighter yellow cab & trailer | 
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| 1981 | 1920 | GMC Van | Grey | Grey | Hong Kong | Blue trailer door | 
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| 1981 | 1920 | GMC Van | Grey | Grey | France | Gray trailer door | 
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| 1981 | 1918 | Kenworth Tanker | Blue | Grey | Hong Kong | 
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| 1981 | 1918 | Kenworth Tanker | White | Grey | France | White cab with gray tanker trailer w/"Arco" logo on sides |
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| 1981 | 1915 | Kenworth Van | White | White | Hong Kong | Gray trailer door | 
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| 1981 | 1915 | Kenworth Van | White | White | Hong Kong | Red trailer door | 
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| 1981 | 1915 | Kenworth Van | White | White | France | White trailer door | 
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| 1981 | 3431 | Mack Moving Van | Orange | Orange | Hong Kong | 
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| 1981 | 1919 | Peterbilt Hauler | Orange | Orange | Hong Kong | 
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| 1981 | 1919 | Peterbilt Hauler | White | France | Red cab with orange gravel trailer w/"Bob's Sand and Gravel" on sides |
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| 1981 | 1916 | Peterbilt Tanker | Red | White | Hong Kong | 
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| 1981 | 1916 | Peterbilt Tanker | Red | White | France | Dark orange cab | 
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| 1982 | 3430 | Ford LTL Cattle Trailer | Blue | White | Hong Kong | 
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| 1982 | 3433 | Ford LTL Moving Van | Yellow | Yellow | Hong Kong | 
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| 1982 | 3434 | Mack Grain Trailer | Blue | Blue & Tan | Hong Kong | 
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| 1982 | 3434 | Mack Grain Trailer | Blue | Blue & Tan | France | 
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| 1982 | 3435 | White Cattle Trailer | Red | Grey | Hong Kong | Red cab & gray trailer with white, black, & yellow tampo | 
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| 1982 | 3435 | White Cattle Trailer | Red | Grey | France | Darker red cab & light gray trailer with white, black, & orange tampo | 
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| 1982 | 3432 | White Grain Trailer | White | Grey & Black | Hong Kong | 
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| 1982 | 3432 | White Grain Trailer | White | Grey & Black | France | 
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Steering Rigs Cabs[]
The trucks from this series can mainly be found in the Steering rigs series. But whereas the Steering Rigs included a Trailer, these trucks where packaged alone under the name Steering Rigs Cabs. They came with a small sheet of stickers so you could add tampos to the trucks. These were produced in 1982 and all were made in Hong Kong.
| Toy # | Name | Color | Notes | Photo Loose | Photo Carded |
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| 5674 | Ford | Light Blue |
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| 5677 | Ford | Yellow |
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| 5673 | GMC | Gray |
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| 5670 | GMC | Yellow |
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| 5671 | Kenworth | Dark Blue |
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| 5668 | Kenworth | White |
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| 5678 | Mack | Dark Blue |
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| 5675 | Mack | Orange |
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| 5672 | Peterbilt | Orange |
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| 5669 | Peterbilt | Red |
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| 5679 | White | Red |
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| 5676 | White | White |
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Gallery[]
![Aug'16 my Bday rigs• 3 months later Nov '16 Nephew got His 1st FRANCE Mint + other played with [ MINE shown here] Lil' nephew is under 3yrs old](/wiki/File:2016-08_Jonathan_Steering_Rig_2.jpg "2016-08 Jonathan Steering Rig 2.jpg (118 KB)")