• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Trucking used to be a LOT harder

DMiller

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,574
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
How about that driveline hand brake lever that would ALMOST hold a truck by itself still!!, NO spring brakes and only that damn drop down flag to tell you not enough air to stop when you really needed them!! Or Vacuum brakes with as in that one photo a t handle cable to shift the two speed!! Armstrong'd a many 4070B and old KW COE or Corn Queen long nose with a TRW or Ross manual gear. They worked really well as long as were moving at all.
 
bam1968

bam1968

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2014
Messages
533
Location
IA
Occupation
Excavating Contractor
DMiller said:
How about that driveline hand brake lever that would ALMOST hold a truck by itself still!!, NO spring brakes and only that damn drop down flag to tell you not enough air to stop when you really needed them!! Or Vacuum brakes with as in that one photo a t handle cable to shift the two speed!! Armstrong'd a many 4070B and old KW COE or Corn Queen long nose with a TRW or Ross manual gear. They worked really well as long as were moving at all.
Click to expand...


I have always said that everyone should have to use a truck with no power steering for the skills test part of the CDL test!!! :)
 
W

Wes J

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2016
Messages
649
Location
Peoria, IL
RZucker said:
Looking at the trucks from the 40's and 50's, I have to wonder how many of todays drivers would last in those rigs. No power steering, no AC, No microwave in the sleeper.... Oh, 2 shifters? WTH is that?
Click to expand...

To be fair, the old timers were not using their trucks like we use them today. Trips would have been short and done at pretty low speed. Probably from a port or rail terminal to an end user or the opposite. In those days long distance shipping was done with ship or by rail, and people had a lot more patience.

Nobody was jumping into a 1940 rig and expecting to drive coast to coast in 5 days. If you know anyone who was doing 3000 miles a week in a truck with no A/C, no power steering, no sleeper, etc I'd say he's the got to be the toughest SOB on the planet.

Modern trucks largely reflect the way we use trucks now as long haulers. They are more like miniature trains with a caboose called a sleeper bunk.
 
R

RZucker

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
4,077
Location
Wherever I end up
Occupation
Mechanic/welder
Wes J said:
To be fair, the old timers were not using their trucks like we use them today. Trips would have been short and done at pretty low speed. Probably from a port or rail terminal to an end user or the opposite. In those days long distance shipping was done with ship or by rail, and people had a lot more patience.

Nobody was jumping into a 1940 rig and expecting to drive coast to coast in 5 days. If you know anyone who was doing 3000 miles a week in a truck with no A/C, no power steering, no sleeper, etc I'd say he's the got to be the toughest SOB on the planet.

Modern trucks largely reflect the way we use trucks now as long haulers. They are more like miniature trains with a caboose called a sleeper bunk.
Click to expand...

A lot of those late 40's and early 50's trucks were coast to coast haulers.
 
td25c

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
Wes J said:
Nobody was jumping into a 1940 rig and expecting to drive coast to coast in 5 days. If you know anyone who was doing 3000 miles a week in a truck with no A/C, no power steering, no sleeper, etc I'd say he's the got to be the toughest SOB on the planet.
Click to expand...

Yeah , in that time frame they was getting ready to truck across Europe hauling go juice & beans to GI 's in the conflict .
 
td25c

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
One thing that puzzles me about the Scammel rig ….



What's up with the " scotch blocks " under the steering axil with a rear winch application ?


Scotch blocks under the rear tires fellers .

If the steering axil is still on the ground it aint pullin hard yet :D

100_3990[1].JPG
 
W

Wes J

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2016
Messages
649
Location
Peoria, IL
Interesting solution to the bridge that was too weak for a tank to cross. Park another tank in the creek under the bridge and crib up to the middle of the beams to hold it while the other tanks crossed.
 
td25c

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
Someone did a really nice job on the " cutaway " Sherman display .

Herringbone final drives & twin 6-71 engines . :cool:

 
td25c

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
20 mule team trucking .

serveimage


Amazing restoration of the wagons & mule team !
https://engelscoachshop.com/1880s-style-wagon-building-borax-wagons/

Pretty cool how they jump the inside mule over the chain on tight curves .Fast forward to 25:20 in the video . :cool:

 
B

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,323
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
Somewhere recently I watched a video of them building those wheels. They used all sorts of obsolete machinery to make the wood wheel parts and then put the steel wagon tire on a pile of the burning oak scraps, heated it rather red and then dropped it over the wood wheel with lots of smoke and fire.
 
Truck Shop

Truck Shop

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
16,980
Location
WWW.
To keep those steel rims tight on pioneer wagon trains crossing creeks took some time to let the wood swell up tight. Pioneers didn't waste any water, not common knowledge but
urine was tossed on the wheels also.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top