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Memories for us old truckers

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,305
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
That would make sense because a lot of rural FDs did use the USFS as a friendly federal intermediary between them and the military for things like trucks and equipment.

The game goes, the FD finds something they want at the military excess place, the military transfers it to the USFS, the USFS "lends" it to the FD, hence the sticker, they "might ask for it back one day"

Otherwise it takes a real life "act of congress" to get stuff out of the federal system.
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,421
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Will expand on the Comet Trailer Saga.
1980 SLC UT, my 79 K100C comes straggling in with my partner whining about no power. 8V92 435. Change fuel filters, no water minimal debris, less than two weeks on the truck. Ask him what was up. Get told picked up load of Steel outside of Denver, plate headed for Comet Spokane shops. Truck just dogging as if brakes dragging but none hot so figured filters or something going bad. Check truck over rather quickly nothing obvious then go for ride, slogging like an anchor out so we start looking harder, run by the 76TS in SLC, get it weighed for something to go by as the load was supposed to be around 43,000 in plate and treadplate. Get in and look at ticket gross was 88,825 and all I could think was no way in hell.

Back to yard untarp and inventory, six EXTRA sheets 8x8 1/4" treadplate to bills, 9 sheets of 8x8 1/4" flat as well. Go get fork truck offload the extra sheets down to one each extra of both. Rescale and just a few hundred over 80,000 full on fuel so partner takes off to Spokane with ME in the jump seat.

Truck ran GREAT!! get to Spokane stop in at guard shack get directed to offload yard. Foreman walks up we untarp he gives my partner crap for having a lumper(me) partner blows it off, he takes bills and as sheets come off stammers a little. Says we are light, so I look at him and note we are one sheet heavy on BOTH piles to the bills, he stammers some more, says bills are wrong gives a number was to receive. I take our copy compare to stacks, one extra each pile, show legal weight scale ticket and let him know was truck owner so what was the problem? He signs off and we get sent off bills accepted. Dispatch calls me next week, asks if problem with Comet load said no just a little heavy said OK and went on, we did not see any more Comet steel loads. Seems they did that A LOT back then, padding the loads deny the overload against load tickets for overweight catches.

A lot of Jeep crazies were really happy some cheap steel showed up to reinforce the corners and floor pans on the off roaders they were building!!
 

Hank R

Senior Member
Joined
May 28, 2014
Messages
2,067
Location
Princeton B.C. Canada
Occupation
Retired Truck driver and School bus driver
That North West was a good sized shovel for them little truck boxes. Will ask Rollo in morning how large the bucket on the North West was.
 

Mother Deuce

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2016
Messages
1,603
Location
New England
A Northwest 80D was a 4 or 5 yard track machine and was a large unit. I loaded under one for a season in a equally ancient R22 Euc that still had a clutch with a low high box and a 4 speed. It didn’t have any brakes so we didn’t go real fast.
 
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