Memories for us old truckers

Mother Deuce said:

A long time ago in a far off Emerald City (Washington tourism reference to Seattle) on an inland sea a thin blonde version of me used to work for an oil company.
The scrooges at the oil company had a formula for truck tare weight versus loads hauled over the service life of the unit (10 laps around the sun) they said "alas even though
Kenworth is built less than 5 minutes from the terminal and they build a fine looking conventional, we shall go on a mission to find a horse that has the weight of dried thistle down. There shall be few amenities as they
add weight and the cab should be vertical so our loyal minions will get exercise scaling the side of the building like cab up to 20 times a night there by keeping their weight down
so we can haul more product".
And so it was in the Emerald City for many years. As the minions toiled, scaling the sides of their Freightliners many times during a shift. It was noted that a few of the senior
drivers were injuring the backs of their hands and their knuckles where their hands had started dragging on the ground behind them as they walked. The scrooges were concerned with
this turn of events as they had not calculated potential time off or new uniforms and protective leather hand wear to combat the outbreak of simian arm syndrome. While the cure
was obvious to all and even implemented by the beautiful Peterbilt 359 sporting minions at the home of the orange 76 antenna balls that all the cool kids had. Our kingdom clung to
their formula and even though the truck had the aerodynamic qualities of a block of granite it was to be deemed the way of the kingdom.
If you find your self in the PNW where simian arm syndrome was rampant in the 60's, 70's and 80's where many minions toiled for the oil companies, the line haul outfits among them, PIE, Consolidated, Garrett, Willy Shaw and others like them. Be careful when approaching a older cabover hand from behind, his/her hands could be trailing him by several feet!

Crane Operator, I totally agree with you! One of my first official acts on leaving the realm was to lease a 300 inch, 4 axle, 3408 powered, KW W900 VIT cab with a double box sleeper and go to work in the great white north. After a month or so I noticed that my arms had regained their normal length and I no longer grimaced while I was driving. I had a sense of pride in that horse I could not get out of the "I will be the first one to accident" rides.
Considering how many there were around and given how few you see now, their absence is remarkable and notable. I haven't sat in one since 1983 and perhaps the nostalgia coupled with R.Z,s observation about owning a tender as the magnitude of the fire fighting support business is growing is driving my romance with that tender. However good sense will prevail before I click the bid now button and dust off my Gov Deals account.

I have liked my trucks a little closer to the ground for the ensuing 3 or so decades and will probably just continue with that. I really prefer them after all these years of pulling levers with somebody else driving it after I get it load and honk him or her out to the dump! Besides that I am a little heavier now and I would hate to find myself laying on the ground looking up at the truck, with a handrail in one hand and step laying by my boots! A final note from a former Freightliner herder... I always had the oddest sensation in those trucks, that the designer was channeling a Douglas DC2,DC3/C47 designer the way the windows were arranged versus the seating position

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petepilot said:

could I safely say i detect just a wee bit of dislike for a cabover in this story?

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petepilot said:

could I safely say i detect just a wee bit of dislike for a cabover in this story?

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Mother Deuce said:

The green and white Mack looks like an escapee from D.L Ducky back in the day.

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Mother Deuce said:

Nope, have pictures of 550 but not the snowshed or the memorial plaques.

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DMiller said:

Is this it?
View attachment 197874

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petepilot said:

md. heres a freightliner i think you could like View attachment 197873

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Mother Deuce said:

Sure is, that is the snow shed for the Riverside slide path. The memorials to the plow hands and a pastor I believe would have been out of sight immediately to your right in that image

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petepilot said:

md. heres a freightliner i think you could like View attachment 197873

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Hank R said:

Mother Deuce, maybe the shipping dept. needs you??
View attachment 197875

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DMiller said:

We came off Red Mountain pass, just before get to Ouray and the Cut Rock tunnel, had to stop for roadwork flagger, ENTIRE S Bound lane was GONE. The boys were working to reset the base to put a lane back on. The excavator is setting at the end of the asphalt where that lane should have been. Winter is not so nice on US550.
View attachment 197889

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petepilot said:

good road not to travel

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DMiller said:

We came off Red Mountain pass, just before get to Ouray and the Cut Rock tunnel, had to stop for roadwork flagger, ENTIRE S Bound lane was GONE. The boys were working to reset the base to put a lane back on. The excavator is setting at the end of the asphalt where that lane should have been. Winter is not so nice on US550.
View attachment 197889

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Mother Deuce said:

550 neighborhood View attachment 197902 View attachment 197901 View attachment 197903 View attachment 197904

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