By the mid 1960s P.I.E. extended service to the east coast through more acquisitions, having 67 terminals in 29 states. In 1973 the company was purchased by IU International, and in 1983 merged with Ryder Truck Lines, forming Ryder/P.I.E Nationwide. In 1985 the company was sold again, with the name shortened to P.I.E. Nationwide. By 1989 loses were staggering, and the company was sold again, absorbing Transcon Lines. Loses continued, and in 1990 P.I.E. filed Chapter XI bankruptcy. An attempt to scale back operations failed, with one of America’s most famous common carriers closing their doors forever, but leaving many fond memories.
Back when America kept it's people working. The maintenance thing really impressed me. Too many small outfits now who don't want to spend the money and leave the driver with a huge ticket if DOT finds something non compliant.
All these 50s documentaries have this air of optimism about them. It must have been nice to feel our country was on top and it was getting better. How much changed in 10-15 years after this was filmed.
@@TobiasHinz1992😂 I'd make you cower like a little b-itch if you tried to speak to me like that in real life. But you wouldn't. You'.scummy little degenerate p-ussy. Merry Christmas
All WWII and probably some Korean War Veterans in this piece, also. They look happy in this video because they are. They'd been through everything from Pearl Harbor to D-Day and were happy just to be alive. I remember these type of men, growing up as a kid. I am fortunate because I got to spend a lot of time with many of them and they were great bunch of guys to be around. They didn't have computers or cell phones in their trucks but they weren't in as much of a hurry as we are today either. These men were indeed, our finest generation. Thanks for posting, the golden age of trucking, love it!
War doesn't tend to make people happier or better. And lots of those guys ended up with terrible mental health issues, alcohol/drug problems, and way too many beat the shit outta their wives. And the vast majority didn't experience d day or pearl harbor, let alone both
Hi Alaska, You are exactly right ! My late father is a WW II veteran as a merchant marine and a combat veteran of the Korean War. He was so joyful to be alive and well , depression area families that lived through this, and the war years were indeed the greatest generation . My father and mother and their brothers and sisters were a living testimonial to what you have mentioned.
Now we have computers and too many nerds that don't care about hard labor... And expect others to just "do it" with 0 pride in the work that actually matters.. just a continuous wheel of progress... That never ends.. I love the video though 😎
@@gavendb my guess is you want more personal information from my life. Which I am very familiar with the UAW, actual tool and die, cnc cad work. So don't insult my opinion. Go find something relevant to post on that's not 4+ months old.
@@xSoMuchPotx right. so we should just ignore posts that are at what age? I'm not insulting anything. I'm stating a fact that these trades are still in existence today in industrial settings that I work within daily. If that fact offends you, that would fall upon you, not me. It seems as if you have a confirmation bias that you want to believe that. Why is beyond me.
How far we've fallen from the standards and pride we once expected of each other on the highways. Such a shame. Wish I could have been around in the good ol' days.
That was about the peak of the industry. Back in the early early days, to describe an OTR truck driver as meat would have been a compliment. Their abhorrent treatment is what gave rise to the Teamsters Union. Now that they have long since been reduced to a presence in a few LTL operations, the industry is falling back to the days of drive till you drop, get up and drive some more.
And nowadays the "fresh meat" to which you refer comes from south of the border, an illegal that will work for pennies on the dollar compared to his American counterpart. Build the damn wall.
darknin A while back the good ol days subject came up with my folks (in their 70s) and my mom made an interesting comment. The gas station attendant could support a family at his job back then. Now you can’t get a car fixed there but you can buy plenty of twinkees!
That's for sure! My first truck was a '71White/ Freightliner. Aluminum cab and frame with a positive ground, in theory it wouldn't corrode. Rough riding, today's trucks are Cadillacs compared to that.
Fun to see the old days. I drive 48 states and Canada now in 2021. I use electronic log books and would never ever go back to paper.other motorists show great respect to me and the highway patrol is my only friend on the road. In the winter I stop for every broke down car. I don't leave anyone on the road. They expect us to help and we do. People send their baby girls out into the world and say to them "if you have any trouble flag down a big truck that's an honest man and he will help you". In my home town I am trash, on the road I am a real person with an important job. They give me their valuable freight and I haul it somewhere and deliver it on time maybe 300 miles maybe 3500 miles we do it and cash our checks. I have talked to drivers from Russia,Nepal,India, Uzbekistan,Sri Lanka, France, Jamaica, Bulgaria,Bosnia, Kenya,Canada, Mexico, China west Africa, south Africa, east Africa, Romania, the middle east and other places. Never met one that I didn't like they are my new friends they keep their mouth shut and get the job done..... Commentators wish they could drive a 1949 peterbilt and wear a sportcoat and a tie. What planet are you from????? All complain but no one will do the job. It is now 5:30am time to go to work. Happy trails to all.
Wow. I remember when I was a kid in the early 70's. My dad's car broke down on side of highway east of El Paso, a trucker pulled over and put engine fire out for us, then gave us ride to nearest town. Them days are gone.
P.I.E looked like it was a great place to work back in the day. Just imagine if trucking companies today took care of their trucks and drivers as well as shown in this video...
whoever did this voice over, must have been, a busy man, back in the 50s, everything from national defence, to trucking, and everything in between, lol
I believe he was also doing home act wasn't e back in the day and along with that travel stuff to it voice sounds familiar for vacation cities back in the day 2
Don't be sure it was one man. I guarantee you've heard a Robert Rhodes James speech recording, but you, like me like everyone thought it was Winston Churchill. He even did Churchill voice over for different adverts for war bonds. Some say he also did Churchill's speeches when he was too drunk.
What a great video. I found it funny that the trucker and highway patrol man waving with their hands as opposed to the middle finger. Such a shame what this great industry has become. its just sad anymore.
The terrible industry you know nothing about, is responsible for delivering everything that makes your life what it is. The food on your table, the table, the material they built the house with, your car, the pavement you drive on, the gas in your car. And they do it in spite of car drivers who don't know or care how hard it can be to keep from killing drivers who do stupid things in front of trucks, that commonly weigh 80.000 lbs, some more. They work day and night, in all kinds of weather delivering that pair of socks you just bought on sale at Walmart.
Benny Robinson here in new zealand we truckers still wave at each other by day and blink marker lights by night, and most of us wave to the cviu on the way past (commercial vehicle inspection unit)
Never exceed 50mph. Wow. Still I love this ol school trucking. I'm a truck driver and my grandpa was a trucker during tge 50s and 60s. He used to tell us stories about them "good ol days"
What a great film. Thanks for sharing it . PIE was a company I remember for the nice trucks they had all over the country. The drivers really dressed nice too. Sorry to see the large carriers of that era gone. Take care , Tom.
I think drivers took better care of themselves too. Now days I see so many obese men and women driving truck's and they wear sweat pants. A lot of them don't take pride in their jobs or for themselves.
CatHouseMouse251 that's because no A/C they were driving a sauna on wheels AND "armstrong steering" no power steering. This is back when men were men and the sheep ran scared! I'll take my crummy Freightliner Crapcadia thank you very much. I find it amusing when people refer to it as "the good ole days" when today nobody will drive a truck with no A/C it would be put out of service! ha and I'm the only one on here that will admit how great we have it everyone has to be all manly and let's not forget those great 6x4 transmissions!!! 318 Detroits!! Oh yes now those were the days! hahaha BUT this is a great piece of history that would be lost and long forgotten if it weren't for technology!! TH-cam! Smartphones! I've been driving semis over 30 years now and still love it. The guys that bitch and moan (past and present) and say they're done! I can make more money at McDonald's ALWAYS come back to driving cause there ain't no better job out there!
I worked for P.I.E. their was a rumor that always floated around the the company was founded Bob Hope and Bing Crosby through their " On The Road " movies. does anyone know if this was true?
I love the attitude portrayed in this video; of the dedication to doing a job well. I wonder how long PIE held to the policy of having their drivers stop to give aid to other motorists. I'm sad to say that it would be very naïve to have such a policy today.
That policy probably ended about the 60s, when the interstates started popping up everywhere? I started in the late 60s and never seen them stopping much on the 4 lanes that existed. By the 70s they, like many of the older megas began to vanish or merge. Last I can remember seeing P.I.E., they had somehow merged with Ryder to form Ryder/P.I.E.? New Companies like JB Hunt and Schneider and others began to change the rules in trucking. I still have one of my first Road Atlases from the 60s/70s. There were very few completed interstates in that atlas of the U.S. and Canada.
As nice as it is to look at, this is just propaganda. All of this order, is not natural. It was not motivated by mutual benefit, but rather as the result of unending, and draconian amounts of force. The technocratic nature of 20th century government, in addition to the collectivist ethos, that had by the time of this video completely replaced the Liberty ethos of early America, resulted in MASSIVE expansions of government. By necessity this also increased the amount of force the government could exert, both overtly and covertly, upon its citizens. Today, stagnation has allowed nepotism to take hold, degrading the technocratic aspects of our government and it's technocratic allies. To the point of it losing all functionality. All that remains is the unremitting force said government has accumulated. Authority figures built this system by sweet talking the lower classes about "honor" and "respect" and other things that carry no monetary value or authority, but none the less have done the job of convincing citizens to surrender their autonomy and liberty in exchange for reassurances and order. But these are not tangible goods, they are just promises: True one day, gone the next. Without the threat of reprisal, the technocrats and government officials can renege on their obligations at any point. The citizens and workers by contrast, having surrendered any autonomy they once had, are economically trapped by regulation. When financial assurances are taken away, and when order breaks down, you and I are left with nothing but nostalgia, for a time when things were "better". But you should know, it was never better. Everything you see in these chipper optimistic documentaries is exactly that: idealistic fantasy. The only reason anyone did anything described in these videos is because someone else was standing over them threatening them. This system built entirely on coercion was not only morally abhorrent and dangerous, it was fragile and unsustainable. It's no wonder it didn't last.
This documentary doesn't describe most of the drivers today. Some of us (even though I'm new) try to keep the pride of driving trucks alive. Love talking to old timers and looking at their cool rigs.
I was introduced to trucking in the early 1970s, riding along with my uncle at the age of 10. Trucking back then was considered a professional trade. I got my class 1 in 1988, and have watched the trucking industry continuously denigrate with every passing year. Pretty damn sad considering it's the MOST important industry in North America
I got my CDL in 2000 and had an ear-to-ear grin. Didn't take long for THAT to disappear. NOW I can't even stand up for drivers, because they aren't even "steering wheel holders", as past generations called them, but clowns disguised as drivers. It's Flip-Flop Nation now, and it's disgusting.
@@feez357 It started going downhill with Deregulation in 1980. Before that, companies were largely Union and drivers made decent wages and lived middle class lives. Deregulation turned the industry into a cutthroat world where trucking companies, shippers and customers are now out to make the biggest pile of money. So they take folks from everywhere, who generally know next to nothing about trucking and tell them about the way of life it's supposed to represent. They promise high pay and all kinds of perks. But there's a thousand ways to cut corners and get out of paying drivers these perks and miles. It doesn't take long to wear down the morale of both new and older drivers, and when you're basically treated like a kicked-about stray, you quickly learn not to care. And there's schools and trainers who reflect or instill this in greenhorns. Some schools/trainers actually tell new guys to ride the bumper of the vehicles in front of them in every attempt to make traffic get out of their way. I could tell you much about what goes on out there, but all I can say is that I wish I had the time.
Pride, professionalism, courtesy, and common sense was held in high regard and respect back then. Good luck, trying to find any of that nowadays. One thing I love about these old documentaries is that you don’t see sweatpants, T-shirts, baggy, jeans, flip-flops, sandals, and crocs. I bet even the old-school truckstops were hell of a lot better than the ones we have today. A different era, different life, and a different feeling all together back then.
Thanks for the great memories. I'm a retired otr owner /operator. I sure do miss it. Your video brought a tear to my eyes. I don't know about now but it was the BEST industry in America. Thanks again. Take care my friend.
Technology is great. But your right.All of the 3rd world SCUM brought in& JAMMED DOWN OUR THROATS!. Thats what happened,LBJ killed Kennedy then passed laws that ruined America!.
I don't think we made much progress.I am a long haul trucker and my father is a retired one who starts driving in the early fifty's and he won't trade whit me regardless the state of the art trucks we drive now.They had something that we lost and never get back, pride freedom and much much less time pressure
Johan Hardenbol Yep. I've been driving 20 yrs, the hours have expanded 30% at least. Far less personal time, no pride in the equipment, its all throw away cheap junk the company doesn't want repair nor service it properly. As a mid 90's era trucker, very disappointing to see my career take such a down turn as result of inexperienced, college educated, pencil pushing number crunchers.
There's still a few of us old head's out here, but not for much longer, I'm coming up on 50yrs, in August and am pulling the pin, it's been good up till mid 90s and has really went to being a real dog's breakfast from 2000 on, and I never ever thought I would say this, but most of these (alleged) drivers out here really need to clean up their act! Take some PRIDE in your appearance! Clean up your language a little, every other word really doesn't have to be an f-bomb. Anyway, stay safe brothers and sisters, and take care, IRONSKINNER, I'm on the side.
@@kellypenrod2979 Between local, peddle runs and OTR, 38 years was enough for me. Feb 4, 2017 I stepped out of one for the last time & don't even think about it anymore.
@@muffs55mercury61 Well Mark I wish you well on whatever you end up doing. Had I not owned my own truck, I likely would have retired a while back. Now, I'm planning to take my pickup and travel trailer and go see some of the thing's that I've been flying by all these years that I was wishful of seeing. Good luck brother, take it easy, and stay safe out there!
@@kellypenrod2979 Like any industry there's bad egg's and there's good egg's but it only takes a few bad egg's to get all egg's labeled that same name, think on that potato for awhile Kelly. There's 10 times more good truckers then there are bad ones but we seem to all get disrespected by the little 4 wheelers regardless of how courteous and professional we are. Truckers and motorcyclist know how things are but majority or 4 wheelers are ignorant because they're the main problem.
@@robbalinski1606 Troy I have been out here 50yrs come August. You need not tell me to THINK on potatoes as it were, to understand then and now. Back then, respect was earned by men and women that had respect for each other, pride in their appearance, and their jobs, AND their driving. The last 25yrs, ALL OF that has virtualy disappeared. All for me and screw you, is the new motto with people now. Instead of helping each other out here now, OR accepting help from an older hand, it's either phone film it to post, or I KNOW I KNOW! more than you do because I went to driving school and you didn't! Hellos are met more and more by F¿☆k you! There are a few out there that have some of the old ways, and some pride, but for the most part, it's a skid row clown parade of bumper banging, curb hopping, that can't spell truckdriver, much less perform the task in anything approaching semi competent manner. Now, chew on that potato kid. Stay safe out there.
@@robbalinski1606 that's the truth but back in old days we were like a brotherhood and wasn't all these foreigners that can't speak English driving a lot of them act like we owe them something. They will work for considerably less than than I would also. Think about this they mostly come from dry desert areas with NO experience driving our big rigs in snow but companies put those desert rats oon our higways with barely any training if any. Our country has the biggest rigs on the road besides Australia they sure as hell don't take pride in it like old timers do look at how they dress when they get out of a truck wearing flip flops and shit. When I'm in a store I don't need to see some fat slobs nasty feet because they are too damn sorry and lazy to put shoes on and look respectable take my opinion how you want I really don't GAF!
Besides climbing hills very slow (most trucks then had no more than 200 hp) they were low geared and weren't geared to do 70 MPH until the interstates came along.
Thank You for the vintage industry film. seem like people took pride in work. Like the Trucks Trailers and traffic scenes.10: 17 look at that Peter built neat !
@@huntermossakajunkerman9646 west bound I94 somewhere between bizmack and and Miles city, it was about 6 years ago i didnt pay much to road or county but i was on the I94 westbound right at the road you cant miss it.
Mainly due to a better synthetic lubricants, alloys, seals and car manufacturing/construction engineering tolerances using modern CNC machines and robots... Other than emission and electric sensors modern trucks are way more durable than they were in the early 50's
Upon further research, you will discover every era has it's good and bad aspects. Remember that this was a promotional film meant to show how wonderful the P.I.E. trucking company was at the time. Trucking is still one of the most important industries in the world. Most of what makes your life happen got delivered by some truck at some time. Today's trucks are faster, safer, cleaner, more efficient, easier to drive, and can haul more weight. Some of people's attitudes have changed for the better, some for the worse. Each era is what you make of it.
12:05 Donner Pass. That's Highway 40 The Lincoln Highway 1-80 Donner Summit wasn't completed until 1964. That's the South Yuba River flowing on the side...it's spectacular this year with all the snow
Wow 12:31 is something you wouldn't see today--a company would be foolish to stop for motorists in this day and age unless they wanted the driver to lose his load.
When I was an owner operator, I'd stop and help at least one person a year broke down, 4 wheeler or semi. Lot of weird stories. Weirdest; coldest day of the year, old lady and son in his pickup broke down on the side of road. I gave them a ride up to the car dealer where she was getting her car fixed. They got in the cab, neither spoke a word to me or each other, at the dealership, just got out never said thanks or looked back at me.
@@happydays8171 The old lady and son were probably having a verbal disagreement and upset with each other but one of them should have expressed some gratitude toward you at the dealership.
Once there were operators of trucks who conducted themselves with professionalism, dignity and respect for self and others. Today...well, today our roads are largely filled with drivers.
Makes me feel old.. I used to drive up and down California with a Tachograph mounted on the dash.. There were ways around it but that's another story.. lol..
The reason that its not of this today is OUR government they distory. Truck ing by letting delegation.hapen 80s motor..carrier act. It's.of all good jobs they have done so. In So fuck you Uncle Sam.
OMG!!video brings back so many memories. I worked for Transcon so many years what a great company. The good ones all gone now, I loved driving. Thanks for the video.
@@cowboykody6775 I have seen photos recently of PIE trucks in Europe running to the Middle East. Until I got onto the Internet, I was suprised to find PIE had an European operation.
Trplpwr The problem was, they were losing money. It's hard to stay in business when your going broke. You can thank Jimmy Carter for deregulation of the trucking industry. A lot of companies went down the drain
Had to smirk at the bit about the police and trucker and their "mutual respect" Cop and trucker giving each other a jaunty wave as they pass. In reality: Cop checking out the truck for anything he can pull it over for,trucker cursing under his breath because he is being slowed down by the presence of Smokey, and is sure he is going to be cited for something.
The states probably already know they're in big trouble when the self driving trucks come along. No more fines against the drivers which last I heard nets about $2 billion a year.
@@99silverstone My former employer had us do just that. We ran LTL, so the trucks all had over 400,000 mi. With LTL, that's alot of miles. We would joke with each other who would break down that day. Seemed like somebody would be towed back to the terminal on a daily basis.
OMG!! This film is hillarious!!The tales I could tell of the Drivers I used to have to represent when I was a Union Shop Steward would make an unbelievable movie.
You are 100% correct, God I'm glad someone has a brain. The motor carriers act of 1980, signed by Jimmy Carter, deregulated the trucking industry, busted the unions down to nothing, created nothing but havoc, slashed everyones throats on freight rates, created nothing but unsafe trucks and unqualified drivers. Look at trucking today , it's nothing like it was , it's in shambles and it was all created by the government! I was lucky , got in 34 years with a really nice pension, I wish all the drivers today could have the same. Old school truckin was hard work but alot of fun and rewarding
Really appreciate this video. A whole lot of folks can't even begin to appreciate EVERY FACET that goes into everything that's purchased. Hopefully this will help a lot of people see and appreciate everything more. Thanks again, from an OTR driver.
scott curtis Yes, CDL holders are required to speak and understand ENGLISH, so, how in hell did they obtain a CDL? My fellow drivers where I drive, a few Russians, at least they speak ENGLISH!
crazy how many people worked in a shipping and receiving yard back then. now a days there's only 5 people running the yard. useally 2 drugs addicts and 3 immigrants.
When I was a kid in High school I stole the Company truck that carried their miniature Peterbilt and Doubles they used to use for promotional safety events. Drove a few of my friends around Southeast Portland for a few minutes. They never knew anything happened, even though I was only 16 at the time. Luckily for me I knew how to drive a truck since age 14, as my Dad used to deliver new Freightliners from the Portland factory, so he taught me well!!
How those terminal operations have changed since this film!! Instead of cubing out a trailer nowadays it's just Shrink wrapped Pallets. And announcing to dispatch when unloading is a thing of the past with Bar codes, and Pro numbers replacing a huge part of the non-driver and dockworker workforce. About the only thing that has gotten harder is the driver knowing the workings of their tractor and trailer. Those old trucks were literally something out of the Flintstones compared to today's rigs. I drove for Reddaway for 27 years before retirement, and I grew up in the Trucking and Bus industries from birth. The changes to both is mind boggling. This film is nostalgic, as PIE was an icon much like CF, Garrett, LASME, and hundreds of other once great companies that are no longer around., But I hope people don't watch this as a romantic look. It wasn't anything I'd want to go back to!! I sure loved those days though. Old truckers know what I mean, but greenhorns can only imagine (and usually get it wrong!!).
My Father and Grandfather used to call them Pig Iron. There were nicknames for all of the companies. NW was Nut Wagon. TransCon was Trash Can. CF was Corn Flake, etc etc. P.I.E's Denver terminal was torn down sometime in the late 80's and a Pilot was put up. That Pilot was recently torn down to make room for the I-70 expansion. I've retired after 47 years of pushing these things down the road. It looks to me like I got out just in time.
Found this Video last weekend in times of Coronavirus-Pandemia in Europe and unfortunately all over the world. Now i can't get enough of watching the real good times rolling down that are shown in this great Video.
Back in the days when there was real truck driver's on the road back in the day when driver's had respect for each other and the motoring public when people had respect for the driver's out on the road
@@trucker1864 If you ever drove a truck like those the only way you could hit 50 MPH was down hill Those only had a Cummins or Detroit with anywhere from 150 horsepower to maybe 270. The were slow.. pretty dependable. Didn't need DEF or have to regen.
I remember watching films like this in school during the sixties and seventies while attending school and I knew I lived and live in the greatest country on earth.
Back then max weight was 73,280 lbs. No more cotton from Texas to North Carolina:( I drove 25 yrs. 2.5 million accident free. Trucks today will go a million+ miles at least the drive train.
Great video, thanks for uploading. How sad to read the comments how everything was better before and how bad everything hase become. Well its only YOU that can do anything about it. I am a otr driver today and I dont see any problems..and I am proud of it
Top speed of 50 mph, helping motorists, & stopping for a break every 50 miles. Geez it must have taken FOREVER to get freight to it's destination back then
correct that's why when what normally takes like from Chicago to California and 70 to 75 mile-an-hour speed limits even in a 68 mile an hour truck if your company governs you that with the high horsepower you can pretty much make it in a little over three days legally now but back then it took you almost a week when you had the transverse old us 30 or us 66 Route 66 they didn't have any interstates hardly at all so yeah you're riding through small towns everywhere think about all the towns you bypass on highways now think about having to travel through them stoplight school zones and these are towns that are thousands of miles away from your home a coast to coast run from Maine to Frisco will take you a little over a week
11:02, tack o graph ,aka, "taddle tale" never exceed 50mph? And they made money, dressed good etc, NOW cheap ass freighthaulers drive 50mph thru parking lots
Cowboy Kody.. It ain't the Freight Hauler that's under paid and under trained... At least we maintain the chicken house speed.. Thanks to otr companies, truck driving schools and deregulation our industry has went to hell.. I've seen a lot of changes it seems you may have also.. "Always Broke"
I saw a driver hit his front wheels ? I asked what that was about, he said that's how they taught him to check for low or flat tires😂scary what kind of drivers are out there
wow this video is so awesome to see how much pride and honor there was even in such a big company..I grew up riding in trucks hauling equipment with my dad since I could walk and was always a passion of myin to be in the industry, but its not what it used to be. a shame what it has turned into especially with just how ridiculous these trucks have become lol
Hmm. A roofless yard dog, that must have sucked in the rain and snow, geez, who came up with the cross dock system , who invented the tractor and those old timers had it ROUGH, wow, we are so spoiled now.
I've seen footage of yard dogs from the same period that were bigger, even if they were roofless. I'm surprised that thing can tow anything bigger than a single axle puny travel trailer. One other thing; the tractor going across the Golden Gate Bridge was a Dodge B-Series cabover from the early-1950's.
dav snow, I can't specifically address your exact question, but generally people were friendly, good-natured, and kind back then. Even just 30-some years ago people were much more pleasant to be around. Not to be negative, but the world has gone from bad to worse in my lifetime.
Nice vid from back in the day when dromedary boxes were somewhat common. I wondered how droms were loaded. Any old drom drivers out there? One trucking company also produced a video with a title something like "The Long Haul" or something that was a promotional video similar to this one; it was played one day in an after school class at my junior high school and was probably a fundamental goal of becoming a truck driver. I thought it was produced by P-I-E as well, but it showed a sleeper team on a run from California to Alaska as I recall, so it probably wasn't P-I-E. Of course, like most things in my life, I got into the business on what I consider the back side of the bell curve. While there was only one trucking school back then (that I know of, the Wally Thor School of Trucking), it was still an industry that you generally had to earn your rank in. A couple of things stand out to me in this vid: the professionalism of the drivers even to the point of wearing uniforms, trucks being completely overhauled at 150K miles, and not exceeding 50 mph on the tachograph. Thanks for posting this. Very nostalgic for me.
There were various ways droms were loaded and unloaded; Some were removable from the tractor much like a ocean container,some companies had pass through doors on the front of the trailer,I think PIE used long ramps at major terminals since droms weren't pulled east of Denver.
lol . . . . I just said the same thing. . . . lol and my name is Gilbert too . . . . lol! I had comments sorted by 'top comment' at first, so I never saw yours until I switched to newest. Other people commented as well, guess I wasn't seeing things.
Not very many even speak english anymore. Saw some Dicky Bob jackknife into the ditch a while back and he was Russian (I think). Made sure he was ok, called it in and bugged out.
This is the most 50-est thing I've ever seen. Everything's so pretty, flawless and also naive of the future along with the radio star speaking out typed propaganda with an incredible amount of stinking Patriotism that had a strong sense-of-purpose, moral good, arrogant innocence to his voice
Sweat shops on wheels. Plus not all speak English as I had to help a lost driver find his way to his destination recently (he was I think Haitian and only spoke French) Fortunately he was only about 10 miles away. I was able to draw him a map. I think he understood me. Shapes of things now.
D-Series Huck It started with the advent of driving schools, you used to (pay your dues) before you EVER got behind the wheel. i.e. work the yard, the shop, the tire shop, then you stepped up to shag driver, then co driver (training) for 2 to 3 yrs, then AND ONLY THEN, if your lead driver (who usually Was a 10yr driver ) said you was good enough, you got a permanent seat.
+Kelly Penrod Kelly Penrod, true, not to mention alot of drivers were farm boys,i for one. Drove my first truck at 12yo, we still have it yet, a '46 Chevy ton n a half, drove school bus at 18yo my senior year,66passenger, drove for 2.5 yrs n still wasnt 21.
Kelly and jerry, you guys didn't understand the question. Standards have dropped because of greed. Shippers want to pay less for transport, receivers want to pay less for goods, and trucking companies have had to start paying drivers less so they can make more money...so when you start paying drivers less, you get less than stellar people to drive your truck, until you reach the point that we are in today. The trucking companies push drivers to drive more, longer, faster, with less time at home with family, then they also undercut the competition to get more freight, and then need to cut drivers pay even more, and now they can't get a good driver. On the occasion that they DO get a good driver, that driver gets so frustrated at the demands placed on him/her, that even they begin to care less about doing a good job, or abandon the industry all together.
it's funny nowadays, you have 6 month drivers starting to train new drivers. I seen this first hand at USXpress when I was a lease-driver and trainer there. It blew my mind that this company was letting drivers with only 6 months experience be driver trainers. In the year and a half that I was a driver trainer there, I had only one driver worth calling a driver. He now drives locally in S.C. for an automotive manufacturer. All of the rest, I don't know what happened to them, whether they are still driving or not, but I hope that I trained them well. Out of that time, I only put my foot down once and failed one trainee.
I only started my trucking career 7 months ago, sad to see how standards have fallen significantly. The time pressures that go on while I work is unbelievable at times, and these companies only care about time schedules and the bottom line, over safety and common sense.
Yep good observation was thinking the same its an infomercial about how great PIE is...I'm sure all the people in this videos had their own life problems
By the mid 1960s P.I.E. extended service to the east coast through more acquisitions, having 67 terminals in 29 states. In 1973 the company was purchased by IU International, and in 1983 merged with Ryder Truck Lines, forming Ryder/P.I.E Nationwide. In 1985 the company was sold again, with the name shortened to P.I.E. Nationwide. By 1989 loses were staggering, and the company was sold again, absorbing Transcon Lines.
Loses continued, and in 1990 P.I.E. filed Chapter XI bankruptcy. An attempt to scale back operations failed, with one of America’s most famous common carriers closing their doors forever, but leaving many fond memories.
WOW ! That was back when we took pride in our work & workers were appreciated ! Incredible film clip!
Back when America kept it's people working. The maintenance thing really impressed me. Too many small outfits now who don't want to spend the money and leave the driver with a huge ticket if DOT finds something non compliant.
Shot in 1946. Color must've been added.
It's propaganda, bro.
When skilled workers of all trades were respected. Now just looked down on by Corp. bean counters trucks have become sweat shops on wheels.
@@menninblack3558 Probably had to do with unions being a thing
All these 50s documentaries have this air of optimism about them. It must have been nice to feel our country was on top and it was getting better. How much changed in 10-15 years after this was filmed.
You fought the wrong enemy in ww2 and this are the consequences.
@@TobiasHinz1992 Nazi confirmed
@@gregorsamsa1364 and proud of it. Go cry about it
@@TobiasHinz1992😂 I'd make you cower like a little b-itch if you tried to speak to me like that in real life. But you wouldn't. You'.scummy little degenerate p-ussy. Merry Christmas
@@gregorsamsa1364 oh, degenerate leftist is angry and tries to threaten strangers from the internet. Such a cliche.
All WWII and probably some Korean War Veterans in this piece, also. They look happy in this video because they are. They'd been through everything from Pearl Harbor to D-Day and were happy just to be alive. I remember these type of men, growing up as a kid. I am fortunate because I got to spend a lot of time with many of them and they were great bunch of guys to be around. They didn't have computers or cell phones in their trucks but they weren't in as much of a hurry as we are today either. These men were indeed, our finest generation. Thanks for posting, the golden age of trucking, love it!
War doesn't tend to make people happier or better. And lots of those guys ended up with terrible mental health issues, alcohol/drug problems, and way too many beat the shit outta their wives.
And the vast majority didn't experience d day or pearl harbor, let alone both
Hi Alaska, You are exactly right ! My late father is a WW II veteran as a merchant marine and a combat veteran of the Korean War. He was so joyful to be alive and well , depression area families that lived through this, and the war years were indeed the greatest generation . My father and mother and their brothers and sisters were a living testimonial to what you have mentioned.
Back when we fought real wars against real armies and our veterans had a reason to feel proud about winning
That maintenance department was amazing! Back when men were men and people took pride in their work.
Now we have computers and too many nerds that don't care about hard labor... And expect others to just "do it" with 0 pride in the work that actually matters.. just a continuous wheel of progress... That never ends.. I love the video though 😎
@@xSoMuchPotx yup
@@xSoMuchPotx i guess you've never been in an industrial maintenance shop. they still look like that. I work in one.
@@gavendb my guess is you want more personal information from my life. Which I am very familiar with the UAW, actual tool and die, cnc cad work. So don't insult my opinion. Go find something relevant to post on that's not 4+ months old.
@@xSoMuchPotx right. so we should just ignore posts that are at what age? I'm not insulting anything. I'm stating a fact that these trades are still in existence today in industrial settings that I work within daily. If that fact offends you, that would fall upon you, not me.
It seems as if you have a confirmation bias that you want to believe that. Why is beyond me.
How far we've fallen from the standards and pride we once expected of each other on the highways. Such a shame. Wish I could have been around in the good ol' days.
That was about the peak of the industry. Back in the early early days, to describe an OTR truck driver as meat would have been a compliment. Their abhorrent treatment is what gave rise to the Teamsters Union. Now that they have long since been reduced to a presence in a few LTL operations, the industry is falling back to the days of drive till you drop, get up and drive some more.
You say "the good old days" but you probably posted this on a modern day device such as a computer or phone.
And nowadays the "fresh meat" to which you refer comes from south of the border, an illegal that will work for pennies on the dollar compared to his American counterpart. Build the damn wall.
darknin
A while back the good ol days subject came up with my folks (in their 70s) and my mom made an interesting comment.
The gas station attendant could support a family at his job back then.
Now you can’t get a car fixed there but you can buy plenty of twinkees!
I think the worst part would be not being able to go over 50 MPH. I'm all for safe driving, but in desert flats I want to cruise at at least 60 mph
Two different worlds then and now
Mark Sanchez Indeed but what Im afraid is,,, TOMORROW (future) 🤦🏽♂️
That's for sure! My first truck was a '71White/ Freightliner. Aluminum cab and frame with a positive ground, in theory it wouldn't corrode. Rough riding, today's trucks are Cadillacs compared to that.
@@happydays8171 oh caddys suck
Fun to see the old days. I drive 48 states and Canada now in 2021. I use electronic log books and would never ever go back to paper.other motorists show great respect to me and the highway patrol is my only friend on the road. In the winter I stop for every broke down car. I don't leave anyone on the road. They expect us to help and we do. People send their baby girls out into the world and say to them "if you have any trouble flag down a big truck that's an honest man and he will help you". In my home town I am trash, on the road I am a real person with an important job. They give me their valuable freight and I haul it somewhere and deliver it on time maybe 300 miles maybe 3500 miles we do it and cash our checks. I have talked to drivers from Russia,Nepal,India, Uzbekistan,Sri Lanka, France, Jamaica, Bulgaria,Bosnia, Kenya,Canada, Mexico, China west Africa, south Africa, east Africa, Romania, the middle east and other places. Never met one that I didn't like they are my new friends they keep their mouth shut and get the job done..... Commentators wish they could drive a 1949 peterbilt and wear a sportcoat and a tie. What planet are you from????? All complain but no one will do the job. It is now 5:30am time to go to work. Happy trails to all.
Удачи тебе!👍
@@newfic2290 thank you for the thumbs up. I don't recognize the language but I will bet that you work hard and get the job done 🐹
I want to be more like you when I grow up 😀
@@dannobloomquisr8825 that means the person was telling you "Good luck to you 👍" 😄
Wow. I remember when I was a kid in the early 70's. My dad's car broke down on side of highway east of El Paso, a trucker pulled over and put engine fire out for us, then gave us ride to nearest town. Them days are gone.
You'd be on your own today because of the liability falling onto the driver for attempting to put the fire out
P.I.E looked like it was a great place to work back in the day. Just imagine if trucking companies today took care of their trucks and drivers as well as shown in this video...
investors demanding higher dividends cut that out.
you wanna communism , but ok)
@@alanmalan3819 kkkkkkkk You are a capitalist without capital!
That's not going to happen!
My uncle drove for PIE for 40 years.
whoever did this voice over, must have been, a busy man, back in the 50s, everything from national defence, to trucking, and everything in between, lol
you ain't shitting...
I believe he was also doing home act wasn't e back in the day and along with that travel stuff to it voice sounds familiar for vacation cities back in the day 2
yeah this one man did the voice over on everything lol
Don't be sure it was one man. I guarantee you've heard a Robert Rhodes James speech recording, but you, like me like everyone thought it was Winston Churchill. He even did Churchill voice over for different adverts for war bonds.
Some say he also did Churchill's speeches when he was too drunk.
I love the way he said (defense) Material!
What a great video. I found it funny that the trucker and highway patrol man waving with their hands as opposed to the middle finger. Such a shame what this great industry has become. its just sad anymore.
Nick Neforos LMAO
I think that wasnt patrol, cause its has PIE mark on the car!
lol yeah that's right more tend to flip the bird then friendly wave lol
Nick Neforos VERY GOOD FLIM
The terrible industry you know nothing about, is responsible for delivering everything that makes your life what it is. The food on your table, the table, the material they built the house with, your car, the pavement you drive on, the gas in your car. And they do it in spite of car drivers who don't know or care how hard it can be to keep from killing drivers who do stupid things in front of trucks, that commonly weigh 80.000 lbs, some more. They work day and night, in all kinds of weather delivering that pair of socks you just bought on sale at Walmart.
Thanks for sharing I was really impressed that they turn over a truck from rebuild in 48 hours. unrivaled probably to this day.
Back in the day when highways were 2 lane, all truck drivers waved at each other and the highway patrolman.!!
Benny Robinson here in new zealand we truckers still wave at each other by day and blink marker lights by night, and most of us wave to the cviu on the way past (commercial vehicle inspection unit)
Never exceed 50mph. Wow. Still I love this ol school trucking. I'm a truck driver and my grandpa was a trucker during tge 50s and 60s. He used to tell us stories about them "good ol days"
I think many trucks of this era were geared much lower than today's trucks, so they probably couldn't go much faster that 50.
@@highgate4767 : I guess that makes sense, as the speed limit was 50 or 55 mph anyway.
What a great film. Thanks for sharing it . PIE was a company I remember for the nice trucks they had all over the country. The drivers really dressed nice too. Sorry to see the large carriers of that era gone. Take care , Tom.
I think drivers took better care of themselves too. Now days I see so many obese men and women driving truck's and they wear sweat pants. A lot of them don't take pride in their jobs or for themselves.
CatHouseMouse251 that's because no A/C they were driving a sauna on wheels AND "armstrong steering" no power steering. This is back when men were men and the sheep ran scared! I'll take my crummy Freightliner Crapcadia thank you very much. I find it amusing when people refer to it as "the good ole days" when today nobody will drive a truck with no A/C it would be put out of service! ha and I'm the only one on here that will admit how great we have it everyone has to be all manly and let's not forget those great 6x4 transmissions!!! 318 Detroits!! Oh yes now those were the days! hahaha BUT this is a great piece of history that would be lost and long forgotten if it weren't for technology!! TH-cam! Smartphones! I've been driving semis over 30 years now and still love it. The guys that bitch and moan (past and present) and say they're done! I can make more money at McDonald's ALWAYS come back to driving cause there ain't no better job out there!
+frank smith Frank Smith,whats ac? I have a truck with no ac, no ps, it have center point steering tho
I worked for P.I.E. their was a rumor that always floated around the the company was founded Bob Hope and Bing Crosby through their " On The Road " movies. does anyone know if this was true?
Most had uniforms and caps back then.
I love those day cabs petes pie had. No air ride but, however they had an incredible maintenance program back then.
08:20 "drugs for New York" things haven't changed 😂😂
Frank Smith RC trucks & construction equipment
That’s funny right there! I don’t care who ya are! 🤣
Highly organized and very efficient.
That's funny right there!
🤣
Transporting them in a highly organized, safe and efficient manner 😅
I love the attitude portrayed in this video; of the dedication to doing a job well. I wonder how long PIE held to the policy of having their drivers stop to give aid to other motorists. I'm sad to say that it would be very naïve to have such a policy today.
That policy probably ended about the 60s, when the interstates started popping up everywhere? I started in the late 60s and never seen them stopping much on the 4 lanes that existed. By the 70s they, like many of the older megas began to vanish or merge. Last I can remember seeing P.I.E., they had somehow merged with Ryder to form Ryder/P.I.E.? New Companies like JB Hunt and Schneider and others began to change the rules in trucking. I still have one of my first Road Atlases from the 60s/70s. There were very few completed interstates in that atlas of the U.S. and Canada.
As nice as it is to look at, this is just propaganda. All of this order, is not natural. It was not motivated by mutual benefit, but rather as the result of unending, and draconian amounts of force.
The technocratic nature of 20th century government, in addition to the collectivist ethos, that had by the time of this video completely replaced the Liberty ethos of early America, resulted in MASSIVE expansions of government. By necessity this also increased the amount of force the government could exert, both overtly and covertly, upon its citizens.
Today, stagnation has allowed nepotism to take hold, degrading the technocratic aspects of our government and it's technocratic allies. To the point of it losing all functionality. All that remains is the unremitting force said government has accumulated.
Authority figures built this system by sweet talking the lower classes about "honor" and "respect" and other things that carry no monetary value or authority, but none the less have done the job of convincing citizens to surrender their autonomy and liberty in exchange for reassurances and order.
But these are not tangible goods, they are just promises: True one day, gone the next. Without the threat of reprisal, the technocrats and government officials can renege on their obligations at any point. The citizens and workers by contrast, having surrendered any autonomy they once had, are economically trapped by regulation.
When financial assurances are taken away, and when order breaks down, you and I are left with nothing but nostalgia, for a time when things were "better". But you should know, it was never better. Everything you see in these chipper optimistic documentaries is exactly that: idealistic fantasy.
The only reason anyone did anything described in these videos is because someone else was standing over them threatening them. This system built entirely on coercion was not only morally abhorrent and dangerous, it was fragile and unsustainable.
It's no wonder it didn't last.
This documentary doesn't describe most of the drivers today. Some of us (even though I'm new) try to keep the pride of driving trucks alive. Love talking to old timers and looking at their cool rigs.
Especially moral and mental responsibility .
Eld look kind of familiar
I was introduced to trucking in the early 1970s, riding along with my uncle at the age of 10. Trucking back then was considered a professional trade. I got my class 1 in 1988, and have watched the trucking industry continuously denigrate with every passing year. Pretty damn sad considering it's the MOST important industry in North America
I got my CDL in 2000 and had an ear-to-ear grin. Didn't take long for THAT to disappear. NOW I can't even stand up for drivers, because they aren't even "steering wheel holders", as past generations called them, but clowns disguised as drivers. It's Flip-Flop Nation now, and it's disgusting.
@@tonyorsini5255
I'm not a trucker but I have to ask, is this because of diversity? Most everything else is wrecked by that.
@@feez357 It started going downhill with Deregulation in 1980. Before that, companies were largely Union and drivers made decent wages and lived middle class lives. Deregulation turned the industry into a cutthroat world where trucking companies, shippers and customers are now out to make the biggest pile of money. So they take folks from everywhere, who generally know next to nothing about trucking and tell them about the way of life it's supposed to represent. They promise high pay and all kinds of perks. But there's a thousand ways to cut corners and get out of paying drivers these perks and miles. It doesn't take long to wear down the morale of both new and older drivers, and when you're basically treated like a kicked-about stray, you quickly learn not to care. And there's schools and trainers who reflect or instill this in greenhorns. Some schools/trainers actually tell new guys to ride the bumper of the vehicles in front of them in every attempt to make traffic get out of their way. I could tell you much about what goes on out there, but all I can say is that I wish I had the time.
Pride, professionalism, courtesy, and common sense was held in high regard and respect back then. Good luck, trying to find any of that nowadays. One thing I love about these old documentaries is that you don’t see sweatpants, T-shirts, baggy, jeans, flip-flops, sandals, and crocs. I bet even the old-school truckstops were hell of a lot better than the ones we have today. A different era, different life, and a different feeling all together back then.
Thanks for the great memories. I'm a retired otr owner /operator. I sure do miss it. Your video brought a tear to my eyes. I don't know about now but it was the BEST industry in America. Thanks again. Take care my friend.
CONGRATULATIONS on your service sir. My late father was a great driver as well. My brother and I are the last 2( so far) holding it down.
So much has changed. One might think that things would be better now, but our standards have dropped significantly. So sad.
Technology is great. But your right.All of the 3rd world SCUM brought in& JAMMED DOWN OUR THROATS!. Thats what happened,LBJ killed Kennedy then passed laws that ruined America!.
I don't think we made much progress.I am a long haul trucker and my father is a retired one who starts driving in the early fifty's and he won't trade whit me regardless the state of the art trucks we drive now.They had something that we lost and never get back, pride freedom and much much less time pressure
Johan Hardenbol
Yep. I've been driving 20 yrs, the hours have expanded 30% at least. Far less personal time, no pride in the equipment, its all throw away cheap junk the company doesn't want repair nor service it properly. As a mid 90's era trucker, very disappointing to see my career take such a down turn as result of inexperienced, college educated, pencil pushing number crunchers.
Been driving for a year and I wish there was still pride in it. Now no one uses the cb or let alone waves at you...sad really.
There's still a few of us old head's out here, but not for much longer, I'm coming up on 50yrs, in August and am pulling the pin, it's been good up till mid 90s and has really went to being a real dog's breakfast from 2000 on, and I never ever thought I would say this, but most of these (alleged) drivers out here really need to clean up their act!
Take some PRIDE
in your appearance!
Clean up your language a little, every other word really doesn't have to be an f-bomb.
Anyway, stay safe brothers and sisters, and take care, IRONSKINNER, I'm on the side.
@@kellypenrod2979 Between local, peddle runs and OTR, 38 years was enough for me. Feb 4, 2017 I stepped out of one for the last time & don't even think about it anymore.
@@muffs55mercury61 Well Mark I wish you well on whatever you end up doing.
Had I not owned my own truck, I likely would have retired a while back.
Now, I'm planning to take my pickup and travel trailer and go see some of the thing's that I've been flying by all these years that I was wishful of seeing.
Good luck brother, take it easy, and stay safe out there!
Back when truck drivers still got respect from the public. It sure is a different world now.
Stop and think, back then they EARNED THAT RESPECT!!
@@kellypenrod2979 Like any industry there's bad egg's and there's good egg's but it only takes a few bad egg's to get all egg's labeled that same name, think on that potato for awhile Kelly. There's 10 times more good truckers then there are bad ones but we seem to all get disrespected by the little 4 wheelers regardless of how courteous and professional we are. Truckers and motorcyclist know how things are but majority or 4 wheelers are ignorant because they're the main problem.
@@robbalinski1606 Troy I have been out here 50yrs come August.
You need not tell me to THINK on potatoes as it were, to understand then and now.
Back then, respect was earned by men and women that had respect for each other, pride in their appearance, and their jobs, AND their driving.
The last 25yrs, ALL OF that has virtualy disappeared.
All for me and screw you, is the new motto with people now.
Instead of helping each other out here now, OR accepting help from an older hand, it's either phone film it to post, or I KNOW I KNOW! more than you do because I went to driving school and you didn't!
Hellos are met more and more by F¿☆k you!
There are a few out there that have some of the old ways, and some pride, but for the most part, it's a skid row clown parade of bumper banging, curb hopping, that can't spell truckdriver, much less perform the task in anything approaching semi competent manner.
Now, chew on that potato kid.
Stay safe out there.
The slobs out there today don't command any respect.Different world now compared to the 50's when this was made
@@robbalinski1606 that's the truth but back in old days we were like a brotherhood and wasn't all these foreigners that can't speak English driving a lot of them act like we owe them something. They will work for considerably less than than I would also. Think about this they mostly come from dry desert areas with NO experience driving our big rigs in snow but companies put those desert rats oon our higways with barely any training if any. Our country has the biggest rigs on the road besides Australia they sure as hell don't take pride in it like old timers do look at how they dress when they get out of a truck wearing flip flops and shit. When I'm in a store I don't need to see some fat slobs nasty feet because they are too damn sorry and lazy to put shoes on and look respectable take my opinion how you want I really don't GAF!
I thought 62 was slow!!! I can't imagine crossing the country going 50mph! LOL
Imagine doing that in a tin can without a sleeper or noise insulation, no wonder truckers were paid well.
Besides climbing hills very slow (most trucks then had no more than 200 hp) they were low geared and weren't geared to do 70 MPH until the interstates came along.
Dustin Freshour This was probably before the interstate highways.
Back in late 50s national speed limit was 60 cars trucks was 40 . 52 in a truck got you a ticket and loss of license for 6 months
Lol only cops waving at u these days is waving u in to get dot'd
😆😆😆😆😢😢😢😢😢
That's for sure. Even if you pass, there's at least an hour shot.
Thank You for the vintage industry film. seem like people took pride in work. Like the Trucks Trailers and traffic scenes.10: 17 look at that Peter built neat !
i was driving west in montanna and saw old P.I.E. trailer sitting in a field
Which highway, road or county was it?
@@huntermossakajunkerman9646 west bound I94 somewhere between bizmack and and Miles city, it was about 6 years ago i didnt pay much to road or county but i was on the I94 westbound right at the road you cant miss it.
Check out the mini truck coming through the PIE yard at 16:18.
that' lil truck is calles Mighty Might
that is totally crazy..!!!! wonder why that thing is so small
It was "The Twilight Zone" back then.
Yes, unusual to say the least.
Does anyone know what that was used for? I re-watched it too but I couldn't figure out what it was.
Rebuilding a truck at 150,000 miles.
It's amazing a truck today can go a million miles or more before an engine overhaul.
Bert Grau That old stuff was cool, but it took a lot to keep it running.
i think a lot is down to better lubricants .now days.
@@aaa111912 I'm pretty sure with today's oils you can get a lot more miles out of those engines from back in the day.
Mainly due to a better synthetic lubricants, alloys, seals and car manufacturing/construction engineering tolerances using modern CNC machines and robots... Other than emission and electric sensors modern trucks are way more durable than they were in the early 50's
This is neat. Like the old videos about Trucking. Drivers and workers had pride in there work. is that a little scale P I E track tor on the yard
I’m just some 14 year old that’s fascinated with history and wants to live back then
Upon further research, you will discover every era has it's good and bad aspects. Remember that this was a promotional film meant to show how wonderful the P.I.E. trucking company was at the time. Trucking is still one of the most important industries in the world. Most of what makes your life happen got delivered by some truck at some time. Today's trucks are faster, safer, cleaner, more efficient, easier to drive, and can haul more weight. Some of people's attitudes have changed for the better, some for the worse. Each era is what you make of it.
Amazing how much trucking has changed.
12:05 Donner Pass. That's Highway 40 The Lincoln Highway 1-80 Donner Summit wasn't completed until 1964. That's the South Yuba River flowing on the side...it's spectacular this year with all the snow
Wow 12:31 is something you wouldn't see today--a company would be foolish to stop for motorists in this day and age unless they wanted the driver to lose his load.
not to mention the driver suing the trucking company because he didn't fix the problem and/or sexual harassment
When I was an owner operator, I'd stop and help at least one person a year broke down, 4 wheeler or semi. Lot of weird stories. Weirdest; coldest day of the year, old lady and son in his pickup broke down on the side of road. I gave them a ride up to the car dealer where she was getting her car fixed. They got in the cab, neither spoke a word to me or each other, at the dealership, just got out never said thanks or looked back at me.
@@happydays8171 The old lady and son were probably having a verbal disagreement and upset with each other but one of them should have expressed some gratitude toward you at the dealership.
@@bti2270 Possibly, I don't think they got out much.
@@happydays8171 nowadays if you stop to help someone they might pull a gun on you
Nice to hear about the Bay Area in a different time✔😎
Once there were operators of trucks who conducted themselves with professionalism, dignity and respect for self and others. Today...well, today our roads are largely filled with drivers.
Non truck drivers not any better.
saw and old PiE trailer in field of I69 near michigan stage line. thought about this vid
Makes me feel old.. I used to drive up and down California with a Tachograph mounted on the dash..
There were ways around it but that's another story.. lol..
Yeah,a big round magnet
The good o days of trucking the stories u can only hear from the old timers 🚛
The reason that its not of this today is OUR government they distory. Truck ing by letting delegation.hapen 80s motor..carrier act. It's.of all good jobs they have done so. In So fuck you Uncle Sam.
Bloody brilliant movie! 👍👌👏
OMG!!video brings back so many memories. I worked for Transcon so many years what a great company. The good ones all gone now, I loved driving. Thanks for the video.
I remember when PIE closed their doors, just like CF, TransCon, how sad, companies making money, people making a paycheck, what was wrong with that?
Trplpwr-PIE merged with Ryder b4 they shut down, PIE had red trucks, Ryder had blue
@@cowboykody6775 I have seen photos recently of PIE trucks in Europe running to the Middle East. Until I got onto the Internet, I was suprised to find PIE had an European operation.
Trplpwr
The problem was, they were losing money.
It's hard to stay in business when your going broke. You can thank Jimmy Carter for deregulation of the trucking industry.
A lot of companies went down the drain
@@bertgrau9246 well, didn't deregulation open doors for non union, smaller companies?
@@dannyjones3840
Very true, still the union companies went broke because of deregulation, again that was carter.
Had to smirk at the bit about the police and trucker and their "mutual respect" Cop and trucker giving each other a jaunty wave as they pass. In reality: Cop checking out the truck for anything he can pull it over for,trucker cursing under his breath because he is being slowed down by the presence of Smokey, and is sure he is going to be cited for something.
detour to avoid a weigh station?
Statimtek cop waving to trucker(you’re good, got are payoff today)
Statimtek
These days if the cop was waving out the window like that he would be shooting his gun😂😂
The states probably already know they're in big trouble when the self driving trucks come along. No more fines against the drivers which last I heard nets about $2 billion a year.
@@99silverstone My former employer had us do just that. We ran LTL, so the trucks all had over 400,000 mi. With LTL, that's alot of miles. We would joke with each other who would break down that day. Seemed like somebody would be towed back to the terminal on a daily basis.
“It is company policy to stop & render aid to stranded motorists” ......wow. This statement shouldn’t be so unbelievable.....but sadly it is!
That's the opposite of our company policy! lol
OMG!! This film is hillarious!!The tales I could tell of the Drivers I used to have to represent when I was a Union Shop Steward would make an unbelievable movie.
The Motor Carriers Act of 1980 pretty much screwed the trucking industry.
You are 100% correct, God I'm glad someone has a brain. The motor carriers act of 1980, signed by Jimmy Carter, deregulated the trucking industry, busted the unions down to nothing, created nothing but havoc, slashed everyones throats on freight rates, created nothing but unsafe trucks and unqualified drivers. Look at trucking today , it's nothing like it was , it's in shambles and it was all created by the government! I was lucky , got in 34 years with a really nice pension, I wish all the drivers today could have the same. Old school truckin was hard work but alot of fun and rewarding
@@talltree601 did the same thing to the railroads
@@talltree601 Shippers got greedy and didn't want to pay out the going rates of the day among other things.
And that's when the union was being pushed out for the OTR driver's
Thank you jimmy Carter and Teddy Kennedy for that...(aka) deregulation!!
Really appreciate this video. A whole lot of folks can't even begin to appreciate EVERY FACET that goes into everything that's purchased. Hopefully this will help a lot of people see and appreciate everything more. Thanks again, from an OTR driver.
man it sure has taking a down hill slide most truckers I encounter cant even speak english
scott curtis šta kažeš? Just kidding.
scott curtis Yes, CDL holders are required to speak and understand ENGLISH, so, how in hell did they obtain a CDL? My fellow drivers where I drive, a few Russians, at least they speak ENGLISH!
My uncle worked for pie as a machinist in Denver Colorado years ago ,,,, love that c.o.e. truck ,don't see them around anymore
crazy how many people worked in a shipping and receiving yard back then. now a days there's only 5 people running the yard. useally 2 drugs addicts and 3 immigrants.
lol
lollllllll
Sad but true
No shit
lee mceachern because America is totally not made of only immigrants...
When I was a kid in High school I stole the Company truck that carried their miniature Peterbilt and Doubles they used to use for promotional safety events. Drove a few of my friends around Southeast Portland for a few minutes. They never knew anything happened, even though I was only 16 at the time. Luckily for me I knew how to drive a truck since age 14, as my Dad used to deliver new Freightliners from the Portland factory, so he taught me well!!
How those terminal operations have changed since this film!! Instead of cubing out a trailer nowadays it's just Shrink wrapped Pallets. And announcing to dispatch when unloading is a thing of the past with Bar codes, and Pro numbers replacing a huge part of the non-driver and dockworker workforce. About the only thing that has gotten harder is the driver knowing the workings of their tractor and trailer. Those old trucks were literally something out of the Flintstones compared to today's rigs.
I drove for Reddaway for 27 years before retirement, and I grew up in the Trucking and Bus industries from birth. The changes to both is mind boggling. This film is nostalgic, as PIE was an icon much like CF, Garrett, LASME, and hundreds of other once great companies that are no longer around., But I hope people don't watch this as a romantic look. It wasn't anything I'd want to go back to!! I sure loved those days though. Old truckers know what I mean, but greenhorns can only imagine (and usually get it wrong!!).
My Father and Grandfather used to call them Pig Iron. There were nicknames for all of the companies. NW was Nut Wagon. TransCon was Trash Can. CF was Corn Flake, etc etc. P.I.E's Denver terminal was torn down sometime in the late 80's and a Pilot was put up. That Pilot was recently torn down to make room for the I-70 expansion. I've retired after 47 years of pushing these things down the road. It looks to me like I got out just in time.
1:00 That SP Daylight is beautiful.
My father drove and was in the Teamsters starting in 1937 until deregulation.
No flip flops or pajama pants back then. I love it!
Found this Video last weekend in times of Coronavirus-Pandemia in Europe and unfortunately all over the world.
Now i can't get enough of watching the real good times rolling down that are shown in this great Video.
Back in the days when there was real truck driver's on the road back in the day when driver's had respect for each other and the motoring public when people had respect for the driver's out on the road
Truckers love to whine, especially today with electrical trackers.
This video just shows they've tracked drivers since the 50's.
Melody Storm yeah but back then you could go 142 in a 70 and not get busted
A paperclip was a favorite way to stop a tachograph.
No remember never over 50 mph
@@trucker1864
If you ever drove a truck like those the only way you could hit 50 MPH was down hill
Those only had a Cummins or Detroit with anywhere from 150 horsepower to maybe 270. The were slow.. pretty dependable. Didn't need DEF or have to regen.
But you could also drive all day long and cook books if you really wanted to make money
funny to see the turnpkye with no traffic looks spooky
I remember watching films like this in school during the sixties and seventies while attending school and I knew I lived and live in the greatest country on earth.
No such thing as “greatest country on earth”
Back then max weight was 73,280 lbs. No more cotton from Texas to North Carolina:( I drove 25 yrs. 2.5 million accident free. Trucks today will go a million+ miles at least the drive train.
That respect and courtesy for each other and the motoring public and the brotherhood has long gone
Wonderful film!
At 16:15 at the maintence depot, what was the tiny truck and trailer that drives by that looks like a 1/4 scale truck?!
Back when America was great. Plenty of good jobs for anyone willing to work 22:42 and workers took pride in their work.
Man, as a modern day truck driver, I wish I had this level of respect.
Great video, thanks for uploading. How sad to read the comments how everything was better before and how bad everything hase become. Well its only YOU that can do anything about it. I am a otr driver today and I dont see any problems..and I am proud of it
cobra3289 Be the change you want to see!
Amazing... Only 75 years ago and look at the world and alignment/co-creation at it's best.
Top speed of 50 mph, helping motorists, & stopping for a break every 50 miles. Geez it must have taken FOREVER to get freight to it's destination back then
correct that's why when what normally takes like from Chicago to California and 70 to 75 mile-an-hour speed limits even in a 68 mile an hour truck if your company governs you that with the high horsepower you can pretty much make it in a little over three days legally now but back then it took you almost a week when you had the transverse old us 30 or us 66 Route 66 they didn't have any interstates hardly at all so yeah you're riding through small towns everywhere think about all the towns you bypass on highways now think about having to travel through them stoplight school zones and these are towns that are thousands of miles away from your home a coast to coast run from Maine to Frisco will take you a little over a week
Awwwe yes trucking back in the good old days, I Shure enjoyed it way back a thousand years ago the 70 s
11:02, tack o graph ,aka, "taddle tale" never exceed 50mph? And they made money, dressed good etc, NOW cheap ass freighthaulers drive 50mph thru parking lots
Cowboy Kody.. It ain't the Freight Hauler that's under paid and under trained...
At least we maintain the chicken house speed..
Thanks to otr companies, truck driving schools and deregulation our industry has went to hell..
I've seen a lot of changes it seems you may have also.. "Always Broke"
That's funny but true. Then they do 49 on the highway.
I saw a driver hit his front wheels ? I asked what that was about, he said that's how they taught him to check for low or flat tires😂scary what kind of drivers are out there
I love these old docs...
wow this video is so awesome to see how much pride and honor there was even in such a big company..I grew up riding in trucks hauling equipment with my dad since I could walk and was always a passion of myin to be in the industry, but its not what it used to be. a shame what it has turned into especially with just how ridiculous these trucks have become lol
I like the mini promotional Dromedary making a drive thru appearance at 16:18. They really snuck that one in and i wonder if anyone ever even noticed.
Hmm. A roofless yard dog, that must have sucked in the rain and snow, geez, who came up with the cross dock system , who invented the tractor and those old timers had it ROUGH, wow, we are so spoiled now.
I've seen footage of yard dogs from the same period that were bigger, even if they were roofless. I'm surprised that thing can tow anything bigger than a single axle puny travel trailer.
One other thing; the tractor going across the Golden Gate Bridge was a Dodge B-Series cabover from the early-1950's.
Also looked dangerous .if he took a sharp turn the corners of the trailer would crush him
@@gilbertyzaguirre7311 Yes that’s right crazy
@@DTD110865 Wow
How difficult it must have been to travel across country in one of those old trucks.
Did the warm relationship between truckers and traffic cops (as illustrated at 11:22) really exist, or was that just another _Good Feeling Myth?_
dav snow, I can't specifically address your exact question, but generally people were friendly, good-natured, and kind back then. Even just 30-some years ago people were much more pleasant to be around. Not to be negative, but the world has gone from bad to worse in my lifetime.
To some extent yes, but your looking at MEN that are cut from the same cloth, and raised to have mutual respect for others.
Love some of the early dodge and Peterbilt cabover.......plus the old ling nose 381 Pete's I believe they are......😉👍
Nice vid from back in the day when dromedary boxes were somewhat common. I wondered how droms were loaded. Any old drom drivers out there?
One trucking company also produced a video with a title something like "The Long Haul" or something that was a promotional video similar to this one; it was played one day in an after school class at my junior high school and was probably a fundamental goal of becoming a truck driver. I thought it was produced by P-I-E as well, but it showed a sleeper team on a run from California to Alaska as I recall, so it probably wasn't P-I-E.
Of course, like most things in my life, I got into the business on what I consider the back side of the bell curve. While there was only one trucking school back then (that I know of, the Wally Thor School of Trucking), it was still an industry that you generally had to earn your rank in. A couple of things stand out to me in this vid: the professionalism of the drivers even to the point of wearing uniforms, trucks being completely overhauled at 150K miles, and not exceeding 50 mph on the tachograph.
Thanks for posting this. Very nostalgic for me.
There were various ways droms were loaded and unloaded; Some were removable from the tractor much like a ocean container,some companies had pass through doors on the front of the trailer,I think PIE used long ramps at major terminals since droms weren't pulled east of Denver.
They used long ramps to load them from the dock, mostly lighter stuff.
EXACTLY
th-cam.com/video/kJG5iqip0NQ/w-d-xo.html
Somebody please explain what you see at 16:17. I re watched it several times and i know im not crazy and im not the only one who sees this
lol . . . . I just said the same thing. . . . lol and my name is Gilbert too . . . . lol! I had comments sorted by 'top comment' at first, so I never saw yours until I switched to newest.
Other people commented as well, guess I wasn't seeing things.
The highway patrolmen no longer value the scale of professional drivers. 😞
Take a hard look at a lot of these so-called
PROFESSIONALS!
Hard to respect people that have no respect for themselves.
Not very many even speak english anymore. Saw some Dicky Bob jackknife into the ditch a while back and he was Russian (I think). Made sure he was ok, called it in and bugged out.
Fez me lembrar dos meus tempos de criança, meu pai era caminhoneiro e eu saia para viajar com ele, anos 70.
This is the most 50-est thing I've ever seen. Everything's so pretty, flawless and also naive of the future along with the radio star speaking out typed propaganda with an incredible amount of stinking Patriotism that had a strong sense-of-purpose, moral good, arrogant innocence to his voice
It's better than being depressed and thinking life is better on the other side all the time.
Ignorant
16:16 is that truck entering the scene @ center screen for real? What the heck is it? Did it do deliveries for Lilliputians?
Someone should make a modern video like this people are so separated from where there stuff comes from
12:45 - Fire extinguisher - I've seen fly spray dispensers with a similar action.
Big outfits went down when the rates were cut.
Uses to be a yard jockey would hook up your rig and have it ready for the driver
Very cool cab overs with big dromedary boxes. Don’t see them today. That box would be a super sleeper today.
now truck driver are under pay corporate slave....
And not independent operators.
Sweat shops on wheels. Plus not all speak English as I had to help a lost driver find his way to his destination recently (he was I think Haitian and only spoke French) Fortunately he was only about 10 miles away. I was able to draw him a map. I think he understood me. Shapes of things now.
Nope. They aren’t slaves. They can quit anytime and do something else for a living.
Just like mostly every worker today! We are screwed. Same shit all over the world.
Did they have lumpers back then?
Why has the trucking industry standards gone down sooo far?
D-Series Huck It started with the advent of driving schools, you used to (pay your dues) before you EVER got behind the wheel. i.e. work the yard, the shop, the tire shop, then you stepped up to shag driver, then co driver (training) for 2 to 3 yrs, then AND ONLY THEN, if your lead driver (who usually Was a 10yr driver ) said you was good enough, you got a permanent seat.
+Kelly Penrod Kelly Penrod, true, not to mention alot of drivers were farm boys,i for one. Drove my first truck at 12yo, we still have it yet, a '46 Chevy ton n a half, drove school bus at 18yo my senior year,66passenger, drove for 2.5 yrs n still wasnt 21.
Because the Fed's regulate it now, have ever since the passing of the '86 CDL federal program
Kelly and jerry, you guys didn't understand the question. Standards have dropped because of greed. Shippers want to pay less for transport, receivers want to pay less for goods, and trucking companies have had to start paying drivers less so they can make more money...so when you start paying drivers less, you get less than stellar people to drive your truck, until you reach the point that we are in today. The trucking companies push drivers to drive more, longer, faster, with less time at home with family, then they also undercut the competition to get more freight, and then need to cut drivers pay even more, and now they can't get a good driver. On the occasion that they DO get a good driver, that driver gets so frustrated at the demands placed on him/her, that even they begin to care less about doing a good job, or abandon the industry all together.
it's funny nowadays, you have 6 month drivers starting to train new drivers. I seen this first hand at USXpress when I was a lease-driver and trainer there. It blew my mind that this company was letting drivers with only 6 months experience be driver trainers. In the year and a half that I was a driver trainer there, I had only one driver worth calling a driver. He now drives locally in S.C. for an automotive manufacturer. All of the rest, I don't know what happened to them, whether they are still driving or not, but I hope that I trained them well. Out of that time, I only put my foot down once and failed one trainee.
I only started my trucking career 7 months ago, sad to see how standards have fallen significantly. The time pressures that go on while I work is unbelievable at times, and these companies only care about time schedules and the bottom line, over safety and common sense.
strange, how most people here mistake this commercial for a documentary and a proof of how great the "good old times" were
Yep good observation was thinking the same its an infomercial about how great PIE is...I'm sure all the people in this videos had their own life problems
True but the driver had a much better income back then than we do today which translates into a better life.
Sum fuk like you would look at it that way
Anyone notice the mini truck at 16:17 ? I love the feel of these adds too.
A nice drive down memory lane
Very interesting video from a once great company!