Hi I'm Jim Wood or as some know me J.E., Gambler, Woody, I started trucking in1955 in Detroit Mich. Then in1960 with Atlas Van lines . Had ten rigs & retired from A.B.F. freight Sys. in 2006 with twenty years in the teamers. It was a bit harder in the 60's but the Lord gave me a hobby that gave me a GOOD living. HE HAS BEED VERY GOOD TOME.
My dad started driving in 1946 when he got home from the service. Them guys had to have iron rearends because the trucks rode so rough. 30-35 was top speed when they were loaded and only 2 lane roads. Them guys were real truckdrivers not some of the steering wheel holders of today.
Wow.....Great video. Before my trucking time in the early 70's but i can still remember some of the trucks. Diamond ts, whites, internationals, Fords, chevrolets, and dodges. Remeinds me of an old truckstop dad and i stopped at several times on Rt.#2 between Toledo and Sandusky Ohio. Greys truck stop. An old greasy spoon from yester year from this era....not the cleanest place...BUT great food with large portions near(on) a bend in the road. When i traveled with dad back then i got to have my own 7-up and did not have to share with my sister. Strange the things a grown man remembers from his youth...as i wipe a tear from my eye. R.I.P "The Gambler" Harvey from Holland Mi....OH and the Marmons, the brockways, the autocars the........
Thanks, this brought back a flood of memories for me. No, I didn't drive truck but my father did. He started back in the late 30's or early 40's while in the CCC. He's told of all the drivers having to maintain their own trucks. There were several occasions back around 1948 or 49 when dad would be heading back to the terminal, he'd come by the house, pick me up and give me a short ride to exchange the truck for our car. I really thought I was big stuff with my right elbow out the window. Wow, I couldn't have been over 4 years old at the time. Pleasant memories. Thanks. Stan
Back in the days when swedes were real truckers and not just a simple wheelman 😊👍 in these modern days its nothing more then a computer on wheels with automatic gearbox and sensors and some more shit 🤮 i prefer old school, i wish i had been born in the good old days when trucks were trucks were and not garbage computers 🤮😂
A lot of similarities with early interstate trucking here in Australia too, most of these truckers were decent hard working men that are owed a lot of recognition for the work they did in those most difficult of conditions of the early days of road transport.
Trucks may have been slower and hauled less in those days but they still got the job done. Freeways such as the Indiana toll road, the Ohio turnpike, NYS Thruway, etc were built end to end in 2-3 years. Today it take a year for them just to do an overpass or bridge.
my grandpa passed away in december of 14 just a month before his 93rd birthday, up until his death when asked he would say the best truck he ever owned was a 58 mack cherry picker with 24 gears, which he ran until 75 whan he bought a cabover kw. he would say that after the mack he had faster an fancier trucks but still the mack was the best.
I started on a 34 chain drive Mack at US Truck Detroit, it pulled a 500 gal tank of "spread oil" with 4 rail ties chained behind and dragged the 24 acre lot for 3 weeks, that was when they evaluated an apprentice, then 6 months as a dock worker/switcher. You either gained the knowledge and the will or good bye. I'm retired now and really glad to be off that road out there, a guy with 30 plus years hit me head on at 60+mph in New Mexico March before last and I just lost the will to do it anymore.
Surely understand. A friend of mine was hauling calves in Colorado , a van pulled out in front of him , he ended up on one side of the trailer , why it didn't go over on its side , the Lord only knows. This man has driven for around thirty years , he pulled to the side for a long time. Don't know if he brought the livestock or if someone else did the job. I do know he no longer drives. Sold the truck and all his trailers.
My first ride in a truck was sitting on my daddys lap at the age of 5 in a brand new 22 model White. In those days there was no power steering and in many cases no heater or defroster. A big heavy robe to put over your legs and a candle on the dashboard to defrost the windows. Turn signals were an option and when drivers wanted to turn they'd flash the clearance lights so folks would know they were going to do something and stay out of the way. When I started driving in 1964 it was in an R model International Harvester with an inline 6 gas engine and a five speed with a 2 speed differential. At the age of 19 I was hooked up to a pole trailer stretched out to 90 feet with 96,000 pounds of structural steel on it. My first week driving truck I worked 98 hours. I was a wee bit tuckered out.
Doug that's amazing I dream how it was back then my imagination runs wild and one day we will not have guys that can tell us with words how it was. In those days
1946 federal 25m2 my grandfather drove and my dad following him. I just got it back 32 years later and the old flathead 6 is going to roar to life again!
Thanks for posting this. I saw a few things I only heard of previously, like the bunk house. I drove from 1997-2015. I always respected the drivers from the time period shown in the video.
i have been a trucker for 25 plus years my experiences have mostly been offroad i never ran freight or been a long haul guy there are just so many rules the long haul guys have my respect, it is a tough business . I myself am an anomaly i learned to drive old school never even had a truck in top gear until my 2nd season i have built mines, logging roads, hauled wood with a 5 axle trailer in nw ontario and ran vac trucks in the oilfeilds from sask to bc it has been an interesting life for sure .
My dad drove before a chauffeurs license was required. Heard stories of stepping out on the running boards for cooler air when climbing the grapevine. Shifted 2 sticks like butter. Him and his 3 sons bleed diesel.
Yes it's true that trucks back in the old days had few if any of the comfort features that a modern truck has, but they also didn't have to deal with the road rage assholes who think their five or ten minute commute to work or home is more important than a trucker's Philly to San Francisco run.
Wow great pics. The golden years of truck driving. I have 34 years in. Trucking is nothing like it use to be. Truckers were curious and conducted theirselves like a professional driver, not like today. Laziness and NO professionalism at all None. Thanks for those old pictures
great vidio ..love them old trucks, they eather slept in there cab our a bunk house, I drove for yrs, when I see this stuff makes me wonder if I could have done it back then
I started in a Mack U model 5 speed single axle. Fumes came through the floor more than out the stack. No heat and no air no power steering. lol But you learned real quick to make the turns and back-ins. LOL It was the way of the real trucker to get his or her start.
Dad & brother both short halers & OTR. I remember the old trucks..cold, drafty, steel dash boards, piss poor brakes, small engines, line of cars a mile long behind you, doing 10 mph at the top of a grade, vinyl hard bench seats, long old shifters( grinding gears)...geezer I could go on. You had to be there.
my dad delivered tomatoes to Campbell Soup off 106 acre farm on a Dodge straight truck when he was 15. Farm became Rider College baseball fields and tennis courts in late 60's. I started on Emeryvilles when I turned 17 and was pulling tankers interstate at 19 before OSHA, bottom loading, suits, etc, hauling formaldehyde, phenol, acetone, and special oils. Since deregulation, I can't believe how messed up this industry has become and it continues to dig its own grave.
I enjoyed the video. It was before my time. I started driving in 1968 driving a 1958 Chevrolet single axle truck tractor hauling baled cotton and cotton seed from a cotton gin. Those drivers got to enjoy better meals at those truck stops than drivers of today can imagine. Those drivers were professional s and didn't have to go to school to learn how.
My dad worked for the Mason -Dixon Lines.When I was four years old he took me for a ride in a B Model Mack.I can see it just like it was that day. I was so excited I couldn't believe.it. Wish he was still here.
My dads old 68 mack didn't have power steering or ac and my grand dad logged out of the sierras with it, long tough days those must have been. i agree trucking just isn't what it once was... as a mechanic i see alot people who will go home if the a/c isn't working correctly.
Trucks back then didn't have sleepers, so many truck stops had a room with a bunch of bunk beds where drivers could sleep, or they slept in there truck with there feet hanging out the window because the seat wasn't long enough
Not an easy job, hats off to these men and women,that includes todays truckers too, so many people just take you for granted, i don't, thanks for all you've done and all you do for our country.
I sometimes wonder what happened to all those old trucks and trailers. I'd be all giddy if I could find a "matching" truck and trailer from the 50s. Especially if I could afford it.
Very grateful to all of the very first truck drivers who have passed away that hauled all kinds of different things to market in very slow moving trucks! Thanks to all of today's modern truck drivers that put up with the 4 wheeler drivers that don't pay attention to what they are doing! Be safe out there on the modern highways an by way's I am very grateful for everything that you all are doing! From a retired professional truck driver 👍!
Being 68, I recall this as the norm in trucking. It wasnt until the late 60's that the whole new updated container system took over the "mom and pop truck and trailer" cargo delivery. And living in the SF Bay area. I recall the immediacy. By 1973, it was a whole new ship and container industry bringing short turn around foreign business right to you. The good old days were so quickly dismissed.😔
I started out with an International cabover with a 6-71 Detroit and a 4x4 Spicer and the guys in these pictures would have loved it compared to what they had. It didn't have enough power to get out of its way but was considerably better than most of those old gas engines. Those drivers were of tougher stock than what we are today.
Yes they were. My daddy in law had a half cab (just a single driver's side cab , no cab for shot gun rider) . Had a 4 cylinder Detroit , 2 cycle engine. Never knew what the trans. was. He had a 38 foot cow trailer. By the time was around him he bought a 57 white freightliner cab over with a 262 Cummins with a five speed trans hooked to a three speed rears. Then he built a 40 foot cow pot out of the 38 foot cattle trailer. This truck and trailer was what you would call "A Going Jessie". Times have changed a lot since early 60' sixties.
This is when you worked hard for your money swearing and sweating saying you won’t do it anymore and went home dragging your feet and miss the challenge the whole time you were home. Some of us is still trucking just like this. I prefer my old rig over any other new fancy shiny rig on the road. It gets the job done and just keeps going through anything!
Great video! Grandfather owned Atlantic States Motor Lines in the '40s & '50s with Corbitt tractors. Dad enjoyed fresh cheesecake from Philly when he was stationed at Cherry Point. Remember, "If you bought it, a truck brought!"
i started in a mack f700 1973 model.that was in 1985 out of rahway nj.i was there the day dad picked up the truck new with plastic still on the seats at the atlantic truckstop hwy 11 near bristol va.went by fast for those reading this.life is short no doubt.now 51 and still think like i am 20.need to grow the hell up but no not me .the smell of tires and diesel always bring those memories back.who would have thought.
I did all my years in the 80's and 90's.... I'm not old enough to have driven double-sticks, but there were still a few around here and there. I can't imagine what these guys did with these day-cabs running all the way across the U.S. ~ I'm sure they just slept wherever they could... out of complete exhaustion. I'm still a bit old school in that I'd jump over one of today's Cadillac Pete's for a 359 with a 13 ~ I would like to see what the inside of one of those old trucks looked like. I know you needed a heavy hand without power steering. No thumbs inside the wheel in case of a blowout.. etc, etc. ~ after driving I dispatched for another 15 years... got to see both sides, and you get a real good look at the drivers of today. Look at the ads just to get them hired "more miles than you could ever want and home every weekend" ~ how is that even possible? Thousands of dollars to sign up as a team driver? Really? No such thing back when I was driving. Today is what, 10 hours? 11? We used to run around the clock day in and day out until our bodies and minds gave out. Woke up wondering where we were as we took off again... and again... and again. No, there is no comparison to the old school trucker and today's "truckdriver" ~ they really don't deserve to be called truckdrivers when they stop more than they go.... and yeah, I have no clue who sung this song...
Tommy Sargeant I drove from 1978 to 1989, many are the times I woke from a 2 to 4 hour 'nap' and had to look at my Bill-of-lading to figure out where I was going...16 to 18 hour days were very common. If I zipped up the curtain and went to sleep, would sometimes wake up and wonder if I had crashed, being pitch black and only sound was the motor humming. Most times, I would either lay across the dog house to get some sleep or just lay across the steering wheel, for if I got in the sleeper, I'd be out for hours! Looking back, it was truly dangerous how we had to drive. The 'Good ol' Days'...yeah, it seems that way looking back, but at the time, it wasn't necessarily so! Hard hours driving, then having to finger print every box yourself or pay good money out of pocket for a lumper. Sheesh, I wouldn't do it again for nothing! It is a different world out there today, glad I have it to look back on, but glad I'm out of it, too!
Tommy Sargeant. Ah, another driver like me. I started my truck driving career in '88, up until 2006 when I fell off the back of a truck and put my truck driving day's to an end. I realy loved the driving and miss it greatly but I don't miss the bullshit that went with it. The stupid laws that we had to abide by and the ridiculous things they fine you for like a $100 fine for making a spelling mistake. This is in N.S.W, AUSTRALIA. I wasn't overly ken on the dispatchers and yard supervisors who treated you like shit, I use to confront them about their attitude and it cost me a couple of jobs but if the boss won't stand up for you, he isn't worth working for. I got a lot of experience and met a lot of people driving all over the country and am very lucky to experience every thing real life has to offer in my over 2.3 million kilometre roam. I never married and don't have any children as I didn't feel it wasn't fair trying to raise a family and not be there for them. My choise and I realy don't have any regrets.
Just a comment about the two sticks. I work for a rig moving company in Utah. We operate primarily in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming moving drilling rigs from one location to the next. I drive a 2009 Peterbuilt with an 18 speed and a four speed brownie stick shift behind it. They are still out there, but even so most of our trucks run a two speed brownie and the others with four speeds have gone to air shifts which cannot be shifted on the fly.
"Suicide" knobs were almost a necessity before power steering came into being. If I remember correctly it took about 4 1/2 complete turns of the steering wheel to do a tight turn. If you let go of the steering wheel knob at the competition of the turn that steering wheel spun like a top for at least a couple of turns. If your thumb was in the way it really hurt. It only happened to me once. Reminded me of "M-1 thumb." Both were a learning experience.
Really nice...back when many trucks had parts of their hoods removed for better ventilation and you could tell a Ford from a Dodge from a Chevy. 🧐Sharp ol trucks! 🤩
Love this video..., the neighborhoods look like the one I live in now because most of our homes, buildings, streets, etc. was built between 1900 and 1945. I even get my retired friends old 1949 IH LF330 log truck to restore, so maybe this is why Kelso looks like we still live during the Korean war unless You visit the mall. Ahhhh, a bygone era I miss.
What happened to truckstops that appreciated the truck drivers.I remember free showers and free coffee that wasn’t a cup of colored water makes you think
I think that truck driving & motor cycles have one thing in common. Once you've ridden one it's in your blood & you just gotta do it some more. My first ride in a semi was the summer of 1966, 10 going on 11. Dad got a summer job driving for a local transporter just 2 miles from home. He was a day tripper. Hauled loads out of Canada back to the yard where the OTR guys took them to their destination. So dad would call home about noon & if I was there, he'd say make me a brown bag lunch & meet me at the end of the driveway in 20 minutes. I was like Augy doggy, YAh. Yah yah! I'd ride with him & on the way back to the yard he'd drop me off at our driveway, we lived on the main hwy that ran right past the terminal. That was in a 1958 R 190 cornbinder. 506 cid gasser with a 5 speed main & electric 2 speed rear axel. The next yr. Dad got a 1962 white conventional. It had a diesel, I never heard dad say what hp it was but it had a fuller 10 speed, Oh Boy now that was trucken. Dad's gone now & after I put in 33 yrs in an industrial complex, I retired. Went straight to a CDL school & started driving myself. I'm a driver, not a trucker. Been driving for 12 yrs & still learning every day.
This brings back memories. I bought three trucks from Merchants Cartage in St Paul. Nice people to deal with. They are still in business, but at a smaller scale.
Back in the days before power steering, radial tires, tubeless tires, Bostrom air seats for the driver, and Jake brakes. I drove a few holdover trucks from that era for local jobs when I entered the workforce in 1969, and all I can say is Thank God for modernization.
Cleon...you are so right! I've been driving for 21 years, although I've always had it pretty easy equipment wise......I was taught by old school instructors. there is very little courtesy out there anymore.
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this video!! Music by Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings was absolutely perfect also. Thanks so much for putting it on for all of us to look back at our heritage on the lonesome highway.
My grandfather drove for Associated transport when i was a little kid he would let me sat in the truck from that time on l was Hooked and still am you cant beat truckers god bless them
I don't get on the interstate highways anymore l prefer to drive the state highways and see the America your grandad's saw back in the day. l pass old truck stops, filling stations, motels and others parts of Americana and take pictures. l have respect for the old guys that came before me. They were real men!
We only run on the interstate when there is no other way to get there, if I can find a 2 lane I'll take it and the increased time over the high speed concrete
The Interstate highway is for when you need to get somewhere in a hurry. The two-lane State and Federal highways are for when you want to see America. I don't know about you, but I am in no particular hurry.
Different kind of people today...too lazy to think for themselves...have to be told what to do...Theyre not Truckers...just drivers...My hats off to the Truckers still putting up with added regulations and having time for drivers....Keep up the Good work BROS!!
As a Proffesional truck driver with 39 years on the road it's safe to say that 80 percent of the drivers today, if they weren't behind the wheel of a truck, they would be living with Mommy, living under a bridge, or in prison.
All of these trucking companies long gone, these old timers had it rough, no creature comforts, no nothing, shout out to the rough riders, back in the day..Prost!
I miss those old truck stops much better than the chain ones we have now. The bunk house I think is a good idea would still work to a point. Same as a hostel.
I started trailer trucking in the service in 75 with an old 5 ton 6x6 gas job pulling a 5,000 gallon fuel tanker ( small compared to today’s) . It had a 5 speed main with a hi lo transfer. We’d start out in low and grab all 5 gears then grab the transfer lever with your left hand and the main within your right and at the same time put the transfer in hi range and the main back in 3rd and get 3 more to top out at 62 mph. No heaters or defrosters or insulation with a s canvas top with that old Continental 6 cylinder gas job just screaming out of the side pipe, only good thing was it had power steering. Yeah that was trucking. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. In my 44th year right now and maybe 4 more God willing
I agree. I’ve been trucking OTR two years now and I keep dumbbells and weighted vest on my truck. I workout 4 days per week (inside the truck) and eat as healthy as possible on the road. All it takes is determination.
This is a good assortment of pictures it would be nice if they could talk. The story behind the picture makes you look at it more closely. Nicely done thanks for sharing.
My hat is off to these drivers of yesteryear. I have had the chance to drive some of these old trucks on the farms and for sawmills around the area. I have a 1974 GMC Astro 97 Cab Over with a 6V Silver 92 Detroit and a 13speed trans. I use to pull my 35ft Beaver dovetail trailer. I haul my 7-G Allis Chalmers Dozer and my 6-G front crawler behind the old GMC. It has the single bunk sleeper and I replaced the old style York Air Conditioning system with a Cartier camper AC unit. The old truck still has the old style Dayton Lug wheels with split rims and tube type tires. Tube Tires work good for field and off road work.
That was a real flashback I can remember some of that was still around when I was a kid. Being a truck driver myself when I run into a old timer from those days I say my hates off to you, I don’t know how they did it. I’m used to driving in rigs that are Computor controlled and air conditioned with air ride cabs.
Real trucks and truck drivers. Bob Reimer drove many of these trucks and wrote The B Model Mack Song by THE COUNTRY TIGERS. Please check it out Tks much.
Agree-real truckers, not these panzies we have today that look more like a beach bum then a professional driver. Todays drivers whine and cry about everything and have to be told everthing what, when, how, and where to do it. Pathtic 'people driving trucks' today-not truckers, people driving trucks.
Oh how I remember. Chicago, Halsted and 26 th. St., Stockyards to the South, slattted truck, stench, bleat, 1950's . Red streetcars. Snowballs to conductor's face. Big boys run. Eyes full of wonder.
Dam with the real driver comments. It’s called advancement people. Technological advancements Most everything done then isn’t done now. Life in general is 100% different. Notice I said different not better That being said I’d prefer to live back then in my opinion life was better. Just my opinion. We’re still allowed to have one right?
Yup how's that working for ya? Increase in horrific headons runaways bullshit.i run all over north America and in British Columbia 40 mile lone grades in some places averaging 18-22% and windy as heck 17000ft drop offs runaway ramps on opposite side of road because your side is a drop to your death 17000ft down into the valleys ect if these new guys fuck up here it's their first and last time.have to respect it oh and it's mostly 2lane all the way they are trying to four lane it but this rock is the Canadian shield solid granite.
Hi
I'm Jim Wood or as some know me J.E., Gambler, Woody, I started trucking in1955 in Detroit Mich. Then in1960 with Atlas Van lines . Had ten rigs & retired from A.B.F. freight Sys. in 2006 with twenty years in the teamers. It was a bit harder in the 60's but the Lord gave me a hobby that gave me a GOOD living. HE HAS BEED VERY GOOD TOME.
I started Driving in the 70s Thought mid 90s. I Had Family Drove in the 60s. I Early Drivers Realy Was Hero's. 🥰
Your average Truck Driver works a hundred hours a week, we tell the cops we work 70, and we get paid for 50.
Way she goes.
amen true very true
You sir are a fool .
Yep. And now that the e-logs kicking in and the companies and Petro remain greedy, it's time to pack up and move on.
Bring on the driverless truck 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Get rid of the transport management and the whinging driver who sold his soul to the company 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻
god bless this video Ive always respected the pioneers of trucking...My dad was a trucker from 1956 till 1977 god bless yall
they really doing a great job hun
how are you doing
I would love to hear a lot more from the folks who did the music. Crisp, clean and athentically old timey country bluegrass.
I believe this is Gillian Welsh singing this song. 🤔 Check her out. 😉
It's Gillian alright but the song is white Freightliner blues
My dad started driving in 1946 when he got home from the service. Them guys had to have iron rearends because the trucks rode so rough. 30-35 was top speed when they were loaded and only 2 lane roads. Them guys were real truckdrivers not some of the steering wheel holders of today.
Can you imagine driving some of old gas pots with a flathead 6? You had 80-100 HP at your disposal. Tons of respect out to the old-timers.
Chad Anderson wait what only a V6 on a semi truck wtf?
A lot of semis now are inline 6... but diesel of course most big trucks were diesel by the late 40's though
@@redtra236 actually gas engine trucks survived well into the 60's
Garrett Smith : what??? Very few diesels in the 30's.
Sorry that was a typo I meant to say 40's. There were some diesels even in the 30's though.
No sweat pants or flip flops on these Men
Or gay crocks
Soy free!
And the lot lizard had a dress on!
Robbie Triplett
😂
and they all spoke english
Wow.....Great video. Before my trucking time in the early 70's but i can still remember some of the trucks. Diamond ts, whites, internationals, Fords, chevrolets, and dodges. Remeinds me of an old truckstop dad and i stopped at several times on Rt.#2 between Toledo and Sandusky Ohio. Greys truck stop. An old greasy spoon from yester year from this era....not the cleanest place...BUT great food with large portions near(on) a bend in the road. When i traveled with dad back then i got to have my own 7-up and did not have to share with my sister. Strange the things a grown man remembers from his youth...as i wipe a tear from my eye. R.I.P "The Gambler" Harvey from Holland Mi....OH and the Marmons, the brockways, the autocars the........
Thanks, this brought back a flood of memories for me. No, I didn't drive truck but my father did. He started back in the late 30's or early 40's while in the CCC. He's told of all the drivers having to maintain their own trucks.
There were several occasions back around 1948 or 49 when dad would be heading back to the terminal, he'd come by the house, pick me up and give me a short ride to exchange the truck for our car. I really thought I was big stuff with my right elbow out the window. Wow, I couldn't have been over 4 years old at the time.
Pleasant memories.
Thanks.
Stan
Back when Trucking was Trucking... I really wish I lived during that era to see it, I was born in the wrong time period.
thats soo true lol
hope you good hun
Back in the days when swedes were real truckers and not just a simple wheelman 😊👍 in these modern days its nothing more then a computer on wheels with automatic gearbox and sensors and some more shit 🤮 i prefer old school, i wish i had been born in the good old days when trucks were trucks were and not garbage computers 🤮😂
Anybody can drive a new truck, getting it there with equipment that has seen better days takes a real driver.
How simple trucking was without anyone tracking your everymove back then.
A lot of similarities with early interstate trucking here in Australia too, most of these truckers were decent hard working men that are owed a lot of recognition for the work they did in those most difficult of conditions of the early days of road transport.
Way back when men were men and the women were glad of it.Great music,awesome photo's of days long gone.Thanks!!!
Charming music and really would like to go back in those American 60's and 70's. And 80's
All I can say is that trucking has changed a lot over the 60 years that I have seen those big rigs on the roads. Thank for the history lesson.
Loved this video! Thanks for taking the time and effort to create such a neat glimpse into the past at men and machine.
Trucks may have been slower and hauled less in those days but they still got the job done. Freeways such as the Indiana toll road, the Ohio turnpike, NYS Thruway, etc were built end to end in 2-3 years. Today it take a year for them just to do an overpass or bridge.
I drove an F700 Mack and the truck was actually the truck was fast.
some did have optional higher gearing, others just pushed them to higher rpms. Macks were pretty good trucks.
my grandpa passed away in december of 14 just a month before his 93rd birthday, up until his death when asked he would say the best truck he ever owned was a 58 mack cherry picker with 24 gears, which he ran until 75 whan he bought a cabover kw. he would say that after the mack he had faster an fancier trucks but still the mack was the best.
my grandpa also said that when he first got the 24spd mack that it was a b-t-h but after he got used to it he said you could not beat that s.o.b
I started on a 34 chain drive Mack at US Truck Detroit, it pulled a 500 gal tank of "spread oil" with 4 rail ties chained behind and dragged the 24 acre lot for 3 weeks, that was when they evaluated an apprentice, then 6 months as a dock worker/switcher.
You either gained the knowledge and the will or good bye.
I'm retired now and really glad to be off that road out there, a guy with 30 plus years hit me head on at 60+mph in New Mexico March before last and I just lost the will to do it anymore.
Surely understand. A friend of mine was hauling calves in Colorado , a van pulled out in front of him , he ended up on one side of the trailer , why it didn't go over on its side , the Lord only knows. This man has driven for around thirty years , he pulled to the side for a long time. Don't know if he brought the livestock or if someone else did the job. I do know he no longer drives. Sold the truck and all his trailers.
My first ride in a truck was sitting on my daddys lap at the age of 5 in a brand new 22 model White. In those days there was no power steering and in many cases no heater or defroster. A big heavy robe to put over your legs and a candle on the dashboard to defrost the windows. Turn signals were an option and when drivers wanted to turn they'd flash the clearance lights so folks would know they were going to do something and stay out of the way. When I started driving in 1964 it was in an R model International Harvester with an inline 6 gas engine and a five speed with a 2 speed differential. At the age of 19 I was hooked up to a pole trailer stretched out to 90 feet with 96,000 pounds of structural steel on it. My first week driving truck I worked 98 hours. I was a wee bit tuckered out.
Driving in central Arizona in my younger day there was no DOT or scales so we worked as many hours as we wanted to.
Yes ! Sitting on an old milk crate, the REAL jumpseat !
Doug that's amazing I dream how it was back then my imagination runs wild and one day we will not have guys that can tell us with words how it was. In those days
Me,also b-61 mack
Doug Fever that’s a understatement
1946 federal 25m2 my grandfather drove and my dad following him. I just got it back 32 years later and the old flathead 6 is going to roar to life again!
Классные машины,правда?
Rusted n busted Mopars just built a rat rod out of a 1948 Federal motor truck. It looks like the old Diamond T. I have lots of fun with it.
Thanks for posting this. I saw a few things I only heard of previously, like the bunk house. I drove from 1997-2015. I always respected the drivers from the time period shown in the video.
i have been a trucker for 25 plus years my experiences have mostly been offroad i never ran freight or been a long haul guy there are just so many rules the long haul guys have my respect, it is a tough business . I myself am an anomaly i learned to drive old school never even had a truck in top gear until my 2nd season i have built mines, logging roads, hauled wood with a 5 axle trailer in nw ontario and ran vac trucks in the oilfeilds from sask to bc it has been an interesting life for sure .
As a retired truck driver, it would have been fun to drive one of those old trucks for just one day. It would have been a real experience.
Эх,если б ещё что понятно было ....
I love the old school song. I wood like to bay the By the album of that song even more than all truck driving songs
2 transmissions 1 up 1down equals a split
My dad drove before a chauffeurs license was required. Heard stories of stepping out on the running boards for cooler air when climbing the grapevine. Shifted 2 sticks like butter. Him and his 3 sons bleed diesel.
Very cool. A treat for the eyes and ears. My dad was a truck driver and I would tag along. He's gone but not forgotten.
Yes it's true that trucks back in the old days had few if any of the comfort features that a modern truck has, but they also didn't have to deal with the road rage assholes who think their five or ten minute commute to work or home is more important than a trucker's Philly to San Francisco run.
How true? But never forgotten...
And the world wasn't overpopulated like it is now.
@@littleturtle1610
The overpopulation are usually arseholes.
Brian Sylvester wp
Nothing else like that feeling you get when you deliver that load and arrive back home and see your family looking out the door watching you pull up.
Wow great pics. The golden years of truck driving. I have 34 years in. Trucking is nothing like it use to be. Truckers were curious and conducted theirselves like a professional driver, not like today. Laziness and NO professionalism at all
None. Thanks for those old pictures
The song is called White Freightliner Blues. Originally by Townes Van Zandt but I think this is Gillian Welch. Cool video
Matt Davis it is the underated Gillian
Yes, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Snow on Albuquerque Album
😅checkout Bobby Bares version of that song
great vidio ..love them old trucks, they eather slept in there cab our a bunk house, I drove for yrs, when I see this stuff makes me wonder if I could have done it back then
I started in a Mack U model 5 speed single axle. Fumes came through the floor more than out the stack. No heat and no air no power steering. lol But you learned real quick to make the turns and back-ins. LOL It was the way of the real trucker to get his or her start.
Dad & brother both short halers & OTR. I remember the old trucks..cold, drafty, steel dash boards, piss poor brakes, small engines, line of cars a mile long behind you, doing 10 mph at the top of a grade, vinyl hard bench seats, long old shifters( grinding gears)...geezer I could go on. You had to be there.
When I was 16 I started driving a 1958 auto car 220, 10 speed no air no powersteing. Good truck.
From twin sticks to Automated transmission ......life goes on..
OH - I enjoyed watching and listening to this - NEATO - thank you. Have a safe and nice day all. CHEERS from AUSTRALIA.
my dad delivered tomatoes to Campbell Soup off 106 acre farm on a Dodge straight truck when he was 15. Farm became Rider College baseball fields and tennis courts in late 60's. I started on Emeryvilles when I turned 17 and was pulling tankers interstate at 19 before OSHA, bottom loading, suits, etc, hauling formaldehyde, phenol, acetone, and special oils. Since deregulation, I can't believe how messed up this industry has become and it continues to dig its own grave.
speedskiff2 deregulation killed trucking
I enjoyed the video. It was before my time. I started driving in 1968 driving a 1958 Chevrolet single axle truck tractor hauling baled cotton and cotton seed from a cotton gin. Those drivers got to enjoy better meals at those truck stops than drivers of today can imagine. Those drivers were professional s and didn't have to go to school to learn how.
My dad worked for the Mason -Dixon Lines.When I was four years old he took me for a ride in a B Model Mack.I can see it just like it was that day. I was so excited I couldn't believe.it. Wish he was still here.
What fabulous photographs...I'm not a trucker, but love seeing and hearing about the history of the industry....
Nothing like the old school truckers the first truck I drove was a b model mack still love my mack trucks god bless all the truckers 😁🤗
My dads old 68 mack didn't have power steering or ac and my grand dad logged out of the sierras with it, long tough days those must have been. i agree trucking just isn't what it once was... as a mechanic i see alot people who will go home if the a/c isn't working correctly.
Yes! Yes Sir!
God Bless ‘em those
Big Rig Driver’s who served a life time behind that wheel
Amen!
Trucks back then didn't have sleepers, so many truck stops had a room with a bunch of bunk beds where drivers could sleep, or they slept in there truck with there feet hanging out the window because the seat wasn't long enough
My first truck was a 1960 White Freightliner day cab, hauling lumber and cross ties.
I wish that I would have paid more attention to my grandfather when he told stories of his trucking career.
Not an easy job, hats off to these men and women,that includes todays truckers too, so many people just take you for granted, i don't, thanks for all you've done and all you do for our country.
them old rigs had a style all their own.
I sometimes wonder what happened to all those old trucks and trailers. I'd be all giddy if I could find a "matching" truck and trailer from the 50s. Especially if I could afford it.
Very grateful to all of the very first truck drivers who have passed away that hauled all kinds of different things to market in very slow moving trucks! Thanks to all of today's modern truck drivers that put up with the 4 wheeler drivers that don't pay attention to what they are doing! Be safe out there on the modern highways an by way's I am very grateful for everything that you all are doing! From a retired professional truck driver 👍!
Being 68, I recall this as the norm in trucking. It wasnt until the late 60's that the whole new updated container system took over the "mom and pop truck and trailer" cargo delivery. And living in the SF Bay area. I recall the immediacy. By 1973, it was a whole new ship and container industry bringing short turn around foreign business right to you. The good old days were so quickly dismissed.😔
Great upload. Truckers with a cap and tie...makes them look so professional.
I started out with an International cabover with a 6-71 Detroit and a 4x4 Spicer and the guys in these pictures would have loved it compared to what they had. It didn't have enough power to get out of its way but was considerably better than most of those old gas engines. Those drivers were of tougher stock than what we are today.
Yes they were. My daddy in law had a half cab (just a single driver's side cab , no cab for shot gun rider) . Had a 4 cylinder Detroit , 2 cycle engine. Never knew what the trans. was. He had a 38 foot cow trailer. By the time was around him he bought a 57 white freightliner cab over with a 262 Cummins with a five speed trans hooked to a three speed rears. Then he built a 40 foot cow pot out of the 38 foot cattle trailer. This truck and trailer was what you would call "A Going Jessie". Times have changed a lot since early 60' sixties.
This is when you worked hard for your money swearing and sweating saying you won’t do it anymore and went home dragging your feet and miss the challenge the whole time you were home. Some of us is still trucking just like this. I prefer my old rig over any other new fancy shiny rig on the road. It gets the job done and just keeps going through anything!
Great video! Grandfather owned Atlantic States Motor Lines in the '40s & '50s with Corbitt tractors. Dad enjoyed fresh cheesecake from Philly when he was stationed at Cherry Point. Remember, "If you bought it, a truck brought!"
i started in a mack f700 1973 model.that was in 1985 out of rahway nj.i was there the day dad picked up the truck new with plastic still on the seats at the atlantic truckstop hwy 11 near bristol va.went by fast for those reading this.life is short no doubt.now 51 and still think like i am 20.need to grow the hell up but no not me .the smell of tires and diesel always bring those memories back.who would have thought.
I did all my years in the 80's and 90's.... I'm not old enough to have driven double-sticks, but there were still a few around here and there. I can't imagine what these guys did with these day-cabs running all the way across the U.S. ~ I'm sure they just slept wherever they could... out of complete exhaustion. I'm still a bit old school in that I'd jump over one of today's Cadillac Pete's for a 359 with a 13 ~ I would like to see what the inside of one of those old trucks looked like. I know you needed a heavy hand without power steering. No thumbs inside the wheel in case of a blowout.. etc, etc. ~ after driving I dispatched for another 15 years... got to see both sides, and you get a real good look at the drivers of today. Look at the ads just to get them hired "more miles than you could ever want and home every weekend" ~ how is that even possible? Thousands of dollars to sign up as a team driver? Really? No such thing back when I was driving. Today is what, 10 hours? 11? We used to run around the clock day in and day out until our bodies and minds gave out. Woke up wondering where we were as we took off again... and again... and again. No, there is no comparison to the old school trucker and today's "truckdriver" ~ they really don't deserve to be called truckdrivers when they stop more than they go.... and yeah, I have no clue who sung this song...
Tommy Sargeant I drove from 1978 to 1989, many are the times I woke from a 2 to 4 hour 'nap' and had to look at my Bill-of-lading to figure out where I was going...16 to 18 hour days were very common. If I zipped up the curtain and went to sleep, would sometimes wake up and wonder if I had crashed, being pitch black and only sound was the motor humming. Most times, I would either lay across the dog house to get some sleep or just lay across the steering wheel, for if I got in the sleeper, I'd be out for hours! Looking back, it was truly dangerous how we had to drive.
The 'Good ol' Days'...yeah, it seems that way looking back, but at the time, it wasn't necessarily so! Hard hours driving, then having to finger print every box yourself or pay good money out of pocket for a lumper. Sheesh, I wouldn't do it again for nothing! It is a different world out there today, glad I have it to look back on, but glad I'm out of it, too!
Tommy Sargeant. Ah, another driver like me. I started my truck driving career in '88, up until 2006 when I fell off the back of a truck and put my truck driving day's to an end. I realy loved the driving and miss it greatly but I don't miss the bullshit that went with it. The stupid laws that we had to abide by and the ridiculous things they fine you for like a $100 fine for making a spelling mistake. This is in N.S.W, AUSTRALIA. I wasn't overly ken on the dispatchers and yard supervisors who treated you like shit, I use to confront them about their attitude and it cost me a couple of jobs but if the boss won't stand up for you, he isn't worth working for. I got a lot of experience and met a lot of people driving all over the country and am very lucky to experience every thing real life has to offer in my over 2.3 million kilometre roam. I never married and don't have any children as I didn't feel it wasn't fair trying to raise a family and not be there for them. My choise and I realy don't have any regrets.
Just a comment about the two sticks. I work for a rig moving company in Utah. We operate primarily in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming moving drilling rigs from one location to the next. I drive a 2009 Peterbuilt with an 18 speed and a four speed brownie stick shift behind it. They are still out there, but even so most of our trucks run a two speed brownie and the others with four speeds have gone to air shifts which cannot be shifted on the fly.
My first driving was with an old Mack truck with a two stick shifter. That was in 1963. I liked that truck.
"Suicide" knobs were almost a necessity before power steering came into being. If I remember correctly it took about 4 1/2 complete turns of the steering wheel to do a tight turn. If you let go of the steering wheel knob at the competition of the turn that steering wheel spun like a top for at least a couple of turns. If your thumb was in the way it really hurt. It only happened to me once. Reminded me of "M-1 thumb." Both were a learning experience.
Really nice...back when many trucks had parts of their hoods removed for better ventilation and you could tell a Ford from a Dodge from a Chevy. 🧐Sharp ol trucks! 🤩
Love this video..., the neighborhoods look like the one I live in now because most of our homes, buildings, streets, etc. was built between 1900 and 1945.
I even get my retired friends old 1949 IH LF330 log truck to restore, so maybe this is why Kelso looks like we still live during the Korean war unless You visit the mall.
Ahhhh, a bygone era I miss.
Boy do us new bloods have it good these days. Hats off to the classics my brothers.
Gappie Al Kebabi what you do for a living mr high iq.
The drivers who paved the road and the way for us ty to the little man
Great video. Wasn't a truck driver but I grew up in the trucking buiness, my father was a North American Van Lines agent from 1959-1996.
Great video. That's when trucks were trucks!!!
What happened to truckstops that appreciated the truck drivers.I remember free showers and free coffee that wasn’t a cup of colored water makes you think
I think that truck driving & motor cycles have one thing in common. Once you've ridden one it's in your blood & you just gotta do it some more. My first ride in a semi was the summer of 1966, 10 going on 11. Dad got a summer job driving for a local transporter just 2 miles from home. He was a day tripper. Hauled loads out of Canada back to the yard where the OTR guys took them to their destination. So dad would call home about noon & if I was there, he'd say make me a brown bag lunch & meet me at the end of the driveway in 20 minutes. I was like Augy doggy, YAh. Yah yah! I'd ride with him & on the way back to the yard he'd drop me off at our driveway, we lived on the main hwy that ran right past the terminal. That was in a 1958 R 190 cornbinder. 506 cid gasser with a 5 speed main & electric 2 speed rear axel. The next yr. Dad got a 1962 white conventional. It had a diesel, I never heard dad say what hp it was but it had a fuller 10 speed, Oh Boy now that was trucken. Dad's gone now & after I put in 33 yrs in an industrial complex, I retired. Went straight to a CDL school & started driving myself. I'm a driver, not a trucker. Been driving for 12 yrs & still learning every day.
Man, this some OLD time trucking for sure. Very nice job.
This brings back memories. I bought three trucks from Merchants Cartage in St Paul. Nice people to deal with. They are still in business, but at a smaller scale.
Back in the days before power steering, radial tires, tubeless tires, Bostrom air seats for the driver, and Jake brakes. I drove a few holdover trucks from that era for local jobs when I entered the workforce in 1969, and all I can say is Thank God for modernization.
Great stuff thanks for taking the time to show us all.
Cleon...you are so right! I've been driving for 21 years, although I've always had it pretty easy equipment wise......I was taught by old school instructors. there is very little courtesy out there anymore.
Wonderful slide show and soundtrack..!
Ah the good old days, back when truckers helped each other. No one was ever stuck on the side of the road.
Mad respect for all you Truck Drivers out there! 💪
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this video!! Music by Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings was absolutely perfect also. Thanks so much for putting it on for all of us to look back at our heritage on the lonesome highway.
Back in the days when many trucks only had a small round mirror extending from the driver's side door.
My grandfather drove for Associated transport when i was a little kid he would let me sat in the truck from that time on l was Hooked and still am you cant beat truckers god bless them
I don't get on the interstate highways anymore l prefer to drive the state highways and see the America your grandad's saw back in the day. l pass old truck stops, filling stations, motels and others parts of Americana and take pictures. l have respect for the old guys that came before me. They were real men!
We only run on the interstate when there is no other way to get there, if I can find a 2 lane I'll take it and the increased time over the high speed concrete
The Interstate highway is for when you need to get somewhere in a hurry. The two-lane State and Federal highways are for when you want to see America. I don't know about you, but I am in no particular hurry.
Eld screws that for us
Tony Monroy amen to that
Tony Monroy when I’m off the clock I do the same. Unfortunately, when I’m on the clock, I’m on the interstate. Time is money.
Different kind of people today...too lazy to think for themselves...have to be told what to do...Theyre not Truckers...just drivers...My hats off to the Truckers still putting up with added regulations and having time for drivers....Keep up the Good work BROS!!
You are 100 % correct !
Tim Zarifis that's why i turned off my cobra years ago.
They will realize the nite China invades us and they slaughter us like chickens
Those were the days my friend, we taught they'll never end....
That was awesome :-)! Thanks for the look back. Man, if a '30s Teamster could see us, now...
Those old beds in the bunk house remind me of a platoon bay in the Army Reserves at Fort Drum in the old wooden barracks
As a Proffesional truck driver with 39 years on the road it's safe to say that 80 percent of the drivers today, if they weren't behind the wheel of a truck, they would be living with Mommy, living under a bridge, or in prison.
All of these trucking companies long gone, these old timers had it rough, no creature comforts, no nothing, shout out to the rough riders, back in the day..Prost!
Warner is alive in August 20q9.
As a third generation freight hauler this sure brings back some good memories!
These were before you were born
I miss those old truck stops much better than the chain ones we have now. The bunk house I think is a good idea would still work to a point. Same as a hostel.
That was really sweet. I loved the music too! My mom lived in that era.
I started trailer trucking in the service in 75 with an old 5 ton 6x6 gas job pulling a 5,000 gallon fuel tanker ( small compared to today’s) . It had a 5 speed main with a hi lo transfer. We’d start out in low and grab all 5 gears then grab the transfer lever with your left hand and the main within your right and at the same time put the transfer in hi range and the main back in 3rd and get 3 more to top out at 62 mph. No heaters or defrosters or insulation with a s canvas top with that old Continental 6 cylinder gas job just screaming out of the side pipe, only good thing was it had power steering. Yeah that was trucking. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. In my 44th year right now and maybe 4 more God willing
Nice trucks, nice song, who sang it? Best greetings to you all from across the miles (Germany)
All slim and fit looking not like the blimps in modern trucks!
I agree. I’ve been trucking OTR two years now and I keep dumbbells and weighted vest on my truck. I workout 4 days per week (inside the truck) and eat as healthy as possible on the road. All it takes is determination.
This is a good assortment of pictures it would be nice if they could talk. The story behind the picture makes you look at it more closely. Nicely done thanks for sharing.
My hat is off to these drivers of yesteryear. I have had the chance to drive some of these old trucks on the farms and for sawmills around the area. I have a 1974 GMC Astro 97 Cab Over with a 6V Silver 92 Detroit and a 13speed trans. I use to pull my 35ft Beaver dovetail trailer. I haul my 7-G Allis Chalmers Dozer and my 6-G front crawler behind the old GMC. It has the single bunk sleeper and I replaced the old style York Air Conditioning system with a Cartier camper AC unit. The old truck still has the old style Dayton Lug wheels with split rims and tube type tires. Tube Tires work good for field and off road work.
Aren't those ones called a "Crackerbox"?
That was a real flashback I can remember some of that was still around when I was a kid. Being a truck driver myself when I run into a old timer from those days I say my hates off to you, I don’t know how they did it. I’m used to driving in rigs that are Computor controlled and air conditioned with air ride cabs.
Thanks for making the video. Lots of cool pics
REAL music, REAL singing ! REAL great.
Who was that singing
I do remember the Navajo trucking co.on route 66 thru New Mexico and Arizona with twin pipes blowing black smoke...What a sight
He didn't know I would grow up to be his wife. He died in my arms.
Real trucks and truck drivers. Bob Reimer drove many of these trucks and wrote The B Model Mack Song by THE COUNTRY TIGERS. Please check it out Tks much.
Agree-real truckers, not these panzies we have today that look more like a beach bum then a professional driver. Todays drivers whine and cry about everything and have to be told everthing what, when, how, and where to do it. Pathtic 'people driving trucks' today-not truckers, people driving trucks.
yeoldecatskinner my god, these were the driver's and some of the iron I grew up with, I have 43yrs under my belt thanks Mr b,a, for the memories.
Oh how I remember. Chicago, Halsted and 26 th. St., Stockyards to the South, slattted truck, stench, bleat, 1950's . Red streetcars. Snowballs to conductor's face. Big boys run. Eyes full of wonder.
Thank you for this - gave me an insight into my family's history+++
Dam with the real driver comments.
It’s called advancement people. Technological advancements
Most everything done then isn’t done now.
Life in general is 100% different. Notice I said different not better
That being said I’d prefer to live back then in my opinion life was better.
Just my opinion. We’re still allowed to have one right?
Yup how's that working for ya? Increase in horrific headons runaways bullshit.i run all over north America and in British Columbia 40 mile lone grades in some places averaging 18-22% and windy as heck 17000ft drop offs runaway ramps on opposite side of road because your side is a drop to your death 17000ft down into the valleys ect if these new guys fuck up here it's their first and last time.have to respect it oh and it's mostly 2lane all the way they are trying to four lane it but this rock is the Canadian shield solid granite.