The ATCA show in Harford this past weekend had quite a few unique trucks. But perhaps the ones below are the most unique if not the oldest. The first truck is a 1921 White Model 45 owned by Tim Hoover. Beautifully restored this is a prime example of where trucks began in the United States. To think this truck worked in a rock quarry with the those solid steel wheels makes me spine hurt! And what about that dash, one gauge!
Before the age of powerful hydraulics dump trucks like this one had to rely on the power of mechanics and gears. A powerful gear moved a large block to which chains were attached around pulleys in order to raise and lower the bed. All breaking was done at the transmission, no ABS here.
Another interesting feature of this truck are the headlights. They are powered by a small tank of acetylene located on the drivers side. Acetylene powered lights were popular at the time for their bright light while electric lights suffered from short lifespan from weak filaments.
Also on display was this 1926 Autocar model 27 HPDS which shared much of the technology as the White. However, the tires are now full rubber with brakes at the rear wheels. An open cab made for a fun time in poor weather. Despite how antiquated these two trucks appear they were high technology at the time and are still very cool today.
Rely very rare old dump trucks not even able to think that in such a good condition and work properly as seen in the video.