On the final day of the 2015 ATHS Show another fun event was taking place over 300 miles away, The Empire State Towing and Recovery Association 2015 Tow Show. I usually don’t have conflicting show problems until late July or early August. Thankfully our old friend Dan was able to stop by and grab some excellent shots.
Heavy duty rotators = $$$
This year the show was held on the grounds of the Six Flags Great Escape. Fun for the entire family. I wish I had more insightful comments but I don’t so enjoy the photos. Thanks again Dan!
Dodge Bighorns, something of rarity nowadays. The story is quite different when it comes to ATHS shows. They almost become common place and easily ignored. Nah, not really. Fans of Dodge big rigs, this video is for you.
Is it possible that I’ve also become jaded by the sight of Brockway trucks? I guess I’m spoiled with Huskie Town USA and their annual Brockway celebration just a short 30 minute drive from my front door. I don’t think I’ve even posted a single shot of the Brockways seen at the show yet. Shameful. Here is a video to make amends.
As I mentioned before I had three “choke points” at the show that I bounced between thanks to a rented golf cart. Walking is for suckers. Below are some shots from the registration line, photo area and unloading zone.
The red and white LoneStar was used by Ice Road Trucker Alex Debogorski to give rides around the truck. I got him to beep the horn at me during one pass. I am now famous by extension! Another interesting note, the black and white Peterbilt apparently was a test rig for Mobil Delvac and was used by Stewart Haas Racing.
Autocar trucks were well represented at the ATHS show in York, PA. A fitting testament to the state that was home to Autocar factories for a number of decades. I was happy to see that the somewhat elusive AT64F model could be found in droves with the majority used to haul more trucks to the show. Look at this beautiful setup.
And then there were true survivor trucks like this 1950 C-50. You almost want to leave this one as is.
And it just wouldn’t be a truck show without a DC model on hand, or two, or three, or a dozen.
And many more! And more to come in following Mondays!
Some say that the popularity of golf in the United States is fading to historic lows. Generic hyperbole perhaps but this is the internet after all. With the apparent fading of Tiger Woods maybe the sport needs to find a new and exciting angle. How about a moving golf course. Better yet. How about a moving golf on the backs of Cat 793 haul truck. YES!
OH yes they did. Cat assembled their full range of dump truck products at their Tinaja Hills test and demonstration center to resemble the golf course of your dreams. Or nightmares. I guess it depends on your handicap. Twin Japanese golfing sensations Marimo and Erimo Ikeuchi were the first to take on this challenging course. Just as interesting as the finished product the behind the scenes video is well worth the watch.
This elebrate setup is all part of the Caterpillar brand awarness series (welcome to 2015) Built For It. Check out more of the series by clicking here.
If you’re into classic trucks you probably have more than one. Possibly a dozen. That just seems to be how it goes with the hobby. Classic car guys, unless insanely rich, usually have one car, maybe two if lucky. To get all your trucks to a show like the ATHS national convention you’re going to need some muscle. Sometimes that comes in the form of vintage ride. Other times it’s the rig that makes you money day in and day out. More than a few trucks from both category made it to York. Let’s take a look.
Plenty of these Dodge L-1000 made it to York. This one on the back of nice looking Peterbilt.
Is that what truck stops looked like back in the golden age?
I’ve seen the Service Trucking classic fleet at Macungie for a number of years now and always dreamed of the day I would see the trucks arrive to a show. It finally happened and I was not disappointed.
Old trucks are always useful. Case in point this 1965 White 4464TDL.
Deviating from the theme of today here is that amazing pair of Mack B-Model dump trucks first seen many, many, weeks ago.
And more! Not all are hauling trucks but they at least have trailers.
Shaking it up today and starting off with video. By itself this GMC 9500 is an eye catcher but toss in Detroit with straight pipes and now you have a head turner.
Taxes. The only certainty other than death. Most of the time taxes are nothing but a burden but sometimes they result in cool machines like the space shuttle or this Dodge D800. Speaking with the current owner of this truck (or possibly his brother?) I learned that the purchase of this Dodge was the result of creative book keeping. Turns out someone was looking to reduce their tax liability for the year and bought this truck. Original plans called for a mixer or dump but that never happened. The Dodge went into a barn and there it sat for a number of years. Around 30 to be exact. Yup. Barn find. Right now a little less than 300 miles can be found on the odometer. Original stickers can be found all over the truck.
When I saw this Mack rolling through the show grounds I new instantly I had chosen the wrong career path. I should have been a welder! This truck puts all other service trucks on notice.
If blue is not your favorite color it just might be after seeing this truck. I’m telling you, it was a constant stream of rigs like this rolling around the fair. Loved it.
I really enjoy seeing period correct restored trucks like this White. Not too many trucks like this one have survived through the years much less one of this condition. Video to follow.
In the gallery below you willf ind a few more shots of the Superliner service rig along with the GMC 9500, a few Generals, a Diamond-T that sounded great but escaped by video camera and a few interesting haul rigs.
Macks! Macks as far as the eye can see! Ryan stopped by Cardi Corp a few weeks back and was presented with a golden opportunity to photograph their immense fleet of mixers and dump trucks.
B, R, DM, CL, Granite and Titan. Nearly the complete Mack alphabet was to be found on the Cardi grounds. Granite with spokes? Gotcha.
Very impressive to see a company running what many would consider “old” equipment nowadays. The trucks wear the marks of rigs that work hard everyday but they are by no means worn out beaters. Ryan tells us the trucks were immaculate. He even tried to eat off the frame of one but was told no.
Amazing! The trip to Cardi was part of much larger visit to sites throughout the NYC and New England area. Much, much, more to come. Thanks to Ryan for always being so generous with his photos. Make sure you check out the gallery below and allreadymix.com for deeper coverage.
Yup, still going through photos and videos from the ATHS national convention. I would say that I am about halfway through the photos and less than a quarter through the video. I hope everyone is enjoying what they see. Here we have a ’56 Hendrickson leading the way. I’ve seen Hendricksons before but usually they are heavy duty, set back axle monsters.
For all you fans of fire trucks how about this ’73 Pierce? The owner of this truck took some neat photos from the eagle perch it created.
Looking for something rare? Take a gander at this 1939 Studebaker Coca-Cola truck. This is an original delivery truck from the mean streets of NYC. From 1938 to 41 over 6000 K15Ms were produced with only six still being road worthy in our modern times.
I’ll leave you with this parting image of classic Kenworths still hauling for a living.
Tomorrow we take a detour from the show. View the images below to hang until then.
