Grand Theft Engine?

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Eric

Last week someone drove a tractor trailer to the Mack truck factory in Macungine PA and stole twenty brand new engines.  Pennsylvania State Police report a truck entered the factory in the early evening of March 6th and dropped of a trailer.  It is unclear if this trailer actually contained goods for the factory or was just a front to gain access.  The mystery truck in question then hooked itself to a different trailer containing twenty shiny new diesel burners and promptly left the scene.  The follow day the truck, trailer and engines were discovered on the side of the road about 68 miles from the factory.  The driver is still at large.  Total value of the twenty engines?  390,000 US dollars.  WOW! Simple math breaks that down to 19,500 per engine!  Remember, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.

Mack Vision, missing its stolen engine.

Source: LeighValleyLive.com

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Western Star Axle Case Study

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Eric

Today we have a case study in axle position with the Western Star 4700.  If you went to the dealer today to order a brand spanking new 4700 you would be presented with a variety of options to make your future truck unique to your needs.  One such choice is the axle position.  With the 4700 series you have two choices in this regard, a set forward or set back axle.  The orange plow truck below is a set forward model which means the axle is closer to the front of the truck.  So why go with this setup?  I’ll spare you the mumbo jumbo about the Bridge Formula, GAWR, and GVWR by cutting to the chase.  Most truck buyers prefer the look of a SF truck as it allows for fuel tanks and battery boxes to be located under the cab, resulting in a cleaner and more traditional look.  Besides the cosmetic factor a set forward axle will send more weight to the back axles which is important with a dump truck.

Western Star 4700SF – Click to Enlarge

Now this Western Star is also a 4700 but with a set back axle.  You’ll notice the wheels are closer to the cab of the truck.  The big advantage with a SB setup like this one?  Turning radius, it’s tight, perfect for a truck like this roll-off that will need to get it to some very tight spaces over the course of its career.

Western Star 4700SB – Click to Enlarge

Additional Photos

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Posted in On the Job, Snow Plows | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Lost and Found – Pennsylvania Edition

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Eric

A Daily Dose visitor by the name of Eric (yeah, small world) emailed me last week and asked if I would be interested in some photos from a near by industrial lot. He told me he wasn’t tthat familiar with trucks but thought the stuff looked old and cool. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to grab some photos. The gallery below displays the fruits of his labor. Enjoy the trucks from at least the past five decades and beyond. I particularly like the GMC Astros, it’s not every day you see two sitting in the same lot!

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My hat is off to Eric, awesome stuff!

Know of any old trucks or heavy equipment in hiding?  Email Me!

Posted in Lost and Found | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Plows and Monster Trucks

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Eric

I’ve featured more than a few plow trucks this winter season on DDD and today will be no different.  With the season drawing to a close most of these rigs will remove their plows in preparation for other duties.  It was an easy winter for most of us in the Northeast but you never know how those final few weeks will go…

Mack Granite, Town of Cicero, NY – Click to Enlarge

Need some thing more simple to focus on this Friday?  How about five minutes of trucks dumping dirt inside the Carrier Dome for the Monster Jam show on Saturday.

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They still exist!

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Eric

By the time I started to pay attention to the trucks on the road around me most of the Autocars like this one were gone.  Even though I missed their “golden years” I do have fond memories of trucks like the one below as they pulled away from the main DPW garage, engines screaming the entire way up Midler Ave.  They were loud, rusty, and positively huge looking when viewed from the back seat of my grandmothers car.  Trucks like this Autocar were the model that provided the inspiration for most of my childhood drawings, especially the yellow and blue paint scheme.

Former Syracuse DPW Autocar – Click to Enlarge

This former snow fighter now rests on the back of an equally decrepit lowboy.  The dump body is gone but the equipment for the wing plow still remains.  I would love to grab more photos of this truck but it hides in a very crowded junkyard with numerous hunks of steel designed to keep people out.  For an idea of what this truck looked like check out this tow truck still used by the Syracuse DPW by clicking here.

Know of any old trucks or heavy equipment in hiding?  Email Me!

Posted in Lost and Found, Snow Plows | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Reach For The Sky

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Eric

This past holiday season I had to borrow a ladder to put up the Christmas lights on my home. The ladder did the job fine but I have to say using this truck would have been more fun. Yes, it would have been overkill but that is the American way! Go big! This National Grid Freightliner M2 112 is not your average bucket truck. With over 70+ feet of boom available you won’t find this guy fixing the power lines on your street unless you happen to live under a transmission tower. This truck is setup for some serious off road work as evidenced by the factory deleted headlights, custom steel bumper and 6×6 drive system. Not for those afraid of heights.

Freightliner M2 112 - Click to Enlarge

Posted in At the Dealer | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Australian Kenworths

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Eric

Through the Facebook grapevine I learned of these fantastic videos of Kenworth trucks from Australia.  Very nicely done and fun to pick out the details that separate them from their North American cousins.

Here is the T-609, I’m guessing this is like the T-660 or T-700.

And how about this K-200, reliving the glory days of cabovers.

And a nice compilation of the entire product line.

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Lost and Found – Brockway 359

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Eric

Yesterday I was finishing a session of truck hunting when I decided to travel down one more industrial back road with the hope of finding something interesting.  At this point the haul had been somewhat disappointing but the excitement of breaking in a new camera was helping to fill the void of not grabbing any meaningful shots.  The end result of that “last” road?  A Brockway 359.  The old circle on the door and black hood scream to me that this truck was a former government vehicle.  NYSDOT or NYS Thruway maybe?  No evidence of a plow in its past.  There is even a faded and torn “Husky Town USA” bumper sticker.  Maybe at some point this truck made it to the national show in Cortland, NY?

Brockway 359 Dump Truck - Click to Enlarge

Brockway 359 Dump Truck - Click to Enlarge

Brockway 359 Dump Truck - Click to Enlarge

By the way, this street was loaded with old trucks of all kinds, stay tuned this week for more surprises.

*UPDATE*

According to sources in the know this 359 was the last Brockway in the Schyuler County fleet.  This truck is running a PT270 Cummins with a  5 x 4 transmission.

Know of any old trucks or heavy equipment in hiding?  Email Me!

Posted in Lost and Found | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Still Working – Loadstar and John Deere

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Eric

This photo is a few years old now so I can’t say with any certainty if this truck is still with us but at the time it was working so that is how I choose to remember it.  This Loadstar was working at the local farm store.  Farms, the retirement homes for old trucks.

International Loadstar - Click to Enlarge

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This is a truck.

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Eric

This is a truck.  That is all.

NYSDOT International Durastar - Click to Enlarge

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