I can honestly say I have never seen anything like this before; a transfer dump truck drag race. Standing still this 359 is an impressive setup but just wait till you see it action.
Did you catch that little trick when the driver had to back the truck closer to the trailer? Hitting a switch the truck moves backwards a few feet. The 359 is not running at this point so it must be some sort of electric motor. Pretty cool if you ask me. The tag trailer moves into the main trailer? What is this witchcraft?! This whole setup is alien to me as resident of the East Coast.
It’s a West Coast thing…
The first transfer dumps were built by Knight Trailers of Vancouver BC back in the 60’s. They are still extremely popular here, and the Californians just took off with a good idea… 😉
And the backing up trick? You leave the truck in reverse, brakes off, and push a button that goes to the starter, thus backing up the truck. You want to be doing this on level ground!
Oh yeah, that’s a sweet old 359!
Thanks for the info!
Yeah, the description says “At the rear is a switch or a button that is used to engage the starter on the engine without starting truck. Since the truck is in reverse, the driveline backs the truck up.”