ebay Finds – 1982 Mack DM

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Eric

Last week as I was coming back from the ESTRA show in Lake George when I passed an interesting Mack truck on the side of the road. Dan was driving and was nice enough to pull over to the shoulder so I could take a photo. At the time I don’t believe we knew exactly where we were in relation to a town or city but that is why the U.S. Government made GPS. Too bad I wasn’t paying attention to it so I figured I would never know the true location of the truck. Just the other day I was browsing the commercial truck listings on ebay when I happened to see a familiar looking face, the 1982 DM you see below.

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Thanks to the ebay listing I now know I was located in Broadalbin at the time of this photo. I can now also tell you the tank out back has a 5000 gallon capacity, a Cat 3208 is under the hood and four speed Allison provides the gearing. Talk about a small world. Check out the original listing by clicking here.

*Update* Ryan has provide a photo of this truck from 2007 as it awaited auction.

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California Truck Culture

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Eric

California car culture. What comes to mind? The elegant concourse restorations of Pebble Beach? Or maybe custom built hot roads cruising the streets in the company of pristine muscle cars. Even imports with fart can mufflers if that is your thing. But what about truck culture? Ryan is here to show us the two go hand in hand. Experiencing classic truck withdrawals he found a few gems at a local car show. Check out this 1936 Autocar.

Stunning. If I had to guess I bet it looks even better in person. I also found this ’72 Peterbilt 358 F-A to be equally appealing. The F stands denotes a fiberglass hood, the A an aluminium frame. It finds working hauling classic cars around.

Wow…I’m out of a drool and never even made it to the Macks!

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The Death of a Street

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Eric

Yesterday we witnessed the rebirth of a street. Today we witness the death of a street. A four lane stretch of Erie Blvd used to run here.

You may remember that this is the job with the long reach Cat 324D L and the Komatsu PC300LC. Onondaga Creek runs directly underneath this portion of road through a collection of very old tunnels. As I was taking these photos some representatives of the NYS DEC and the engineering company overseeing this job pulled up. I overheard their conversation in only bits and pieces but words like “subsidence” and “water intrusion” were very common. Best not to think about it. The next day this nice looking Western Star was on the scene delivering concrete pipe.

In the gallery below you will find a few more shots of the Cat and Komatsu, a National Grid trucking braving the remains, and the unloading process of the pipes.

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MORE VIDEO!

*Update*

In the passing months the hole has been filled and the street returned to normal traffic flow. As it turns out much of the work taking place on the street level had to do with repairs to 107 year old hand built stone walls deep below grade. Originally constructed when this portion of Erie Blvd was still the Erie Canal the walls had begun to deteriorate and needed immediate rehabilitation. Check out the great article from Syracuse.com with plenty of photos and videos. Click here.

Posted in On the Job | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Birth of a Street

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Eric

Drivers rejoice! A new street is entering the world or at the very least, half a street. Now that utilities, curbs, and sidewalks have all been upgraded or replaced work has started on rebuilding the tattered remains of West Fayette Street. Layer after layer of asphalt has been applied to reach the required height for vehicle traffic. Soon daily commuters will have a nice smooth path to work…. and then work can start on the other side of the street. No one gets off that easy. Below is gallery of various paving action as it took place over the past two weeks. You’ll notice that a Midland R-Model Mack makes an appearance three times. Technically, they are two different truck so I think it’s okay. Also found below is short video of same paving action that begins with one of the Midland Macks spraying a layer of black goop followed by the paver in action and eventually finishing with some good old fashioned hand spreading of asphalt. The one thing I noticed about the entire process? The fumes from the fresh pavement aren’t nearly as strong as they once were. A good thing for the workers no doubt.

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The Video!

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Snowplowpalooza

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Eric

Despite the return of nice weather the plow shots have continued to roll in to Daily Diesel Dose in record numbers. For the duration of the summer I’ll probably continue to gather shots for a monthly blowout like this June edition of Snowplowpalooza. We start with a plow that I have been chasing for years now, an International 8200 of R&L Carriers. I’ve seen this truck from the road many times but it’s always been located at the far end of a heavily fortified terminal. Eventually I gave up hope of ever grabbing a shot which resulted in the truck piratically being put on display. Once you stop looking for something…

The condition of this next truck is something of a shocker considering it comes from the immaculate looking fleet of the Town of Manlius, NY. Consider this truck as a benchmark. I did spot this truck at a local metal fabrication shop so it’s possible the truck is for a new body or a general overhaul.

Further proof that Western Star continues to dominate the 4×4 plow market of Upstate, NY comes in the form of this 4800 for the Town of Columbia, NY. I first saw this truck back in April when it was just a bare chassis. Now we see it complete with plow gear and spreader. The top of the hood has also been painted black.

Seth sends in this shot of a brand new Western Star 4700 tandem axle with Tenco gear from the Rochester, NY area. Let’s keep this trend growing with more plows from further west and beyond! Email your photos.

Also in the gallery below is another nice shot from Seth and x635Photos.com of a long hood Peterbilt. And, if after this mega gallery, you still need more, simply click the Snow Plow link at the right of your screen under categories. It’s that simple!

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J. Supor and Son Trucking & Rigging

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Eric

Dan caught lighting in a bottle the other night when he came across an awesome rig of the world renowned J. Supor and Son Trucking and Rigging of New Jersey. You may not known them by name but you’ve probably seen one of their trucks at least once in your life. Do you remember the Miracle on the Hudson? Supor had the distinct privilege of recovering the downed plane for its eventual transport to a museum in North Carolina. If you watched any news coverage of this event you saw one of their trucks. Nothing quite as dramatic was taking place in Buffalo the another night, just the transport of a pedestrian bridge from one site to another.

Really great stuff here. I tip my hat to Dan.

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Autocar Mondays – Town of Pompey, NY

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Eric

By now we should all be familiar with the new Western Star 4800 recently received by the Town of Pompey, NY. After all, this site has contained photos of this truck since it arrived as a bare chassis at Tracey Road Equipment last December. During the many times I photographed the new truck I often wondered about the rig it would be replacing. What make? Was it also a 6×6? All questions I thought would never be answered. Thankfully fate intervened in the form of a the 2014 Palmyra Municipal Equipment Auction. While walking up to a large yellow Autocar ACL I was surprised to see the outline of former lettering that read ‘Pompey’ which immediately lead me to wonder if this was the truck the Star had replaced. Tracey Road Equipment mudflaps and dealer badges sealed the deal in mind.

Retired with 133,000 miles on the odometer the ACL has a Cummins NTC 350 and the standard 8LL transmission. The body and frame looked good. As with the replacement truck a Hi-Way Do-All body was out back on the Autocar. The interior was in decent shape. Anyone know why the transmission temp gauge was mounted to the cab ceiling? It appears to be a factory install. Unfortunately the truck was not running at the time of the auction but I still did a short walk around video.

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And once again, everything has been brought full circle. I’ve included two other shots of the new Star as don’t believe they have published on this site before. Exciting!

Posted in Autocar Trucks | 1 Comment

2014 ESTRA Tow Show

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Eric

Yesterday I paid my first visit to the annual Empire State Towing and Recovery Association annual show in Lake George, NY. The natural beauty of the area is only surpassed by the amazing rigs of tow operators from across the state. The entire spectrum of towing equipment was on display from massive 75 ton rotators to the do-it-all flatbeds you most likely see each day on the highway.

Check out the gallery below for the ultimate in recovery vehicles.

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Now that you have feasted on some photos how about a video of a twin steer Freightliner Coronado SD? This is an axle setup you simply don’t see much of in New York but is very popular just over the border in Canada and apparently Vermont.

Thanks to Dan and Kevin for making the trip with me but more importantly, thanks to all the tow operators who help keep our highways and biways safe for travel. Please keep an eye out of for them and give them the room they need to make it home alive! Remember, in NYS it’s the law to move over!

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Superfund Fun

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Eric

Looking back at the past few days worth of posts I realized there has been plenty of Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks. Today will be no different. Ryan sends in some great photos from a job site he has been working near downtown Sacramento, CA. While supervising the installation of large concrete electrical bunkers he found a few moments to photograph some of the rigs doing the heavy hauling. All in the name of documenting the work environment of course.

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As always, great work Ryan!

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At The Dealer – Peterbilt 389

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Eric

If you search the At The Dealer category of the website you won’t find much in the way of Peterbilt coverage. Even though the local Peterbilt dealer, Utica General, is .6 miles from my house I never go there. The reason? They never have anything to see! The entire dealership is just one small building behind a tall fence. Passing by the other week I noticed this sharp looking 389 so I had to stop and take shot. It really was a rare occasion. Thankfully there was a hole in the fence that led to a decent shot.

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Speaking of Peterbilts, how about this setup? Believe me when I tell you that you can hear this truck coming from a mile away. Part of ACAR Trucking it’s possible this truck replaced a fine looking Autocar AT64F. In the late fall I noticed it for sale on TruckPaper. It sold quick, so quick I didn’t even have a chance to revisit the listing and grab all the specifics. Hopefully it went to a good home.

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Posted in At the Dealer | Tagged , | 2 Comments