Is this really a F-650? I don’t know but it’s probably a good guess. This truck patrols the lots of a busy local shopping center with its 4×4 capability. Over the years it looks like the doors, cowl, and hood have been replaced. You can see where the original truck was mostly yellow. It’s the chicken or egg type question, what came first, the cab or the hood?
Who needs an old beater pickup for a shop truck when you have a beautiful looking Western Star 4900SF to wear your logo?
Belonging to Tracey Road Equipment this sharp looking truck is a necessity when moving rental equipment and other heavy items to customers and clients.
Consider this post the grand wrap of the Dobbins Auto Parts auction extravaganza that occurred this past spring. I do have a few other pictures and videos but they are mostly of cars so they won’t see the light of day on the site as there is enough of that stuff around the web already.
Up first is a quick walk around video of an International Fleetstar 2010A. On the numbering model scale of Fleetstars this one falls in the middle of the pack. This truck was gas powered and at one time belonged to the NYS Department of Environmental Conversation. Rust on this truck was minimal and the dump bed appeared to be only slightly abused. The interior of the cab had seen better days but what 30+ year truck doesn’t have it share of missing seats?
Of all the video I took this one may give you the best idea of the sheer amount of vehicles that existed on the Dobbins property. It seemed like every make and model from a wide variety of manufacturers were present. Pickups trucks, Walter Snow Fighters, fire trucks and more are covered. When watching this video I was reminded of how tricky some of the vehicles on the lot were. Often times you would see a vehicle a few rows over and think it looked too solid to be in a scrap yard. As you approached your optimism would only increase. You may even think about obtaining a bidding number. Then you would walk to the other side of the truck only to see tha dozer had completely obliterated every inch of straight steel. This video contains footage from two different cameras so you might notice a change in quality around the three minute mark.
Not only where the cars, trucks and busses (oh the busses!) of every type in the yard there also was a fair amount of heavy equipment. In addition to the dozers, rollers and cable shovels there was a large collection of dismantled Trojan loaders. You could probably assemble a working unit from the parts available if you had enough skill.
Finally we end with a classic American La France fire truck once operated by the Camden, NY Fire Department. Like many of the other treasures on site this rig was fairly solid and came with nearly everything a fire truck should have. From hoses to fire extinguishers to pikes. It was all ready for the taking. Sadly, it was gas powered.
More Dobbins Coverage
The Heavy Iron – Trucks, Tractors & More
International Dozer and Ferguson Roller
I came across a “game” this weekend that ended up consuming much of my time. Technically, it’s not so much a game but a tech demo to help pave the way for a game in the near future. Going by the name Spin Tires, the tech demo puts you behind the wheel of some truly massive Russian style military vehicles as they traverse frame twisting forest trails, quick flowing rivers and copious amounts of mud. Oh the mud. More than anything this “game” really digitizes mud better than anything I have seen before. By default you start with one of three trucks, a Gaz, a Maz (seen below) and an Uaz.
The tech demo encourages you to take these trucks down roads that most of us would wisely avoid in real life. If you choose to be adventurous you will be greeted by the delightful sights and sounds of frame deep mud that slows your truck to crawl in moments. I was really taken by the realistic nature of the environment and the modeling of the trucks. Some roads have soft shoulders that if you venture to close to will suck you right in. You can watch at the tread of your tires quickly fill with mud eventually becoming worthless. If you happen to be on uneven terrain the wheels with lest resistance will spin wildy until you engage your differential lock. Yes, a game a that plays with differential locks! Finally! Of course there is also an All Wheel Drive option to engage in combo with the diff lock which is usually needed to get out of the deepest mud and up the steepest hills.
The vehicles themselves are highly, and I suspect, painfully detailed. The engines sounds are terrific. Under full throttle you treated to black diesel smoke that turns white as the truck gets underway. There is fantastic turbo whistle sound. Even the exhaust stack shakes around on startup. The suspension travel on each truck is nothing short of amazing. They simply look like and act like the real thing. Even the creaking and rattle sounds of equipment being pushed to the max are included.
As mentioned above you start with three basic trucks but that can be changed by visiting the very active community based around the tech demo. I’ve downloaded a few additional vehicles among which are a Hayes WHDX, a 79 Chevy Pickup, the Oshkosk HEMTT, Tatras, Jeeps, functional log trailers and even rally cars. Incredible considering Spin Tires is not even a fully functional game yet.
If you like to play around with computer games I highly recommend you spend a few minutes to check out Spin Tires. The software it self ran beautifully on my four year old Windows Vista laptop which tells you something right there. If you want to use any of the mods to the demo make sure you download the Developer Version by visiting the Spin Tires website located here.
I’ve been meaning to share with you the two pieces of equipment found below for about..oh…seven months! The time has come to enjoy more treasures from the Dobbins Auction from early spring. As I dig through my photos and videos from the event I realize there are still many more interesting vehicles to share. Time to get busy.
We start with a 1953 International TD18-A track dozer. It had an auction number but I couldn’t find it in the official listing. The number was there but the information was blank. Regardless, it gathered plenty attention from myself and many other people. This first owner of this dozer was the United States Navy. Multiple placards found around the vehicle attested to this fact none more so than the one below.
Some of the information has faded with age but we can see that TD18-A was shipped in September of 1953 with a one year warranty on the engine. The total weight of the dozer comes in around 18 tons. The serial number looks to be 31519 which falls in the middle of the nearly 3000 produced by International Harvester that year. Everything about this dozer is heavy. Hydraulics are not to be found as the blade is raised and lowered with a series of cables. A large winch is mounted at back with this interesting sticker found near the blade.
I wonder what would happen if used for non airport purposes?
Below is a walk around video that starts of with me tripping over some sheet metal. You get a good look at the D-691 diesel engine that powers this dozer, it’s huge. I also take a look at the winch and spend a moment inspecting the Navy Department information tag.
Elsewhere on the sprawling Dobbins property was a Ferguson rubber wheel roller. I remember the local DPW crew having a similar setup for years that was used to compact the stone of chip seal paving operations. I never thought it did that great of job. It left ruts and most of the material stuck to the rubber but hey, it looked like fun.
I suppose the arrow at the front lets you know where the front of the vehicle is? The power of this unit comes from an Oliver tractor that sits in a large metal tub containing ballast for weight. Over the years this material has sprouted a birch tree or two. Clearly, this machine does not see regular use.
More to come in the coming days including footage of Trojan loader hell, and International Loadstar dump truck and more pickups than you can shake a stick at.
I hate to load you down with more images of snow plows but this time of the year is slow for any other activity. The classic truck shows and construction projects that provided so much for this site are gone, waiting for their chance to return with the warmer weather. Until that time we will all have to survive on fare like the truck below and other scraps I can find on dealer lots.
OCDOT Volvo Snow Plow
Of course I am always open to submissions. If you have something you would like to see on this site drop me a line at eric@dailydieseldose.com. Sharing is caring.
OCDOT International 2674 – Click to Enlarge
Then again, if you are happy with a steady diet of plows, plows and more plows you have found the right place and need to do nothing.
Autocar-Diesels cost more because they’re worth more. No sugar coating in that statement. It appears this ad was published at some point during World War II. You will notice an insert in the top left corner describing a program authorizing haulers of essential loads the chance at a new truck. If you were one of the fortunate few, Autocar encouraged to exam their superbly engineered and precision built trucks capable of performing even the most rugged, brutal work in a profitable and tireless manor.
Past Autocar Truck Ads
Today I head back to the slate quarry one more time to bring you this hard working Mack R-Model dump truck. I’m no expert on R-Models but the grill on this one seems a tad different which will probably tell the experts out there the exact year of this truck. Don’t worry Mack fans, this one won’t be exported any time soon.
You can check out more slate quarry action by clicking the links below.
This is not the cab you want to squeeze into after having a large Thanksgiving meal.
Narrow cab aside this is still an interesting looking machine. 6×6 powah! I guess if the truck is carrying a load the driver is stuck in the cab until removed? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
To the horror of many winter has returned to my part of the world. There will be much cursing and shaking of heads for the next four to five months. I will usually join the ranks of the fed up around mind February but until that time I will admit that a part of me does enjoy the snow and the plows that come with it. Unlike last season I’m not wasting any time grabbing the shots that you all clamor for.
Below we an International WorkStar, a Freightliner M2 112V, A Volvo VHD behind the Freightliner and if you look really close a Freightliner 114SD behind the WorkStar. All were seen at the North Area Maintenance Facility of the Onondaga County DOT. There is a wide variety of trucks that ran from this garage including Sterlings, at least one Kenworth and a handful of International 2674’s.
In the gallery below you will find a pair of NYS DOT Mack Granites, a Autocar AT64F fromt the Town of Sullivan and an International WorkStar from the Syracuse City School District.
More to come as the winter grinds on!
