Autocar Mondays – One More Storm

So what do you think about this old rig? Does it have enough life in it to plow during one more storm? Considering that it is an Autocar the answer is undoubtedly yes.

Marc came across this truck awhile back but only recently stopped for a photograph. I’m glad he did as this is a very unique truck by the standards of today. It’s hard to tell exactly the year of this Autocar but by looking at the cab we can see it is NOT the Driver’s Cab style introduced in 1950. This fact alone tells us the truck is most likely from the late 1940’s.

You’ll also notice the use single rubber on the drive axle. This was a common setup in the old days on plow trucks. It might be the yellow color but I’m getting an airport vibe from this truck. I can just picture it with large block numbers painted on the bed with a rollover plow up front. Thanks again to Marc for sharing this great photo.

Do you have an Autocar you would like to see featured on Autocar Mondays? Email eric@dailydieseldose.com today!

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That Will Buff Right Out

That will buff right right out. That is the favorite joke of nearly everyone when looking at catastrophic damage on a vehicle. It’s usually funny expect when looking at ones own vehicle. Sadly, accidents are a way of life in this imperfect world of ours. The WorkStar you see below slammed into a house after it’s brakes failed while going downhill. The driver escaped with minor injuries and no occupants of the home were injured.

This poor Western Star 4700 was the victim of frost heave that caught the plow blade and forced it under the truck. Catching a heave with your plow blade must be one of the more scary things to happen to a driver as there is little to no warning. Once second you’re driving along the next you are staring at the sky. A few days before this Clifton truck was caught a rig from the Town of Leon also fell victim to this winter time trick.

These photos serve to illustrate the point that driving for a living is a dangerous job. Have you hugged your trucker today?

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A Fond Farewell

This past November I started using a dashcam to capture snow plow action with the idea being to film an entire winter for the creation of one mind blowing super mix. The project started out great with a snowy November that lead to plenty of great footage. I actually had so much material the dashcam began to overwrite the older files before I could save them. You would think I would have a handle on the technology stuff by now. But anyway, December brought a string of mild weather and when snow did arrive I didn’t feel like driving in it. January and February were much of the same. Eventually I lost interest and started to dream of warmer times. A final push by Old Man winter in mid March that brought two foot of snow to the area helped to spur the project to completion before it was scrapped for good.

You’ll find a little bit of everything in this video with action ranging from interstate plowing to loaders clearing mall parking lots. Keep an eye out for the fleet of a tractors with rear mounted blowers travelling in convoy. This is a new strategy to the CNY snow removal scene but one that has been popular in Canada for a long time now. Is the age of the pickup plow coming to an end? Who can say. This video also contains the final moments of Syracuse DPW plow truck shortly before it burned to the ground…outside a shuttered fire station. You just can’t make this stuff up.

Oh, by the way, there was snow on my roof this morning so I guess we’re not done yet!

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Everyday Big Rigs – Baseball Season

Welcome to our continuing series, Every Day Big Rigs, in which we take at look at the often overlooked modern trucks that keep our world turning.

Baseball season is here and that can only mean one thing. Bizarre off the field injuries! You know, like sneezing so hard you throw out your back, falling through a glass table while dreaming of spiders, cooking yourself in a tanning bed, and my personal favorite, an abdominal strain from eating a cupcake that later caused vomiting.

I’m sure we have a long way to go before the “mom I’m too sick to go to school” calls start keeping players off the field. Right now every team can dream of that magical post season run in late fall. Dunedin, Florida is the spring training camp of the Toronto Blue Jays and was recently a hot bed of activity as players and executive staff reported for duty. Apparently some members of the team would rather have their exotic rides shipped down to sunshine state for the duration of camp. Who can blame them when they don’t foot the bill?

Ed was nice enough to share these photos off the veritable fleet of trucks necessary to move the whims of a MLB team from their home stadium. No wonder hot dogs cost nearly five bucks!

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Autocar Trucks – The Autocar Fleet

There are many ways to bring attention to your business but none are more cool and more effective than running a fleet of Autocar Trucks. Benn Water and Heavy Transport is a third generation family owned trucking company serving all of Rhode and parts of Connecticut that still roll Autocars each and every day. In fact, Autocars have been with the company since the beginning and continue to play an important role in the success of the business.

Here we see a 1985 AT64F with a Cat 3406B and its hauling partner, a 1987 DK64F with Cummins Big Cam 3 on a breakwater repair job.

Benn runs ten vintage Autocars in their fleet and has more waiting in the wings. These trucks have become the calling card of the family business. Even people who don’t know much about trucks enjoying seeing them on the road. Below we see a 1987 DK64B, a 1961 A7564, and another DK64B. I’ve got to say that I’m most partial to ’61! 

Besides being attention getters the Autocars also have the benefit of being reliable! I know that sounds strange when talking about old trucks but compared to the cost of ownership with new rigs and their myriad of problems an older head turning truck starts to seem pretty darn good.

A big thanks to David for taking the time to send in these great shots. I know we all hope to see more of the fleet in the future.

Do you have an Autocar Truck that you would like to see featured in Autocar Mondays? Email eric@dailydieseldose.com today!

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I’m the Juggernaut

Sometimes there is a specific need for a vehicle that the traditional manufacturers don’t cover. When that happens the door is opened for strange and unique creations with a face that only a mother could love.

Hayes came across this “Juggernaut” along the I-94 corridor between Chicago and Milwaukee a few years back. It’s certainly a vehicle not seen everyday.

Made by Thiokol, a company familiar with the production of tracked vehicles for arctic exploration, this Juggernaut works the swampy ground around high tension wires.

You can read more about this odd looking truck by visiting this old ATHS forum link found here. Just hit cancel when asked to print seven pages of speculation.

Thanks for the share Hayes!

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At the Dealer – Spring 2017

Longtime visitors to this site know how much I despise the industry standard of trucks leaving the factor in a default white color. When I saw this Kenworth T880 for Vitale Concrete I felt like I was seeing for the first time. Wow! Such color! So red! Much graphics!

The new trucks continue to roll in for Suit-Kote. This pair of Freightliner Cascadias will soon join their new Western Star 4700 and Freightliner 114SD brothers on the road.

Even though Caltrans spec their plow trucks white that trend has yet to migrate eastward. Here we see a new rig for what I presume to be Tompkins County. Actually, I have no idea at all but that was the first name that came to mind.

In recent years the Village of Minoa, NY has been trading in their fleet of older trucks for new Western Star 4700’s. The trend continues with this new 4700 with Loadmaster packer body.

Take a good look at this body. It will never be this pristine again.

 

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Everyday Big Rigs

Welcome to our continuing series, Every Day Big Rigs, in which we take at look at the often overlooked modern trucks that keep our world turning.

Here we see a Kenworth T600, a truck design that was truely radical in every sense of the word when it was first introduced in 1984. With a sloping tapered front clip the truck was commonly compared to the mammal with similar physical features, the anteater. All joking about appearance ceased however when this new aerodynamic design proved to be 20% more fuel efficient than previous models. The T600 was a complete success for Kenworth and would be a mainstay of their OTR truck line for nearly three decades. Here we seen a mid 90’s model as noted by the curved windshield and turn signals mounted into the fender.

It’s not hard to see how the T600 influenced the latest generations of Kenworth trucks when you look at this T370 hauling for Coca-Cola.

On the Freightliner side of the fence an equally popular truck existed in the form of the FLD. This design and model can still be found in abundance all over the United States. By now most are pretty tired and ratty looking but I did happen to come across this nicely optioned model a few months back in Virginia. This side shot does little justice to the overall shape of this truck and absolutely nothing to how good it sounded.

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The Plows of March

As I alluded to yesterday in the Autocar Mondays post, Tom recently spent some time cruising through a variety of towns. Like any rational person he stopped at the local garages to check out their plow trucks.

The Town of Orangetown, NY runs 4×4 configurations on all of their plow trucks. This 2015 Mack GU-712 is no exception.

Now you can join Tom in his travels across NYS by clicking on any photo below. Thanks for sharing!

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Autocar Mondays – Is It Spring Yet?

According to the calendar spring 2017 arrived one week ago. If you live in the northeast or points further north you probably have a hard time believing this fact. Entering the final week of March brings more hope but don’t put away those plows yet! Recently Tom was passing through the southern portion of NYS and found time to stop by a town garage or two. Here we see a 1998 4×4 Autocar ACL from the town of Orangetown, NY. Can you believe the ACL styled trucks are nearly 30 years old? Where has the time gone? Great shot Tom.

Do you have an Autocar you would like to see featured in Autocar Mondays? Email eric@dailydieseldose.com today!

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