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Silicon Valley Truckers

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Eric

Silicon Valley has gone crazy for trucks.

Recently we read about a group of former Google Maps engineers building Otto, a retrofitted Class 8 truck capable of autonomous interstate highway driving but utilizing a variety of off the self components.

Not content to use old technology based on guzzling diesel engines the electric vehicle upstart Nikola Motor Company announced their own take on the future of big rigs with the Nikola One, a hybrid powered truck that utilizes a CNG powered turbine that in turn charges a 32okwh battery.

All things considered the Nikola One is feat of design and engineering. The electric powered 6×6 axles provided insane amounts of torque and horsepower while using half the fuel of a conventional semi truck. With just a mere 1,500 dollars down you can reserve your very own piece of the future. Through the Nikola leasing program prospective owners can enjoy unlimited miles, unlimited refueling, and basic maintenance for just 5,000 a month. I have no idea how this compares to a traditional big rig monthly expenditure when you considered fuel, vehicle payments, and other costs but I would like to think they are competitive. Time will tell if this truck is nothing more than vaporware or somewhere in that sweet spot between fantasy and reality.

And now, following a highly anticipated announcement, Tesla Motors has announced they intended to enter the world of OTR trucks and buses. Details are scant but we can assume a Tesla Truck will be all electric powered like their car brethren. Head on over to Jalopnik for a humorous analysis of what a Tesla designed and built big right might resemble. Think Star Wars.

With ever increasing government mandates regarding emissions and fuel mileage along with an aging driver population that is struggling to find younger qualified replacements the trucking industry is ripe for a technological makeover.

Brockway 758 Follow Up

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Eric

A little over a year and half ago I came across a Brockway 758 tanker sitting in the yard of Clifton Recycling. I kept telling myself that someday I would return during business hours to take a closer look at the truck but I never did. You never know how long these old trucks will last in their current location so it’s best to photograph and investigate while you can. Not following my own words of advice I kept tabs on this truck from a distance observing that it still was parked at Clifton just a few months ago. You can imagine my surprise the other day when I was greeted by a familiar face on route 49 just outside of Central Square, NY.

In one way or another this old rig traveled 30 miles north of its most recent location. I would like to think it made the trip under its own power but that probably wasn’t the case. The NYS registration tag reads 2003 and the old style liberty plates speak to a time older than that. By the way, those plates are in great shape.

As with old trucks the window had been left down to help rot the cab, I mean, keep things cool and fresh. You can see a dog house poking into the cab which, from what I’ve been told by Brockway experts, most likely holds a Cummins 555, just like that Diamond Reo from last week.

The current fate of this truck is unknown but I think it’s a good sign that it was moved from location to another that doesn’t happen to be a scrap yard. If you know anything about this truck let me know with a comment below.

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Posted in Lost and Found | Tagged brockway 758 | Leave a comment

Truck After Truck After Truck

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Eric

More coverage today from the ATCA national meet in Macungie, PA.

Posted in Truck Show | Tagged ATHS, classic truck show, cny aths | Leave a comment

Autocar Mondays – Matching Set

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Eric

When I first saw video of this old Autocar wrecker it reminded me of that not 1950’s DC model Clarence found at Caledonia Diesel. For a moment I thought I had found the truck in it’s original form what with the integral sleeper, blue color, and white cast spoke wheels. For reference.

And then, upon closer inspection, I realized they aren’t the same truck at all. Both are very cool but also different trucks. I think the truck at the Caledonia yard would look great with a wrecker. Don’t you agree?

Posted in Autocar Trucks | Tagged autocar dc, autocar tow truck, caledonia diesel | Leave a comment

Town of Little Falls Highway Department

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Eric

The first highway department visited during the great plow hunt of 2016 was the Town of Little Falls, NY. We were welcomed with open arms and provided a grand tour of all the great pieces of equipment in the snow fighting arsenal. We had been told one of their trucks was a Mack RM with V-plow. In this day and age of shrinking budgets and aging trucks this style rig is often sent to the auction lot. Thankfully we arrived in time and found the truck safely in one of the rear bays. With the lack of snow last season the truck wasn’t in a condition to be pulled out for a better shot on short notice but still was able to put out a good photo.

Out near the salt barn was a lean-to full of wings and other plow parts including this Walter. Another victim of declining snow fall and spare parts availability this old rig hasn’t seen the open road in a few years.

It’s certainly is doing much better than this one out by the sand pile.

Back to the main garage we come across the front line fleet, a 2007 Mack Granite with an Marmon Herrington AWD system installed by Mack at their custom truck center in Allentown, PA and a later model International 2574 also with M-H drive train.

Both trucks spend most of the off season around the garage as they are plenty of heavy even without their blades. This type of situation explains the rise in popularity of year round tandem trucks. It simply costs too much many to have these trucks only be usable, at best, six months out of the year.

A few other goodies in the gallery below including an International Hough Payloader.

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And of course, video.

Thanks to the great folks at the Little Falls Highway Department for rolling out the red carpet!

Posted in Snow Plows | Tagged international 2574, mack rm, town of little falls, walter snowfighter | 2 Comments

Ultimate Snow Plow

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Eric

We’ve seen a Diamond Reo. We’ve seen Macks. But where are the plows? I can hear your angry screams at night and they keep me awake. The wait is over. Behold the most quintessential upstate plow truck of all times. A 1978 Walter NDUS powered by a Detroit 8-V92T with Frink headgear, wings, and V-Plow. This is how you plow snow.

The Town of Newport, NY was gracious enough to pull this truck out for full inspection and inspect we did. If you encounter a drift with this truck that you can’t bust or a snow you can’t bench, turn around and wait for spring.

Hard to believe that at one time you could buy both a New York built truck and plow combo but it’s true. Glory days. Enjoy the sights and sounds and imagine seeing this truck at work on a cold winters day.

The required angles.

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Posted in Snow Plows | Tagged detroit diesel 8v92, town of newport, walter ndus | 5 Comments

B-Model Mack Trucks of Herkimer

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Eric

I am convinced that almost every B-Model Mack ever produced still exists. How else can you explain the sheer number of these truck that still wander out of the back 40 and onto the pages of ebay and Craigslist? It’s 2016 and the last B-Model was produced over 50 years ago yet you can still find collections of them without to much work. You just can’t kill these things.

Anyway, the first stop of the plow hunting journey through Herkimer was at a location known to have a few trucks kicking around. If your definition of a few is somewhere around a dozen then we understand each other.

Most of the Macks on the property are owned by the same family with many being owned since new. This truck for instance came from the Mack Syracuse branch and survived a train collision. Like I said, you can’t kill a B-Model.

Some of the trucks were solid from top to bottom while others had been saved from the junk yard so they could be restored or help restore others.

Creeping into the collection, an R-model. I don’t recall the exact age of this truck but it does have a flat back cab and steel dash. Those two facts place this truck between 66 and 73.

Plenty of great trucking history in these photos. Thanks to Brian for letting us wander around and bomb him with questions first thing in the morning.

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Posted in Truck Spotting | 4 Comments

Still Working – 1971 Diamond Reo

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Eric

So what do you do when your cruising down a two lane country road and you notice a Diamond Reo sitting in a construction yard? You stop of course! This past Monday I spent most of the day travelling with Ryan and Chris as we searched for plows rigs of any make, model, or size. Ryan hand worked out a detailed itinerary planing to hit up a variety of town barns through out Herkimer County. While we found a few trucks of note I think more gems were discovered along the way than in any of the garages we visited. But that’s just me. In the coming days you’ll have the chance to form your own opinion.

Stopping to check out this Reo we came across the owner who was more than willing to let us climb all over it. Without prompting he grabbed a can of starter fluid and dosed the air intake. Seconds alter the Cummins 555 roared to life without much work. Unfortunately Rot has really done a number on the floorboards in this old truck and a few other sections so it’s strictly a yard machine now.

Looking at the cab it’s hard to believe this is a 1971 model but it’s true. Diamond Reo was part of the White Motor Company empire at this time and this cab is a clear indication of how the company had grown too large with too many overlapping marques. The time and money to develop modern interiors over the product lines of White, Diamond Reo, and Autocar was simply too much. It might not have been competitive for the times but it sure is cool, especially be the standards of today.

Below, listen to the triple nickel roar to life.

Much, much, more to come.

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Posted in Still Working | Tagged cummins 555, Diamond Reo, dump truck, triple nickle cummins | 5 Comments

2016 CNY ATHS Chapter Truck Show

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Eric

Many of the bigger classic truck shows around the country grab all the attention when it comes to social media and other online sources. With hundreds of trucks descending on massive show grounds some people right off the “smaller” shows like the CNY ATHS chapter show held yearly at Long Branch Park in Liverpool, NY. That’s a shame, there are some great trucks and people at your local shows. Chances are high that you haven’t seen a Detroit Diesel (4-53) powered 1964 E45 Studebaker before this photo. If you had gone to the show you would have. 😉

For some reason the past three years of this show have been cursed with rain and overcast skies but that still didn’t stop the trucks from coming out.

Even the tow trucks from Pullens put on a mini show.

Many more videos and other coverage of this show to come later in the week. Enjoy!

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Posted in Truck Show | Tagged classic truck, cny aths, long branch truck show | 1 Comment

Autocar Mondays – The Only One

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Eric

If you go to a classic truck show and there are no Autocar trucks present can it really be considered a truck show?

Thankfully we won’t have to answer that question when it comes the CNY chapter of the ATHS as they scored one Autocar truck at their annual show. That’s all it takes. Unlike last week’s truck I don’t know much about this one. It appears to have come from New Jersey and is covered in original “art work”. Check out that slogan, “we dig your hole”, get it? You can’t make this stuff up.