Autocar Mondays – A Perfect Trio

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Eric

When it comes to restored Autocar Trucks I just don’t think it can get any better than this U-Model of the Mahan Collection. To begin the truck is pristine throughout with period correct details to be found from top to bottom. When was the last time you saw a U-Model spec’d this heavy? Once again, we have another truck that would look stunning run down the open road in the bright sun. For an extra level of cool it has suicide doors. I’ve been told this particular truck was restored over 25 years ago. Say what?!

Autocar U Model

Elsewhere on the grounds, this monster. Rear axles and tire combos don’t come much larger than this unless the have planetary gears and hubs. Once again, pristine shape in every way. If a Toyota Tundra can pull the space shuttle what could this truck pull?

Big Autocar Truck

And finally, the truck the deserves a better spot than it’s current back corner of the shop, this DC Autocar mixer. It was simply impossible of getting a decent shot of this truck. There was no room to fit it in the frame. Too bad as this truck, from bumper to mixer was completely restored. What an awesome piece of construction history. A feature that really stood out was the lack of spoke wheels on the truck. While certifiably not uncommon for the time these bud style(?) wheels were not the standard on heavy trucks like this Autocar.

Autocar DC Cement Truck

And with this post we are done with Mahan Collection coverage. A big thank you to the ATHS Hudson Mohawk chapter for letting me tag along and the folks at the Mahan Collection for opening the doors to hundreds of fellow truck nuts. It was a wonderful experience.

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The Other B Word

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Eric

While browsing through the trucks of the Mahan Collection last weekend there were plenty of conversations to overheard. Some of the most common phrases were “Look at this” or “Can you believe it”. There also was plenty of swearing or as a lawyer would call them, excited utterances. While ogling one particular Brockway, a 527 cabover, I heard some refer to the Cortland built masterpiece as “that Bastard brand”.  I wont lie, it sorta rubbed me the wrong way but then I realized I was probably in the presence of Mack fan who felt challenged by the obvious build and engineering superiority that were Brockway Trucks. 😉

Brockway 527 Cabover

So when was the last time you saw one of these? And with a sleeper no less! Very cool and very well preserved. How about that rolled interior?

Brockway 527 Interior

The specific model is a E527T – 77076 with a Fuller RoadRanger RT-910. I’m not sure what lies under the cab but in the first photo you can see the Farr air cleaners poking between the sleeper and cab.

Not to far from the 527 was this 360 model, at least that is what I recall it as being. The green sheet metal and the gold frame seem awfully familiar to me but I’m not sure why. Maybe I’ve seen it at past Brockway shows? I dunno. Please refresh my memory if you can.

Brockway 360

And finally, to show what can be done to the truck above with the right vision, a pristine 360. It simply was impossible to grab a more telling shot of this truck and that’s a crying shame. It would look amazing out in the sun with light smoke coming from the exhaust.

Brockway 360

With this entry and tomorrow’s Autocar Monday post the Mahan Collection coverage will draw to a close. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did.

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Bituminous Service Company

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Eric

In the most recent Autocar Mondays post we saw a single shot of a truck that once belonged to Bituminous Service Company of West Chester, PA. Despite only having one shot of the truck reader Jim knew right away that this was the truck he spent days chasing through town as a youth. As he puts it..

When I scrolled down to the Gerhart Machinery photos, I didn’t even need to enlarge the thumbnail photo of the old, green A-car to recognize THAT truck. The BOLD letters – ROAD OIL – across the front bumper was all I needed to see to harken back to my days as a young boy in the early 60s in West Chester, PA.

I loved to watch road construction of any kind.
If Bituminous Service Company was paving a road anywhere within bicycling distance of my home in West Chester, I was there! Morning until the end of the work day.

Most of Bituminous Service Co’s equipment was dark blue with “Cat” yellow lettering on the doors. But THIS Autocar was unique in their fleet – dark green with a silver cab roof.

This truck was usually on the jobsite less than any truck in the BITCo fleet applying a layer of oil on top of the stone base before paving, but boy what memories that photo brought back.

Well Jim, here is another truck of the fleet that happens to be an International R-190. Like the Autocar this truck is gently rusting away while acting as a portal to a different time. Thanks to Dave who was kind enough to grab a few angles of this truck during his recent journey to Gerharts.

International R190

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Vital Parts

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Eric

At the start of the week I had an idea of how I wanted to present my coverage of the Mahan Collection open house. Looking back at the past few days I can see that I’ve gone completely off track so here are bunch of photos with no overarching theme.

Setups like this were all over the property. Maybe you made dioramas during your school days? This is the adult version.

Truck Collection

Here we have a Universal Crane mounted on what a believe to be an AC model Mack. The cab may or may not have been cut down for storage of the boom. It’s possible through old age that it was simply crushed. Universal Crane was the first company to produce truck mounted cranes. This setup seems particularly intense with its tracked wheels. It must have been quite the machine back in the day.

Universal Crane

Classics saving classics with this Kenworth W900.

Kenworth W900

And many more.

You can’t save old trucks without more old trucks. Check out this video to catch a glimpse of the bone piles found around the various workshops. I imagine a few resemble what scrap yards of the 30’s looked like!

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Off Road Mack Truck

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Eric

If I had a dump truck like this Mack M-Series I would need to have a pit out behind the house where I could move dirt from one pile to another. Not for any project but just to play in the dirt. The sandbox for the kid at heart. By all accounts this model of Mack was expertly designed and constructed for its task of quarry and off road hauling. Perhaps it was a victim of its own success as the truck was so well built the need for replacement was low. Mack owner hyperbole or truth? You decide.

Mack Off Road Dump Truck

Next to the off road behemoth sat this model on a trailer along with many other parts. I’m unsure of the model but it looks old. But not that old. Great shape either way.

Mack Truck

In the imaginary sandbox I would also have need for a dozer or two. Maybe something like this Caterpillar Sixty.

Caterpillar Dozer

Below, a minimalist video take on the big Mack dump truck.

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Lawn Art Trucker Style

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Eric

Some people place plastic pink flamingos in their yard as decorations. Others choose plaster gnomes or deer. Personally, I’m a fan of the up and coming trend of using trucks as lawn art. After visiting the Mahan Collection this past weekend I’v learned that the bar hast bet set very high for the rest of amateurs.

Mack AC Fire Truck

Yesterday we saw the buildings jammed full of trucks and all manor of truck related memorabilia. Today we’ll take a look at some of the trucks that make up the outdoor portion of collection. I naturally gravitated to this Mack L with a large Euclid green color dump body. The dump body seems like it would be a little much for Mack when fully loaded but who am I to judge.

Mack with Easton Warner

Next door to the Mack was this Sterling. Or is it a Brockway? What makes the truck? The front sheet metal or the cab? In this case the cab is all Brockway inside and out. I guess this truck could be consider a glimpse of what might have been if Sterling and Brockway had joined forces instead of being purchased by White Motor Company and Mack respectively.

Sterling Brockway Truck

After looking over the dump bodies I soon noticed that no hydraulics or any other mechanism was present for dumping. Maybe you shovel out the load by hand? People were tougher back in the day fairly but also intelligent so leave the shovel at home. A loaded truck would drive under a gantry style crane that would attach to the large hooks on either side of the dump body. The crane would then lift up resulting in the body rotating on the pegs visible near what appear to be the short landing legs. I assume these legs prevented the truck from being completely flipped over by an over zealous crane operator. If you know better please let me know. The ATHS has a decent shot of this whole assembly at work on their website. View by clicking here.

Just like the barnsoutside contained so much to see that I often caught myself walking by trucks or items that would cause me to stop and stare if they were found anywhere else.

Below, a video look at the same of the trucks discussed above.

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The Mahan Collection

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Eric

This past weekend I tagged along with the Hudson Mohawk chapter of the ATHS as they visited the Mahan Collection in Basking Ridge, NJ. Without a doubt this is one of the premiere collection of antiques trucks, heavy equipment, and memorabilia on the east coast if not the country. Before Saturday I had seen a handful of the collection at various truck shows and even caught a glimpse of the grounds through various posts on Facebook. I thought I had a good idea of what to expect during the visit. Turns out, as usual, I was completely unprepared for what I would find.

Mahan Collection

Building after building on a gorgeous piece of suburban property, complete with pond and stream, were jammed full of antique trucks, signs, gas pumps, toys, and parts. Every time you turned around you saw something new. Some trucks were in museum restored shape while others existed as they did the day they were dragged form the field.

Mahan Collection

Have you ever seen so many AC (AK’s too) models in your life? The truck wearing the A.T. Otto and Sons banner is the 21st AC ever built and quite possibly the oldest unrestored version in existence.

The entire collection was simply overwhelming. One my favorite buildings contained the all original trucks. Along with this H Model this building contained more than a few gems like a Bridge and Tunnel wrecker from NYC, a tough looking Kenworth W-900A and a Brockway 527 single axle cabover with sleeper. Yes, you did read that right.

H-Model Mack

There was just too much to see! It was a great problem to have. The collection continues outside of the buildings as well but we’ll see more of those tomorrow. In the mean time, a video walk through of the buildings. No narration was necessary.

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Autocar Mondays – Tales from the Boneyard

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Eric

There is a little slice of truck and heavy equipment paradise in Lititz, PA by the name of Gerhart Machinery Company. The grounds are home to all make of cranes, dozers, loaders and trucks. The heavier the better. It therefore should come as no surprise than that Autocars make up a large portion of the boneyard fleet.

In the early spring the doors to this collection of old iron is open for browsing during the “Diggin Day” when old machines roar to life and put on a show. Dave was able to stop by during this event to grab some great shots the Autocars on hand.

Autocar Truck

I’ve seen photos and videos come out of this show for years. I’ve always told myself I should attend at least once if just for the chance to wander through the relics. I’m not sure what more it will take to convince me! My next chance, and yours too, comes Sept 30 through Oct 1, 2016 when Gerharts plays host to the “All Mack” truck show. Visit their website for more information. Great shots Dave, thanks for the share!

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Classic Truck Overload

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Eric

In the coming days, (Tuesday) prepare to have your classic truck circuits overloaded, possibly beyond repair. My visit to the Mahan Collection was as memorable as I had hoped it would be, I think it will be for you too. In the mean time, a brief photo that captures the essence of what is to come.

Mack Truck Collection

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Trucknet

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Eric

Far in the distant future ( but closer than you might think) the roads of America and the likely the world will be covered in autonomous vehicles of all sizes. Google is already hard at work with self driving passenger cars and now multitude of companies are developing the future of freight hauling with driver-less semi trucks.

Enter Otto, a company founded by former Technical Lead of Google’s autonomous car division Anthony Levandowski and former Product Lead of Google Maps Lior Ron. Otto has alreayd equiped three Volvo VNL trucks with radar, lidar, and cameras for use on the highways of Nevada. Between the Otto trucks and the self piloting Freightliner Inspiration Nevada has become ground zero for what surely will be the uprising of the machines. It only figures that destruction of mankind would come at the hands of a Volvo.

Below, a video that doesn’t tell you very much but gives you a glimpse of the technology involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK76W1kH4jA

The team behind this digital spearhead foresees an immediate future in which Otto equipped trucks exclusively traverse the Interstate Highway System due to the limited access traffic entry points, lack of pedestrians and somewhat predictable traffic flow. Someday we might see trucks equipped from the factory with similar autonomous systems but in the mean time retrofit systems will be the first option for fleets looking to augment their driver ranks. For more details check out this Popular Mechanics article.

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