NY-B61

Paul, the thing was so far off the beaten path I don't remember its precise location. I know it was near Shamokin, Pa. but that's about it. I'll try posting a "Have You Seen This Thing" ad on craigslist in the Shamokin area and see if I don't get a response of some kind. Maybe another BMT member lives near Shamokin and has seen (what's left of?) it.

PZ 1 - I apologize for the name mix up. I'll be sure to post any craigslist responses I get.

Sure hope you can get back and find out if the thing still exists.....and hopefully find out the history of it.

Paul, the thing was so far off the beaten path I don't remember its precise location. I know it was near Shamokin, Pa. but that's about it. I'll try posting a "Have You Seen This Thing" ad on craigslist in the Shamokin area and see if I don't get a response of some kind. Maybe another BMT member lives near Shamokin and has seen (what's left of?) it.

Great pictures of some great iron. Thank you!

One thing is the time frame of the early mid 50's, A perfect idea to beat the length laws of the time tractor trailer ( 42 foot total length law Illinois had). It sure would have saved time wasted tucking the trailer up to the cab to get that and than moving it back for local use.

I saw a lot of similarities between Fageol, but how much different can adding a drivers compartment on a trailer. Fruehauf also made Mobil Televison Broadcast trailers for KTLA T.V. in 1954 and they were used until 1967. Fruehauf also converted a pair of GMC buses to Box Trucks for Red Skelton in 1952. Paul

You're right, length and weight laws were all over the place depending on which state or burg you found yourself in. The Road King could have been built with the myriad of state and local regulations of the time in mind. Now we know what a truck built around regulations as opposed to efficiency and common sense looks like.

I'd be interested in seeing any pictures you might have of Red Skelton's bus-based box trucks. Buses are another illness of mine. Thanks for a great answer!

Try this link:

http://www.newspapers.com/clip/654125//

Almost everything on these trucks was probably sourced from other companies. But that was not unusual with many other companies that made trucks. They were most likely bus windshields. The Road King had the engine in the rear, so it was probably a bus powertrain.

The link worked great, thank you! The concept of building these things from components off the shelf reminds me of what Tucker did with automobiles.

Welcome, Gerard! It took me 40 years to get my first Mack, you still have plenty of time.

You'll see many, many photographs on this site from all years to help you think about what truck you want to own someday. And the technical resources here are awesome - any thing on any subject. I recently joined here and am 100% glad I did.

You are probably correct in that 41chevy. Fageol also used Fruehauf trailers and I wonder if there was some connection between Fageol and the Road King. Fageol quit production in 1954 and it looks like the Road King was started in 1956. Possibly someone involved in Fageol started the McCullogh Motor Co?

Many of the Fageol's were lighter and smaller than the Road King, but they did have a similar model, except instead of two front axles, it had a single with dual wheels. The Fageol was called a "Super Freighter".

Found this.

http://www.newspapers.com/clip/654125/the_gazette_and_daily/?

It appears Road King's may have been made in the Fredericksburg/Lebanon area.

A good truck for a company dealing in "Poultry Parts".

I was unable to open the link but I'm glad to hear the behemoths were most likely made in the USA. It appears as if several companies were experimenting with the concept of a shorter, non-articulated highway rig. Poultry parts makes sense on two levels, PZ 1. Gainesville, Georgia is/was the poultry capitol of the U.S. and this truck did have a Georgia sticker on it. Also, many of the pics found and posted so far show these rigs set up as reefers. Lebanon, Pa continues to be a meat capital now as it was throughout the 40's and 50's but on a smaller scale. Could the four axles have been necessary to cope with the crappy Pennsylvania 'hiways' of the time?

More we look at the truck the more we have come to the conclusion it is based on a mid 50's Fruehauf or Trailer Mobile unit look at the general details of the units. I lean towards Freuhauf because of last photo of the Fruehauf Sport Cruiser

1956 Fruehauf

56Frue.JPG

1962 Trailer Mobile

1962trailermobile.JPG

Museum de Transport, Caracas, Venezuela. Describes this as a 1959 Road King Nestle coffee transporter

c84ea5be-ee8e-405a-9030-aa0a.jpg

Fruehauf Sport Cruiser

freuhauf-sportcruiser.jpg

Hands down, the Sports Cruiser is one cool vehicle! I like the rig pulling it also. I can't find anything anywhere of any substance on the McCullough company as it relates to truck manufacturing. Could the vehicle I originally posted be a McCullough prototype assembled using Freuhauf, GM and other available components? There are minor differences in the pictures kindly posted so far by others, but many identicalities as well.

Might be just a coincidence,but the shape of the windshield and center emblem reminds me of a Crown school bus?...........................................Mark

It's starting to look like the vehicle could have been manufactured from a number of existing assemblies. Production tool and dies would be hideously expensive if starting from scratch. Several prototypes could be made using components readily available during that era.

Welcome! Nice B, im from Northern NY. I live in Glenfield which is by Lowville if youve ever heard of there. Im restoring a U model but that is at my grandparents in Carthage which is near Watertown.

Thanks for the welcome! Every U model I've seen has awesome pulling power and a unique sound to it.

A McCullough Road King is the closest I've ever seen. Thank you, PZ 1! I've included all three pics and noticed only one significant difference. The RK has stamped or rolled side skirts with square wheel openings; the ? has flat metal with semi-circular wheel openings. Other than that they're as near as twins as you can get.

The ? could also be a knockoff of the McCullough Road King. Twin steer buses, for instance, have been made in Mexico since at least the '50's, many copied from GM's stable of 'new', at the time, streamlined body styles.

I sure appreciate the info so far. The identity of this thing has been like a worn toilet flapper under my saddle for the better part of a decade. Off to research the Road King.

Bus examples

Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome! This is my first Mack, the last ten years were spent refurbishing and enjoying a series of Willys Wagons and FC's. Simple in design, well thought out vehicles with tons of history behind them but they became too familiar. Rebuild the carb blindfolded, replace steering ball joints with both hands tied behind the back, refurb the transfer case while blindfolded with both hands tied behind the back AND 'Monster Mash' playing at full volume - the challenge was gone. And a Willys doesn't really have six or eight (depending on configuration) sequential forward speeeds. It was time.

GreenGiant2 - I'm located a little Northeast of Buffalo about 50 miles from your neck of the woods. You have a nice looking set-up! Mr. Superdog - Yes, I bought her from Dennis and feel fortunate to count him as a friend. I didn't want to spend the next ten years turning a wrench daily, even blindfolded, so bought a B61 as mechanically sound as can be. I still have a lot of learnin' to do and this is a great place for it!