BillyT

Thanx for the reply on Aussie truck laws! Was as I thought.I don't suppose you have truck stops in the outback lol,,

Lost my keyboard again! Do you have plug in coolers in your trucks like US drivers  have? Australia is a modern country,but your cities are a "ways" apart! Some otr drivers here have little charcoal grills they carry for a change from t.s. "swill"! I suppose you could do  a "Bear Gryll" Thing and roast some roadkill, time permitting.you have a Federal,must be the model that resembles a cross between a Diamond T and a GMC. Rode a school bus that looked like that.The 50's Federal used an International cab and their own front end,weren't many made,very unique grille assembly.

Yeah Billy long way between drinks out here so to speak 

No plug in coolers and our truck stops are pretty lame by US standards we have stricter length and width laws than the US but we go a lot taller and are allowed higher axle loads 

Speed limit on Road Trains is 90 km/h which must be about about 57 MPH the rest of the trucks B doubles and normal semis 100 km/h or 60 MPH 

You cant really go any faster on a lot of the roads the tyres get hot and to many blow outs

heres a picture of my old Federal working if your interested

41 Chevy were you referring to the hemi under glass rollover when u mentioned  it's good to have a sturdy roll cage?

Hey,Timmy b,the "Hemi under glass" was featured in Hot Rod magazine in the late 60's,70's but I forget the exact driveline configuration,not much room for drv,shft u joints etc! Had to have SOMETHING to compensate for movement, can't just bolt the whole powertrain solid. The slant six had a performance option(four barrel carb,etc.) But  it sounds like you're referring to a small hemi v/8. The smallest hemi I know of stateside was a341, I had one in a Desoto coupe 1955 model. Toyota built a hemi for their  medium duty tks,Saw a couple in "yank" street  rods looks like a  mopar  motor.

Timmy b,totally unrelated subject! My grandson has a bearded Dragon as a pet,supposedly a native of the Australian desert.Do you see them running all over the place,like we have squirrels and rabbits in our backyards in America? Really cool lizard,very tame you can put it on you're t shirt and it will stay there while you walk around!

You bet, still look'n for a "B"

there is a few on craigslist in my area, one tucked away in the woods with a shovel on it and one for sale at fort edward express her ein plattsburgh but I don't know what they want to it. The frame looked rough being a plow truck

Pretty far from Florida,but thanks for the " heads up",was  a B67 in Eustis Florida,but I think it's sold.

Get well soon Billy!

I'm walking near normal now Ksb, thanks Car lot and Freightrain!

glad to hear that bill  keep it up

someone fixed rocker on an 82 r model at . work,this was 6-8 years later I'm under the truck, vise grips still on it where they welded the rocker on. needless to say it got exported afew years later with them still on

I think I "created a monster" with the vise grip thing!  I'm glad I'm not the only forgetful idiot around! If the R model gets "exported" to China the visegrips will feel right at home because Irwin appears to  have " bought the name" and is has offshored the manufacturing process. Predictable right?  Here's 2 facts from my " storehouse of useless information" some older drivers may remember the Suburu "Brat" the narrow unibody pickup with the cheap plastic seats behind the cab.Why would a company that builds quality vehicles put cheap seats in back?Because the seats converted a truck into a sport utility vehicle,lower import duty! I wonder if they included a " disclaimer" to not sit in them while the truck is moving? Same basic reason you see all those little import pickup cab and chassis in the ports.They put the beds on in the port.Is an incomplete vehicle till the bed is installed,lower duty!

I'm sure the R model was exported, was sold in the auction and the vise grips were 10 years old at the time so at least they were American made vise grips

Thanks for the reply, I have a very good friend who runs at Quaker city when he runs locally, (he's from Warren) but he's involved with an IHRA team so is all over the country.

A friend has a son that runs with a NHRA top fuel team.  He has switched teams a few times over the years and currently with Schumacher Racing.  He was blower man, but been a while since I had an update and can't say what he does now.

Thanks for the reply, I have a very good friend who runs at Quaker city when he runs locally, (he's from Warren) but he's involved with an IHRA team so is all over the country.I grew up 20 mi from PID.,like running thru a tunnel!

Nice to meet you Billy T.  Garlits museum is definitely worth the visit.  Been there 3 times myself and met him last time there.  Very nice guy.

Gray hair, Garlits museum is on my "bucket list" I'm 70 miles away.

Gray hair,I vaguely remember that thing about soda can size in N.Y.,was that to protect the citizens from large soda cans on the ground when not properly disposed of?to protect the kids  from large sodas? Or something about recycling? just don't buy the kids sodas,and put your cans in the trash,or recycle them. Duh! love Texas have been treated well there no matter what city I was in.

Napa of the name brand parts stores is the last place for the remaining few quality parts made.Of course because they cater to the commercial trade. I too fab.anything I need  to hold up. when I bought my elderly but like new Isuzu p.u it had a factory step bumper,all beat up and too large for the truck.a piece of 4"channel, the"bronze wrench" and  some 6011 wire took care of that!

General ,ike, or or any of you southern fire truck fans,just saw on Gainesville Florida craigslist hvy equip ,1967 American Law France

Just did! (Submit reply that is)

Dirtymilkman did you get caught up in the Enron scandal or did you invest after that?

Lol, no I didn't get in the Enron deal. I was just being sarcastic. 

Gotcha!

Hey Billy, I can go by the CAT Scales anytime for her.

That's what I was thinking!😁

Hey Billy, I can go by the CAT Scales anytime for her.

Hey I've never seen this part of my profile before. Don't know how to navigate it yet.

Thanks for the reply teamster Grrrl! Thought it was a Hostess truck,was from Youngstown Oh area,maybe one of the other big bakery companies,was definitely a bakery truck, He referred to it jokingly as a "Twinkie truck" was definitely a Road commander were they built in the 60's? The reason I said 70s was I thought they weren't built til the 70s.

There we're 2 different RCs. The first was just a new name for the boxy 7000 series cabover built in the early 70s. The second was the rounded cab that came out in the late 70s and was shared with the Road Boss conventional and Expeditor low tilt. After Volvo took over in the early 80s the "Road" names disappeared and they were just called Volvos. 

Thanks for the reply,teamster Grrrl! Then everyone called them VW s like the little German car!

Uggh... I was in the Bahamas.  I'd have met up with him.

Never been there,any vintage trucks or cars

Lots of old Mack's on the island.  Like much of the Caribbean, the tax to purchase a new vehicle is tremendous (50% or more).  So there are ton's of old R models on the island.  Not so much classic cars.  

Yeah, I heard that- I don't even use GPS, just a Rand McNally and a phone. The phone is the thing now, I used to carry a brief case full of city maps! I think I still have most of them.

So did I OD! Had the big street by street map of NYC and one for Miami amazing documents, actually showed the name of each business in the individual buildings! Of course these would have to be updated periodically. When those little GPS screens first came out they were 800dollars! Now about 90dollars on sale,went down just like computers! When they first came out this young driver was in back of me in rural Pennsylvania and every time we were approaching a  little cross street he would say ok you're coming up on Jones lane and there it was! Went on like this for miles! I was amazed!

OD, don't feel bad about deleting the pictures I delete stuff by accident all the time!  You posted something about chicken so I'm doing a survey." What t.s. or restaurant in America has the best fried chicken" I'm voting for the little independent t.s near Jackson Ohio on rte 35, takes a long time to get it,because they bread each order individually,but worth it! Also like the "southwestern chicken rice soup" and " Omars taco soup"  at Triple T in Tucson. Been a few years,maybe they are gone or bought out. Tell us about your favorite truck stop!

People never cease to amaze me with their scams. 

Yep!!

Truck shop, that old hay haulin' Cabover reminded  me that the hay haulers of the central valley have some of the sweetest Cabover trucks in America! I call them "class 8 street rods" usually single axles with flatbed doubles,or a tandem flatbed straight truck with one or two trailers.All dressed up with chrome etc.Mostly older Mexican o/o take great pride in their equipment!

lol  lots were terrible on those things .we used to deal with american oil co diamond ts that had them. it was real fun to go out and put one in reverse then tell a would be driver to go bring it into the shop if he was not up on them they would only go backwards no matter where you put the gear shift

Carlotpilot,The first time I ever drove a truck I was nervous and let the clutch out too fast,had the 671Detroit running backwards ! Lol My co driver pulled the shutoff,and I started over!

have had that happen to me to

im not sure of the name of the co. now but a horse hauler out of leesburg va used to to have 3 co dts . i know that 2  of them had 16 spd spicers in them  all three were green & white

I have`nt seen one of the old spicers in probably 35 years but with just a few minutes of foolin with one i`ll bet I can still get along with it

The company my buddy drove for was Chester Sayre, were green and white the dt cabovers were like the ones UPS had in the 60s.Leesburg rings a bell,a lot of horse haulers were based in Va where the horses were raised.They carried a groom in the trailer,got him takeout food the  horses were never unattended! A lot of drivers just drive,Don't understand how trucks work.I can see how they would  be confused.When I was hauling cars out of Dundalk Md. We had a curtainside rack for hauling Mercedes.Was a Gmc conventional ,had a 671Detroit with a 20 speed Spicer on air.The younger drivers were used to driving straight 7speeds and 10 speed rangers,told me how hard it was to drive! Was easier than a 2 speed axle! Had a knob like a 13 speed only 4 positions.If I recall correctly it had the usual blower but a turbo as well, was one of the last 2cycle Detroit's made I believe. Was specd to be a dump or mixer! Could only haul 6 cars and I usually  got 4,didn't need all those gears.

Just googled Clinton,so it's near Baton Rouge,did your property get flooded? Hope not,been there! For many years I laid over at the McDonald's in Denham Springs til they took out the truck parking.

My property got messed up but no homes, cars or lives were lost. My aunt and two cousins lost all three of their home and all their vehicles. 

Sorry to hear about your relatives,I went through New Orleans a few times after Katrina what a mess! The tow trucker who took away my wife's flood totaled Toyota,spent a few wks in New Orleans hauling away totaled cars said there was a lot of violence.Some people came up to his truck and began beating on it demanding water! A couple rounds from his Glock 9 in the aIr and they dispersed rapidly! I spent a couple months hauling roof insulation into Miami after Andrew hit.I t looked worse than Katrina but Katrina cost more.Also,wind damage can look worse than water damage because of all the debris everywhere.

Gotta rant on a subject you will all agree on!! How often do you get 100 percent agreement on anything!  Question "when is a truck not a truck"? Read a ladies comment in Consumer Reports today.She  Was saying that her seatbelt use and the air bags and "crumple zones in her late model minivan probably saved her life. Who can't agree with that certainly not me! I quote "A truck pulled out in front of me"! Define "truck" madam! I promise you 90percent of the85 percent non trucker subscribers are picturing a thundering 18 wheeler with a criminal sociopath at the wheel!! Since she didn't elaborate, here are a few potential scenarios: A pickup, a straight truck under 26000gvw therefore requiring no cdl, the same straight truck with an undocumented immigrant at the wheel( since they are permitted to receive a drivers license including an interpreter) in many states! If you require an interpreter, how do you read the road signs? I've got a buddy down the road who is a legal Cuban immigrant whose dad spent 11 yrs in Castro's prison, and I used to load in Miami where the foreman, another legal immigrant gave me his impeccably maintained 64 Chevrolet to go get takeout food. So I'm not anti immigrant just anti illegal immigrant! The media has been using the word truck for years to describe many vehicles that don't fit OUR definition of " truck" because it  evokes the average citizens bias against large usually professionally driven vehicles. My favorite example of this is familiar to most of you who run the Southeast, I believe it's on I 65 in Kentucky there was a school bus crash where all or most of the children burned to death I have tears in my eyes 30 years later just thinking of it! Well the state of Kentucky initially put up a memorial saying it was a  "truck bus crash" Well the truck was a Toyota p.u with some drunken asshole at the wheel and the trucking  industry complained so avidly that they changed the sign!

Ever see one of those ads on tv " Involved in a semi trailer accident," call (insert name of one of the hundreds of "ambulance chasing" law firms) The vast majority of major carriers will settle out of court even if they aren't at fault! Barring really obvious cases (proven dui or drug use by the claimant etc) Than face  a jury! Due to todays level of anti truck bias! Truck involved accident cases are a law firms gold mine!

Agreed, some of the shortlines are in pretty miserable shape. That said, the BNSF maintains the track that runs by me better than our state maintains highways.

T,Grrrl, thanks for the reply,you're right, having lived most of my life in the "pothole capital of the world" I understand about  unmaintained highways!

Dammit! I just deleted my whole post,by accident !

LMACK, I share your loyalty for the bulldog,but "There is no other truck?" My old Diamond T is spinning in her grave somewhere!

Never heard of dealerships doing that but it is a good scam.

The international conventional I compared the new Argosy to is called the lone star.Is there any corporate connection between Freightliner and Navistar? The company alliances change hourly! So I can't keep track! KSB,or Teamster Grrrl ?

Snoball, I just checked outbehindthebarn's waterloo Iowa reference! That cab style is the one I think of when I hear " crackerbox". In fact it's identically spec'd to the one I learned on,except for the long wheelbase. That Craigslist has all kind of good stuff! In fact by and large the Midwest has the best selection of vintage " iron" anywhere.The little dodge dump that runs and drives is about as cheap as you can get into a running antique truck anywhere! Many of the farm trucks aren't exposed to the salt as much as road trucks,because it's seasonal! I used to love to get a weekend layover at a McDonald's in the "corn belt" and listen to the old farmers sit around and b.s.about crops and weather,and the people are so friendly! However, they do have that "winter thing"😁

just saw your post about the flag burning,I agree!

The flag burning post reminds me of an episode of the dick cavett show in the late 60's when he had Jimmy Dean the country singer,and producer of sausage products as a guest. Dick asked Jimmy what  he thought of  abbie Hoffman the hippie protester urinating on and burning our flag.Jimmy,a navy vet, replied "I think that ol boy needs a good  old west Texas butt kickin'" once again I agree!

It was meant as a tongue-in-cheek kind of sarcasm.  Just like all the "assault" weapons, guns, that get banned because bad people use them.  It's the fault of the person using it, not the item used.

Right, a truck,like a firearm is an inanimate object!

Just a misunderstanding....

gotcha!