1955 LTH , The adventurous sister .

[1961H67]

I’ll start with a picture of the first time I saw this truck, and is probably good that I start a topic on it so later on I can read it and remember some of the things I have learned about it, and some of the interesting people I have talked to concerning it, and hopefully someone will have some more information on it. It may take me several days to remember and post what I have learned so far. I saw it parked on the side of the road leading to a truck show we were having in Waynesville NC in May 2022 , it wasn’t up where all the trucks were, just setting with no one around it . My Grandson and Me walked down to see it ,, it’s very rare for a LT of any kind to be seen here in the mountains of NC , we stayed till the show was over and never saw anyone, no one knew who brought it but I did look under it and saw it had a V8 Detroit,, so I took a couple pictures and left scratching my head! With no clue who brought it or what the meaning of the odd name “ 10 Tucky “ was all about. 

[mowerman]

well ill be first,,,,whats the difference between a LTL and that one?????theres not many here either,,,in my travels ive seen more in northern califonia,,and Oregon

[h67st]

Here's some info from a guy on here named fifth wheel, looks like it's been a few years since he was on the site.

 

LT- Just about an all steel truck, early production units had a different front rear spring hangars and frame arrangment in that area compared to

the later units. 1947-53, production 415 units, all 3 axle (sw's)

LTL Same as the later LT's with a lot of aluminum components, (engine mounts,front spring brackets,belly band,frt.cab mounts,radiator support

cross members, steps and battery boxes,steering column,trunnion support,wheel hubs,brake spiders,brake shoes,air tanks,axle stops, auxilary

trans case, and wheels.) 1950-56, production 1216 units 3 axle

130 units 2 axle (designated LTLT)

LTH Same as LTL except some or most of the structural suspension parts were replaced with steel (spring hangars,trunion supports, and brake

brake spiders) 1953-56 production 248 units, all 3 axle (sw's)

Total production 2009 units All models have aluminum hoods and radiator support sides.

[cruiseliner64]

Super looking truck....im waiting with bated breath for the whole story....

Paul

[mowerman]

lol yeah,,,,extreemly clean,,,,doent look like it needs much more than paint,,,bob

[1961H67]

That’s a great explanation of the LT Models ! The summer went by and I really didn’t think much more about the truck, I was busy with the LJ , Grandsons baseball and was trucking a lot more than. So October rolled around and we went to the truck show in Cherokee NC I think I took my Dad’s C Model. When I pulled in the LTH was there! A friend of mine said a fellow dropped it off early and left because he had a business about 10 miles away. Well we walked around it all day, he had raised the hood, he had not returned when the show was over, so I left a note in the seat to call me about the truck thinking I would probably never hear from him. About 9pm that Saturday night he called me and said I found your note,, we talked about the truck a bit and I asked him if it was for sale, It belonged to him and his Dad and they had talked about selling it because they didn’t have a good shed for it . I asked him about the price and we agreed on it . I  had to haul a big forklift down to the outer banks of NC Sunday and would not be back till Monday evening, he said that was fine. As it turned out my Son was trucking out that way Monday so he stopped and left a deposit with his Dad and actually brought a older bulldozer from him also. So Tuesday afternoon we went back with a Superliner and lowboy and got it and the dozer. This is where I started asking questions and after about a hour I knew some of the history,,, but the interesting part had just begun! 

[Brocky]

I meant to ask you Saturday, that trailer brake handle / valve set up is different than any I have ever seen.. Does it have any connection to its life in Alaska???

[1961H67]

That part is original, the fellow ( Johnny ) I got in from took me inside before I left and gave me some information on the truck, he had a magazine, the information from the Mack Museum with all the information and gave me the name and number of the fellow ( Joe) he had gotten the truck from near Kingsport TN a few years before whom was a family member  of the fellow that had it in Alaska , John C “ Tennessee “ Miller . So here is where several questions were answered, I called Joe ,here’s his story of the truck, His Uncle John C Miller had hoboed a train near Newport TN in the 50s  and worked his way to California , there he started in the construction business until he started his own, then moved up to Alaska, continuing to build a bigger company in Anchorage, he had a lot of equipment and most of the trucks he brought up there he would change the engines out to 2 cycle Detroit Diesel, because they would start better in the colder climate . He had a top notch shop in Anchorage, and you can tell it by the craftsmanship of the engine swap. He did a lot of road building, and in 1964 he put together a caravan of D7 Cats to  take equipment to Prudhoe Bay for Richfield Oil , Joe said he has the missing fingers to prove it from frostbite! They had to go from Fairbanks north in the middle of winter so they could cross the Yukon River when it was frozen, This was not the way the Dalton Hwy runs today, they basically went around the mountains , I have a good article about it from the Anchorage Museum. He said the LTH was used to haul equipment with lowboys to Fairbanks . 

 

[Freightrain]

What a cool story!

 

I've tried for 25 yrs to get the previous owner to get me pictures or some kind of history of my truck at General Towing.  He just never wanted to.

 

I do have a huge file folder of "repair orders" through the years.  Every little trinket that was changed out.  I would love to have pictures from its heyday but I guess he wasn't a picture taker.