.......and this is how it all started back in the Spring of 1976. It was quite the learning experience. Oh, I knew how to drive .... born in a logging truck and grew up around these "big ol' horses" ..... I had learned how to drive at a very young age. But now we needed to learn about the business of refrigerated produce transportation. That first year was a lot of fun ..... lots of challenges ..... but, it was very rewarding. Long hard days and when we finally made it home for a day or two; we had maintenance to accomplish on our equipment. We ventured as far South as LA, San Diego, and Phoenix. And when we headed North, it was quite often SF, Oakland, and Sacramento ..... but we even visited Portland, Seattle, and Spokane once in a while.
My First Truck ....... 1954 "Bubblenose Freightliner"
Old on the Outside, but all up to date running gear and chassis underneath.
NTC Cummins (Super Tuned Fuel System by "M&T Pump" in Maywood, CA) backed up by a 15.5 inch double disc clutch and an RTO 12513 Transmission running the torque back to a set of 4.33 Gears at the rear, rolling on 1100 x 24.5 Tubeless Michelin XZZ Radial Tires, mounted on Alcoa at the FE900 steering axle and steel wheels behind. Fuel packed in matching 120 gallon tanks, sitting just ahead of that 48" Holland Slider. This tractor started off at 240" WB with a lightweight flatbed drom .... but after a minor mishap and the need to be in the shop ..... we trimmed it down to the 188" WB seen in this picture. I put in 3 Years as an O/O behind the wheel in this one .... before I was forced to step up to management behind the desk. That was in the Spring of 1979. Those first three years, 76, 77, and 1978 were so very important. A time that I could learn all that my future drivers were going to be subjected to. You cannot acquire that education in a classroom .....
Maintenance
Preventative Maintenance Keeps Them Rolling
I mentioned that we could not afford to purchase "brand new" equipment ...... BUT, we could take care of and maintain the rolling stock that we had acquired. We had ..... "one helluva shop" !!!Men who were talented, hard working, and caring about the safety of all in our company and the motoring public on the shared highways. This is Truck #786 ...... the picture taken in the Spring of 1982...... at the age of 18 years with probably Two Million Miles on those frame rails.This is shortly after complete "rebuilding of the truck".
Thinking that this specimen shows the capabilities of our Shop Division.This 1964 Kenworth was purchased late in 1978 from Bob Roebuck of Roebuck Truck & Engine up in Eureka, California. It had come out of the Joe Costa fleet in Arcata, California ..... the town where I was born and where my Dad was hauling logs out of in the early 50's..... as I was born. As it came home; it immediately went to work. It was a non-sleeper three axle tactor, rolling on a 260" WB chassis. Powered by a 1674 Cat with a set of boxes ( 5 & 4 ). It hooked up to a refrigerated trailer and the radiator never got cold that first Winter. She ran that way for three years and paid for herself many times over. Then it was time to rebuild the whole truck. This "horse" that you see in this picture is the same titled chassis from a few years earlier ..... EXCEPT .... It was forty inches shorter. The "Cat" is removed and replaced with a NTC "Cummins". Boxes were replaced with an RTO 125/13 Eaton 13 Speed. It was completely "replumbed" and "re-wired" and "re-bushed". Company colors were added along with numerous other items to enhance it's usefulness in our lineup.
That outlined above is an example of what our Shop could accomplish. It wasn't every day that we were working on creating a newer version of an old truck ..... but the boys were quite capable of tackling any part of the job that came before them. I'll always remember Jeff Elliot, Marty Thoeni, and Joe DiSalvo as they headed up my Shop Division over the years ..... and with a couple of capable helpers ..... they always kept them out there on the road ..... moving the product.
Thinking that this specimen shows the capabilities of our Shop Division.This 1964 Kenworth was purchased late in 1978 from Bob Roebuck of Roebuck Truck & Engine up in Eureka, California. It had come out of the Joe Costa fleet in Arcata, California ..... the town where I was born and where my Dad was hauling logs out of in the early 50's..... as I was born. As it came home; it immediately went to work. It was a non-sleeper three axle tactor, rolling on a 260" WB chassis. Powered by a 1674 Cat with a set of boxes ( 5 & 4 ). It hooked up to a refrigerated trailer and the radiator never got cold that first Winter. She ran that way for three years and paid for herself many times over. Then it was time to rebuild the whole truck. This "horse" that you see in this picture is the same titled chassis from a few years earlier ..... EXCEPT .... It was forty inches shorter. The "Cat" is removed and replaced with a NTC "Cummins". Boxes were replaced with an RTO 125/13 Eaton 13 Speed. It was completely "replumbed" and "re-wired" and "re-bushed". Company colors were added along with numerous other items to enhance it's usefulness in our lineup.
That outlined above is an example of what our Shop could accomplish. It wasn't every day that we were working on creating a newer version of an old truck ..... but the boys were quite capable of tackling any part of the job that came before them. I'll always remember Jeff Elliot, Marty Thoeni, and Joe DiSalvo as they headed up my Shop Division over the years ..... and with a couple of capable helpers ..... they always kept them out there on the road ..... moving the product.