doubleclutchinweasel

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Maybe everybody is trying to resurrect all the pre-emission trucks they can find, but most of the conventionals are already gone, and all that is left are the cabovers???

Another one off the web. Ouch!

I think this was at redbubble, or something like that. Love it!

I frequently eat lunch at a restaurant next-door to one of the local truck stops. Watching the drivers come in and out of that place is scary. There are a few who know their truck and are careful to square the corner off nicely. Those guys are pros, and you can tell. But, too many of the drivers just appear lazy or careless, cutting the corner off with no regard for vehicles sitting at the light. Watch their eyes and you can see that they don't even glance in the mirror to see where their trailer is. Lots of accidents there. The road leading to our plant is curvier than I would have made it for an industrial entrance. Similar problems there. Some of these guys just have no regard for anybody. I have been run off in the grass several times. Again, they don't even know where their trailer wheels are. The guard rails along that road are all black-marked and flattened. I followed one truck out of there once which dragged the trailer wheels along that guard rail for a good 100 yards. Hard on the guard rail, and probably not too good on the tires, either. Kinda sad, really. So, when I see someone who really pays attention to what they are doing, and are careful about how they drive around other vehicles, I make it a point to acknowledge their efforts with a wave or a thumbs-up. I actually waited on one driver to get out of the cab the other day, just to compliment him on how well he negotiated a tight parking lot. Even he gave me a half-cocky response! Oh well, at least he earned it! When my dad was teaching me to drive (too many) years ago, he was very clear that the truck needed to do everything possible to avoid an accident, even if it was the car which was at fault. His main concern was that nobody got killed, because in a car vs. truck confrontation, the car always loses. That has stuck with me. Of course, this is not limited to truck drivers. Car and pickup drivers aren't really any different. Or, for that matter, factory workers or construction workers or any other profession. Seems like there are precious few people who take pride in doing their job well anymore. So, to those of you drivers out there who still take pride in your job, and are courteous and careful on the highways, a great big THANK YOU and WELL DONE from da' Weasel! I appreciate y'all!

Now, THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! Awesome!

I snagged this one off then web, just as an example. But, I wonder if anybody has any good "fail" pictures you could share with us. Hopefully, ones where nobody was hurt!

Right. RTO = overdrive with reversed 4-5 pattern. RTX = overdrive with "X" top plate which "corrected" the 4-5 shift pattern.

From what I can remember (and, more importantly, what I can find on Eaton's website!), the RTO had the funky, reversed 4-5 pattern and the RTX was an overdrive with the pattern "fixed". Maybe I can find a good image of that page and post it.

It WOULD be nice if politics could stay out of our discussions. It's Supposed to be about the Dogs.

Thanks, 'Horse. I used to be able to remember more of that stuff than I can now!

I see a lot of "guests" are looking the site over. Maybe some of them should join? It DOES seem particularly quiet on here.

I can't remember who it was, but, sometime back, someone asked a question about converting a RoadRanger from direct to overdrive. I remembered that I had the instructions for doing that on a 910/915 series, and promptly forgot about it. I just now remembered it! Old-timers, I guess. I do not know if this works on ALL models or variants. Maybe someone else knows? Basically, this swap speeds up the countershafts, effectively making every gear a bit "taller", except 5th (direct). This makes the pattern 1-2-3-5-4, with 4th being overdrive. As I recall, there is a different shifter plate assembly that reverses the 4-5 pattern, and makes the pattern "normal" again. This was the meaning of the "X" in the transmission designation (RTX-910, for instance). Again, I am not sure how many models that plate was available for. Anyway...

I was counting on you and J. Hancock to keep us going. I can't seem to come up with enough interesting stuff to keep a conversation going.

According to the "official" Tail of the Dragon website, this display appeared in about 2000 and lasted for about 2 years before somebody started removing pieces from it. I love the poem that was written for it: Here he lies with pistons and crank Buried up to his ass In the face of this bank He challenged the Dragon To have some fun As you can see, the Dragon won!! Photo & Poem by Carl Cooper

Finally found 1 picture of the red & black activity bus. These folks were a couple of years older than I was.

I think they bought those 2 buses in my 1st or 2nd grade year. So, yes, they should be about '68 models, give or take a year. I always thought it was funny that I drove buses that were new when I first started school. Of course, when you are that age, 10-12 years seems like a LOOOONNNG time. I mean, that IS a major percentage of your entire life!

It was a LONG time ago! I remember very clearly going through the training program. One of the first things they told us was that our state had one of the highest percentages of student-drivers, and also had one of the best safety records in the country. They were very selective about who they certified, and they had NO tolerance for anything out of line. Of course, this all ended once the state adopted the newer license requirements, which required a bus driver to have a class C CDL. It was a great time in my life. The drivers were all pretty awesome folks. As I recall, we only had 2 drivers who were not students. Those 2 did other jobs at the school as well as drive their buses. On the last day of class for a school year, most of the kids would stop on their way out and tell the driver "thanks", and say how much they would miss you over the summer. Some of the cute girls, who normally wouldn't even speak to me, gave a little peck on the cheek for appreciation! Not a bad way to end a year! Of course, people were different back then. Most of those kids showed a lot of respect for their driver, and understood that behaving on the bus was necessary for the safety of everybody.

In fact, here we were!

Remember back when high school kids drove school buses? This is one of the ones I drove when I was in high school. Old #28. I think this was from my junior year. Might've been me in there...I can't tell. I did have that route for a while. V-8 powered, with a 5-speed manual (4 + a granny gear). Those old I-H V-8s had a different sound to them. I believe it was a 345" motor. Does that sound right? I guess this is the same nose sheet metal as a Loadstar. I believe this was just before we replaced that bus with a new International with an Allison automatic in it. Things were never the same after that! We had 2 of these (#7 & #28), along with a variety of Fords and Chevys. The Internationals had a shorter wheelbase and more rear overhang. They also steered tighter than the others. Made them much easier to maneuver on some of the tighter back roads we had to travel. This particular one's route had a turn-around at the end of a dirt road. Pretty tight. Several little branches ran across that road. Was a real mess when it rained! We had another one (a 1968 activity bus) that only had a rev limiter...no road governor. My neighbor was the football coach and he kept it at his house. They got it the year I started school. Drove that one many a time...many years later. Good times...

There's a lot of wisdom there. I would not want to be 30 years younger NOW...but I do wish it was 30 years ago! Or 40! LOL!

Don't we all?

Great stuff...

I love it!