BillyT

Another old bulldog I've never seen, makes sense it was all wheel drive,wouldn't want to get stuck with that cannon!

The main business at Midwestern Distribution was selling trucks, not hauling freight, the profits from the freight were just icing on the cake! North American New Products had the same business model, but they hauled lightweight products like blanket wrap furniture and appliances like washers and dryers. They sold mostly single axle tractors Astros and Freightliner cabovers! They were sued for millions of dollars by the federal government for their misleading brochures, which made driving for them look like a vacation! I had one of their promotional brochures where they showed drivers skiing at Vail and visiting the Grand canyon etc! What a krock of s..t!

I talked to a driver many years ago who had a "lease purchase" agreement with Midwestern Distribution, a division of massive Leaseway Corp. He was within something like 1000.00 of paying off his truck, a Freightliner Cabover, and he parked it at their terminal! He took a couple days off and they did an " in frame" on his engine, and he now owed an extra 1500. Or so it was the late 70s! The company goal was to make sure the "contractor" never paid off the truck! The way they did this was insidious!, there was a clause that if you missed a payment the truck was repossessed! When you leased on they ran your a.. off insuring that you were happy and thought they were the greatest company in the world! They forced you to have your truck maintained at their facilities where you were overcharged and you began to get farther and farther in debt they gradually reduced your miles until you couldn't pay your household expenses and you had to choose between feeding your family or making the truck payment! You weren't allowed to trip lease or seek freight other than theirs! Without freight you couldn't get an advance for fuel, some guys got stuck out on the road and just abandoned the truck which was repossessed,and resold to another hapless individual! They charged a new contractor 5000.down on his truck cash! You see how the profits add up? Every truck expense was advanced to the contractor and "padded" to more than they would pay elsewhere! They even assigned the truck lessee a co driver that he had to pay out of his percentage! He had to accept the co driver who was a "rookie" just out of driving school, on "his" truck! A good friend of mine knew a guy that was with Midwestern, and his co driver tore the mirror off his truck(imagine what they charged him to repair that)! He left the guy at a t.s.! The guy I mentioned earlier whose engine they rebuilt was a real hard nosed experienced driver from S.Jersey and he actually managed to pay off his truck! One of the few!

Anyone old enough to remember Midwestern Distribution out of Ft Scott Kansas? Or North Americans new products div? Both examples of the "lease purchase" rip off where the same tractor gets sold over and over and few "contractors" ever end up owning their tractor!

I haven't seen the article, but It sounds like the old " employee called a contractor" ploy!

At what GVW does the FET kick in ? When my partner and I bought our hotshot truck and trailer in 88, we were licensed for 50,000, we paid no FET.

The new glider kit may be well constructed,but it's overall styling just looks generic to me! The grille is atrocious! I believe they could have just reproduced the old 114 with the white cab! Just an opinion! They might have to fasten the diamond t emblem with some space age adhesive,as I feel it may try to jump off in shame!😁

Grocery fleets tend to be among the best compensated local drivers both union and non union,it's a sad commentary when these people can't be trusted to not "bounce off curbs" without putting a camera in their truck! While there are a relative handful of mostly older stores where you are forced to jump a curb to hit the dock most modern docks provide plenty of room to avoid tire damage! In the late eighties a Giant Eagle store in a Pittsburgh suburb was so tight you were issued a Cabover astro and a 40 ft trailer instead of the usual R or U model tractor with a 45 ft trailer! When you got to the store you had to go in the adjacent barroom and have the patrons move their parked cars so you could go the wrong way down a one way street to access the uphill dock! The company expected you to rub the telephone pole next to the dock to hit the dock and you had to accelerate because the dock was uphill! They had to periodically replace the pole! This should be the final exam for the "Truckmasters" four week cdl course! LOL! Most grocery fleets have resisted the temptation to lower their costs by "farming out their deliveries" because they lose control of the operation! Schneider,JB, Swift, and every other truckload carrier have been begging Wal Mart for their transportation contract for years! The best they can expect is their "overage"! Sears and K Mart both use outside carriers and are hovering on bankruptcy! Admittedly they have a plethora of other management problems, but being out of stock on a sale item due to a transportation issue can be a major problem!

OD,it's mating season for many turtles and snakes, may be why you're seeing so many! Saw two black racers in my back yard in a " compromising position" last week!

The Hi Haul truck is cool, cab slightly resembles a Dodge of that era!

Good pictures OD especially the snapper and the two " jimmies" I still prefer the original bumpers but the big chrome ones look good too! Many years ago my wife and her sister brought home a big snapper in the car trunk knowing my affinity for reptiles! They didn't know they could have lost a finger! Just picked it up and threw it in the trunk! I don't recall that dinosaur exhibit on 522, is it fairly new?

I see Mecum Auctions has a new transport fleet! I'm curious how Reliable,Intercity,Horseless carriage,ART, and the other mostly owner operator enclosed carriers feel after years of serving this company when they (Mecum) decide to extract the last " pound of flesh" by using their own fleet of apparently company driver transports? They have promoted their drivers (All of which own a collecter car or street rod ) what a coincidence 😁 I'm all for free enterprise but this may not pass the "smell test" how about some opinions from our members,especially carlotpilot,and UD, or anyone on the road what are you hearing on the radio? Thanks!

Old Stude is worth 250 in scrap value! Boy if you could find a cab

Wonder who's wrecker back end is on the r doesn't look like a Holmes, maybe a No-Mar at least the boom!

Me too David! another bargain! Fresh filters and undented body say it was properly maintained and driven, plus rookies don't pull tanks (for long!)😁

David, that may be the bargain of the year! Fire company use accounts for great body and interior,too much on my plate to get involved! How bout an early mechanical Dodge Cummins!

I had a subscription to Overdrive when those covers came out, remember them all! Before it was " tractor of the month!"

Fxfymn, I consider having a college degree or two and trades skills as well (Chip Foose?) The epitome of achievement! But many quality people don't do well in an academic setting, but are masterful tradesmen (Joaquin Arnette) to use another automotive example!

Marcel,I fear for the lives of your little plants! Having been a car hauler that worked at a railhead,and received cars with parts stolen while on the rail (can you believe a driveshaft!) And a freight car repairman familiar with the condition of our rail infrastructure and the work ethic (and it's lack) at an operation where seniority determines most job classifications not skill in that trade! You're not gonna believe this,but a load of new Ford's got parked on a siding for a couple of hours and they stole half a dozen engines and trannys. I was at the scrap yard where they ended up and offered a new Lincoln 460, for a couple hundred bucks! Needless to say I got out of there quick! Says a lot about rail security and the mentality of thieves who would go to all that work and sell the results for scrap metal price!

Very interesting! My friend Ritchie from Birmingham UK, was owed some money for some of his stunt work,and the man gave him a couple of tractor trailers or lorries as they might say! So he went into the trucking business! He said the drivers who ran in the alps carried a tow bar in case a fellow driver broke down! Each countries tow bar only fit another truck from that country! He told me there is an upgrade in the alps that takes 8 hrs to pull and goes thru several countries! He is quite a character and every time he was in the terminal he could be found regaling the other drivers with his adventures!

Teamster Grrrl, admittedly the kids who have grown up with computers and modern technology just naturally do well with electronic engine controls and at some point will make them trouble free,but from the studies I've read, and I've read a few! The majority of reliability issues on new cars and big trucks as well involve electronics! But perhaps the youngsters could learn something from the old timers about the rapidly disappearing work ethic!

Rude is the new "polite"!!

Niche freight where you don't have to compete with the "big guys" is one of the few ways an owner operator can succeed! My friend has an older freightliner with a mercedes engine,hauls dry freight of all weights gets close to 8mpg average !

One of the reasons we may have less.manufacturing is the lack of skilled tradespeople! And the push to send everyone to college! and the stigma of working with your hands! My youngest sons college buddies dad owns a furniture factory in Rocky Mount NC, he paid the highest wages in the area,but,couldn't get local people who would come to work on time,and take pride in their work! So two clean cut Hispanic guys apply for work and he says you can start at 10.00 per hrs and in 90 days you go up to 12.00 (this is in1995) and the one guy came around his desk and hugged him! Is this a wake up call to American workers or what!