rsmartyn

Around here in NJ almost every town have signs restricting Jake or engine brake use, has that been happening in the rest of the country? I figure it's from all the juveniles with their straight stacks blasting the Jake 3 in the morning empty or loaded, it doesn't matter to them. I'll bet they were the ones with all the baseball cards flappin' their bicycle tire spokes when they were kids. Funny thing though is that my DM has it's factory exhaust system and I've never heard a complaint about Dynatard noise in the restricted zones or anywhere 'cause you can't hardly hear it.

So Tim, the moral of that story seems to be our old Macks (loaded) are better than a new Freightliner (empty). Bob

Hey Thad, You point out 2 great truths of life, dumb cops and the quality of a well kept . Bob

Okay boys & girls, time for another bedtime story. This one had a happy ending but was a little uneasy for me at the start. Taking a four lane back road with the B model hooked to the 20 ton tag trailer and excavator on board, I thought I was safe from the creeper cops. Low and behold, there they are, not one but two in a car pointing at guess who to pull over into the left turn lane across a lot of traffic. Once across I got out but the super trooper told me on a loudspeaker to go into the lot on the left to get out of the traffic so I waved my arms to the side signally OK. I guess he didn't like the way I moved my arms and screamed at me "What's with the arms, Get other there now!" Uh oh, I didn't like the sound of that and didn't like the secluded parking lot they had me pull in to. Once there I got out and asked what was the problem but the other super trooper came nose to nose with me and screamed "Get back in that truck and shut your mouth!" Don't you just love your law enforcement professionals? Well, I got back in Baby Skiddle and thought about calling some real cops on the cell phone but figured that might make matters worse so didn't. Out came the creeper and white gloves and my B got a thorough rectal exam. Then I was ordered out of the cab while one super trooper got in, pumped the brake and the other was under the trailer listening for leaks (while I said under my breath, roll, roll). After the most complete examination that truck has ever had the best they could come up with was a warning for truck's tach not working and that the engine has an oil leak (now you & I both know that the only time Macks don't leak oil is when they're empty). I asked (probably a dumb thing to do) why they gave me such a bad time since each one has pulled me over before and never did in the past. Again ever so friendly he shouted that he'd never seen me before and to get out of there Now! Guess what? Three days later, now on the main highway where they always pull trucks over, here's one of the super troopers waving at me again. I pull in and when he sees it's me he tells me to get out of here (never pulled me over before huh, how many 40+ year old B models does he see in a week?). Instead I ask some dumb questions which really pisses him off because about a dozen trucks went by that he couldn't stop because of me. I figured I better go before he found something to get me for but I left laughing. I went kind of long but I know alot of you guys can relate. Bob

Hey Thad, God bless your generation! And I love that explanation about your style of music. Truth be told, back when I was first runnin' equipment I loved the sound of that 8" stack only 5' in front of me on the first D8 I ran. Problem was I could still hear it 12 midnight when I was tryin' to get some sleep and today I still walk around sayin' "Huh, what did you say?" alot. Bob

Now you're talkin' Chuck! You've got a great truck that'll make you money so screw them jerks (who usually don't own their own trucks like you do) and enjoy the ride. And by the way, as you see in the photo, my old B is pulling a 20 ton tag trailer and does it just fine with it's original END673 putting out about 180HP. Bob

Hey Chuck, Screw them other cowboys, you could be going 85 uphill and it's still not fast enough for most of them. That old 237 is still running strong because it's not pushed to the max and I'll bet you don't use near the amount of fuel them hot dogs use. If you want black smoke then disconnect the puff limiter but the smoke cops don't like that too much and if they catch you , it'll cost you. If you're happy with your truck and it's making you money, that's all that matters. And most of these jerks are driving somebody else's truck anyway so screw 'em. If I sound like I'm ranting it's because I am. Just today I had one of those morons behind me in my '79 DM686 tandem. Driving somebody else's triaxle (probably overloaded) he's right up my butt while I'm doing 55 in a 50MPH area. Then as I slow down to 15MPH for a sharp turn that's posted 10 MPH I hear on the radio "Can you make it?" from this Ahole driving somebody else's truck. This is a famliy show so I'll stop retelling the conversation here but the jerk refused my request to pull over. This kind of stuff happens all the time so my advice to you is to enjoy driving your rig and when you finally get that new 800HP truck those same jerks will be up your butt whining "can't you go any faster".

Tim, I was with a friend one time as he drove down the wrong way on a one way. Answering the cop who stopped him by saying that he was only going one way didn't help him at all. On that beautiful R model with the 58s, was it the foward rear or the through shaft that went. 58s are tough to hurt unless you run them out of oil but broken through shafts are common. Mine went on the DM last October just as I pulled out of a job onto a county highway (overloaded of course). Luckily a friend stopped and jumped into the cab to steer as I walked the excavator out on the road, tracks full of mud, hooked a cable to her and drug her back to dump the load and call a wrecker. I back bladed the dirt off the highway with the dozer before the cops got there which I'm sure would of given them a hissy fit but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Bob

WOW! Timing is everything. A great find! I guess the guy never heard of Ebay.

That would have been great using the B for your road test! I would have loved to see the look on that inspecters face while you stuck your arm through the steering wheel bangin' gears with those 2 sticks. I wonder if any of 'em have ever seen it done. Bob

Hi Tim, Was that R always a tractor or a tandem dump converted? I bet it did ride like a dozer down the road empty. Years ago here in NJ I worked for a Bucyrus Erie dealer and whenever we had to move a large oversize or overweight machine north we had to use the old 1&9 thru Jersey City. As soon as you'd cross the bridge into Hudson County the county cops would be there wanting to know why they weren't called for an escort. When you'd hand them your license and registration you'd better have some dead presidents attached to it or you were in for a long inspection and long day. Bob

AMEN, that's some real music.

I dunno if that's working or playing Barry. And I don't know if I'm the same as the other guys on this site but I just can't get into those wanna-be girlie trucks. Nothing looks better to me than a Mack doing what it was made for - working like my old DM pictured getting loaded with a real load to do a real job to make some real money. Not puttin' down the truck shows either but there's just something about the sound and feel and look of my old B model workin' hard pulling a load that does it for me. BUT..... if you wanna play, I think it would be fun to put 10 tons of stone in "Baby Skiddle" (my B model) and whatever stone that'll fit in the back of the girlie truck, hook 'em together back to back with a cable off the road somewhere and start pullin'. I'd have a blast draggin' that wanna- be around.

Always a beautiful thing to beat a BS ticket, glad to hear it Thad, Bob

Did a septic a few years ago and had to have about 25 loads of sand hauled in about 500 feet off the blacktop through some really soft bad ground. The DMs and RDs with clutches just got buried but the RD tandems with those Allison autos were awesome. Went through that bad ground like they were on tracks. Another outfit I work with have triaxles with Allisons but the drivers don't like 'em claiming that they're geared to high for the highway. I don't know much about the different options Allison has to offer but those RDs that day really saved my butt.

Really nice collection of photos 3P, thanks for sharing. There's one of those small Mack locomotives I think at Strasburg PA, anybody else remember seeing it? Here in NJ DM800s and DM600s as block or brick flatbeds with booms were pretty popular. There's still quite a few on the road as well as Acars set up like that. Bob

Hi JD, Don't have the ag equipment like you but I've found that in my business Deeres and dogs are the way to go if you want to get the job done and make money. Bob

Hi Tim, Would that be that sweet lookin' red R model with the heavy specs? I like that truck. Bob

Hey Tim, I could really picture that. You gave me a good laugh , Bob

There's a topic Thad started about CDL licenses where I posted a funny NJ DMV stop that happened to me a few years ago and I thought that that could be a good topic on it's own. I have 3 memorable ones that were good but I bet there's plenty of stories out there better than mine. So repeating that post here goes. About 4 years ago I was pulled over at a NJ DMV smoke check stop with the DM686. The trooper there took my paperwork while a Pakistani or Indian or somethin' DMV guy was tellin' me (in broken English that I couldn't understand) to get out of the truck with the parking brake off. When I finally figured out what he was sayin' I told him I was not gettin' out of the truck with the brake off and then the trooper came back. He handed me my stuff and told me to go. Then he started yellin' at the Pakistani, Indian or whatever DMV guy tellin' him that I was the third Pollack he pulled over in an hour and what is it with him pickin' on the Pollacks. I started laughin' but then he turned to me and said "Didn't I Tell You To Get Out Of Here?!" So I did with a smile. I'll save a couple of other funny stories for later, let's hear some of yours.

Actually now that I think back, about 4 years ago I had a funny incident at a DMV smoke check. The NJ trooper took my paperwork while the DMV guy who was Pakistani or Indian or somethin' was trying to tell me in broken English to get out of the truck with the parking brake off. I told him I didn't care who he was I'm not gettin' out of my truck without puttin' the parking brake on. The trooper came back, gave me my stuff and told me to go. Then he started givin' the Pakistani DMV guy (or whatever he was) a bad time about pickin' on Pollacks 'cause I was the third one he pulled over in the past hour. Then the trooper looked at me and said, " Didn't I Tell You To Get Out Of Here?!. I didn't need to be told again so I drove off with a smile.

Hey Hoss, Those old trucks at the shows look pretty all done up but nothing looks better to me than a truck doing what it was built for, working! That B75 of yours looks great with that load and still making money. Bob PS I checked out your photos and boy you must get claustrophobic in that tiny Kw cab & sleeper compared to the spaciously roomy cab of your B75.

Here in NJ the chronic unemployeed get sent to a driving school for their CDL (paid for by the state I hear). There's also a whole lot of foreigners driving triaxle dumps over loaded and toooo fast. It can get really scary. At the smoke and DMV checks in recent years it seems that the troopers and DMV inspectors appreciate a driver who speaks English and whose truck is in well maintained shape. I actually don't mind being checked now and it seems like they actually are nailing some of these foreigners who make us all look bad. As for me, back in the mid 70's when NJ came out with the articulated license I was grandfathered in by my boss at the time. In '90 I just had to take the computer desk test for the CDL since I could show that I'd owned a truck for awhile. Now every few years I study the hazmat manual for the computer test when my license is up for renewal. It's kind of like having a captain's license and studying all of the stuff you never use but need to know 'cause the Coast Guard says so.

If you look at the pictures on the brockwaytrucks.org photo gallery there's a couple of later Brocks with R model cabs. Sharp lookin' trucks but I dunno, I like the look of that 3 piece windshield Brockway cab and Macks with the 2 piece. I remember hearing something about Brockway staring back up separately from Mack after 20 years of their shut down. Don't know if that was true or a bunch of BS (I can't imagine a driver or owner being a BS artist can you?)

Welcome aboard, Post some photos so we can see your B75. Hope you buy oil by the 55 gal drum, that's alot of engines to change oil in. Bob