vision386

Never driven or ridden in a convertible either...................................Mark

One for the "strange but true" file,but believe it or not,i have never ridden a motorcycle in my entire life!......................................Mark

I really don't know about the fire trucks,but i read an article several years ago,that said the reason the military went to open/soft cab trucks was the shortage of metal during WW II, it was about the famous GMC "duece and a half" GM said it also cut production/build time down,and saved a great deal of money too. I enjoyed reading about the truck, designed to be dropped from a plane in pieces and put back together,up and running in less than two hours,during the "Redball express" it was said a pair of good mechanics,properly equipped,could change the GMC inline 6 in about 15 mins. to a half hour! send the truck on its way! even Gen. G.S. Patton jr. said "the truck was the most valuable weapon of the war"...........................Mark

Just cant go wrong with a classic A-CAR! just a timeless truck..................Mark

I'm pretty sure i was in there,right across from where the Petro is now? all sorts of old signs and doodads hanging on the walls? if its the place i remember they had a GREAT breakfast! i delivered a lot of fixtures,furniture etc. to the campus of the University of Missouri some years back,i was out there pretty regularly for a few months. One of those places that had a great supply of "old timey" candy too,much like a Cracker Barrel today...........................Mark

JTC? nows theres an "infamous" truckstop if ever there were one! LOL! more than one shady deal went down at that place! both legal and not so much! would'nt you say so Ernie?...............................Mark

If theres anything you ever wanted to know about garbage trucks,or how they work,i found a neat website, also has some good Mack pictures,and some other makes as well,found it by accident while looking for a picture of a buddy of mine's Autocar roll-off....................................Mark http://www.classicrefusetrucks.com/albums/LE/LE15.html

YUP! i stopped in there on my way home last winter,pulled through (all i wanted was something to drink) took me almost an hour to get out of the parking lot! some of these damn in-considerate guys park (and leave) there damn trucks anywhere they feel like it,to hell with anybody else!.........................Mark

Gotta agree with ya' there bud! i frickin' HATE being called a "trucker" like a slap in the face to me! some of the newbies that cant drive,back-up,slide their own tandems,dont know how or what "hangin'iron" in the winter is,maybe it don't bother them.......but me,i'm a TRUCKDRIVER from the old school,always have been,always will be! think i was born too late i guess!...................................Mark

I can only think of one Pilot that has a decent sized parking lot,and some nice facilities,cant remember the name of the town,but its off I-75 in either Georgia,or maybe northern Florida,they have a "Steak and Shake" there,and a "Steakin' Beacon" been quite a while since i've been down that way,doing a LOT of new england lately,which of course has NO truckstops good or bad!. oh wait! the newer pilot next to Secondi brothers in Milford,CT,if you aint in there by 1:30 PM,you aint getting a shot at one of their 25 parking spots!.........Mark

I agree,Pilot sucks! i only stop at them as a last resort,just too much BS for me,same as you said,no parking,WAIT for fuel,WAIT for shower (and most of them only have 4/5) just an all around bad idea!.................................Mark

Neat videos Tom,some rare trucks in the first one,i saw a KW-CBE,an FWD cabover and conventional,and a freightliner "powerliner" i believe that was the one you could get either a KTA-600 Cummins,or a 3408 CAT...............Whites aint the same! i was in there a few weeks ago,gun/knife collection is gone,they have re-modeled the restaurant,not bad food,but getting expensive just like everywhere else. I Forget who bought them out,T/A maybe? same fate as Jarrells,Speed & Briscoe and most of the other good "mom & pop" places................Mark

I like it!.........................Mark

LMAO! i always liked Sanford & Son,my grandfather was the white version of fred!..............................................Mark

Yeah,those trucks are HUGE! my cousin had some pretty serious equipment at one time too,but its the old story,he died,left the business to the "kids" they ran it into the ground! they went from one of the largest towing/recovery companies on the east coast (45 trucks) down to at last count 3! and one of those is a one ton rollback,one is a european "platform lift" type truck,the last is a garden variety 2 1/2 ton undereach. My cousin was a hard guy to work for,his way or the highway! but he always got the job done,and had the very best equipment money could buy! believe it or not,ALL his trucks were kept inside,including the ex-navy heavy duty Oshkosh pictured,no matter what he bought,he took them apart,went through EVERYTHING,and all his trucks were painted Mack red. I sure miss the guy,and he'd roll over in his grave if he saw what his business has turned into!...................Mark

Ernie,i know Lynchs sold theirs,but its still in Jersey right off of 295,and as far as i know Haines still uses theirs on the occaisional heavy job on the Turnpike...............................Mark

Went over to Hanks,and was able to find a few pictures of both Sterlings........................................Mark

Vin,not that i know of,they had R's,DM's,Autocars,at least one Brockway,the big Sterling,and some lighter duty Ford and IH wreckers.................................Mark

Congrats on the upgrade! i am glad to see children raised with a sense of responsibility,and shown the way to contribute,and learn a work ethic from an early age! unlike SOME of todays "MTV" generation who want to sit on their ass all day,watch TV,play video games,eat,and bitch about what they dont have,or how much better off the neighbor kids have it! I was already spotting trailers with my grandads R-model by the time i was 11,drove farm tractors earlier than that..................my hats off to you,i wish more kids had the benefit of a farm raising today!..................................Mark

Ernie,you're thinking of Lynch's Towing,they are no longer in the towing business,the are truck exporters now. They had a HUGE yellow Sterling wrecker,and quite a few Macks at one time. There is also Haines Garage right up the road,also on 206/130 they have the brother to the same Sterling,only theirs is orange............................Mark

How about virginia? i'm a little closer than David LOL! i'd sure like to have this one,the 361 series is my favorite Brockway,one of the first trucks i ever drove........................................Mark

I thought that truck looked familiar,my late uncle owned/operated Helmrich Towing& recovery in Pennsauken,NJ used to hang around the shop and got to know most of the outfits that did heavy towing in the NJ,PA,NY areas.............................Mark

Vin,that last picture (the one you like) is from a company near where i used to live in South Jersey,they had both U's and R's last i saw they were running CH's and at least one CX. They were big into rental trailers,and imagine they liked the U-models for putting trailers into difficult places.....................................Mark

Any given day with my dad or grandad,learned most of my profanity from two masters!...............................Mark

Holy shit! i can't stand that pumpkinheaded bitch! i do believe ol'Tom (selleck) did set her straight on the whole gun control issue (as he saw it)..................................Mark