"The good old days" towing photos

   / "The good old days" towing photos #21  
Thanks for sharing Bruce. :thumbsup:
 
   / "The good old days" towing photos #22  
Here's a picture of the first truck Dad drove, a '55 White WC22PLT pulling a Trailmobile trailer. When he hired on as the company's first driver, he was only going to be driving about 300 miles round trip at the most. Before long he was driving from the plant in Longview, Texas to the company's main plant in Monaca, Penn. He racked up over 500,000 miles on this truck. He could make the trip from Texas to Pennsylvania and back in about four days.
 

Attachments

  • WA22 White Mustang with Trailmobile trailer.JPG
    WA22 White Mustang with Trailmobile trailer.JPG
    22.3 KB · Views: 346
  • First Truck, 1955 WA22 White Mustang.JPG
    First Truck, 1955 WA22 White Mustang.JPG
    29.3 KB · Views: 323
   / "The good old days" towing photos #23  
Any ill effects racking up so many miles back in those days?

The reason I ask is having driven my 30 Ford Truck from Oakland to Reno Nevada... I was exhausted...

When I drive my modern car... Oakland to Seattle stopping only for gas is no problem.
 
   / "The good old days" towing photos #24  
The trucks rode rough, no a/c, power steering or air ride seats. The truck speed limit in those days was about 50 mph. It helped that Dad was in his early thirties but it still took a toll on his body. No sleeper on the truck and the only time he stayed in a motel was when he had to lay over for his load.
 
   / "The good old days" towing photos #25  
Here's a picture of the first truck Dad drove, a '55 White WC22PLT pulling a Trailmobile trailer. When he hired on as the company's first driver, he was only going to be driving about 300 miles round trip at the most. Before long he was driving from the plant in Longview, Texas to the company's main plant in Monaca, Penn. He racked up over 500,000 miles on this truck. He could make the trip from Texas to Pennsylvania and back in about four days.

Jesse, thank you very much for posting these pics. This is exactly what I was expecting with this thread. Pictures and a story about a family member or friend's experiences. Can you imagine 500K miles in that truck?? At the time it was "State of the Art". :D
 
   / "The good old days" towing photos #26  
The trucks rode rough, no a/c, power steering or air ride seats. The truck speed limit in those days was about 50 mph. It helped that Dad was in his early thirties but it still took a toll on his body. No sleeper on the truck and the only time he stayed in a motel was when he had to lay over for his load.

Kind of what I was thinking... amazing at what we complain about today...
 
   / "The good old days" towing photos #27  
No sleeper on the truck and the only time he stayed in a motel was when he had to lay over for his load.

A trucker once told me about early sleepers located somewhere around the tractor's rear wheels. I'm not sure whether they were attached to the tractor or the trailor. They called them "suicide boxes" he said the drivers slept well in wet weather when the wheels splattered water against the box.
 
   / "The good old days" towing photos #28  
Sleepers could be located in the front of the trailer over the fifth wheel or under the trailer in front of the trailer's wheels.
 
   / "The good old days" towing photos #29  
Wish I had a pic of me or my dad pulling a 32' travel trailer with a SB Chevy reg cab shortbed 4x4..Good times those were.
 
   / "The good old days" towing photos #30  
Almost like seeing an new Eldorado Convertible pulling a new 4 horse trailer back in 1971

I guess the 500 ci had enough power to do the job.
 
 
Top