SLEEPERS IN THE OLDEN DAYS OF TRUCKING (VOL III)

A Phantom Lane video featuring vintage photos curated and colorized by Thor Norvegian. Phantom Lane takes you on a nostalgic ride into the golden age of over-the-road trucking to remember the long-forgotten phantoms of the fast lane. Enjoy the view!
Submissions welcome via Phantom Lane Facebook Group: / phantomlane

[@truckerray7533]

Yup. . . ."coffin box" sleepers! Those that were not intergrated into the cab as one whole unit, you either entered into them either from the outside or through a "crawl hole" from in between the driver & passenger seat! Thanks for sharing!

[@robingilmore1444]

I slept across the seats on my old 51 kenworth. 262 and a 5x4x2. When I got the 36 inch Coffin I thought I'd really made it.

[@captainrikcaldwell9375]

Digg it 💯 ..lol

[@pugetlexus]

and when we got the 36's with the new petes we thot heaven had landed. and runnin team we had 4" inches; ver the coffin bunks and full size doors. lead seat got his pillow at the end of the bunk that did not have the stack attached to it the 28" and 32" were the original coffins. 36" baby that was luxury

[@Torsee]

6:05 Wow! Look at those monster steer tires!

[@hallsbobcatservice]

Masterpiece - great job.

[@patricktownsend6002]

Would love to see the inside of all these different sleepers!

[@dionst.michael1482]

Picture a glove box…but slightly bigger! Lol

[@keithluckett3331]

You don’t have to worry about falling out of bed.✊🏿☀️🌟🛸🔥💯

[@Decoy0527]

I've seen them and tried to get some sleep in them. Not anxious for another look.

[@Hitman-ds1ei]

Ahh the days of the old coffin box sleepers 😂 i had a slimline K124 74' model with no sleeper for many years until i streched the cab to look like a sleeper model, sleeping across the hump and seats was no fun !

[@user-el1bf8un8i]

I remember my 1973 IHC flat cab. Bed was smaller than a single, no air ride no air seat no power steering. I miss that beast.

[@CrampedGrampy]

In this video I see many old-line haulers; my favorite memory is of Little Audrey. Last time I seen one was Council Bluffs, 1972.

[@jacobsmith3409]

Heard a story from an old timer that he used to sleep in the hose trays of his vacuum truck back when it wasn’t uncommon to be next to a drilling rig for like a week without leaving

[@briankady1456]

It is truly amazing how the sleeper compartment has evolved over the years. The early ones were more primitive, but nowadays, you can spend thousands of dollars getting all the amenities into the sleeper you could ever want.

[@pugetlexus]

and swinging bunks in a consolidated freightways tractor cabover 120" wheelbase detroit or vt 903. pure joy. its a wonder im sane

[@lamara8497]

The crazy part is that some of those sleepers you had to enter it from the outside lol but was considered state of the art

[@tonyorsini5255]

How about the Kenworth CBE sleeper? THAT would have been a hairy trip!

[@philhall7400]

My dad said it was like sleeping in a coffin, would be amazed at today's sleepers.

[@pugetlexus]

it was called coffin bunk for that reason and if there was a wreck it became your coffin on a team run as there was almost no way to get out of them . lotta guys met their end that way

[@mr.roaddogwade7107]

The old timers that taught me way back didn’t say it was so golden. Lol… No A/C , power steering, sleeper, three shifters, scary breaks and so on. 😬😬🤣 . But the old schoolness factor is definitely golden. 🤠👊🏼🇺🇸

[@AmishEcstasy]

I always found as the size of sleepers increased over the years the more stuff you took with you !😂

[@user-jp7rk1uf2n]

I periodically took a lot of unnecessary stuff out, and accumulated more.

[@butchs6099]

Hauling heavy construction equipment back in the 80's and 90's I had a 900 B model KW with a two story aero dyne sleeper and had too much stuff in it. If I had to do my own repairs carried tools for the occasion plus 8 lb 3 foot handle sledge, chain saw for cutting wood blocking for cribbing. Hard to find the bed sometimes and slept over the wheel in drivers seat every now and then. But at least I had a good heater and A/C that worked.

[@pugetlexus]

and you had an aerodyne. the rest of us really envied that. even today an aero dyne cab over KW might be my choice.... but for those miserable door handles that would hit my elbow in the funny bone and that werent very funny

[@TheRoadhammer379]

The sleeper size increased and so did the waist size of the drivers

[@tonyorsini5255]

I agree. I only started in 2000, but I started out in a flattop sleeper. When I was teaming and we were in a condo, man, seemed like we had half the house on board. But then we were gone 7-8 weeks average. Once my cousin was working across the street and sent me a pic. First I thought "What crazy project is he working on now?" Then I took a second look and I'm like "That's MY house!"

[@rodneypattonsr3179]

I love them old trucks. These are the kind my Granddad Austin and Granddad Patton drove years ago. Austin in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico Patton in Arizona, California, and Utah. Thank you for sharing!

[@danielperry3008]

The trucks and men,l mean real men that brought America's goods cross country,I'm proud to have done it from 67 thru 13😎🇺🇲

[@aj-2savage896]

Older, bolder, and more badass.

[@shellyweiers121]

Thanks thor another awesome video

[@myexpressways4106]

Wow! This sleeper-themed video is fantastic! So many fascinating configurations over the years. I recall it was my dad, who had no particular interest in trucks, who told me when I was a truck-crazy kid in the 1950's that sleeper equiped trucks were called "pajama wagons". I also recall when I finally drove long haul how sweet it was to ease on back into the sleeper whenever I needed s break, or at the end of my day of driving for some blissful rest. The rigs in this video are really unique. Thanks again for a great show, Thor. Memories are still being brought forth as my life-long passion for trucks and trucking continues to burn in my 75 year old mind. Your videos are a treasure.

[@SeymourBalz]

That's where the term:"Single Stack Mack with a Shack on the Back" Came from.

[@donaldthomas2106]

Keep um coming Thor. Enjoy every one of them.

[@chance6298]

At 1:53 the B- Model Mack looks to be sporting an early version of Super Singles on the tractor and trailer ❤ I love the B-Model Mack

[@Show_quality_trash]

Those over cab cab over sleepers look interesting

[@stevenhuckaby2902]

I started out in a cab over freight liner about a 1970 something model , no A/C , no power steering , and i loved it, now days these guys go strait into a top of the line truck as a rookie, times have changed

[@Hitman-ds1ei]

Yeah and 600hp lol

[@Anonymous..VQ3.5Lg35]

Great video of the past of trucking! Thanks!! I wish these were around to see more in person!

[@earlblackjackmartinjr5750]

What's happened to the videos. Has something gone wrong. I miss your videos they remind me of a day far far gone never to return. They brought back memories of good times my brother and my best friends have all passed away. My brother has been gone for 12 years and my other trucking buddies too. My brother was a musician on the side and he used to play his keyboard while I would drive and we would sing across New Mexico or whatever state. Boy i miss him.😢

[@wyatt12358]

I THINK KW WAS THE FIRST TO BUILD THE BUNK BED ONE FOR TEAM DRIVING. LIKE THE ONE ON THE OLD BJ AND THE BEAR TRUCK. I LIKED THE WHITES WITH THE FIRST INTEGRAL CAB ALL ONE PIECE AND LOTS OF ROOM. I NOW DRIVE A 2014 386 PETE WITH A 63 INCH STAND UP BUNK REALLY NICE.

[@DennisMurtha-eg7ld]

Always grateful😊love it everytime😊

[@sheldonhchambliss1385]

The first time I witness a sleeper was on tv a show called moving on

[@Torsee]

1:56 Imagine swaying back an forth up in that sleeper.

[@hillbillytrucker8347]

Imagine running teams and the other driver hitting the brakes while you are trying to sleep. I'd be afraid of being in the sleeper and the other driver hitting a low underpass.

[@Torsee]

@@hillbillytrucker8347 Ouch! 😂

[@joelmohr3232]

I was wondering if you had to climb a set of stairs to get into that bunk.

[@NickManCuso59]

I wrapped myself around a gearshift and slept on the floor of a day cab a time or two. After running bungies through my belt loops I've slept on the hood of a conventional too. Was better than nothing.

[@pugetlexus]

when freight hauling in the day especially in a Time DC or CF tractor who ran all cabovers the ticket was to stretch a hammock across the cab and close the doors on the knotted ends. later white/ volvo trucks worked well too. as per contract we were not paid hourly so a leisurely 2 hour nap in the siskious was just the ticket when slip seating into redding. engine isle kept me warm or windows down kept me cool. the many off ramps at 3am offered a quiet place to curl up a set of joints with cab away from the road and if you did it on a flat area you were not disturbed by the jakes that the O/O's ran.

[@tonyorsini5255]

Now THAT'S hardcore!

[@stewartalbert3523]

I spent a short time living in a 1958 Autocar that had a conventional cab sleeper . Hauling swinging beef from the cornfields of Iowa to the " dirty side " as it was called back then ! 220 Cummins 10 speed Roadranger .

[@JeffKopis]

Rugged, purposeful, yet beautiful

[@Biglug8888]

Great video like always.

[@Papa-vq3fv]

Good as always watched it twice nice work thanks

[@keonikaig9247]

BEAUTIFUL... Thank you...👍🤠

[@geraldbeasley]

That’s Dale Robertson from Wells Fargo TV show standing by Haymark Farms truck

[@davidkeeton6716]

That is Dale Robertson. That is his truck, he raised horses on his ranch Haymaker Farms in Oklahoma.

[@scraps270]

Thanks Thor! 🎃

[@HenryFrederick]

Voice narration is sorely needed here. The music is grating...

[@MrMopar413]

The 7th truck you showed the GMC a guy had one like but older at the steam up in brooks Oregon at antique powerland museum perfectly restored but I think he put a bigger Detroit Diesel in it. It was a V motor but I can’t remember if it was a 8V-92 or a 12V-71 but I Don’t think it came from the factory like that. And I think it was painted metal flake Brown and lots of chrome. It was a beautiful truck inside and out.

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Great pics!

[@truckin3799]

Absolutely love these 😊

[@kelseywedge7167]

Thanks for a great video

[@deaschuder9994]

Slept across the seats in my brother-in-law diamond t loved going with him

[@toddatkin5288]

Pretty cool. Thanks.❤

[@joecummings1260]

Something for the young guys to know. Almost nobody lived in the sleeper. If you were out for a week, you were out a long time.

[@pugetlexus]

except teams.... they were out most of their lives. in fact we dispatched a team in spring of ' 82, they still aint back yet

[@smokeinapeterbilt]

​@@pugetlexusLOL!

[@devildoc225]

@@pugetlexus. We made it back. The building was gone! There’s this Starbucks place there now. People pay $6 for coffee? And what is this “ELD” people speak of, or these upside down salad bowls on truck roofs?

[@pugetlexus]

glad to hear u made it home... coffee it seems is much more profitable than trucking so the old man went that direction. turn in your log books , get the rig over to the shop , ill see about gettin ' you paid. the commchecks kept you going, we can settle up in the morning . by the way your wife called, said the kids are grown, the dog died, and youre a grandfather.

[@pugetlexus]

.... and for team operations, this aint so very far from the reality of it

[@philipwilliams6270]

I love all your old school picks of the coe trucks 🛻

[@mort8143]

Must've been the bee knees to have a sleeper back in the day. Bet every driver who needed one would be envious.😊

[@Lemmon714_]

Glad I have been local for 36 years, but I would love to drive one of those old timers.

[@geoffholmes7291]

Ya 1x for fun. That's. It😮

[@spinninggood]

you wouldn't last a week in one of those..rook.

[@darrellsaunders4267]

I used to put 2 1x4's across the driver and buddy seats on my GMC 9500....

[@frankpriolo7735]

Don’t forget! Nearly all of them had Mexican Steering (Manual)!!

[@electrolytics]

I can only imagine the sheer torture of having to drive those old trucks for more than 40 miles.

[@brianlock9881]

great pics ... when trucking was trucking with real men, not these steering wheel holders of now with their auto trans, power this and power that, i would love to see one of them drive a real truck like these for 50 miles

[@pugetlexus]

but the nut of it is this. the job aint gotten any easier and its a lot less fun than in the day. its also a lot safer calmer on time and honestly its boring. fun started to leave truckin when the second transmission and the independent truck stops went out of fashion.

[@sean131sm]

The one at 6:03 looked like a hot rod. All different and innovative. Love it.

[@AMPProductionsVideo]

Nice!

[@AHCHUUU]

A lot of those are not sleepers however I still love it.

[@ronaldmorrison6013]

Extra load area in the LTL format or a storage compartment for pads etc.

[@allencheck501]

Dont forget the old two story falcons they were pretty cool roomy sleepers

[@keithking1484]

Drove a two story Falcon. 1964 model. I still have the truck

[@allencheck501]

@@keithking1484 i had a 64 with a220 10 spd met an untimley end up in albq nm in my brothers backyard . The neighbor kid shooting fireworks burnt it almost to the ground ,,unrepairable, but managed to keep the other treasure a 55 white conv.

[@DAF_460]

​@@allencheck501Нужно ребёнку дать тумаков, и пусть выплачивает стоимость машины. 😄

[@simonjohn1176]

A piece of plywood cut out to fit across the seats. It was better than behind the wheel. My late father used to sling a hammock under his trailer to sleep..

[@joelmohr3232]

I think of all the times I crawled 'out the back window' to get a nap in, after sleeping across the seats/steering wheel in a day cab; when now the sleeper trucks are bigger than my 1st house

[@sweetpadre]

Nice choice of music.

[@whatsgood8134]

😢 I wish those days of trucking were still here ❤

[@bigbubba2680]

If those days of trucking were still here... we would be making $400,000 dollars a year... cus none of these... soft as rubber balls... drivers would want to drive this old school equipment.

[@davidcaskey4669]

A lot of todays drivers can't shift have to have automatic 😂😂

[@bobball3719]

I'm ready for my nap!

[@USA-Truck-Train-Ship-Car-lover]

Hai i am Hakke Puf, a new member from your channel, by the way , you see that curved corners on that trailers, good stream line for that time...

[@nickkercheval2704]

How did you get in and out of the sleepers on top of a cab over?

[@pugetlexus]

a variety of options. one i remember on a cab over was a trap door in the bottom of the bunk which would make it the ceiling of the tractor. this was on a Freightliner. dunno bout some of the others

[@richdorak1547]

Yikes ! Sleeping had to be as painful as driving . God bless them .

[@rce8540]

Great videos as always phantom.

[@Torsee]

6:41 Bizarre!

[@fuzzybutkus8970]

Some of those so called “Sleepers “are called “drom” boxes or dromedary as in hump on a camel. They carry more freight or dunnage not sleepers 4:24 is a good example. Saw a lot of them in moving companies.

[@jamesnelson6980]

I slept many nights in a '62 GMC crackerbox with my knees up to my waist, and my as* against the back wall. I don't miss thise days!

[@rpm12091]

I think I pulled that roadway trailer, they sure got their money’s worth out of their equipment.

[@fuzzybutkus8970]

Scary ones were under the trailer between back of the truck and landing gear. That’s some scary crap.

[@wyatt12358]

FRIEND OF MINE HAD A IH CABOVER IN THE 90'S WITHOUT THE DOG HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE. MADE IT MUCH EASIER GETTING TO THE BUNK.

[@JeffKopis]

All caps not necessary

[@wyatt12358]

@@JeffKopis ok

[@dwightwilson3215]

My Dad was a Cabover Bullhauler in the 80's I slept on the doghouse. BTW it was warm.

[@NTC335]

歴史的&国宝級の個体ばっかで激しくヤヴァ杉だぁね☆

[@Colorado_Native]

At 6:24 what truck is that? Thanks.

[@ervinthompson6598]

'48 LJ Mack , tandem axle with integral sleeper.... Used by Akers Motor Lines Charlotte Terminal until the 1960's , my dad drove it on OTR calls for 16 years - anybody have a picture ?? Updated, my omission - this truck had been made into a wrecker, with a 750 split boom Holmes. My dad drove it all over the South and Northeast , picking up wrecks and breakdowns for Akers.

[@Olskoolcool-hf6rh]

Where'd you guys go? No videos for a long time now

[@benniebarrow348]

Not a place for the claustrophobic.........great pics !

[@kerryjacobson5465]

Anything new coming our way? It's been awhile!

[@davidkeeton6716]

That first bullnose , I don't think that's a sleeper, that looks more like an early specialized load box.

[@dennisaldrich536]

Those old trucks were tough but I would take those over the plastic shit of today

[@TheRoadhammer379]

Every driver says that until they run 700 miles a day in one. You guys are a trip.

[@haroldwdorman9644]

Those trucks of the long gone era had only one kind of power steering it was called ARM STRONG Power Steering (By The Driver's Two Arms) am not trying to be funny but that's what it was called!

[@mikepierce1724]

In 80 90 my dad drove for solvents recovery service they gave him 40 every 8 hours showed in bunk. They paid motel but he had to pay all to run them reimbursed him .

[@ronhiggins6629]

Drove 4 20 years 4b got 82 arodyne and stood up to put on pants😊

[@ricardoisidoro9757]

Lindos

[@dougpope3045]

The cabover/over sleepers were called Tilton Hiltons .We're all fat guys and tattoos???

[@sgtmaj2705]

Is everything alright? I haven't seen a video in a while.

[@mikepierce1724]

Canadian had wheelers the bunk was in the box this was in 90s. Shediac lobster nb Canada

[@CEOkiller]

I heard some of the old trailers used to have a sleeper in the nose…

[@pugetlexus]

this is true.

[@308Savagebolt]

A handful also had sleepers behind the landing gear and some folks died when they came loose, hit debris or died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

[@jamesdavis9836]

My dads pete had a bench seat he slept on in1964

[@gckrul9927]

By157 when you sleep,but how you came there? climbing

[@Mark-te5bf]

1:55 that sleeper cab is actually atrocious, look at all the room that had to make a nice sized sleeper. Not to mention the aerodynamics of a brick.

[@Torsee]

4:01 Boy is that a miserable looking truck. How do you get in it? I see one step

[@Torontotootwo]

Good jive.

[@richardangelini7296]

I didn't like my mattress so I slept on the doghouse. Vibrating bed ... 😁

[@CIorox_BIeach]

Smaller sleepers are better, to be honest. You try to get just a little extra space, and end up with something that's huge, heavy and difficult to maneuver. When you're over the road, you're basically camping, so might as well act like it.

[@waynehackett2592]

I am making a diorama of of RT. 49 in pa. in the 1970’s anyone have. Name of trucking company of time that was on RT. 49 at that time or picture of them thank you.

[@tyleradams4633]

Boy if those Drivers were to see the kinds of sleepers that are available today they would crap... 👍👍👍

[@alvarocubilla8817]

❤❤ PANAMA SINTONIA ❤❤❤

[@Imintune...]

Inthe summer time u either sweat to death or froze up in the winter. No ac neither