Remembering Those 'Glory Days' of Trucking

[@SmartTrucking]

Hey there Driver. Good to see you. So glad you've taken the time to watch tonight's upload on THE GLORY DAYS OF TRUCKING. Love to hear your thoughts on the old school trucking years. I sure miss those days. Made good money and trucking was great. ♥

[@michaelsummer4101]

@@SmartTrucking I started driving 1983 and at that time you could make money at a dollar a mile , I own a 1997 Freightliner classic that was built in Canada for the USA I bought 15 years ago and parked it 3 years ago because of fuel prices. Thx for the channel love it

[@-OICU812-]

When I was a kid in the late seventies, I had an Uncle Seymour Arceneaux, who had a towing company he ran out of Carencro at the edge of Lafayette LA. Back in those days there would be fast runs that eventually turned into what was called "Hot Shot" runs. More often than not there would be some kind of special piece that would be needed by one of the big oil companies, and those guys wanted them as fast as they could get them. My uncle special ordered a truck with a huge powerful engine and extra-large fuel tanks so he could go from his shop in Carencro to The Port of Los Angeles, in California and get back as fast as possible. He told me he would keep that truck over 105mph for as long as he possibly could. If I were to tell you how long the trip took him, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway, but I'll just say he did it in less than his 48hr deadline for a "bonus". It was a cream white Pete with maroon stripes if I remember it right. I thought it was the most beautiful truck I had ever seen. I remember begging my dad to let me ride with Uncle Seymour and my cousin "Little Seymour", on the trip. I don't think my dad ever shot me down so hard on anything before or since. Dad did however take me along with himself on runs from time to time. He taught me to drive, and later in life, driving trucks came back around to me, in the Army no less. The love of trucks has always been there, and I believe it always will be. I loved the nostalgic video!

[@Retired88M]

Back in 78 I was driving an old 70 Dodge 900 tandem axle dump truck with a tired 238 Detroit and a 13 speed for a friend when he said for me to take his 71 Pete with a load of scrap metal to a steel mill out by Pittsburgh the next day since he needed to get his cabover Freightliner out of the shop. Well I was jumping for joy because it was a real nice powerful ride. It had an industrial CAT under its long hood coupled to a 15 speed and was supposed to be only a 325 but that was before his diesel genius buddy tweaked it a bit( a big bit). So the next morning I bobtailed down to the scrap yard to hook up to a high sided Steco scrap bucket but when I went to hook up even with the air bags dumped I couldn’t get under it due to its weight. So when the yard opened and they saw me struggling they came out with a big bucket loader to lift it just enough to get under it. The paperwork said I was grossing 79,500 but I was way heavier than that Anyway this was a BIG CAT and when I started up Snowshoe I was doing about 80 grossing at least 100k on 5 axles. About 1/2 way up I dropped it out of the big hole just at the crossover where the bears always sit and I was doing about 65 (this was double nickel days) and Smoky came out behind me with the bubble gum machine flashing and waited till I got to the top to pull me over. He had me on radar all the way up the hill. He asked me where I was flying to and I told him the whole story and how I was afraid I wouldn’t get to the mill before it closed and he saw I wasn’t a wise ass and over a cup of coffee and a pie Dr if pie he let me go. But man o man that truck had power

[@jessiemorton423]

In the early ‘80s I was hauling livestock with an extended hood 359 Pete, 3408 with a 6x4 and O/D in both boxes with 3:55’s on 11:24-5’s. Pass about anything but a fuel pump! I’m near 70 now but I still miss that ‘79 Pete. Fun times!

[@hughjass1044]

For me, it was the 80s and early 90s. Lots of work, good machinery and drivers respected each other. I seldom ever went into a truck stop and sat down to dinner that I didn't end up striking up a conversation with some of the other drivers. Guys helped each other out a lot more back then too.

[@TroubleActual]

Hit head of nail!!! The good days. Wide open, running at night, sleeping 2-4hrs at a time, etc. I'm 50yo but I cut my teeth running with these older guys!!!

[@dantweedy1766]

Those were the glory days of America! I’ll be 70 in about 3 months. Im still driving a mighty fine 1999 379 Pete ! 550 Cat, 18 speed, 336 rears! One of finest rides I believe that was ever built! And I will be driving it proudly until the day I die! Back in the day it was like a truck show at most bigger truck stops! All class, beauty and character! And the characters you met back then too were something out of a story book!!! Those were indeed the glory days of trucking! Sadly it’s not what it used to be! It’s going the way of the buffalo! There are still niches out there where you can still make a little money and have some fun doing it! God Bless America and keep on trucking!!!

[@renesanchez2210]

What niches do you recommend for a girl trying to feed a family and one day buy a house?

[@Kveldred]

I've never driven a truck... ...but I was fleet manager for an oilfield company, for a good 8 or so years (my first "real" job; lost it just earlier this year, in fact) - and our Pete 389s and 379 with Cat & Cummins engines in 'em were absolutely the best of the fleet! Sad that the milquetoast environmental reg. requirements _(-not that I'm against protecting the planet, mind you; it's just that we have picked absolutely, monstrously stupid ways to do it!)_ caused Cat to get out of the on-road diesel engine biz.

[@fighter4christ7]

That’s amazing sir! I’m half your age and bought a ‘98 myself. It’s a Volvo, but with a 3406 CAT, 13 Speed 336 rears also. It’s a lot work sometimes maintaining these older trucks, but at least it’s mostly tasks we can do ourselves to reduce costs. Keep it runnin’!

[@sandasturner9529]

The one thing I miss about trucking is the *_FREEDOM_*

[@AleksandrIlchenko-vw3py]

My respect for drivers who drive in those glory days of trucking, who could handle with paper maps, manual transmission and enormous marine diesels under the hood! 🎉 But, of course, trucking is still charming and every state is imprinting in memory by different way

[@SoCal780]

The multiple logbooks back then are the MAIN REASON we have e-logs today! 😂 Thanks, old timers! 😂 This doesn’t need to be said, but I will say it anyway: The Lettuce King was and still is an absolute trucking LEGEND! I just love that guy! Tons of great stories that go with him that made him the legend that he is. Thanks for keeping these precious memories alive, Dave. I’d say you’re a legend as well!

[@SmartTrucking]

Thanks So Cal. Yea those were definitely good times!

[@arnenelson4495]

Yep, they were good old days especially compared to now.

[@samuelharrison7629]

Hi Dave. Thanks for all your great videos! I've learned so much from them, and listening to your stories is very entertaining. That pull heading east out of Laramie is no joke! It's definitely one of the top five hardest pulls in America.

[@michaelsummer4101]

Trucks were reliable back then , lot less regulation

[@danvick3219]

I miss those days 😊

[@wyatt12358]

Miss the MARMON TRUCKS

[@johnnydodge]

My back hurts just looking at those Fruitliner cabovers. We had them at PIE 24 26 series We could Jiff em up lol

[@pogveteranar9415]

Thank you for keeping this wonderful piece of history alive. I’m a younger guy so definitely appreciate hearing about that era.

[@kristoffMR]

Cool story of the good OL’ days gone by!

[@gittyupg007]

Got up to curt gowdy statue without breathing hard!😅 keep trucking..❤

[@taylorh3930]

We have a 1989 Peterbilt with a 15spd double over we nick named it the nuckle buster because the way you shift the 15spd your nuckles almost hit the dash 👊

[@81hawkxp]

If you want to see the cool trucks from the old days go to the American Truck Historical Society (ATHS) truck shows especially their National Convention held in a different part of the country each year with smaller shows held all over the country. A lot of the older truck drivers now retired attend these events and they are a joy to talk to. I hauled for 48 years and now drive my Autocar to these shows.

[@coachbb899]

1976 KW 900 with 1693 500 hp engine. 15 over with 315 rears. Could roll coal and keep up with most

[@fatlarry1184]

Best days of my life '74-'99. Best music too!

[@TexHoss1]

The trucks back in those days had class & style. Today's trucks all look like something made in china.

[@maxpuppy96]

I remember the old timers all wanted the KW 900 long hood A model, that was their Caddy.

[@acam3445]

Love the old history stories!

[@MaclearieFarms]

I just go to work on a Pete cab over today

[@AdamGbl95]

Wish I was in trucking in the "glory days". Now days its just too much stress.

[@KC-hf3to]

I'm with you brother

[@kennethd9344]

I always love listening to the truck stories and I know that the truth I was there ❤

[@poetpoet9439]

Thanks!

[@SmartTrucking]

Hey Poet, thanks for the support!!!! Rubber down, man!

[@hermitrecluse4887]

To the younger generation YOU NEVER MISS WHAT YOU NEVER HAD and this is how the evolution of change occurs

[@JimmyHat-k4t]

I seen a truck lit up like a Christmas tree not long ago on hyw 2 near Nisku recently. Actually noticing lots of nice looking trucks in Alberta

[@tff5813]

I remember as a little kid watching guys like the ledgends go up and down the interstate near where i grew up. Tons of cab overs as well. Later on, my uncle had a large car. It was so impressive to watch him operate that rig with precison and class(379exhd, 325wb, big bunk) I was always impressed how any of the large cars so successfully manuvered in the cities. Those cats were in a class of their own. Thanks for being one of my heroes when i was a kid. Part of why i have both a 359 and a 362, which neither will leave until I die! 😂

[@louiskats5116]

G'day from Australia 🇦🇺. Yeah we also had glory years here too, if you did 99% of the driving I saw between 1989 & 1995 between Adelaide and Melbourne boy it was crazy stuff. I used to hitch hike out of Ted's Roadhouse in Rockbank to head back to Adelaide say a 450 mile trip overnight mid week. Friday night's were game on like donkey kong because you had the express air freight supposedly going flat stick to Adelaide, the quicker they got to Adelaide park up go home for the weekend & the Perth runners needing to be in Perth Sunday night a trip of 2200 miles. Yeap 3 log books, 3 licence, speed limiters came in, no B Doubles, no alloy wheels & lots of single lanes. Back then everyone trusted & called out on the CB if any thing was on coming & how far so you knew. There were some quick 160 kph semi's back then too, frightening when you got overtaken the noise & speed was out of this world. Doing 125 kph & you think you are moving then you see the likes of Kerswell, Constantino, Comet, McPhee, Kwikasair, Clevland, Krunze, MacDermott, Donaldson & more bag you up like a cat playing with a mouse. Here one of my stories because I love stories from the glory days. Hitched a ride in a old Benz car carrier nothing flash only 320 hp banger heading to Adelaide it was dark. Pulling out of Ararat hit the 4 laner, 2 lanes going west our direction & 2 lanes going east towards Ararat / Melbourne. This old girl had a bit of traffic build up behind it so when we hit the 4 laner, the semi behind us was in the overtaking lane making its move, the semi behind him was making a move to overtake the 2 of us, & the semi behind him being Mick Kerswell in his Kenworth Aerodyne Cabover with the new rebuild supposedly 700 hp 3408 Caterpillar, 20 speed Spicer box & American add on huge American Sleeper box & supposedly able to do 200 kph across the paddock heading to Perth with 100 lights etc overtook the 3 semi's like it was nothing & we were doing 100 kph at the time. Basically Kerswell was in the 4th lane over overtaking us, the truck overtaking us legally, the 3rd semi overtaking in the east bound lane totally illegal & Kerwell in the far east bound lane overtaking 3 semi's in one go, before reaching the old hole in the wall. It was something to see. If I didn't see it with my owns eye I wouldn't believe it, I was gob smack but it was trucking back then. That & plenty more, the glory days are long long gone & now just a memory. Those of us lucky enough to have witness it gives us bragging rights, back then it was normal doing 120 on the flats & it was average speed. Even the highway patrol gave us a warning a 4 truck convoy for going through a town Kiata a 75 kph zone @ 130 kph. Just slow down, log book okay see you later fellas pulled all 4 of us over on the CB. Great channel, put a smile on my face listening to your story. Still trucking local Melbourne on & off the wharf. Cheers Louis Kats from Melbourne, Australia 🇦🇺 👍 BTW Google Mick Kerswell COE Kenworth Aerodyne. One last word there were some very fast European semi's as well. 14 litre V8 Scania, 16 litre 6 cylinder Volvo V8 2550 Mercedes Benz @ 500 hp. There was a company out of Ballarat running bonnet T142 V8 Scania's subbing for Brambles. Beautiful Semi's lots of chrome & painted up in Brambles Orange similar to Chevy Hugger Orange colour. Swap the gearbox for a 13 speed Roadranger box from the Scania box, to handle the extra hp & boy these Scania's they were super fast. Beckingsale something like that were the name any old timer happy to remind me the name. Variety was the spice of life. Great times

[@kennethd9344]

1976 I had a triple digit truck great time I love it than omg. Cut your lights out and run past the scale. Triple T Alabama to California every week same people. Love it ❤

[@jamesbeam7744]

Yes, those were the good days. How about a picture of the lettuce king’s truck

[@truckinforjesus]

I have enjoyed all your videos but this is my favorite! That marine motor the "Lettuce King" was running sounds amazing. A mechanic told me that for every 1000 feet above sea level, a diesel engine loses 3% of the rated power at the flywheel, and 5% at the wheels. Laramie, WY is at 7000 feet.

[@mrc1539]

“ chrome won’t get you home but it makes you look neat in the seat ! “ 😉 ! An old saying from back in the day .

[@monkjohn4833]

Everything was better then!!!

[@driverben8604]

I love the luxuries these Cascadias and T680s will accommodate but I'd still love to drive in my company back when they used the Freightliner cabovers

[@Kveldred]

LOL that was a good intro. 😂 I didn't expect that sort of humor from the presuppositions I had made about this channel & its author... that'll reach me ne to assume!

[@poetpoet9439]

I started when Monfort still ruled the fast lane. So much has changed, & not for the better🤮

[@kennethbode2017]

friend of mine had a Freightliner that would run about 90 on flat ground. One night running thru the dessert he saw lights coming up behind him and it didn't take long for that big Pete to go around him and be out of sight.

[@larryk4146]

I miss the good old days when trucking was fun. I drove from 1973 to 2023 you forgot about the fire breathers the first truck I drove was IH Emeryville 250 cummins ( with fuel turned up ) at night it would lite the sky up with about 3 feet of flame out of the stack on a long grade. I drove some big HP trucks and 3 diget trucks over the years.

[@walttegtmeier2303]

Takes me back to the days you just cruised until a Prime Inc or a Montfort Pack truck came by, then you wound her up and got er done, oh how things have changed

[@danielyelle1070]

Still love trucking but boy it was so much fun back in the day before the government sucked all the fun out of it . Emission trucks and Elog's probably the worst thing. I tell people all the time I was a much more rested driver when I worked when I needed and parked and rested when & where in needed . Emission trucks have made my life a drive until the check engine light comes on. Grew up in the trucking industry and have been driving since 1979 . Glad to be retiring in a couple years. Glory day are long gone. Great topic .

[@duncanosinchuk5053]

Sometimes, you just need to pass a fellow driver. Cost doesn’t matter.

[@stevespriggs3302]

My first truck was a cl9000 Ford 1984 cat 3408 b.

[@Bucko451]

V12 Allison, 1986, This guy ran triple digits from DFW to West Coast constantly.

[@MrNoSolo]

Anything made now, all have Planned obsolescence components, and have taken the diy components out of the equation, purposely making it difficult for small repairs that force you to go the dealer repair shops and spend thousands that should of cost you hundreds and a bit of elbow grease. Everything has been designed to hit the working class pockets harder by the year

[@danielwebb9306]

Would love to see all those old school trucks make a come back even the cab over that blue peterbilt is the truck I would love to have and I can get rid of this emission peterbilt 567

[@darylthisdelle7702]

You bet I do. It was when the men were men and the sheep were nervous.

[@darylthisdelle7702]

I used to sing this in my tractor when I was 19 am now 71 and it still does to me what it did many a mile ago..

[@SoCal780]

Reminds me of a story: I was running north on I-5 up in Oregon. Went past some sheep farms up there and this young guy comes over the radio and says, “wow! Look at all of the sheep out there!” (Apparently there were quite a few!) And without missing a beat, this old timer comes on the radio and says, “that get ya excited, driver?…” My wife and I just immediately started laughing hysterically!!😂😂

[@darylthisdelle7702]

@@SoCal780 lololol bahahahaha

[@wyatt12358]

WE NEED TO GET THAT PRIDE BACK.

[@skippydinglechalk3525]

These vids scare me as a 18 year old about to start his cattle trucking career.

[@duncanosinchuk5053]

@@skippydinglechalk3525 Don’t be scared. I’m a 55 yr old cow hauler. Be smart, listen to the old guys, and their advice.

[@duncanosinchuk5053]

Take the good parts out of the advice. Don’t drive beyond your confidence level.

[@skippydinglechalk3525]

@@duncanosinchuk5053 that’s awesome, how do you like it? And will do thanks for the advice man.

[@fu2419]

Yet you didn't even mention the Monfort lane or that in the '70s we were getting $5,400 Toronto to California & reverse. Never figured out how clowns thought they could do it for $2,800. See a couple of John's trucks there among others. I'll tell you a story, I'm about 20 years old the guy I work for says can you get out of California a bit heavy? Like the dumbass I was I said sure, emptied out in L.A. he says go over to this place & load frozen juice 40 55 gallon drums or so, get that on & call Toronto & he says okay next pickup dry freight, you know what to do right? Okay get yourself to the lumber store & build a wall, get the next one on then go up north for dates. Cabover KW 430 Detroit, 42' reefer 97,000 gross. Lost the water pump pulling Donner & while I'm waiting for that to be fixed the trailer is getting warmer because the unit had sprung a freon leak in a tiny little place near Truckee. Found a refrigeration guy working on the stuff at a bar who told me he knew nothing about reefer trailers but I convinced him to fix it. A few weeks later I'm empty in Winnipeg & he sends me out to Carmen for a load of seed, I said what do you want me to do with these pallets I'll be to heavy with them. He says put them on the nose you'll be fine, called back & said okay I'm loaded but to heavy & West Hawk don't close, no way around it, he said did you get out of California heavy a few weeks ago? I said yeah he said then I ain't worried about it & hung up. Bet you know the guy although he died years ago.

[@kennethd9344]

The last speed ticket I got was just west of las cruces nm 94 mph. I paid cash on the spot and the trope says it want show up on my drive license

[@kennethd9344]

1975. OMG

[@rogerhenry2870]

Don't forget the monford lane the left lane of of the interstate was known as the monford lane for monford beef 🍖

[@xTheBloodyDeadx]

Such bs,why can’t we go back to the old days?! I hate this generation!

[@keithtorbert9929]

I watch your channel why don’t you organize a truckers strike

[@matthewscopelite5303]

Definitely! I wonder what the industry would be like today if Jimmy Hoffa lived to achieve his agenda. In the 70's as a kid growing-up in Chicago, our late summer ritual as a family was to spend Sunday afternoons on the beach at Warren Dunes or Indiana Dunes. On our way home, we used to fuel and have supper at the old Union 76 (currently T/A) in Sawyer,MI. I remember the perpetual smell of diesel in the air, all the booths had telephones reserved exclusively for truck drivers, and there was outdoor loudspeakers that played country music 24/7. It had a vibe that reminded me of American Graffiti which I recently saw in the theatre. One Sunday evening in late August just before sunset, we were on our way home from the dunes. There was something in the air that night on the trip home traveling thru SW Michigan on I-94E and NE Indiana on I-80/90E. There were trucks everywhere on the road and skillfully passing all the motorists with a sense of urgency all the way to our exit at South Holland,IL. I can remember thinking, "why are their trailer lights flickering, do they all have bad electrical connections?". Then it dawned on me, "they're communicating with one another!". Today as a trucker driving thru that corridor, every once in a while when the traffic is flowing just right at that time in the evening , I can feel just a hint of what that night was like and what it must have been like to drive a rig at that time

[@matthewscopelite5303]

CORRECTION: I-94W and I-80/90W