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3 hour road test for job

henry j said:
While "running the system" in the early '90's (before cell phones with GPS mapping), I missed a lot of terminals. I was not required to go through any "ride along" or indoctrination at the main office in Holland, MI at all. They just gave a set of bills, an old Ford Louisville tractor (#1250) hooked to a trailer and told me to head down the highway. I had to get my own directions and maps from other drivers (sometimes written on napkins). Several times, like in Buffalo and Knoxville, I got directions to where Holland used to be finding only an empty bldg. The second time in Buffalo, I found they'de moved again. First time into Cleveland, I only had written directions that told me to turn the wrong way at the top of the ramp. I ended up in a residential area at 3 AM and had to turn around in a school parking lot. In those days I did not have a cell phone, so some of those nights were interesting to say the least.
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Been there too,
many times been sent to Ryder Truck Rental instead of RTL or turn left at a large White Oak Tree.
 
seabreeze said:
BARE BONES!! man these are luxuries, all our tractors were not equipped with heaters or T S in 1955
didn't see AC until 1978, didn't have P S when they folded in 1990
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I remember reading the classified ads as a kid and the cars had "r/h" listed in the ad. I had to ask what it meant and my father said, "Radio and heater". I just said, "Oh, ok", and left it at that. I never really encountered anyone who drove a vehicle without heat, outside of me and my '69 VW. What was it like driving a truck with no heat? Oh, and I do recall reading somewhere that is is illegal to equip a truck with a gasoline heater, what can you tell me about those?
 
ABFer said:
I remember reading the classified ads as a kid and the cars had "r/h" listed in the ad. I had to ask what it meant and my father said, "Radio and heater". I just said, "Oh, ok", and left it at that. I never really encountered anyone who drove a vehicle without heat, outside of me and my '69 VW. What was it like driving a truck with no heat? Oh, and I do recall reading somewhere that is is illegal to equip a truck with a gasoline heater, what can you tell me about those?
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I do rember a company named Hunter made gasoline fueled heaters for trucks.
I think you are right and were banned.
I saw one on the sleeper of an Emeryville years ago, only one I've seen.
 
pro1driver said:
ah yes i remember the days of only pay phones. then i had a Radio Shack bag phone...i was stylin' an groovin'....:funky:
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Yup, and trying to find a pay phone in the middle of the night in a strange neighborhood can be an adventure, too. Truck terminals are not usually in very good parts of town.
I remember one other Holland terminal I was dispatched to, again with no map, only written instructions from another driver. Huntington, WV to Raleigh - Durham, NC. It said once in Raleigh on I-80 turn right onto a county 2 lane road (can't remember the number) then go south about 3 or 4 miles . The instructions said "You can't see the terminal from the road and there is no sign, but go until you see a lot of skid marks on the pavement. That will be the driveway to go to Holland. Go right there". The instruction sheet was right. I saw all the skid marks (most likely from other Holland drivers trying to slow down to make the corner.at the last minute). That was probably the strangest instructions I got, (also written on a scrap of paper) but it worked.
Ahh, the good old days.
 
henry j said:
Yup, and trying to find a pay phone in the middle of the night in a strange neighborhood can be an adventure, too. Truck terminals are not usually in very good parts of town.
I remember one other Holland terminal I was dispatched to, again with no map, only written instructions from another driver. Huntington, WV to Raleigh - Durham, NC. It said once in Raleigh on I-80 turn right onto a county 2 lane road (can't rememThese KB11ber the number) then go south about 3 or 4 miles , most had bee. The instructions said "You can't see the terminal from the road and there is no sign, but go until you see a lot of skid marks on the pavement. That will be the driveway to go to Holland. Go right there". The instruction sheet was right. I saw all the skid marks (most likely from other Holland drivers trying to slow down to make the corner.at the last minute). That was probably the strangest instructions I got, (also written on a scrap of paper) but it worked.
Ahh, the good old days.
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ABFer, you ask about driving with no heater, not much fun.
These KB11 IHCS were being down graded for city use, we ran them mostly on short backup turns.
If they ran on long trips,the dispatchers were good about running them in daylight hrs, it was a little warmer.
By 1957 when we joined the union, most had heaters installed and used only in the city.

Getting a little off subject,
One hot summer day, our safety man caught up with me at Whitmire S C, we both were going to Hazlehurst Ga.
I had a brand spanking new B67 Mack, he had never driven one and wanted to try it
We swapped vehicles,I jumped in his air conditioned Oldsmobile and did not stop until
I got to Wrens Ga.
He came inside hot and sweaty, said I learned a valuable lesson today.
I said what was that? never trade vehicles with you in the summer.
 
seabreeze said:
We swapped vehicles,I jumped in his air conditioned Oldsmobile and did not stop until
I got to Wrens Ga.
He came inside hot and sweaty, said I learned a valuable lesson today.
I said what was that? never trade vehicles with you in the summer.
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A/C is something new to us except for road tractors, which have had it for a while (I think that there was some ICC language on that). There is quite a difference as to how I feel at the end of a summer day after having it vs not having it. Today's drivers probably wouldn't make it through a single day without...not that it's easy for me anymore.
 
ABFer said:
A/C is something new to us except for road tractors, which have had it for a while (I think that there was some ICC language on that). There is quite a difference as to how I feel at the end of a summer day after having it vs not having it. Today's drivers probably wouldn't make it through a single day without...not that it's easy for me anymore.
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when i worked for the garbage company, BFI, doing the city residential trash..i had the cab forward mack...no a/c...and man o man.....doing the city work, then going to the dump.....i looked forward to the days when my home water heater was not working, and all that we had was COLD water to shower by. sure i may have frozen to death, and there may have been "shrinkage"........but i could care less about that, back then.
 
ABFer said:
A/C is something new to us except for road tractors, which have had it for a while (I think that there was some ICC language on that). There is quite a difference as to how I feel at the end of a summer day after having it vs not having it. Today's drivers probably wouldn't make it through a single day without...not that it's easy for me anymore.
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1978 was our first contract for AC,we got 300 brigadiers and 100R model macks,just like sitting on top of the world.
Carolina Freight had AC in 1977, they would pass and I would roll up my window,give him a big grin, like I was cool.
Of course he knew I was sweating like a pig, me in a Roadboss 2, hottest truck ever built with no AC
 
seabreeze said:
1978 was our first contract for AC,we got 300 brigadiers and 100R model macks,just like sitting on top of the world.
Carolina Freight had AC in 1977, they would pass and I would roll up my window,give him a big grin, like I was cool.
Of course he knew I was sweating like a pig, me in a Roadboss 2, hottest truck ever built with no AC
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We had these without air but they weren't as bad as some because they were longnosed and didn't have half the engine in the cab.

Roadway-Express-Big-R-truck-driver-picture-late.jpg
 
Most modern tractors after 1995 were designed only for a/c. The older trucks had side vents and usually a cowl vent
to cool the cab, if the a/c quit on a hot summer day all you can do is open the windows.
 
You're right, these were 77 model short nose, no vents in doors or roof.
Company installed vents after Atlanta driver passed out and wrecked.
They were all traded next year because after we got AC, drivers refused to drive them.
Some outfit in Saudi Arabia bought them.
 
SuperCourse said:
We had these without air but they weren't as bad as some because they were longnosed and didn't have half the engine in the cab.

Roadway-Express-Big-R-truck-driver-picture-late.jpg
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The first p&d load I took out for Roadway Albuquerque was in a unit like this. All I knew about the city was, the Sandia Mountains were to the east.
 
mud said:
The first p&d load I took out for Roadway Albuquerque was in a unit like this. All I knew about the city was, the Sandia Mountains were to the east.
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Mud didn't you get to drive the short nose "shake and bake" RB's? You know 1/2 the cab with the doghouse that would burn your leg and don't forget the rubber block suspension. Always liked my loony-tune Ford at CFCC had the side kick a/c which would freeze you out of the cab but since the heaters weren't so great they great they would freeze you out i the winter also
 
SuperCourse said:
We had these without air but they weren't as bad as some because they were longnosed and didn't have half the engine in the cab.

Roadway-Express-Big-R-truck-driver-picture-late.jpg
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Then when they went to the short nosed version, they got unbearably hot, we called them "shake and bakes" because they were hot and rode so bad the sheet metal of the cabs would crack up in the corners and they had to weld plates to hold them together.

roadway_road_boss.jpg
 
00mustang said:
Mud didn't you get to drive the short nose "shake and bake" RB's? You know 1/2 the cab with the doghouse that would burn your leg and don't forget the rubber block suspension. Always liked my loony-tune Ford at CFCC had the side kick a/c which would freeze you out of the cab but since the heaters weren't so great they great they would freeze you out i the winter also
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Mustang, did you run out of Cherryville?
 
seabreeze said:
Yep, go back to 1955
Our short noses were just like you described, only we did not have Hendrickson rubber blocks,they were pushers on springs.
Pee under the drive, u were stuck.
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Ryder was a good company. When they went to the Reyco 4 spring suspension in the rear on ours it helped a lot. Getting around in winter was always a challenge. For all their shortcomings in comfort I got to say those old trucks had personality. Todays trucks are pretty boring.
 
00mustang said:
Mud didn't you get to drive the short nose "shake and bake" RB's? You know 1/2 the cab with the doghouse that would burn your leg and don't forget the rubber block suspension. Always liked my loony-tune Ford at CFCC had the side kick a/c which would freeze you out of the cab but since the heaters weren't so great they great they would freeze you out i the winter also
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A Roadway Road Boss tractor hooked to an old 27 foot Western Gillette trailer. And away I would go.
 
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