Akers Motor Lines

Sorry I havent been on here in awhile. Here is another pic of my grandfather Big Major.
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Kevin Weaver that's cool you got photos like this of your grandfather. I wish I had some of mine. He retired from Yellow freight in Chattanooga back in the late 70's early 80's. He worked for Wilson before Yellow bought them out from what I understand.
 
sorry jeff i do not, in all my moves in life, im sure they have been lost or misplaced. a lot of ex-akers drivers moved on to roadway express or yellow frt. i wasw layed off from akers, wen't to bowman trans., then to roadway, layed off every two weeks, got out of the trucking business in 1981. started in lawenforcement and retired in 2007. thanks for the reply, really enjoy your site. no matter what career you choose, if you ever drove a truck, it stays with you. god bless
 
I have no idea. lol. Just a bit of Trivia. If you happen to watch football and followed Georgia the past couple of years. Nick Chubb is his Great Great Grandson.
 
Found this site while doing some research for a model of an Akers truck & trailer I want to build.

Though I've never driven a truck, (except a few times at work), I'm from Gastonia NC, (home of Akers), remember them well, & my cousin Charles Capps drove for them for several years.

I also worked for Freightshaker for many years, as a painter. So if you got a Classic, FLD120, or any other Class 8 Freightshakers with any runs in the paint, I apologize! Hahaha!
 
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Found this site while doing some research for a model of an Akers truck & trailer I want to build.

Though I've never driven a truck, except work), I'm from Gastonia NC, (home of Akers), remember them well, & my cousin Charles Capps drove for them for several years.

I also worked for Freightshaker for many years, as a painter. So if you got a Classic, FLD120, or any other Class 8 Freightshakers with any runs in the paint, I apologize! Hahaha!
The driver climbing in the cab is (Big Major)
He and his brother-in-law rode together.
He had a leased truck with Akers for years.
Sorry, I posted this before reading the previous post.
 
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worked for this great company for approx. 4 years, starting in 1968 out of charlotte nc. until buyout by pepsico in the early 70's. anyone else worked there? any info on akers or pictures of equipment would be goo. thanks
Why did PepsiCo buy an ltl? Anyone? Anyone?
 
Why did PepsiCo buy an ltl? Anyone? Anyone?
Before deregulation LTL companies were a good investment for a company looking for a way to diversify & put profits where they were not taxed so heavily. PepsiCo also bought LeeWay freight out of Oklahoma City. After deregulation, freight lines that did not plan ahead & adjust went belly up, LeeWay was one. A relative worked for PepsiCo during this time. At the annual company meetings the reports on the company holdings, were positive for the food related business, (Frito Lay, KFC, Grandma's Bakeries) etc. As I remember the report on LeeWay for two or three years was, "Due to heavy competition & deregulation our investment in the LTL market has not made desired profits", which is another way of saying we are losing our butts in the trucking industry. Finally the announcement was made that "We have decided we are more suited to the food group market & we have decide to suspend operations of LeeWay Motor Freight".
 
For those not familiar with the days of government regulated freight, freight rates were set, so profits were much easier in that environment. About the only way a company could get operation rights was to buy an existing freight line. A company could possibly, but rarely get operating rights in a remote area if it could prove there was a need for it's service.
 
For those not familiar with the days of government regulated freight, freight rates were set, so profits were much easier in that environment. About the only way a company could get operation rights was to buy an existing freight line. A company could possibly, but rarely get operating rights in a remote area if it could prove there was a need for it's service.
I understand they wrote off millions when their authority became worthless.
 
For those not familiar with the days of government regulated freight, freight rates were set, so profits were much easier in that environment. About the only way a company could get operation rights was to buy an existing freight line. A company could possibly, but rarely get operating rights in a remote area if it could prove there was a need for it's service.
Companies sold service, not discounts
 
Before deregulation LTL companies were a good investment for a company looking for a way to diversify & put profits where they were not taxed so heavily. PepsiCo also bought LeeWay freight out of Oklahoma City. After deregulation, freight lines that did not plan ahead & adjust went belly up, LeeWay was one. A relative worked for PepsiCo during this time. At the annual company meetings the reports on the company holdings, were positive for the food related business, (Frito Lay, KFC, Grandma's Bakeries) etc. As I remember the report on LeeWay for two or three years was, "Due to heavy competition & deregulation our investment in the LTL market has not made desired profits", which is another way of saying we are losing our butts in the trucking industry. Finally the announcement was made that "We have decided we are more suited to the food group market & we have decide to suspend operations of LeeWay Motor Freight".
Thanks. Interesting & makes sense.
 
I didn't know PepsiCo bought Akers, did they not merge with Central Motor Lines at one time?
All I am familiar with PepsiCo owning is LeeWay.
LTL freight was regulated by routes & rates. As was mentioned, all a freight line had to sell was service. I do remember the rate on an otherwise volume load could be lowered if even a single item was put on a trailer that had a lower freight rate. That was the only way I know of where a carrier could discount a customer's freight.
Also when freight was deregulated many shippers tried cut rate carriers & often had freight lost, damaged or delayed for long periods of time. A friend had a small freight line that gave good service to a small area. The line had been in the family for 2 generations. She interlined with major carriers. Some former customers asked her for help tracing long overdue freight that was being carried by a discount truck line. At first she tried to help, but as time went on she told them she would not help a competitor retain customers. Her truck line later joined the list of those unable to compete.
 
Ok, other than the decals, (which I'll order this week), I got everything i want for my Akers model, but I have questions, a few of them in fact.

I'm planning on using this Autocar A64B tractor:

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Now, since getting the kit yesterday, I've been trying to narrow down the time period it was built. I know that it debuted in the '50s, & was built through the '70s, likely with some changes. If anyone can provide more info so I can narrow it down further, especially as to the timeline , I'd be very grateful.

The trailer is this kinda generic one first issued in the late '60s:

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I chose it because generic or not, it builds into a dead solid looking trailer for a '50s-'60s era trailer.

Now questions, I have questions. Did Akers trucks have a typical black chassis, or was it painted red, to match the cab, etc?

If I remember correctly, (keeping in mind I was born in 1961), Akers ran the red/black paint scheme into the mid 60s, transitioning into the all red scheme then. Am I correct, & if so, was the frame on those red or black? If I'm wrong, same question on the frames, but when did they stop using the red/black colors, & can the Autocar be built to represent that era, whether it needs backdated or not?

Autocar's a daycab. When did Akers stop using daycabs? If i need to add a sleeper, I've got a parts pack Mercury sleeper that'll work nicely. But, if I don't need to, that's a plus, as it's earmarked for a Pete 359 & oversized load build.

I'm also hoping the Autocar will work in black/red for this reason: That paint scheme would look sharp on it, due to it's exposed fenders & overall shape, compared to this Akers Mack:

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With the decals, I have 2 different choices of logos:

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Latter isn't the best pic, sorry, but it's the logo with "Serving the South, the East & New England", & is from the '60s/'70s from the Mack in that pic. I'm guessing the 1st pic is an earlier logo. When was the switch.

A lotta questions I know, but I want to get this as accurate as I can. Now Akers may never have ran that Autocar, but given the kits from that era I have to choose from, I'm taking a little artistic license here.

Thanks for any info y'all can offer!
 
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