Being able to drive without a camera in your face, or without a tractor swerving the wheel because of lane deviation, or braking for you because it applies the breaks when the sensor sees an over pass, or actually being able to pass another vehicle when you push on the accelerator sounds wonderful....lol
Yeah I think we would have been ok....
Sounds like those air tanks were real tricky for you guys back then though....
Also you forgot the part where you had to walk 5 miles, backwards, uphill in the snow just to get to your tractor!
We had a old Farm Mack. No air dryer anywhere in Milk Service. Had a 7 speed in it. (One range)
There were two angle valves on either end of the one big tank which needed opening at end of work day on return. Let them drain overnight. Dump a gallon or three of sludge to the grass and gravel below.
Close the tanks to get air back in the morning.
IF you did not drain them at all for say a month, you will try to brake and find that you reduced from 50 to 30 and are now out of air completely in both pri and sec. You will further be reduced to zero with the trailer trying to jack knife due to uneven braking.
The problem is that the sludge gets into the cans at each axle and eats the rubber divider plate between the service air chamber and the spring chamber. Once that diagphram is hole there is no can there worth a damn anymore and you cannot hold air.
Fortunately its not too difficult to cage the spring, and get the can out to replace the plate with a bag of spares and a few tools. Adjusting was manual back then, either a half inch or 9/16th.
There was no tractor protection valve to speak of back that far either. You had three brake buttons up front. 1,2,3. If Mr Buzzer or wig wag did not get you, mr pops will.
That type of milk gathering is no longer done. Little trucks ship to big bulk gathering that ships on tankers with sleepers overnight 300 miles to a dairy that pays the most for that morning.
As the farms go out of existance the dairies follow. Less of them as the years go by.
All the current new networked fancy computer :
: and electronic bullshittery in the 18 wheelers today, if its not holding air I simply dont give a damn. The shop can get it. Thats the boss's problem not mine.