A team could pull in at West Monroe, running 5 on/5 off-1 between for misc. You stopped, got out, told them to fill it up, oil under the sleeper.
If a regular they knew what oil you used and checked and put it in if needed. The team freshened up, potty break, ordered and eat, 1st man went over and signed the fuel ticket and they told you: Its over there.
Team crawled in, settled and pulled out. Your tires were tight, w/shield, headlights, and trailer lights were clean. Everything you left in the truck was still there and in exactly the same place, You can't buy that kind of service now.

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Bye Y'all

I still have several books of green stamps that I got fueling at the old Union 76 truck stops. I pasted all the 1's, 25's, 50's, & 100's in, but never got around to spending them, as the S&H Greenstamp store went out of business in our town.

I started out OTR in my own truck pulling produce, and whatever would fit in the trailer, with no authority. Had a decal on the side of the truck that had the company name on it. The last part of the name was always "FARM LINES" to stay legal, kind of.

I ran it with the name decals that came with the truck when I bought it, the state stickers and bingo card that was in the door pouch, plus what ever state stickers I could talk a broker into giving me if I got a load going somewhere I didn't have a decal for.

For several months I used an expired South Carolina tag as my main tag. I bolted a Nevada permit tag over top the upper part of the tag that had the expiration date on it. I never had a log book, and it didn't matter too much, for I was too young to be running interstate anway.

I got stopped at the Shreveport scales one day while on my way from NC to Dallas. The scale man wanted to see my bills, Bingo card, authority permit, or whatever it was called, logs, and drivers license.

I pulled out a manilla envelope full of several years worth of old permits and papers, and started looking. Every paper I pulled out I would ask him if this was what he wanted.

He asked what was on my trailer. I said "I don't know", it had a lock on it when the boss told me to hook to it and go to Dallas. I knew exactly what it was, manufactured wood beads, a no-no for exempt haulers. He looked at my bills trying to figure them out, but the writing wasn't very clear.

Lousiana had axle scales then, and trucks were starting to back up. He told me to park and come inside.

I brought my hard to read bills and manilla envelope full of outdated permits and Bingo stickers into the scales. He finally figured out that whatever I was carrying, it wasn't produce or any other farm material, nor did I have any permits or log books. Luckily I had just put my new NC tag on that week.

I was 19, and looked 15. I acted and talked as dumb as any poor redneck kid who had never been off the farm. The truck was in my step-dad's name, so the registration card name didn't match mine, so I just kept claiming that the owner said to get in and go, and I had to or loose my job.

The scale man said he could impound the truck, fine me at least $500.00, keep me in jail up to 48 hours, and write out various tickets for no logs, medical card, permits, Bingo cards, and other various infractions.

After playing really dumb, and a lot of begging, I was let go with a warning to never come into Lousiana again, and if he ever saw my truck there he would radio ahead for me to be stopped and arrested.

I came back the same way late at night with another hot load, but decided that for the next while I should run Houston instead of Dallas so I could be on 10 instead of 20.

He never did notice the birth date on my license. I was stopped several times, and given various tickets (Georgia 55 ft. law in paticular), but no one ever noticed I was a little too young to be out there.

If you look at my avitar, or in my trucking photos, you can see the old White I was driving when this happened. You will also see the blue Nevada tag bolted over the top of the expired SC tag I ran on. The truck came just as you see it with all decals, tags, and stickers on it, except for the expired SC tag. I added that myself.

I had insurance, but the title hadn't came back to the guy I bought the truck from, so I could not get it into my step-dad's name. I needed to run, so I picked the SC tag off the ground at an old garage and bolted it on, and off I went until the title could be switched over about two months later.

This was before apportioned tags, and a man could get away with a few things.

I have always said that the drivers of yesteryears had a far bigger set standard issue than what come with today's CDL mill wonder drivers.

And even tho I never went thru a CDL mill I'll be the first to admit I don't have enough set to run in the old days..... I like my KW with 500+ horses and a 86" sleeper.

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Thanks for the stories guys..............


How about this 51 needle nose KW? Any body here drive one like this?
The paint scheme needs to be rethought and redone!

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stranger---what motor and trans did your white have? great story!

i see it had a 250 cummings and a 10 spd!

The IH was neat. Clean lines, comfortable for a "binder" and would run like a striped a?? ape. Handled good. I picked it up at Fugate and Girton Driveaway, right off IH's yard in in Ft Wayne,IN. Its' sister was next and a R190 was on back of the hook up. I drove it every mile on it except I came in sick from Grand Forks once and another driver took it from Starkville, MS to Vicksburg, MS and back to del the load. Say 400 miles round trip. Quit because the fleet was going back to R-190, 450 engine,5 speed w/2 speed (5th direct)and 5:57 rear on 20" rubber. Tach out 2750 governed at about 58 MPH.
The Mack had an interesting feature. Look at the pic and notice the stack is not all way right, nor directly in the middle. Truck came new piped out the bottom. Company needed it then. They turned the ellbow on the muffler straight up, added pipe and reversed the stock support. Worked fine. D-C (Denver -Chicago) ran the half cab KW back then. Looked like a
ready mix chassis. The little cab set up on left front and the stack came right off the top of the manifold straight up. Running behind him you saw smoke up from his middle. Behind me you saw the same, just less of it. He had a big engine. I had the stock Mack Linova 180 I believe.
Most interesting to have some other "big truck" come up behind me in traffic, dog along for miles expecting me to take off any minute. Then when he passed and saw my Mack and not a D-C he felt embarrased for waiting....

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Bye Y'all

Ref your edit: In 1956 (?Memory) we hauled 12 loads of registered dairy cattle from S. Lebanon, OH (just above Cincy) to Vera Cruz, Mexico for the Mexican government. Crossed at Laredo. I posted some pics from trip in an album today. One of them is pic of the sister IHV8 I ran that trip with. 2nd person from left in that pic is a cousin of Elvis Presley. Just trivia.... (My 1st album pic post attempt-Be kind)

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Bye Y'all

Saw one similar in about 53. Driver described it as: " A Running Piece of Plunder". Affectionaly....

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Bye Y'all

Some day I hope to up close and personal eye ball one of them!

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