Power steering out, hats off to the old schoolers

Yes sirree...them old boys had one large leg and two very big arms!

 

Old school guys needed quick arms not so much power, they had big steering wheels and lots of revolutions.

 

A Manual steering box had differant gear ratios than todays power steering boxs also. With todays small steering wheels and lack of power to the steering box is double tough.

Hope you didnt have to back in any tight spots.

 

Back in the day air assist power steering was fairly common and usually included a dash mounted toggle switch allowing the driver to switch it on while manuvering in tight spots.

The off position was preferred while driving on slick roads due to a lack of feel for the road when the air assist power steering was engaged.

 

I was at a warehouse once, and a lady driver was trying to back in to a spot, and had gone back and forth a couple times. Another driver asked her if she wanted him to back it in for her, she said sure, and hopped out. The driver got in, and moved about 10 feet and stopped, and asked the woman driver what was wrong with her power steering, to which she replied she DIDN'T have power steering. He said there was no way he could get the truck in the dock without it, so he hopped out, and she climbed back in, and got the job done!

 

Maneuvering a loaded truck in tight spots without power steering is a skill in of itself.
The trick is to keep the truck moving so you can turn the wheel. That includes backing into loading docks.