What happened to the Good Ol Days?

How long have you been driving?

 

O.k., Let me compare the "good old days" to today. I started driving in 1977. Let's look at when I started driving

1. My truck was a 1971 international cab over.
2. It has a 238 Detroit with a 13 speed tranny. Uphill at 10 miles per hour, downhill as fast as you can go, cause the next hill is, you guessed it, 10 miles per hour.
3. No power steering
4. No air conditioning, unless you count the 2/60 a/c, which is worthless at, yes, 10 miles per hour.
5. Air powered windshield wipers in the overhead that leaked oil onto the steering wheel.
5. Defroster that never worked right.
6. Ditto for the heater.
7. Spring seat you had to adjust by tightening the spring.
8. Spring suspension beat the crap out of you on the extremely poor roads. Yes, they have improved much over the years.
9. Only a cheap a.m. radio that never worked good. Couldn't hear it anyway because of all the noise the motor made.
10. Almost all loads to grocery warehouses went on small wood. All paper, cereal pretzel loads, etc; were floor loads.
11. 10 drivers for every job, meaning, if you didn't work all day and run all night, you would be replaced, immediately.
12. Detention? No such animal.
13. Half the states had a gross weight limit of 73,280, and most of the others were 80,000. Try hauling an 80,00 load from New Jersey to California back then. It was a nightmare, to say the least.
14. scales at the trucks top you had to weigh one axle set at a time, get out of the truck, put the paper in the slot, add quarters, and hope it worked. Fun to do in the rain, for sure.
By the way, my first driving job was hauling fresh chicken from Pa. to New York City, 5 night a week. I usually had 5 to 6 stops each night. It paid $42.50 per day, no matter how long it took. and I was thrilled to get the job. The first loading dock I ever backed into was at Hunts Point Market at 2 a.m. It took me an hour to back it in. No, I didn't have a trainer. They didn't exist, unless you knew someone that would teach you. I didn't.

These are just a few of the great pleasures we faced in "the good old days".
O.k., let's look at today:

1. Conventional tractors
2. Most have at least a 400 horse motor.
3. Large sleepers.
4. Air conditioning that works.
5. Ditto for the heater and defrosters.
6. Air ride suspension.
7. Gearing that will allow hill climbing at a reasonable speed.
8. am/fm radios with cd players.
9. Satellite radio.
10. Cell phones
11. Internet to keep in touch with the real world.
12. A driver shortage that has forced companies to provide decent equipment for their drivers. You can bet they wouldn't do it if they didn't have to, no matter what lie they feed you.
13. GPS
14. Microwave ovens.
15. Refrigerators.


I'm sure I could go on and on with the cool stuff we have to work with today, not the least of which is that cool "Google" guy on their maps, that you can put on the road in front of your destination, and see the layout of your stop before you ever get there. How many of you have gone into an industrial park in the middle of the night to find your stop, and there are no lights at all? Try the "Google guy" sometime, if you haven't done so yet.

I remember when my youngest son, who is now a trucker himself, had a medical emergency when he was about 4 or 5 years old. My wife couldn't get a hold of me for 2 days. She had to deal with it alone. Back then, it cost almost $3.00 just to make a 3 minute phone call. There just wasn't enough money to call home but once a week halfway through the week for 3 or 4 minutes.
Today, you are almost instantly locatable in an emergency.

So, do I miss the good old days. In a way, there are some things I miss, but by far and wide I can tell you that this is the good old days, right now. Don't believe me? Just wait about 20 years and think back to today.

O.k., the "old fart" will shut up now. You guys be safe out there, and have fun. Remember, if you enjoy what you do for a living, you'll never work a day in your life.

 

i drove in the 80,s and just got back in it ---

 

i missed trying to sleep down south in my old corn popper without a/c -- but due too the driver shortage they quit making them instead its more like an rv--- but still have fun

 

You hit the nail on the head rwdfinch50.

 

As far as regulations go, I dont really understand it. Are that many drivers falling asleep/getting in accidents or are people that concered about the 1/10000 times it happens?

The thing that gets me is snow plows have "stay back stay alive"
People can get tickets for passing a school bus with flashing lights
Even the "start seeing motorcyles"

When are semis going to get some love, or is it just blame the drivers or the regulations everytime something happens?

Its dangerous as long as people keep tailgatting - either to same gas, bother us, or get revenge.
I love all the unjustified revenge when people just don't know whats going on/why I did what I did.

Once in Chicago in bumper to bumper traffic - some guy made it apparent he was annoyed by my truck "jumping" when down shifting. Apparently this inconvienced him from riding my arse or he thought I was being passive aggressive or something. He later cut me off so bad I was lucky to not hit him and still hold my lane.

 

"The good old days"? They weren't "good" at the time, they were just what was there to do and we did them. Nothing more, nothing less. Just like the "old guys" when we were young like you are now. Just like you will be as "old guys" 20 or so years in the future.

Buying a "top of the line" truck for $50K back then was just as much a big (if not impossible) deal back then as buying a $150K rig is now. A $50K house then is a $250K house now and we sweated the mortgage just as much.

We put alot of "sweat equity" into our trucks and cars back then because we couldn't afford "shop rates" either. "Big time" was buying rebuilt parts from the supply houses. Mostly we scrounged used stuff from the junkyards or each other. I can remember helping a bud rebuild his 318 Detroit. I think we scrounged parts from at least 6 different guys; a couple of whom came over to "lend a hand". Put her together in his backyard in a weekend. Turned into one big party. Ya should have seen the celebration when that big diesel fired up on the first try.

I guess what we mean by the "good ol days" is the "attitude". We were "the last cowboys" and a "band of brothers" back then. We respected ourselves and each other. Yeah, I miss that.

 

^Well said...........

 

was at a 5th wheel truck stop last summer in ontario when an old truck with a flat bed pulled in hauling crated chickens he had 6or 7 loose chickens that were riding free on top and 2 more hitching a ride on top of the cab ---could not believe the radio was silient no body said anything -- was the funniest things i ever seen driving -- i radioed the driver -- the closest thing canada has to a hillbilly and told him he had some escapees --- he just cussed and said it happens all the time and his a/c wasnt working and he couldnt keep the windows open because the feathers kept flying around the cab --- just could not believe nobody else said a thing --just wouldnt happen in the past

 

220 cummins 238 detroit cable shift 10