Flashback to 1973

What's a Cummings? I'm familiar with Caterpillargs and Detroitgs engines but never heard of a Cummings.

 

I bought my 1972 Brockway in 1981 for 5000.00 at 20% interest .
1674 cat 13 speed tranny 4:11 rears and the worlds finest air assist steering money could buy !!!
I thought I had died and went heaven I had my first big truck LOL .

Since that faithful day I have made and spent millions .

 

Dad's 1974 K100 with NTA420. 1973 Trailco Air spring air. I dont recall the purchase price. But said 550.00 monthly payment made him sweat quite often.

 

The oldman told me he was late on every payment. Then things changed for the better and by 1979 he paid the note off early and did a complete rebuild and paid cash for a new City.
Same truck.

 

Beautiful rig,love the 3 9's. NTA 420 was the big boy of the highway for a long time.
The 70's and 80's were just a glorious time to be trucking,esp. in the upper Midwest,to the East. Milwaukee to NYC,the country was still filled with heavy industry of all kinds,almost all steel related. More freight than trucking could handle,everything was still class rated. You could have on 40k lbs. of ltl,being paid for 60k+,easly because of minimum charges on each shipment,every piece had its own bill of lading. 3500 went as 5000,7800 paid as 10,000,18,000 went as 24,etc.None of that per mile,plus stop pay bs back then. If you didn't like one guys rates,go to the next,plenty to be hauled,and deregulation had still not fully raised its ugly head. Back and forth across country,3 or 4 shipments on every time,you hated to stop because you knew it just couldn't last,making money that easy........and it didn't.
Times changed and you adjusted......but it was fun while it lasted.

 

Dad used to say you could make money without trying back then. Oh how times have changed

 

Knoxville Peterbilt told me my ‘86 model 359 was $80,000 when they sold it new. That must’ve been a tough nut to crack.

 

I just noticed the picture on your profile CF Arrowhead cool that was The 2nd place I had my truck leased to when I started back in th 80s .First company was named pacesetter Mclean trucking out of Winston Salem N.C. own it then closed up.

 

I remember Pacesetter McLean,good operation. Used to haul for the cute girl out of the Seattle office for them sometimes. Stainless shipshafts,used to haul them back to Norfolk,good stuff.
What Arrowhead office did you work out of?