No Engine Brakes???

Looks like a chassis frame trailer w/ bunks. Nice load,thanks for the photo.

 

Don't know what a "chassis frame trailer w/ bunks" is exactly, just a standard (or what WE considered standard) 5 axle log rigging. This one is more of a "load" . (1963 kenworth IIRC) You can see the triangular water tank built into the headache rack.

 

From the first picture it looks like a straight frame trailer not a logger,but could be wrong. The second picture is a log trailer and a nice peaker on top. Your dad has prolly pulled a 1 log load out of the woods before. He has my respect. Is that around Squamish,B.C.?

 

That IS Squamish my friend. Good eye. I do have a picture of a truck in a parade with a single log 9 feet across. Hauling logs in that country isn't for everyone especially in the 60's. When he moved there in 1955 there was no road to Squamish, had to take a ferry up from about horseshoe bay. I have a few pictures of the Squamish highway being built in '57.

 

Auxilary braking devices of any kind when they work right are a great safety device and should be mandatory. They also need to be used correctly by properly trained drivers. They big problem can be summed up in three words "three week wonder". Properly trained profesional drivers are rare these days. Even if a company only saves a few hundred dollars per truck deleting them a large fleet can add up to thousands in savings.

 

What shade tree mechanic taught you that one?

 

I remember the Old Man telling telling me he had a part time job away from tankers and pulling doubles like you guys did. He'd run L.A. to S.F. on his days off but when he got to the Ridge Route he'd stop and rip the dust covers off the brakes. I don't know if you've ever seen them but they do keep a lot of heat in. Any old timers know where the Ridge Route is?

 

So for some reason my company ordered two new trucks at the begining of the year without engine brakes. I have driven a few miles without engine brakes, a few with engine brakes that worked as if there weren't any, and a few that were awesome. It sure is nice to be toggeling between medium and high on the switch at 79,000 lbs on Eseinhower while doing the speed limit and never have to touch the service brakes. The 12 liter Cummins engine has to be wound up to 2,100 rpm for the best braking. The 15 liter will work good at 1,800 rpm. I try to keep it around 1,500-1,700 rpm.

 

In some areas it's no big deal not to have one but running in the mountain states without one would suck. I'm sure the fast side of the hills are far safer now than they ever were in the "good ole days" when anything faster than 20 mph was flirting with disaster.

 

I drove for a small company one time and the truck I had to drive had no engine brake.... I ran all 48 with that truck... Just had to use the correct gear, be going the right speed.. and know how to brake properly....

However, one time...lol I lost my brakes... loaded 79k on a downgrade more than 5 miles long (6% grade) I survived somehow... I looked like a NASCAR Semi going through the turns though..lmao... Turns out my air compressor had great timing and started going out on me... If i had a jake.. would have helped alot....

Lesson learned? I personally wont drive a truck again without a jake...