Old days of trucking vs. New days?

I put close to a million miles on an old A model with a twisted up 400 cummins, no air or power anything, short thing with hendricks spring over walking beam, 40 inch sleeper, at least it did not have the crawl through. lol Slept on or under the trailer a lot back in those days.

 

Anyone remember the "external" speedometers people would hook up because the factory one didn't go high enough?

A chrome "thingamajig" that bolted onto the side of the cab with a "gearbox" that attached to the Left steer wheel? I remember them from the 90's even.

They had a name for them that eludes me...

 

I do not remember any used for that purpose. I do remember some of the different external recording devices some companies used, I thing one of them was called a tachograph or some such thing.

 

Then you had them old 44 SSHD rears with Detroit lockers. Were air lockers even a thing back in the 70's? I know you don't see those Detroit lockers around anymore these days.

 

No air lockers available back then, still not for the sshd's
I still run sshd's and a detroit in my log truck, just the back one though. I do not like how they work with detroits in both. Some trucks here used to run both detroits and a machine shop here in town made a thrushaft to rep,lace the interlock on them. Totally locked up 100% of the time.
The thrushafts were very popular, but most just locked up the rear with a detroit.

 

Remember the old belt drive for tag axles, I haven't seen one in years. lol

 

My rig rides too hard. WAHHAAA HAW HOO HOO

 

The engines talked. And sometimes shook badly if feeling unwell. You can literally sit quiet and soak in the warming up time smoke waiting for temp to hit 180 and have all the gauges (What those were working yet...) settle where they need to be eventually.

Today's trucks... eh...*not the same.

 

Heck when I was a kid I can still remember some local haulers that still used blocks of ice and a lawn mower engine with a fan on it to cool the box.

 

Yep, I remember drivers sitting blocks of ice between their legs crossing the desert. lol
I could just see some of the guys now if told to head to cali in that truck with a coffin sleeper, no air or power, 1 stack and 2 sticks. by the time they got their tv and gameboy in it, there wouldn't be any place to sleep. lol