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11/21/2008 - A Brief History of the Truck Early Trucks The first trucks were, in fact, horses. At the beginning of the 20th century and stretching back through history to time immemorial, goods were shipped on horse drawn wagons. To the Teamsters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the idea of replacing the horse was ludicrous. Indeed, when the first motorized trucks came along it took a long time to replace the horse. Horses were strong, reliable and able to travel across rough terrain—perfect for the primitive roads that crisscrossed the United States back then. However, horses do have their downside. They need food and water every day. There is no such thing as a ‘down day’ when you own a horse. While you can park a truck and not work, or spend money on it, for an indefinite period of time, that wasn’t possible with horses. Horses also get tired, there is a limit to how far they can go and even minor injuries can put them out of action permanently. So as the truck and gasoline got cheaper, it became more and more viable to replace the horse. Not that gasoline was guaranteed to be the fuel of choice back then. In the early days of the truck, there was a frenzied technology war. Companies vied between steam-, electric- and gasoline-powered trucks. Steam was the technology of the day, powering trains and industry the world over. Unfortunately, when applied to the truck it was impractical and dangerous. It took a long time to build up enough steam to move the truck and required constant refilling of water to supply the engine. Oh yeah, there was another small problem, if your engine got too hot, the truck exploded. In those days electricity was considered the power of the future. It was the equivalent of today’s computer revolution, and the whole country was experimenting with it to see what practical uses it could be put. But, the problem we have with electric vehicles today also plagued our trucker forebears—range. There just wasn’t a good enough power supply to make electric trucking practical. Electric vehicles were fine in the city, but they couldn’t get out into the country without risking getting stuck. Plus, batteries were made from lead and the trucks needed row after row of them to be powered. With all that weight there was a limit to how much you could ship on the truck itself. So it fell to gasoline engines to power the truck. A new and unproven technology, engines needed to show that they could cope with the worst of conditions and still work. Soon after they were first invented they were given that chance… The Truck at War World War One (1914-1918) was the first modern, mechanized war. The United States didn’t send troops until 1917, however, there was an American fighting in France from the beginning—the truck. World War One proved to the world that these gasoline-powered mechanized wagons were a dependable, practical and above all, speedy way to transport goods across land. One type of truck in particular stood out as brilliant to the British troops who worked with it. It was a dog-faced ugly brute that could haul like nothing else and seldom broke down. The troops loved it so much they nicknamed it the ‘Bulldog’ after the symbol of British tenacity. The nickname stuck and still adorns every truck made by the company. The Bulldog was the Mack Truck the nickname survives to this day. World War One was a mighty test for the truck and, boy, did it ever pass—the truck was here to stay. Between the Wars Once the truck had proved itself in battle, the race was on to see who could build the best vehicle. Hundreds of companies sprang up across the nation to build trucks. The building frenzy created a technology war as trucks got more and more advanced and complicated. One of the biggest steps forward was the move away from solid rubber tires to modern-style pneumatic ones. It may surprise any truck driver with a functioning spine that anyone would ever oppose the use of pneumatic tires. They gave a better ride, had more traction on rough and muddy roads; they meant the truck could go faster and further. However, solid rubber tires rarely broke or needed replacing. There was also almost no limit to how much you could pile on top of them. For a long time there was strong resistance from trucking companies to move to pneumatic tires. The technology had wait to become good enough to make it cost-effective to use. Other technologies from between the wars that revolutionized trucking included powered brakes, covered cabs (a trucker’s favorite), air and oil filters and shock resistors. All of these worked to make the truck the fastest, most fuel-efficient and reliable form of transporting goods available. When the Great Depression hit in 1929 it had a devastating effect on the truck building industry. However, the truck worked through the depression and even helped create some of the most remarkable accomplishments of the New Deal. It was trucks that hauled in the supplies and materials needed to build the Hoover Dam. Trucks became stronger and more reliable as they worked to fill the needs of the massive building projects that went on during the 1930s. Those new super-trucks—and their drivers—would soon be needed… Back to War Again and After By World War Two, the truck was long established as the best way to move men and materials around a war-zone. Millions of trucks were built for the Allies and were deployed all over the world. The most important effect of the war on trucking was the many thousands of drivers who were trained to drive the trucks. Once the war was over, those GIs came back to America and built the modern trucking industry. With all those surplus military trucks being sold for rock-bottom prices, thousands of one-or-two-man operations sprang up around the country ready to go to work for the booming post-War economy. During the War and after, the truck began to move from the gasoline engine to the more efficient and reliable diesel engines. With these new diesel-powered trucks filling the roads the industry was able to carry more than ever before. Steps forward in reliability and comfort made the motor carrier industry appealing to many. The Eisenhower Interstate System provided much needed roadways. It was the perfect conditions for the industry to boom. But soon, the ingenuity that had put the truck on the road would be needed to keep it there… Oil Trouble In the 1970s the trucking industry had great trucks, great roads and—thanks to a romanticized view of truckers in popular culture—no shortage of good drivers. However, it soon found that it was short of one thing it needed more than anything, oil. In 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to boycott the United States. They refused to ship oil and conspired to make the worldwide price of oil sky rocket. This was punishment for U.S. support of Israel. The oil crisis of the 1970s was devastating to the motor industry. By the end of the decade it had pretty much killed the muscle car, and the gas-guzzling town cars of the ‘50s and ‘60s. The trucking industry might not have been far behind had it not been for the innovators in the truck manufacturing industry. It was in this tumultuous time that trucks became more and more streamlined and curved. Headlights were blended into the body of the truck and into wheel arches. Trucks with sleeper cabs started to be fitted with curved roofs. Better transmissions and engines were put into trucks to improve efficiency. Even today, trucks exude far less emissions-per-pound than cars do. Cabs were made of lighter but stronger materials, allowing driver comfort to become more of a priority. Sleeper cabs were introduced, as were more comfortable and practical controls. The truck of the late ‘70s and ‘80s would hardly be recognizable to the Teamsters who first gave up their horses at the beginning of the century. Reborn by a crisis, the modern truck rolled onto America’s highways ready for the world ahead… Today and Tomorrow Today, the truck is an integral part of trade and industry in our country. Efficiency and reliability have never been higher. This is vitally important as one of today’s trucks will drive, on average, more in a year than the average car will in its lifetime. Driver comfort is also at an all-time high. Sleeper cabs are veritable traveling condominiums. Amenities such as beds, televisions, computers and even small kitchens are commonplace. The computer age has reached the industry as well; new truck features include computerized monitoring systems that constantly supervise engines, tires and other vital parts of the truck, alerting the driver to potential problems. Drivers can even use sophisticated video systems to monitor the blind spots of the truck to prevent accidents caused by cars they cannot see. Today’s truck is a mechanical and computerized marvel of the information age. And it’s only getting better. If the next wave of technological advancement for trucks comes, as previous waves have—from the Army—then the next generation of vehicles are going to be amazing. Increased research into, and Army use of, hybrid and other electric technology may make the early 20th century dream of electric trucks a reality. What’s more, increased driver automation may mean in the not too distant future one driver could control two or more trucks at the same time or that trucks operating in dangerous places such as mines would not require a driver at all. It seems that the trucking industry is open to a brave new world of technology and innovation. It is an industry that, to borrow a phrase, keeps on trucking… Any Questions? E-mail: AlexR@FoleyServices.com New to the Industry? Know a New Trucker? Look for New American Trucker, the best source of information for new motor carriers, coming soon from Foley Services. For detailed, up-to-date information about regulations subscribe to our DOT Regulation Update Fast-Fax Newsletter—Keeping the industry informed for more than a decade: To view sample issues click HERE.
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