Russ Roth

I have seen that one and listened to it a couple times in the flesh. Very cool and that's just about what that '54 sounded like on a pull. Thanks.

Lots of guys like to use the backdrop just for the sound. I love it! Had to listen twice. Man I wish I had that '54.

I know a guy that does that for Toyota. How is it? Do you like that work? He seems to and I guess they pay really well although I have not seen him in a lot of years now.

Exactly what Tony Garcin (Dunrite) told me years ago. That was Ma Mopars answer to the lockup chatter at one point. Would have been nicer if they had fixed it right.

This is for you NIsaacs. Definitely wrong about the 20 ponies!

Thank you, they did. However I was not thinking at all about retirement. My bud and I were in AV class our senior year in high school and near graduation while BS'ing he says we need to figure out what we want to do for a living after we get out of high school. More to the story but we decided firefighting sounded pretty good because of the 24 on 48 off so we could go screw around. We both got into it and near retirement we were in adjoining stations, same shift, different departments and responded on several fires together. Was a great life and job. I would urge your son to not give up on his dream. I nearly did and if not for my bud probably would not have gotten the job. Tell him to take as many tests as he can. Don't get discouraged if you don't place well or don't place at all. Learn from it and keep trying. Many years after I was hired I found out about a group of guys that were studying for tests and traveling around the country as a group taking tests all over the US. As some were hired others heard about them and would move into the group and learn. Not sure if that is till going on. A lot has changed since I was hired and more since I retired. It is not the same but still a pretty great Job. We were structural Firefighters but because Portland has over 6,000 acre Forest Park, which is pretty much wildland, we eventually received training in that type of Firefighting. I can tell you it is a LOT more work. Prior to the training some of our companies had been dispatched to fires at Wenatchee and E-13 crew nearly was overrun at one point in their rig. They thought they were safe. The fire jumped about 1/4 mile completely over the top of them and they nearly did not get out. One of the guys had a video camera and filmed it. PDX Fire has their own TV studio crew and they showed it and an interview with the crew on our closed circuit. Pretty impressive and one drill I never have forgotten.

I don't recall what model those IH were. My take from talking with the IH guys that brought them was they were all newly designed. I liked them at first glance but as you know once you get stuck with something you may not like it so much. The crushed cars have 4 cables on each stack so 12 on an A-train. I sometimes hauled a loader when moving from one yard to another so had a bit of experience with chains too. Hard work on a daily basis. I would usually put in maybe 3 days a week but there were times when busy I put in 5. I was supposed to be off in the winter but you can guess how that worked out. I have always liked trucks from a little kid watching them go by our house and did drive full time about 4 years until I got in the Fire Bureau. I drove probably more than 90% of my career so best of both worlds. I tried to get my brother who did drive to take the test and he said I'm not gettin' on no burnin' roof. I told him that's my job and that's why I get paid what I do, work the hours I do and why I have a really great retirement. That shut him up about saying how we just sat around and played cards. In the end I retired in 1999 while he worked until about 4 years ago. Guess who the smart one was??? LOL

Sounds like that was a fun rig. The ole timers (not me!) used to have a stack mirror to keep an eye on the exhaust. Figured they were doing just right when they saw a foot of flame. Might not have wanted to see what a pyro would have been reading. I was around a Hall Scott once in my work as a Firefighter. The first run engine was in for service or something and the reserve rig they got was an oldie with one of those. One of the guys that had been around them said to be ready after a call. He said you get off the rig and about the time you walk by the exhaust it backfires. Boy was he right. I drove the truck so was in the day room when it went off but I thought we had incoming it so loud ! I heard they pulled hard.

I did like that '54. It had been a logger converted to 5th wheel. Extremely tight cab unlike the '56 I currently had. It was real junk and the rear axles gave up under the chip bunker after I loaded front of the trailer. Wouldn't move but driveline was turning. The '54 is what I got eventually. I have not driven newest rigs but have driven newer style and like the ones I have been in, mostly Mack CH's. My favorites, although my brother said I wouldn't like them now becasue of the rubber pad suspension, was the '71 Diamond Reos Walsh had. New rigs then. I was already Firefighting and was working days off some and really like it when I snagged one of those. Truth is rigs today ride like cadillacs compared to any of the old ones. Very worst was a B model Mack that had an R replacement cab. That was an improvement but the old camelback suspension was so rough I thought something was broke the first time I was in that one.

Oh you are most welcome and thanks. I didn't own that and don't want to. If ya own it ya work on it, or pay big $$ for someone else to. Having said that if I had the room and willing wife I would love to have a play toy semi. I even know the exact one. For a few months I drove a '54 KW with 5x3 gear boxes and a 275 horse supercharged cummins . Only needed a set of Jakes and would have been perfect. Well the 320 horse model would have been better! With the back drop manifold to clear the supercharger they had a very unique exhaust sound. Very sought after engine for collectors. I don't know what happened to it and I didn't appreciate it as much back then as I would now. I drove that Pete quite a few different places we hauled out of in OR and WA. It was an '03, C-15 475 horse Cat and 10 speed. Load like that would pull Satus pass just under 35 miles an hour. I was used to Walsh trucks that only had enough power to pull a hill like that about 22-23 MPH.

Not sure which model Cornbinder you have but a couple I saw at a truck event about a year ago were pretty nice and fit me really well. One of those would surely have been on my short list. My brother said the same. We ran into a couple of his buds and they checked them out an agreed too. Neither of us have been big fans of KW's or Petes. He drove for a mostly Mack fleet and I worked years there part time. Once the CH models came out those were really great rigs. Would have been my pick back then. Now not so sure. They got Petes on their last go round of new rigs becasue they were light enough to meet the required net on the haul contract. Macks too heavy and KW wouldn't dicker on price. Mack said they had Volvos that would meet the need but that was a huge NO. I don't drive anymore but do go to truck shows, Here is one we were at last Saturday. Not a mask in sight. Check out the marquee.

I could drive that KW in a heart beat. I have probably driven over 500 different semis. Because I worked on my days off I got whatever they needed to go out of the yard and whatever was there so a lot of different rigs over the years. More than once I was in the yard, started in one rig, moved into another and before I got out of there was finally in a third! I drove every combination they had. Included Truck/trailer, semi, doubles, live floor. I didn't have my "own" rig until I worked 4 years for Pacific Car Crushing. There I always had the same one which was really a nice change. BTW, I know you know this mike but the 80,000 lbs is gross with 5 axles and enough wheelbase. I am guessing in the neighborhood of 46.000 the way she sets. This was my rig at PCC. About 100,000 lbs. Some of the leasers hauled more but I told the loader/crusher guys I always haul legal.

When I was hauling crushed cars Rick pulled a slider out of a '95 for me and that's when I discovered they were different. Couldn't use that one and I even called my local glass shop about it. They were the ones that said they even are not always successful getting glued ones out in one piece. Finally got the slider when the '01 got totaled and I got the '02. Was a step up in many ways although I was quite happy with the '01.

If this the '02 in your signature line the rear window does not have a gasket like earlier ones did. It's glued in and usually gets broken when taken out by anyone but a glass shop. And I understand that isn't even a guarantee although they at least have the knowledge/tools to do it correctly.

I bought a new toyhauler 2 years ago and love it. Second one I have had and probably would not have a regular TT again. Much more room and headroom in mine is about 8' or more. Have not hauled anything but my fishing gear so it likely smells like that. LOL I like this configuration because there is so much open space. It's big enough I can get my drift boat and trailer in since OR and WA do not allow double tow even though until recently I was licensed and did tow doubles. Real ones. BTW mine is all aluminum and no wood anywhere whatsoever.