Cabover, Truckers in the 60s and 70s

The trucking industry entails the transport and distribution of industrial and commercial goods through the use of CMV or commercial motor vehicles.  Dump trucks, box trucks and semi trucks are among the motor vehicles that fall under this category.  Truckers or truck drivers are individuals who make a living by driving a CMV.

A very essential service is provided by the trucking industry, in view of the fact that it significantly impacts the American economy through the carrying of large quantities of finished goods, works in process and raw materials over land; usually from the manufacturing plants to the centers where the goods are to be distributed.  In addition, trucks are vital to the construction industry as well, given that portable concrete mixers and dump trucks are required to move large quantities of concrete, dirt, rocks and other building materials that are utilized in the construction industry.  Truckers in America have the responsibility for the land movement of the majority of freight and they are vital tools in the warehousing, transportation and manufacturing industries.

Trucks were first extensively used in World War I by the military.  An increase in the construction of paved roads and super highways contributed to trucking attaining noteworthy foothold during the decade of the 1930s and almost immediately became the target of a variety of government regulations.  During the 1950s and 1960s, there was acceleration in trucking due to the emergence of the Interstate Highway System, which is a wide-ranging network of freeways that serve to link major cities across the continent.

Types of Trucks Used Back Then

Cab Over Engine, which is also referred to as COE, Cab-over, forward control or cab forward, is one of the styles of trucks that were extensively used during the 1960s and 1970s.  These trucks have a “flat face” or vertical front and its cab sits on top of the front axle.  The configuration of these trucks is currently common among truck manufacturers in Europe and Japan.   Even though Cab-over was popular among trucking companies and heavy truckers in the United States during the decade of the 1970s, as a result of stringent length laws in a number of states, when the length laws were rescinded, the majority of manufacturers of heavy truck moved to other styles of trucks. However, it is still quite popular in the segment of the industry that provides light-duty and medium-duty transportation, with models like the Mitsubishi FK/FM series and Fuso FE or the Isuzu NPR series.

Speed Limits

During the decades of the 1960s and 1970s, the speed limit was 55 miles per hour and the roads were a whole lot smaller and nothing like the super highways that are accessible these days.  However, today the speed limits vary from state to state and is anywhere from 55 miles per hour in Hawaii to 75-80 miles per hour in Texas.

Trucking Requirements

Large trucks require a CDL or commercial driver’s license in order to operate.  Getting a CDL requires additional training and education which deals with the special handling characteristics and knowledge requirements of these massive vehicles.  Truckers must abide by the hours of service; this is just one of the government regulations that seek to ensure the safety of the trucker as well as other road users.  The FMCSA or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is responsible for issuing these and other rules in relation to the safety of commercial interstate driving.

Trucking Songs &Country Music

The 60s and 70s saw trucking achieving national attention, when movies and songs about truck driving became major hits.   Trucking songs are a sub-genre of western and country music and they are essentially a fusion of Bakersfield Sound, country-rock and honky tonk.  It has the sentiment of honky-tonk and the beat of country-rock and the lyrics concentrate on the lifestyle of truckers.  Trucking songs frequently deal with love and trucking.  Popular artists who have made trucking songs include Waylon Speed, The Road Hammers, Red Simpson, Dick Curless,  Colonel Robert Morris,  Red Sovine and Dave Dudley.  Listening to music in general and trucking songs in particular while travelling the highways and byways, has always been a favorite for truckers; ever since the very first recording by Cliff Bruner in 1939 when he put out Truck Driver Blues, trucking songs has grown in recognition across the globe, particularly in North America, Australia and Europe.

Especially during the decade of the 1970s, the independent truckers were celebrated by Hollywood filmmakers and country musicians.  The movies and music were a fierce reflection of the unapologetic masculinity, counter-cultural defiance and fierce independence by which truckers were defined at that time.

CB Radio Craze of the 1970s

The 1970s represented the decade in which the CB Radio craze occurred.  CB or Citizen Band radio had in existence ever since the late 1940s.  Throughout the late 1960s, it was mainly utilized by businesses as a means of communicating between mobile units and a base.  The 23-channel CB radio was a cool transition from the walkie talkie which had one channel.  Cobra, Courier and Lafayette were just a few of the more popular manufactures of CB.

A major component of the CB radio was the strength of the signal; essentially, truckers would look at the S-meter of the big rig and they prided themselves on the quality of the transmission that they were sending out.  The higher up on a hill that the truckers were, the better the transmission quality would be.   Another big part of using these radios was the creative CB handles.  Full names were never used and truckers opted to use their first name or a unique CB handle.

The Motor Carrier Act Deregulation

In the decades prior to the 1980s the entire trucking industry was regulated and studies have indicated that regulation resulted in rates and costs being increased significantly.  According to shippers, not only were costs lower without regulation, but the quality of the service was better as well.   Products that were not liable for regulation moved at rates that were between 20 and 40 percent below the ones that are subjected to ICC controls.

The Motor Carrier Act of 1980  deregulated the trucking industry partially and that dramatically increased the amount of trucking companies that were in operation.  The truckers were drastically de-unionized and that resulted in the truckers getting lower overall pay.  By that time, the spotlight on trucking had gone dim in popular culture and the vibe had gotten less intimate among drivers as a result of the increase in motor carriers as well as the number of truckers.  However, deregulation caused the competition and productivity to increase and a reduction in cost within the entire trucking industry and that was beneficial to the American consumers.  Trucking became dominant in the freight industry during the later part of the 20th Century.

Ever since the first truckers started to carry freight early in the 1900s, the trucking industry in the United States has been influencing food prices, politics and even music.  A recent study has indicated that deregulated trucking has significantly contributed to pushing up federal and state spending on healthcare, particularly in New Jersey and other port states that are export driven.  In addition, deregulation has made it a great deal less complicated for non-union workers to acquire jobs as truckers.  Prior to deregulation, the truckers who were regulated by the ICC paid unionized workers earned approximately 50 percent higher than employees in other industries. Despite the fact that unionized drivers are still paid a premium, by the year 1985 unionized employees were just 28 percent of the work force of truckers, down from approximately 60 percent during the late 1970s.

Technological developments such as the internet, satellite communication and computers have significantly contributed to a number of improvements within the trucking industry.  The developments have boosted the productivity of the operations of the company, saved the effort and time of the truckers and made new, more accessible types of entertainment available to women and men who frequently spend extended periods of time away from their homes and families.   These changes are reflected in quite a few aspects of trucking lifestyle, including truck stops.

Truck Stops

Truck stops have serviced highway and interstate truckers for over 60 years, providing food, fuel and a resting place for a number of weary travelers.  These truck stops are located every few miles across the United States.  Originally, truck stops were developed with the purpose of providing gas for large delivery trucks on the highways.  In the beginning, they were small mom and pop operations.  During the decade of the 1940s, the truck stops were located on highways as a replacement for several of the neighborhood filling stations for travelers who were going longer distances.   The 50s ushered in the initiation of the system of the Interstate Highway.  Interstates were accessible for long distance travel for family members who were going on extended trips and became accessible routes for truckers to transport their merchandise across the country.  These stops were established along the routes in order to provide gas for truckers and other motorists, without them having to completely go off course as a means of finding filling stations.

Ultimately, with the development in the trucking industry, truck stops started to offer additional services for truckers who logged numerous hours on the highways.  They provided truckers with places to park their truck as well as facilities to eat, showers and sleep.  In essence, these truck stops have developed into quite a bit more than just a location to re-fuel.  Nowadays, a lot of truck stops are actually plazas which offer restrooms and fuel as well as lounges, restaurants, gaming centers and souvenir shops for truckers and travelers alike.

Locating truck stops is quite easy, given that there are a number of them to be found on major routes.  Quite a few of these truck stops are franchises which have signage that is posted on billboards along the routes and road signs that alert travelers to the fact that they are approaching a rest stop.  In addition, information on truck stops can be found in atlases and guidebooks and can be accessed on the Internet.   A lot of trucking companies even have contracts with particular truck stop franchises, which state that they will only fill up with them. The truckers are familiar with where the truck stops are located on their routes; as a result they are able to plan when to rest and when to fill up.

In the 1960s and 1970s, trucking was respected and celebrated through music and movies, as was previously mentioned.  However, these days, there has been a great reduction of the respect that was associated with trucking back in the day.   This transformative shift in the trucking industry took place following the Motor Carrier Act in 1980, which deregulated the trucking industry.

Trucking is now synonymous with high degrees of danger and aggressive competition. Particularly for the owner-operator truckers who number in the region of 400,000 and today haul a great deal of the freight for the nation.  More often than not, this group of truckers bear the brunt of any increase in prices, especially that of fuel prices.  Recently, when fuel prices increased, the cost of food rose rapidly as well; however the majority of those increases were as a result of higher farm costs and had nothing to do with transportation costs.  A number of independent truckers had to declare bankruptcy because of the spiraling prices of diesel.  Quite a few of these truckers harbored the idea to revive the interstate shutdowns of the 1970s as a means of drawing attention to their plight; however, nothing came of it.

Still all is not lost, the trucking industry is still thriving and providing livelihood for hundreds of thousands of Americans, who continue to transport goods that make the lives of everyone better.  Second and third generations of truckers have significantly contributed to the survival of the industry, as these men and women follow in the footsteps of the parents and grandparents.

Further Reading

The Truth A Veterans Story
Jerry Reed Truckers Guitar Man

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SO YOU WANT TO BE A TRUCK DRIVER?

See the country and earn big money doing it.  Well there is more to it then what you think.  ”It’s” a job first and foremost.  So there is a lot to think about before you decide truck driving is for you.  First do you really want to be away from home for two weeks at a time?  Driving eleven hours a day sometimes in heavy rush traffic.  Other times waiting to be loaded and unloaded for hours at a time. 

As far as seeing the beautiful countryside guess again your going to the industrial park.  Not to mention all the rules and regulations you must follow.  You can’t just park anywhere and go into the park to bird watch!  You will get a ticket if you park in the wrong place.  Everywhere you look is no truck parking, fines and towing fees can run into the thousands of dollars. Sometimes when your dog tired you can’t even find a place to park and sleep.   Other times the truck stops are full no parking available so no shower or food tonight.  Then the weigh stations and dot officers.  ”If’ you’re not legal”, and sometimes if you are they will inspect every inch of your truck and paperwork. 

There can be fines and you don’t get paid for sitting around getting inspected.  Then there are also breakdowns  you don’t get paid for this with most companies and the ones that do pay you don’t pay much.  So in conclusion there is a lot to think about before deciding the trucker life is for you. There is a lot more than just what i have published today ask a trucker at your local truck stop. Most will be glad to answer any question you have.  Be safe out there and have a great day.

gonzotrucker

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Heavy Haul Truckers

Heavy haul truckers play a vital role in society. Heavy Haul Truckers carry  items that would not fit on an average tractor trailer and thus cannot be driven by average truckers. Some truckers specialize in driving in dangerous conditions, such as on icy roads and/or in inclement weather. The job of a trucker can at times be dangerous but it is also interesting, as truckers will in many cases end up visiting numerous states in the course of his or her job.

How Much Does a Trucker Make?

A heavy haul trucker can earn between $30,000 and $57,000 a year. The amount a trucker earns depends on various factors, such as a trucker’s experience, the trucker’s driving schedule, which company a trucker works for and even what state the trucker is employed in. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has noted that Alaska and Nebraska are profitable states for truckers, as truckers in these states earn over $43,000 a year. It has also been noted that a trucker who wants to earn an above average income should seek employment from the Federal Government; heavy haul truckers working for the a  government agency earn an average of $53,000 a year, considerably more than truckers who work for a freight  company or wholesale company. This is just the average stat’s found online you will probably earn way more, and if you own the truck your salary will be even higher. Some heavy haul truckers earn well over $100,000 a year.

What do Heavy Haul Truckers Do?

The job description of a trucker is pretty straightforward. Truckers drive a large truck from one place to another. In some instances a trucker will only have to drive from one city to another city in the same state. However, many heavy haul truckers cross several state lines in order to get the goods to their destination. It has been rightly said that being a trucker is not a profession but a lifestyle choice, as a trucker often has to spend days or even weeks away from home transporting goods from one place to another. Many truckers sleep in their truck and spend most of the day alone as they drive from one place to another.

What Kind of Vehicles do Truckers Drive?

It has been estimated that about 50% of truckers not only drive large trucks but are also licensed to drive heavy haul vehicles. Truckers manage not only heavy loads but also loads that are not properly proportioned. In states that do a lot of construction, many heavy haul truckers transport large tractors or other earth moving machines from one place to another. These machines are not only very heavy but also have a unique shape that truckers must accommodate for safe transport. In most instances, truckers will have a large trailer attached to the rig. A Heavy Haul truckers trailer has a flat bed with no roof or side walls and the piece of equipment being transferred is chained onto the truckers trailer so that it will not fall off. The trucker trailer being driven  can be 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13 or even 20 axle. Many of these heavy haul truckers trailers are also extendable.

Heavy Haul Permits and Trucker Escorts

Many people do not realize just how much work goes into transporting an oversized  load. While the trucker is the one who has to carefully drive the load from one place to another, truckers in fact have a team to help them load and sometimes even transport the load in question. First of all, the item or items in question must be properly loaded onto the truck, which is a job that is not handled by the truckers themselves. It is no easy feat and often involves the use of a crane to lift the item in question in place. The item must then be securely fastened to the truckers trailer before the truck driver starts his or her trip.

All states require that a trucker have a special  permit to transport a heavy or oversized  load’s.  The specifications for when a  permit is needed depend’s  on various factors and the exact  laws differ from state to state. The trucking company has to look up state heavy haul trucker regulations to make sure that the truckers load can be legally transported through the state in question.

Many states require that heavy haul truckers be accompanied by trucker escort vehicles. Those driving the trucker escort vehicles assist the trucker by keeping an eye on the load and making sure that it stays properly fastened to the truck. The escorts also help truckers manage the truck if the road conditions are particularly challenging.

How To Become A Heavy Haul Trucker

It is not hard to become a Heavy Haul Trucker. All that a prospective trucker needs is a high school diploma, a few years of experience in a trucker related profession  and a commercial driver’s license. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the truckers job growth field is quite high, as trucking companies and even government bodies will be in need of qualified truckers who can safely transport large, oversized items from one place to another. So those who want to be truckers can look forward to being able to find truck driving  jobs with little to no problem.

Some of the many items that truckers can expect to transport include boats, airplanes, turbines, wind energy equipment, prefabricated homes, pipes, bridge beams, domes, mining equipment, condensers and injection mold machines. The job of a trucker is simply to get the item or items in question to the destination safely and without incident. However, truckers also rely on the help of others, as teams of people usually assist truckers in loading the equipment and securing the needed permits. In some cases a truckers team even escorts the trucker to his or her destination. On the other hand, truckers often end up driving their vehicle alone with only the radio for company, so the job of a trucker is in fact a lifestyle choice that a trucker makes in order to earn a living and get the needed items from one place to the next. Aspiring truckers do not need years of college or university education; however, aspiring truck drivers  should try to get as much trucking  related experience as possible, as it will help a person to get a good trucking  job with a transport company that pays a high trucker annual salary.

Further Reading

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“A truckers job”

 Entail’s driving  long hours away from home a lot”.  Dealing with traffic and all types of weather conditions.  Sitting long hours at a loading dock waiting to be loaded and unloaded!  “A trucker’s job”   eating junk food because you have no time to sit down and eat a proper meal.  “Dealing with the dispatcher’s and freight broker’s who only care about making money for them self”,  or their  company. 

“A trucker’s job”  finding a place to park and sleep when there is very little parking and they have been driving for 11 hours already, and you just want to “sleep”!!.  Getting that call something is wrong at home and your 40 hours away at the time!  Delivering your load then going to the truck stop to wait on your next dispatch that will come two days later.  “Breaking down on the side of the road and waiting three hours for a repair truck.”  that will take another hour to fix a flat, then you still have to drive ( ten ) hours more because the breakdown happened at the begining of your trip.  “A trucker’s job”   finding a place to sleep after hours of searching!  Only to be woken up by a security officer telling you to move or get a “ticket”.

  Getting pulled into a weigh station or “department of transportation checkpoint”,  and spending two hours getting drilled and inspected.  Then getting a ticket for a log book violation that happened over a week ago!!  “A trucker’s job”  now you have a load and no empty trailer to go and get it so you spend all day bob tailing around looking for one!!.  Then wow i found an empty trailer now i will do a pre trip inspection on it and go?  Shit on the pre trip you discover the trailer has a flat tire ah!.  Getting lost even if you have a GPS unit it does not always work ho ho keep an atlas always in the truck.  Ever try to turn  ”around a 60′ foot tractor trailer on a city street?  

When you realize you’re going the wrong way?  Or there is a low bridge ahead?  Driving in a blinding snow storm, ice storm, or monsoon type rains?  With all the cars around you doing dumb maneuvers trying to get run over.    “A trucker’s job”  after waiting six hours for a load now you get one and then you have to go get loaded two hours then drive eleven more hours to get to your destination only to be told we “can’t unload you until tomorrow”  and you can’t park here!!!   Still want   “a truckers job” ?.    GONZOTRUCKER

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Jerry Reed Smokey And The Bandit. Truckers Music

Jerry Reed who is also well known in the entertainment industry by the name “the Guitar Man” is a singer, actor and song writer. He is recognized as one of the greatest entertainers with distinctive characters.  He worked with many great artists in the late 40s and won accolades for his creations.

About Jerry Reed

He was born on March 20th, 1937 in Atlanta. His passion for playing guitar started at the age of 8 when his mother presented him with a $2 guitar. The first chord he learned on that guitar was a G- chord. He did not have continuous education and dropped out of high school and traveled with Faron Young and Ernest Tubb in search of a career in music.

His talent was recognized at the age of 17 by Capitol Records with whom he signed his first recording contract. Jerry’s career took off as a song writer in the real context when Elvis Presley recorded two songs written by him. Both the songs “Guitar Man” and “ U.S.Male” became major hits and offered him chances to work with Tom Jones, Nat King Cole, Brenda Lee and the Oak Ridge Boys. He admits that the motivation behind his success is money and nothing else.

He spent 2 years in the military and moved out to Nashville in 1961 in search of an opportunity to become a song writer. Brenda Lee’s “That’s all you got to do” gave him his big break as a song writer. Hully Gully Guitar and Goodnight Irene were a couple of his early singles and they took him to Chet Atkins who sponsored Reed’s “If I don’t live up to it”. The year 1967 was a remarkable one when Elvis Presley covered his “Guitar Man”

Awards and Accolades won by Jerry Reeds

1970 – Voted the best instrumentalist of the year by the Country Music Association

1971 – Won a Grammy Award for “When you are Hot, You are Hot”

1992 – Won a Grammy Award for “Sneakin’ Around”

Career as an Actor

The mid 1970s remarkably led Reed into acting and he began drifting from song writing and recording. W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings was his first movie It co-starred his friend Burt Reynolds. With a couple more films in hand, he continued recording as a part of his career. His greatest hit of the century “Smokey and the Bandit” was the most discussed movie among the critics. He was featured as a costar in all three parts of the movie. However, it was the role of the Trucker which made Jerry a well-known figure among audiences.

Smokey and the Bandit

Jerry Reed acted in all the 3 parts of Smokey and the Bandits.   The story of the movie revolves around Bandit and cledus – Jerry Reed. Two truckers accept a deal from Two big-shot brothers Big and Little Enos who need them to pick up a truck load of beer from Texas and get back to them within a span of 28 hours. The beer was required for the political rally held by Big Enos. He required Coors brand but it was not allowed to be transported across Mississippi legally at that time. His attempt to smuggle it by ship was foiled by the police. So he wanted to try to have it transported via truck. Bandit, an adventurous Trucker, accepts the deal for a hefty five figure payment. Things were fine until they pick up the stuff from Texas, but then, unexpected happenings change their adventure. Bandit gives a lift to a runaway bride-to-be, Carrie who left the groom at the altar. Unfortunately Junior, the groom, is the son of Sheriff Buford T. Justice and once the sheriff finds out what has happened, father and son go across the southeast in hot pursuit of the trucker. Bandit unknowingly falls in love with the bride and romance adds to the adventure.

Bandit, whose real name is Bo Darville, appoints his pal Cledus to accompany him on the journey. They hire an 18-wheeler truck for this job. They use strange coded language all the way to draw off the heat of the state police who become suspicious of their moves. The language they used has become the most used and adored language of modern Truckers; it is used officially in many parts of the world.

The movie is filled with a series of chases, comedy, drama and action of course. It is believed that Gleasons and Reed contributed 80% of the dialogues in this movie.

Impact of Smokey and Bandit on Modern Truckers

Smokey and the Bandit was not just a source of entertainment, it was also a source of inspiration and encouragement for many truckers. Because of this movie, many youths were inspired to become Truck Drivers. These days, Truckers still use Smokey and the Bandit lingo as their code language on the CB Radio. Many guys who watch this movie dream of how great it would be if they were a Trucker.

With Jerry Reed as the music director of the movie, the songs are some of the best of the classics. Though the sequels did amuse the audience, they do not contain the impact of the original movie. But yes, the complicated action scenes in this movie did certainly earn it a nomination for an Oscar.

Trucker songs by Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed has written and composed more than 50-60 songs in his lifetime. A few of his top listed numbers include Tupelo Mississippi Flash, Talk About the Good Times, Ko-Ko Joe, Smell The Flowers, Remembering, Are You From Dixie (Cause I’m From Dixie Too), When You’re Hot, You’re Hot, Georgia Sunshine, Amos Moses/The Preacher And The Bear, You Took All The Ramblin’ Out of Me, Another Puff, Alabama Wild Man, East bound and down and more.

The Smokey and the Bandit Theme song alone covers the entire plot of the movie; putting forth a strong challenge to the police to try and stop the illegal smuggling of beer.

Jerry Reed was a complete man in himself. He achieved his mission in life. But the world of music misses this evergreen actor/musician for his boundless contributions.   In Memory of  Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008)

The Truth A Veterans Story
My Ebook Highest Salary Trucking Jobs Free To All Veterans
Protect Your CDL

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