Quote:
Originally Posted by GB SISSON
I think that's a '36 and it looks to be working here in the Pacific Northwest. Still had mechanical brakes and we have a lot of steep grades in the mountains and foothills here. Some of the log bunks and trailers were converted to air brakes. If they didn't go that route they at least did a drip water system on the truck's rear drums in an effort to keep them cool. I read an account of a guy on Vancouver Island, last guy to leave down the mountain with his load that night. They had converted to air brakes and the driver wasn't used to them. On the first switchback he hit the brakes hard and the load shifted forward right up against the cab. No steering after that. As told he had an axe and had to chop each log short behind the cab or spend the night on the mountain. . That is a GREAT photo!
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My uncle told of how some logging outfits were stingy about maintaining the trucks. Whatever it took to keep them running up to the cutting side but no so much about safety coming down the mountain. He had brakes fail a couple times and could only save his life by cranking the wheel into the mountainside, kind of like carving your own escape ramp. If you did it right, damage to the truck was minimized and the load was still in the bunks. You were lucky twice if you didn't get fired.