http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/4503029410.html
The title of the ad is, "1920'S ??? COMMERCE LOGGING TRUCK"
I don't know if I've ever heard about a "Commerce" line of vehicles.
After a bit of research on the web, it looks like this may be a bit older than the 1920s perhaps. I found a couple of 1917 trucks that seemed similar.
According to Coachbuilt.com-
Commerce Motor Car Co. - 1911-1923 - Detroit, Michigan - 1923-1926 - Ypsilanti, Michigan - 1927-1932 owned by Relay Motors Corp. - Lima, Ohio.
Initially used Northway engines and later switched to Continental.
Offered a "Powermatic Special Lumber Truck" and other models starting in 1925.
Thank heavens, I am broke and out of room :-) neat truck
Thanks Mike. Any way to know roughly the year of the one in the ad?
I owned a forklift manufactured in 1946 that had a Continental 4 banger in it. That thing was bullet proof.
The first truck to cross the U.S came from an eastern state to Petaluma, Ca. with a load of soap.
The truck was built by the American Locomotive Co.
The truck brand name was ALCO.
I have read about the trip, I think they went to L.A. and then came up the coast. At any rate it was a long, hard trip.
I can't tell you much about the truck but would that be a kick if it was the one pictured in the post above?
Most interesting, Aaron. I just sent him an email asking if he knew anything of the history, stories, rumors etc about the car. I'll be curious to see what he comes back with.
WOW, I want that BAD!
good price to.
shame I cant have it and it is to far away.
That is a good looking old truck. And in better condition (more complete) than trucks usually are. I really hope someone comes out and saves it. I wish it could me.
Thanks Danial!
(Any bites on your TA yet?) (You do need another T.)
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
I think you will need a long garage if you restore this truck. That part sitting on back of the truck is probably the trailer. Logs are long and to me indicates a truck/trailer type rig. (like a later 18 wheeler type vehicle)
This trailer made by the Martin Wagon is a good example of a logging trailer. Do not know what truck it was used with. Probably not a TT????? It was made in East Texas which is logging country. It was found with a complete rear end and long beams going to the front, no floor.
Below is a typical logging truck from the 1940s-50s. The trailer wasn't much more than you see in the ad. It's just a frame and axles with a long tongue, adjustable for length. After dumping the logs at the mill, a crane would lift the trailer onto the back of the truck for the trip back to the loading site. Another crane in the woods would take the trailer off for the next load.
My uncle George drove this one until he got a new one in 1953, thanks to sale of timber on their homestead.
They were proud of 3-log loads.
Wayne: You bet I do (need a new T)! I've had a couple of low baller bites locally on the T/A and a few long distance dreamers but other than that, nothing too significant.
Ralph: Neat pic. Did your Uncle George do any logging on the Oregon coast? If he did, he may have run into my grandfather a time or two. He owned a small logging company in the Coos Bay area in the 1950s and early 60s. I have slides showing him working on and around very similar trucks as your uncle's. (Christensen Logging)
Uncles George and Ralph lived in Ashland, and hauled logs from as far as Burney. They started out in the late 1930s. In the mid-1940s I remember the distinct sound of Ralph's 1934 Ford with chain drive. The extra axle wouldn't lose a wheel if the axle broke, like on a stock Ford. The reduction chain drive was done by an outfit in Klamath Falls.
We lived in Myrtle Point from 1947-50, so may have crossed paths with your grandfather.
The lumber mill with the old steam engine would seem to be a natural fit for the CL truck.
Ralph the photo of your Uncle's truck brings back memories of the truck my Dad used until about 1957. He owned an old Federal for a couple years then got rid of it for a Govt surplus 1945 Ford. I distinctly remember riding with him to the landing and hearing the twin exhaust he always called "stacks" that were simply straight pipes right behind the cab. I loved it when he'd get a full load on it and get that little engine working. He'd start out in low gear and work his way up. I remember him hanging his arm through the steering wheel and shifting the transmission and the two-speed rearend at the same time. I think his proudest possession was his "west coast" mirrors and the twin chrome horns on top between the clearance lights. Then he bought a Studebaker and the old ford went out beside the grove and sat there for several years. From the time I was 7 until I turned 11 I drove that old truck a couple hundred thousand miles and hauled several thousand board feet of logs without ever leaving the yard. He always had GW ?000 lbs on the bottom of the doors and Garrison Logging FA6-6171 in the middle of the doors. Every Sunday was repair day and every Sunday night we'd load a load so we could be the first truck in line at the mill scale shack in the morning. On the way home he'd stop sometimes and we'd have breakfast at some greasy spoon.
Here's a picture I acquired sometime in the past
of a T logging truck.
Bob
It's amazing to me that a Model T had the power to haul that kind of weight out of the woods. Must have been some serious granny gears in those things.
My mother was a GP MD from 1920 till 1978. In the early 1950 she took in a Sayers and Skovill truck as money owed. It was a great running old truck with a flat bed.
At age 25 I had an appreciation for it then but not like I would have now.
http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/s/sayers_scovill/sayers_scovill.htm
The 3rd and 4th paragraphs talk about trucks.
Gene in Virginia Beach
Thanks for the advertisement of the old Commerce truck Danial. It was a 'C' cab originally. And if anybody here is lucky enough to buy it; I would highly recommend engaging our Forum friend Ken Kopsky to finish out the missing cab sheet metal.
If you want a big log call the Rail Road!
Herb,here in the Midwest we'd call that log kindling!
That's a but if History! I have a 1918 Denby . Truck. If anyone interested. It rough but I think the motor will run. Shingle springs Ca.
Steve, any chance to see some pictures? - I love old trucks, never heard of a Denby.
I have a Smith Form a Truck chain drive in pieces that I would give someone a real good deal on if anyone is interested. I had Stutzman's make a new wheel for it.
Gad Herb, That tree would make the five and six foot spruce at my place look like tree limbs!