Remember this one? CB radios were all the rage, and C.W. McCall had a hit song called "Convoy" ("It was the dark of the moon on the 6th of June..."). There was also a movie of the same title that starred Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw. I think this fad had passed by 1979 or so. Sound about right?

dude, i'm so glad you brought this up.
when I was about 8 I had this lame t-shirt that said "CB-er" in silver glitter..
what the?

I'm sorry for you  ;)

I'm sorry for you  ;)


and there are some scars you can't see......

Actually it probably started in the early/mid 70's, not that it really matters. I remember lots of model tractor-trailer kits were popular around that time. It seemed almost everybody had a CB radio. On some days, due to atmospheric conditions, you could talk to people across the country.
The television pilot for the Movin' On television series first aired in the Spring of '73, the show was picked up in '74. Merle Haggard got himself a minor hit with the theme song. I'm guessing the independent long haul truckers life appealed to many of that time period. Even the trucks themselves evoked this strong, sturdy look back then, not like todays plastic-looking, aero-cheating rigs.
Can't help but wonder if anybody recognized the significance of C.W. McCall's reference to the 6th of June in the song 'Convoy'. Oh, and I still have an 8-track of his greatest hits. LOL I personally enjoy 'Wolf Creek Pass'.

Remember this one? CB radios were all the rage, and C.W. McCall had a hit song called "Convoy" ("It was the dark of the moon on the 6th of June..."). There was also a movie of the same title that starred Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw. I think this fad had passed by 1979 or so. Sound about right?
LOL, I remember this and I think it was definitely a factor in my deciding to choose trucking as an occupation. As far as the CB craze went, I think it was mainly influenced by movies like Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, and White Line Fever, to name a few, but it had a more practical side as well. The Man decided to shackle the American public with a national 55 mph speed limit (even on rural interstates >:()  and many people bought CB's to communicate with the truckers so they could find out where "Smokey" was hiding. What most likely killed the CB fad was that these same people quickly found out how many truck drivers are complete jerks. This is coming from a former trucker, and when I was driving a truck I rarely used my CB because it didn't take me very long to get sick of all of the redneck truckers arguing and swearing at each other for the most petty of reasons.
Even the trucks themselves evoked this strong, sturdy look back then, not like todays plastic-looking, aero-cheating rigs.
Todays trucks may not look as rugged as the big rigs did back then (except for a few long-nosed Peterbilts and Kenworths, which retain a more traditional, squared-off look) but they are much more powerful and comfortable than their 1970's counterparts. Because of the '70s era government regulations that limited overall length, the "cabover" style used to be much more common back then. I drove an old cabover once or twice, with the old leaf spring suspension, and it beat the living crap out of me. Thankfully I didn't have to drive it very far, since I drove it when I was in trucking school, but I can't imagine driving one of those old beasts cross-country. My back hurts just thinking about it. I'd take one of today's "plastic-looking" trucks with the modern air-ride suspension any day over one of those old "flat-noses."  ;D

Todays trucks may not look as rugged as the big rigs did back then (except for a few long-nosed Peterbilts and Kenworths, which retain a more traditional, squared-off look) but they are much more powerful and comfortable than their 1970's counterparts. Because of the '70s era government regulations that limited overall length, the "cabover" style used to be much more common back then. I drove an old cabover once or twice, with the old leaf spring suspension, and it beat the living crap out of me. Thankfully I didn't have to drive it very far, since I drove it when I was in trucking school, but I can't imagine driving one of those old beasts cross-country. My back hurts just thinking about it. I'd take one of today's "plastic-looking" trucks with the modern air-ride suspension any day over one of those old "flat-noses."  ;D


Lengths are still limited, though they have been adjusted over the decades. Maximum legal weight, as far as I know, are still 80,000# without a special permit. Bridge weight laws are still enforced also.
Air ride suspensions were available in the 70's, as were anti-lock brake systems. Leaf spring suspensions are still used today, though not very popular.
Having been on the service side of trucks up to 2001 I can attest to how weakly they're built compared to trucks built up to the early 90's. It's all about saving weight these days. I swear many are 80% plastic. After about 500,000 miles they just start falling apart. As for the power, there is a bit of a horsepower war going on between engine manufacturers. Most trucks are still equipped with 350HP-450HP engines today, although you can get 700+HP if you want to pay for it. Also, most all trucks today have electronic controls limiting speed and horsepower. Many fleet rigs have electronic monitoring systems that will cost the operator bonuses if company mileage/speed parameters are exceeded. A properly tuned and maintained 375HP-425HP rig will take you anywhere you need to go.
But, all of this is irrelevant to this thread.  ;D

Having been on the service side of trucks up to 2001 I can attest to how weakly they're built compared to trucks built up to the early 90's. It's all about saving weight these days. I swear many are 80% plastic. After about 500,000 miles they just start falling apart. As for the power, there is a bit of a horsepower war going on between engine manufacturers. Most trucks are still equipped with 350HP-450HP engines today, although you can get 700+HP if you want to pay for it. Also, most all trucks today have electronic controls limiting speed and horsepower. Many fleet rigs have electronic monitoring systems that will cost the operator bonuses if company mileage/speed parameters are exceeded. A properly tuned and maintained 375HP-425HP rig will take you anywhere you need to go.
But, all of this is irrelevant to this thread.  ;D
It seems that the vast majority of trucks today are built with fleets in mind, and I don't think they were designed to last very long. They almost seem to be "disposable." I drove a Freightliner Century Class for a few years, and while it was nice and comfortable it also seemed to be quite flimsy. By comparison, I drove a brand-new Kenworth T-800 for about 6 months back in 2002, and that thing felt like it was built like a tank. If I was ever to buy my own tractor, I'd definitely go with a Kenworth. They might be quite a bit more expensive than a Freightliner, but there's also a drastic step up in quality there. The other big improvement in newer trucks, as I'm sure you know, is the sleepers. The bunks in most of those old 70's rigs are about the size of coffins. But these newer "condo" sleepers have so much space in them that, well, I'm 6'3" and I still can't reach the ceilings in those things.
But hey, that was irrelevant to this thread as well.   ;)

There were plenty of other CB-based novelty songs in the mid 70s, too.  "CB Savage," about a Smokey impersonating a gay guy to get the truckers' guard down; one that C.W. McCall did about an international convoy (it ends up in Japan where a voice over the radio tries to sell him a new CB); a British version that used to play on Radio Luxembourg all the time in the winter of '76; and the ridiculous tear-jerker "Teddy Bear."

"Smokey and the Bandit" followed the C.W. McCall stuff, it didn't lead it.

There was a definite change in the way over the road trucking was viewed by popular culture in the 70s.  Just compare "The Duel" (beginning of the 70s) with Smokey and the Bandit.

The trucker craze was in the early 80's as well with films like Smokey and the Bandit Part II and 3 and the TV show BJ and the Bear

It seems that the vast majority of trucks today are built with fleets in mind, and I don't think they were designed to last very long. They almost seem to be "disposable." I drove a Freightliner Century Class for a few years, and while it was nice and comfortable it also seemed to be quite flimsy. By comparison, I drove a brand-new Kenworth T-800 for about 6 months back in 2002, and that thing felt like it was built like a tank. If I was ever to buy my own tractor, I'd definitely go with a Kenworth. They might be quite a bit more expensive than a Freightliner, but there's also a drastic step up in quality there. The other big improvement in newer trucks, as I'm sure you know, is the sleepers. The bunks in most of those old 70's rigs are about the size of coffins. But these newer "condo" sleepers have so much space in them that, well, I'm 6'3" and I still can't reach the ceilings in those things.
But hey, that was irrelevant to this thread as well.   ;)


I think what's helped Kenworth and Peterbilt is the fact that they've been own by Paccar for so long. There's a lot to be said for company stability. Freightliner has been sold off about 3 times in the past decade or so and each new owner feels the need to incorporate their own styling cues. I hated working on any any FL series Freightliner. The FLD series was OK, but the FL..........grrrrrrrrrrrr.........P.O.S. in my book.
Mack seems also to be a fairly stable company. I think Renault still owns them? Just look at resale values: K.W., Peterbilt and Mack have always held their value. After the mid 90's we would try to dump all our Freightliners within 3-5 years, or before the 500,000 mile mark.
Yeah, sleepers are almost studio apartments these days.  ;D I remember making furniture to put in a long haul truck for one of our customers. He made runs from Indiana to California. We had that rig tuned pretty good. One day he showed me how good via a speeding ticket for 85mph in a 65mph zone. Woops  ;D
Unfortunately, even with good equipment, the owner-operators these days struggles to survive.

I think what's helped Kenworth and Peterbilt is the fact that they've been own by Paccar for so long. There's a lot to be said for company stability. Freightliner has been sold off about 3 times in the past decade or so and each new owner feels the need to incorporate their own styling cues. I hated working on any any FL series Freightliner. The FLD series was OK, but the FL..........grrrrrrrrrrrr.........P.O.S. in my book.
I am currently employed with Yellow Transportation, and about 4 months ago I transfered from their linehaul division to the city/dockworker side. Yellow still runs Freightliners for their sleeper operations, and those trucks were by far the biggest junkwagons I've ever driven. Freightliner wanted to phase out the FLD several years ago, but Yellow insisted that they still make them and Freightliner kept them in production just for Yellow. The FLD's in the 90's were decent and reliable enough trucks, not quite as sturdy as a Kenworth but still much better than the Century Class. However, the FLD's that were built for Yellow (and no one else) were manufactured down in Mexico and they were constantly breaking down on me. I once broke down at the top of a mountain in Wyoming and had to wait for 6 hours for Penske to bring me a replacement truck, and the truck that broke down was less than 5 months old and had under 80,000 miles on it. I was not happy, to say the least. Yellow has finally begun to lease Columbias for their sleepers, but this started happening after I transferred out of linehaul so I don't know how well they've been holding up.
    Also, I used to drive a cement mixer, and my company used Macks, and those trucks were more than up for the task.