Category: throwback Thursday

#ThrowbackThursday with our partner: the South Carolina Trucking Association

Posted on February 12, 2015 by - Expresstrucktax.com, Form 2290, HVUT, Schedule 1, throwback Thursday, Truck Tax

It’s time for another installment of #ThrowbackThursday featuring our partners at the South Carolina Trucking Association!

The year was 1932. The place: Greenville, South Carolina.

For over a decade, truck & bus operators had been meeting in Greenville to discuss issues in the transportation industry, but on this fateful day, they decided to make it official and found the Motor Carriers Association of South Carolina.

Now known as SCTA, the organization’s first major task was overturning state legislation that favored railroad companies. 

South Carolina then had a 20,000 pound weight limit for trucks which forced companies to ship their goods via railroad up and down the east coast.

With their newly-unified voice, the trucking industry’s presence in SC was finally strong enough to overpower the influence of the railroad companies, and the legislation was overturned. Companies could now ship their goods via truck from north-to-south uninhibited.

That was the first of many battles that SCTA fought on behalf those who work in and who are dependent upon the trucking industry. Today, they have over 600 member companies; some are large national corporations, but most are small, family-owned businesses–just like us!

That’s why we’re so proud to be partnered with SCTA. We too are dedicated to helping owner-operators and small fleets in our home state of South Carolina by providing them with the most affordable and easy-to-use E-filing program that money can buy!

With this partnership, SCTA members will have easy access to our E-filing solutions through the member site SCTA2290.com.

Check out the training video we made for SCTA members! Account manager Patti will walk you through how easy it is to E-file a Form 2290 with ExpressTruckTax.

  • Step 1: Create an account and choose which form you’d like to E-file (we offer Form 2290, 2290 Amendments, Form 8849, and more). Then enter your business name, contact info, and EIN.
  • Step 2: Enter the vehicle’s first-used month, followed by it’s VIN, gross weight, and whether it is used for logging or agriculture.
  • Step 3: Finally, choose from three convenient payment methods and securely transmit your return!

Through the portal, SCTA members will enjoy all of the perks our ExpressTruckTax users enjoy. Not only do our E-filers receive their stamped Schedule 1 via email just minutes after filing, but they also get free VIN corrections for any return E-filed with us, as well as unlimited free access to our stellar support team!

From our hometown of Rock Hill, we provide 24/7 support in English and Spanish. Just call us (704.234.6005), message us on live chat, or email us at support@expresstrucktax.com.

From all of us here at ExpressTruckTax: Welcome, SCTA members, to the ExpressTruckTax family! It’s an honor to serve our fellow South Carolinians. Whenever you need us, you can count on us being there!

#ThrowbackThursday with our New Partner: Jones Motor!

Posted on August 7, 2014 by - Form 2290, throwback Thursday, trucking news

*Click, Clack*…*Click, Clack*…*Clickety, Clack*

As the dim streaks of morning light creep over the horizon, the night fog lazily rolls away. This sound in the distance, *click clack,* moves ever-closer, but you cannot yet see what it is.

Could it be the sound of coconut shells, clapped together rhythmically? No.
It’s a horse and cart, plodding down the cobblestone path on its way to deliver sugar to the town bakery.
This is the dawn of the trucking industry, which began not with trucks, of course, but with literal

horsepower!

So for another very special #ThrowbackThursday, we’re rewinding all the way back to the 1800’s to the birth of the trucking industry! And believe it or not, the oldest major common carrier in the United States is still alive and kicking today, and they’re now one of ExpressTruckTax’s partners!
Jones Motor began in 1894 with just one sturdy horse. Flash forward to 2014, Jones Motor is a multi-million dollar group of transportation companies. But they haven’t forgotten their roots!
Founded in the late 1800’s by John Jones, an immigrant from Birkenhead, Wales, it was then just a small local hauling business in Spring City, Pennsylvania. This one-horse operation went by the name of Jones Drayage Company. Now in their second century of business, a lot has changed, but their core values have not. Jones Motor is defined by their ability to evolve and set-apart by their respect for the owner-operators that keep their business thriving. In fact, their core company is still an exclusively owner-operator driven carrier with flatbeds and vans.

It takes a special kind of business to keep growing over the course of a century. It isn’t accomplished by being content with the old-way of doing things. A progressive company, Jones is always looking for ways to innovate the trucking industry while helping their owner-operators, and that’s why they’ve partnered with ExpressTruckTax!

We use our expertise–building user-friendly, affordable software–to revolutionize filing Truck Taxes. We’ve streamlined the process through online E-filing, eliminating hours spent in the IRS office. E-filers are proven to make fewer mistakes on returns than paper filers. Plus there’s zero risk of paper cuts!

With our forces combined, the Jones Motor owner-operators will now have access to our premier HVUT Form 2290 E-filing solutions through Jones2290.com. With a discounted rate of just $8.91 for a single truck, there’s no better value on the market. As the industry leader in E-filing, ExpressTruckTax also comes with a slew of additional perks, like our Support Heroes! They’re available 24/7, offering assistance in English, Spanish, and Russian! Impressive, I know, but just wait until you see our program’s features.

    • E-file in just Three Easy Steps, it takes less than 10 minutes!
    • All of the taxes owed or credits due are automatically calculated for you. 
    • We also offer E-filing for Form 2290 Amendments, Form 8849 for credits, and more!
    • Store all of your vehicle info in Truck Zone, your personal digital garage, whether it’s 1 or 1,000 trucks! Makes E-filing year after year a breeze!
    • Our Instant Audit feature checks your return for errors before transmitting it. Our users have a 98% acceptance rate with the IRS!
    • FREE VIN corrections
    • Receive your Stamped Schedule I within minutes of E-filing.
    • We automatically notify your company that you’ve E-filed, and we send them a copy of your Schedule I.
    • Get alerts by email, text or fax, so you always know the status of your return and payment.

We’re honored to bring our world-class services to the owner-operators of Jones Motor! ExpressTruckTax offers these benefits and so much more! You have to see it to believe it! So head over to Jones2290.com and try it for free today!

If you’re new to E-filing, call our Support Heroes at 704.234.6005. They’re also available by online chat or via 24/7 email assistance at support@expresstrucktax.com. With less than a month until HVUT is due, you’ll be E-filing just in the nick of time!

ExpressTruckTax Partners with OOIDA: Now Launching Tablet Apps & More!

Posted on July 31, 2014 by - Form 2290, throwback Thursday, trucking news

For a very special #ThrowbackThursday, Trucking Nation, we’re going to be time traveling in all directions! First, taking a peek into the trucking industry’s past, then blasting into its bright future!

So hop into my DeLorean, and let’s see where it takes us!

ExpressTruckTax is now partners with OOIDA, The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association! If you haven’t heard about these champions of the trucking industry, look at a few of their shining accomplishments over the past 41 years!

Since 1973, OOIDA has been fighting for the rights of truckers, one initiative at a time. It has been said, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” and there was a desperate need for someone to defend the small, hardworking truckers of America from unfair legislation.

Enter OOIDA.

The organization was first founded by a small, but feisty, group of owner-operators! The Arab oil embargoes of the early 1970’s were crippling the trucking industry, so the founders of OOIDA marched to Washington, DC to voice the interests of owner-operators to lawmakers. And they haven’t stopped since! OOIDA has continued influencing policy-makers and has sued to revoke–and get drivers refunds for–unconstitutional taxes, fees, and more.
OOIDA’s first long-term victory came in 1979 when Congress, at the urging of OOIDA, held a series of hearings to explore the plight of small transportation businesses. Congress sided with OOIDA, concluding that the Interstate Commerce Commission needed to regulate abuses in leasing agreements. OOIDA was not only instrumental in this Truth-in-Leasing regulation, but more recently they also helped overturn funding for EORB’s, electronic on-board recorders. In 2011, courts agreed with OOIDA that EORB’s were a form of driver harassment, much like the driver fatigue tests they also helped to eliminate.

Thanks to the efforts of OOIDA, lawmakers now know that owner-operators are a force to be reckoned with, not taken advantage of with excessive fuel decals!

For these reasons and more, ExpressTruckTax is thrilled to be partnered with OOIDA. We too employ our talents to help owner-operators. By developing streamlined E-filing solutions for the many truck taxes out there, we are empowering drivers, keeping them on the road and out of the long lines at the IRS office!

The future of the trucking industry is here. 

With partners like OOIDA, ExpressTruckTax continues to innovate the age-old tradition of filing taxes, making it quick, economical–and dare I say–fun! We first developed OOIDA2290.com, a portal exclusively for OOIDA members to E-file their HVUT Form 2290 in a matter of minutes! 
Using our Bulk Upload option, E-file even faster by importing all of your vehicle information from an Excel file. We’ll then store these vehicles in Truck Zone, your own digital garage that simplifies finding and E-filing for a select group of vehicles. As always, we offer the best value in the industry, just $9.90 for a single truck, and we throw in 24/7 USA-based support for free! Best of all, drivers receive their Stamped Schedule I within minutes of E-filing, and all of their information is saved securely for extra-speedy E-filing each year after!
E-filing for Form 2290 will take 10 minutes or less and just three easy steps. See how easy it is in our video below!
But we didn’t stop there. To supplement OOIDA2290.com, we are excited to announce our new OOIDA2290 Tablets Apps for iPad & Android devices! With so many OOIDA members out on the road, it only made sense to make E-filing accessible when computers are not! With the same three easy steps, OOIDA members can securely transmit their returns to the IRS–anywhere, anytime!

  • Step 1: Create an account, and enter your business and vehicle information. 
  • Step 2: With this data, all of the taxes due or credits owed are instantly calculated for you. If there are credits, Form 8849 is automatically generated, so you can get your money back faster! 
  • Step 3: After choosing from three payment methods, Check, Direct Debit, or EFTPS, the Instant Audit feature scans the return for errors. Once it’s fit to be filed, safely transmit your return to the IRS. 
Oh, and I almost forgot Step 4, receiving your Stamped Schedule 1 immediately and getting back on your merry way! So break out that tablet and get E-filing!
No matter where you’re trucking, OOIDA members, ExpressTruckTax has got you covered with our portal and tablet apps! To start E-filing today, give our Support Heroes a call at 704.234.6005. You can also chat with us online or get 24/7 email support at support@expresstrucktax.com.

ThrowBack Thursday: America’s Interstate System

Posted on July 3, 2014 by - American History, throwback Thursday, US Interstate System

Tomorrow is the 4th of July – Happy Independence Day, Trucking Nation! As long as the weather cooperates here on the east coast, I see a lazy day at the lake with the best BBQ ever in most people’s future (today I’m psychic). To kick off what is going to be an awesome weekend (rain or shine, I’m optimistic) ExpressTruckTax is back with a ThrowBack Thursday to America’s Interstate System. You drive these roads everyday, from sun up to sun down, under starry skies, and in every weather condition imaginable. Driving from coast to coast and everywhere in between, you have seen it all.

Today we are going to take a look at what went into building these amazing paved passageways, so buckle up & hang on, were going back in time…

If you look out your viewing window, you will see President Dwight Eisenhower signing the Federal-Aid Highway act of 1956. The date is June 29, and this is the birth of our highway system. The bill President Eisenhower is signing will create a 41,000 mile “National System of Interstate and Defense Highways” that is designed to eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams and all other things that got in the way of safe transcontinental travel.

President Eisenhower signing the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.  photo credit: fhwa.dot.gov

$26 Billion was allocated to pay for the interstate system. Under the terms of the law, our federal government would pay 90% of the cost of expressway construction. Where did they get the money you ask? Well…the money came from an increased gas tax. In 1956 the gasoline tax is only 2 cents, and they will increase that to 3 cents to provide funding for construction.

Interstate Construction 1960. photo credit: imgarcade.com

Two states claim the title of 1st Interstate Highway: Missouri and Kansas. Missouri claims the title because they say the first three contracts under the new program were signed in Missouri during the month of August.

Kansas claims the title saying it was the first state where the actual paving started after the act was signed. Some construction had already started before the act was signed, but legit paving started September 26, 1956. Kansas is so sure they are #1, they went ahead and marked its portion of I-70 as the first project in the US completed under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.

I-70 Ground Breaking – 1956. photo credit: modot.org

It will take 35 years to complete the original portion. The Interstate Highway system has since been extended, and as of 2012, it had a total length of 47,714 miles. It is the world’s second largest interstate system after China’s. The estimated cost of construction is at $425 Billion (in 2006 dollars).

Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of I-94 in Waukesha, Wisconsin 1958. photo credit: thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com

A lot of hard, back-breaking work went into building the stretch of interstate you travel everyday. It might not be as appreciated as it was when construction began, but the United States Interstate System is an engineering marvel that represents the determination and strength of out great country. ExpressTruckTax salutes our great interstate system and all the men and women of our even greater Trucking Nation. Have a memorable 4th of July, and stay safe out there.

American Trucking Association ThrowBack Thursday

Posted on June 12, 2014 by - ATA, throwback Thursday, trucking associations

Welcome back Trucking Nation for an exciting ExpressTruckTax Throwback Thursday. Are you ready for a trip back in time to see how the American Trucking Association made history? Click it to avoid that ticket from the Space Time Continuum Police , it’s a time-travel throwback!

You know em’, you love em’ – The American Trucking Association
The American Highway Freight Association and the Federation Trucking Association merged together in 1933 to form The American Trucking Association. In October the following year they held their very first annual convention in Chicago. Now let’s jump a few years to 1937. Can you guess what happened? During 1937, the ATA realized there was some amazing driving talent within the trucking industry and created the very first National Truck Roadeo that became the National Truck Driving Championships.
Let’s keep it moving to 1953 – during this year, the ATA celebrated their 50th anniversary with a special contest in New York City. During the contest hosted by the Automobile Club of America, 11 trucks and wagons powered by gasoline, steam, and electricity competed to out-haul teams of horses. 
oldride.com
Among their many achievements over the years, the ATA created America’s Road Team in 1986. They fought for higher taxes and fees, as well as advocating for opening up cross-border trucking with Canada and Mexico throughout the 1990s. In 2008, they began endorsing a package of policies aimed at reducing the trucking industry’s fuel usage and carbon footprint. Since then, the trucking industry’s carbon footprint has dropped 88% in sulfur dioxide emissions, 48% in nitrogen oxide emissions and 32% in particulate matter. If the history of the ATA is any reflection of what is to come, I can’t wait for the future.

Hope you enjoyed our trip back to look at the historical achievements of the ATA. May your wheels keep turnin’ and your roads be clear. Have a great weekend Trucking Nation.

For more Throwback Thursday adventures:

Throwback Thursday: The Iconic Trucker Hat

Throwback Thursday: Extreme Hauling

Throwback Thursday: 1970s Trucking Films

Throwback Thursday: The Iconic Trucker Hat

Posted on June 5, 2014 by - expresstrucktax, throwback Thursday, trucker hat history

Trucking Nation, aren’t you happy today is the last day of Roadcheck. This week might have been a bit hectic, but get ready to smile like a crocodile for this edition of ExpressTruckTax ThrowBackThursday!

In our past throwbacks, you have traveled with me through some of the greatest eras in trucking history (linked below), and more time-travel TBTs are on there way. But for this week, I realized you might have been a little extra stressed with the Roadcheck and all, so were going to take a break and look at some iconic trucking culture – we’re throwing it back to the Trucker Hat.

The Trucker Hat (or mesh cap) came into trucking culture in the 1970’s. It is simple in design, with a faintly curved bill, about 6 total pieces, and a button on top. To keep the design as cost efficient as possible, the front section above the bill is made of foam instead of cotton, and the rest is a breathable plastic mesh. To achieve that classic trucker hat look, the foam front stands up straight and stiff, making it taller so those classic hairstyles wouldn’t go flat – I miss the Farrah Flip. 

These hats were referred to as “gimme caps” or feed cap” because they originated as promotional giveaways for feed and farming supply companies to hand out to farmers, truck drivers, or other rural workers. Some companies got really creative with their logos, and color schemes.

In the early 2000s, the mainstream popularity of trucker hats catapulted, and it became a huge trend. They were seen on celebrities, suburban youth, and even cartoon characters.  The trucker hat still has a place in mainstream trends for those people who want to express themselves with interesting catch phrases and logos. – Personally, I like to wear my grandfather’s vintage trucker hats from the 70s and 80s, they just remind me of a simpler time.

This classic hat will always be a part of trucking history, and that’s why it is this weeks topic for our ExpressTruckTax ThrowBackThursday! Be sure to come back for a visit, and don’t forget about e-filing your 2290 HVUT to get your Stamped Schedule 1 next month!

Keep the shiny side up, and stay safe out there,
Misty

Check out our previous editions of ExpressTruckTax ThrowBackThursday:

ThrowBack Thursday: Extreme Hauling

ThrowBack Thursday: 1970s Trucking Films

ThrowBack Thursday: National Transportation Week


ThrowBack Thursday: Extreme Hauling

Posted on May 29, 2014 by - extreme hauls, Mack Titan, throwback Thursday

Welcome back to the next installment of ExpressTruckTax ThrowBack Thursday! This week has just been hectic, gathering as much information as possible for next week’s Road Check and the 2290 HVUT filing season coming up has got me busier than a one-toothed man in a corn-on-the-cob eating contest. I think the entire Trucking Nation would agree, it’s time to take deep breath, relax and enjoy a throwback to the largest hauls in North America.

In 2012, Perkins Specialized Transportation of Northfield, Minn., executed one of the biggest hauls ever made in the U.S.  For this heavy-haul, not just any truck would do. A total of three Mack Titans and additional trucks to transport four 800,000 lb decommissioned generator vessels form San Onofre, Calif., to Clive, Utah. This haul took three years to plan and the building of a 300 ft custom trailer that was as wide as two lane road. The trailer had four separate dollies that could be moved independently, with a total of 192 wheels. At a top speed of 25 mph the 850 mi journey from Calif. to Utah took about 11 days.  Just think, the generators were so massive they had to transport them one at a time, that’s over 6,800 miles!

Let’s go back a little bit further to the largest haul on record in North America. Picture this – Tennessee 1980, its June and the sky is bright blue and crystal clear. You’re outside getting the morning paper and enjoying the cool morning breeze, then your hear the sounds of engines, and in the distance you spot something slowly moving towards you. “What could that be?” you say. That slow creeping metal monster is the largest, heaviest load to ever be hauled in North America, run for your lives! Okay, maybe not run, but what you are about to witness is a 2,314,000 lb reactor pressure vessel being transported from Knoxville to a nuclear power plant in Eastern Tennessee. The load measured 80 ft in length and 26 ft in diameter. The reactor (measuring 80 ft in length and 26 ft in diameter) rested on 2 transport trailers with a total of 384 tires. Each trailer had 12 axles with a load capacity of 825 tons. It took 5 four-wheel tractor dozers to move the reactor with an additional 2 tractors for steep grades. The entire convoy for the transport consisted of 30 vehicles. Even in 1980 it was Go Big or Go Home.

Extreme hauling is an art form. It’s amazing how they have engineered the trailers to maneuver through public roads. Thank you for joining me for this week’s ExpressTruckTax ThrowBack Thursday. Be sure to come back by, you never know where we’re going to go next.

For more ThrowBack Thursday adventure, check these out:

ThrowBack Thursday: 1970s Trucking Films

ThrowBack Thursday: National Transportation Week

ThrowBack Thursday: Trucking in the 1950s

ThrowBack Thursday: 1970s Trucking Films

Posted on May 22, 2014 by - 1970s trucking, throwback Thursday, trucking movies

Happy Thursday Trucking Nation. The week is almost to an end, and it’s a holiday weekend coming up, so I know you are excited about that. Before your Memorial Day celebrations kick off, join me for this week’s ExpressTruckTax Throwback Thursday!

It’s trucking history that never ends, and I really think you will enjoy this trip, we’re going back to the 70s. You read it right truckers, we’re going back to the decade that launched the trucking industry in to main stream popularity. With a little help from Hollywood, and Jerry Reed, a trucker became a symbol for the new American Outlaw. And what two films brought trucking life to movie theaters around the world?

“Convoy”
Can’t you already hear the theme song starting to play? This magical addition to cinema history was debuted in 1978. In this film “Rubber Duck” – along with his fellow truckers “Pig Pen” and “Spider Mike”, are entrapped by unscrupulous Sheriff Lyle “Cottonmouth” Wallace using a CB radio. As “Rubber Duck” and his fellow truckers go on the run to New Mexico, they are joined by other truckers to follow their convoy as a show of support. The main truck driven by our hero, Rubber Duck,was a 1977 Mack RS-712LST. There were 2 other Macks used in filming – the ’73 Mack RS-797LST and the Mack RS731LST.

“Convoy” Fun Facts:
– The truck used for the shootout scene on the bridge had been damaged so badly, that it broke down right before filming and had to be pushed across the bridge by a bulldozer to finish the scene.
– After Rubber Duck and Pig Pen’s trucks crashed through the jail, the grill guard on Rubber Duck’s truck is missing. It mysteriously came back for the end of the movie.
– Trucker convoys were created due to the 55 mph speed limit that was enforced on US Highways. As a result, multiple trucks started driving together at a higher speed, thinking that the police speed traps would only be able to pull over one (if any) of the trucks.

scene from Convoy
A scene shot from the beginning of “Convoy”. photo credit: berglitruckstop

“Convoy” wasn’t the only major motion picture to tell the story of an American Trucker. One other movie brought together a great theme song, and amazing action stunts…”Smokey and The Bandit”!

“Smokey and The Bandit”
The entire nation in 1977 fell for this action comedy where the good guys out run Sheriff Buford T. Justice to win the dare proposed by Big and Little Enos in epic trucker style, and do some pretty awesome car chases in between. Snowman (Jerry Reed) drove his ’73 Kenworth W-900A with his trusty dog, Fred to claim trucker glory in the final scene and “do what they say can’t be done”.
Every year for Thanksgiving when I get together with my family in Tennessee, we watch “Smokey and The Bandit” and my grandfather retells his favorite trucking stories from his trucker days with this ending line, “If I had bandit as my partner, I would have never been pulled over.” 

smokey and the bandit truck
                                                                                                                     photo credit: 18wheelbeauties

Well, it’s time to leave this 70s throwback, I know it’s sad. The 70s were such a great time for trucking in pop culture. I really enjoy seeing Mack and Kenworth trucks from that era. Be sure to come back, you never know where we will go next. For more ThrowBack Thursday excitement, check out more of our special edition blogs:

ThrowBack Thursday: National Transportation Week 
ThrowBack Thursday: Trucking in the 1950s

ThrowBack Thursday: Mid America Trucking Show

ThrowBack Thursday: National Transportation Week

Posted on May 15, 2014 by - mack, national transportation week, throwback Thursday

It’s National Transportation Week, and for the Trucking Nation the team here at ExpressTruckTax thought you all deserved a special throwback to honor your role in the transportation industry. In today’s busy world, truckers operate the most amazing heavy haulers ever created, but back in the day the technology wasn’t so innovative. So buckle up (we wouldn’t want to get a ticket) and let’s go back in time to find out what trucking was like before all the fancy bells and whistles:

photo credit: macktrucks.com
Here is a Model AC by Mack. It was introduced in 1916 and had a chain drive rear axle. The AC Model quickly grew in popularity, earning a remarkable reputation for reliability and durability (this thing was a beast). This truck also made one great soldier, accomplishing nearly impossible military tasks for it’s time. Mack’s famous Bulldog identity was credited to the durability and success of this amazing machine. You had to be tough to ride around in a truck with no windows to protect you from the elements. 

photo credit: railroad-line.com
There is something extra special about that Mack Model AC. It might not have had all the technical advancements but man it’s just as impressive. The Model AC didn’t even need tires to do the job. Logging back in the day was no easy task and took some great engineering to get the logs from the forest to factory. Here you can see they laid out a [log] bridge and retrofitted the truck with driving wheels, like on a train, to stay on track. Who needs tires anyway, right?

Trucks were built for the hard life back then, I mean no windows, no tires, no cup holders. I don’t know how truckers did it, but they found a way. To the ingenuity and creative “MacGyver” skills of truckers, this Throwback Thursday is for you. Happy National Transportation Week!

It was just a short ride back in time for this Throwback, but if you want to take another trip check out our blogs:
ThrowBack Thursday: Trucking in the 1950s
ExpressIFTA Special Edition: TruckerTuesday & National Transportation Week
ThrowBack Thursday: Mid America Trucking Show

ThrowBack Thursday: Trucking in the 1950s

Posted on May 8, 2014 by - throwback Thursday, trucking history, trucking news

Are you ready for a Triple Throwback Thursday? I’ve been touring the history of the trucking industry and when I got to the 1950s, I was surprised at how significant the era was for heavy hauling manufacturing. So join me in an ExpressTruckTax Special Edition Throwback Thursday as we look at the unique history of Kenworth, Freightliner, and Mack.

In 1955, Kenworth launched a radical new design – the Cab-Beside-Engine. This half-cab jewel was a driving innovation, providing better visibility for the driver, vehicle weight reduction and increased capacity. The design saved 700 pounds of dead weight compared to the Cab-Over-Engine construction. The use of Alcoa aluminum alloys is what what shed the pounds for this truck.

                                                                                                       photo credit: trucksplanet.com

In the 1950s, Freightliner was ahead of its time when it comes to alternative-fuel use. They not only optimized long-haul applications while meeting restrictive length laws with the introduction of the WF64, but this truck could run off 3 different fuel types – gasoline, diesel or liquefied propane. The WF64 was a unique innovation that proved alternative-fuel was possible for heavy-haulers. What an amazing achievement for the time.

                                                             photo credit: commercialmotor.com

Last stop on our scenic tour of the 1950s Trucking Industry is Mack. This American Legend manufacturer has been around a long time and in the 50s they out did themselves by launching not 1, but 3 new models of trucks. The G, H and B models  were the epitome of product advancements when Mack introduced them to the trucking industry. The G series featured an all-aluminum cab and could haul big payloads. The H series, or the “Cherry Pickers” were designed with a short bumper-to-back of cab dimension to accommodate 35 ft. trailers within 45 overall legal limits. The shining star of Mack’s new designs was the B series (pictured below). It had a trend setting rounded appearance, which set the new standard for trucks, as with a wide range of model variations to choose from. From it’s introduction in 1953 to it’s discontinuation in 1966 127,786 B models were produced, and many are still in active service today.

                                                                                            photo credit: dieselpoweringmag.com

Who knew there were so many advancements in truck design in such a short amount of time. Thanks for riding along on this tour of 1950s Trucking History, you’re welcome back any time.