Supply Post · supplypost.com
October 2024 ED MILLER
A TRU C KE R’S TALE
The Amazingly Versatile, Multi-Purpose Dump Truck All Seabee truck drivers and equipment operators carried holstered Colt 45 handguns and M-16 assault rifles. Thankfully, none of us ever fired them during combat, even though we did work in hostile territory mostly every day. Those times that we were required to do construction in an area of ongoing enemy activity, or when we replaced highway culverts while working during the night, we were guarded by either Army or Marine troops. Both groups literally “had our backs,” and we will always be indebted to those guys. Although the Army’s Camp Evans sat adjacent to the Seabee’s Camp Haines, Camp Evans frequently came under fire from rockets and mortars. This was likely due to Camp Evans being an operations base for Cobra attack helicopters. We had heard some of the Army soldiers saying they wished they had some dump trucks of their own so they could stockpile sand, which would enable them to fill sandbags to build stronger bunkers. The nightly rocket attacks scared the soldiers. Hell, when they were hit, we were also likely to be hit and it scared us, too. The “incoming” warning sirens also sent us to our bunkers. One way to thank the Army soldiers for providing our security, even though they never asked us to do so, was to use some of our time off Sunday afternoons to deliver dump truck
loads of sand to numerous locations throughout Camp Evans. After we had dumped the first load of sand, word quickly got around the base, so all we had to do was drive through their gate with another load of sand and soldiers would suddenly appear to direct us to a delivery point. One Sunday afternoon, we had so many dump trucks on Camp Evans that it looked like a Seabee camp. The Army dudes acted like Christmas had come, and we were glad we could do this for them. Most of the Army soldiers tried to outshine each other, just as we Seabees did with balancing 110 ft telephone poles on the forks of a forklift, which led to many of their bunkers being quite elaborate, which, of course required many sandbags. When our initial supply of sand was depleted, the Army soldiers requested more sand by letting us know that they would love to trade items for more truck loads. We had the sand they wanted. They had the things we wanted, such as jungle boots, boonie hats, and poncho liners. We quickly learned the barter system worked damned well in Southeast Asia. One night during a mortar attack on the Army base, Camp Evans, we Seabees ran from our beds and dove into our bunker located on the side of our hooch. When we noticed one of our guys missing, a friend and I ran back into our hooch, where we found Bob trying
TRU C K S
Mack Refreshes Mack MD Series Mack Trucks has announced a significant refresh of its Mack MD Series diesel and electric medium-duty trucks, featuring a larger cab that improves the driver environment and incorporates new safety features. These updates further strengthen Mack’s mediumduty offering to meet evolving customer needs and applications. “The launch of the refreshed Mack MD Series once again demonstrates Mack’s
commitment to delivering the best medium-duty truck for our customers,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “Since the MD Series was introduced in 2020, Mack has continued to listen to our
his best to crawl into his own clothes locker. We think this action may have been caused by him spending his evening at the enlisted men’s club. Nevertheless, we grabbed him and dragged him out to the bunker. The following morning, Bob didn’t believe our version of what actually happened during the night, and although he did remember having been in the bunker the previous evening, he wasn’t about to admit that he had tried to paw his way into his own locker. Every trucker knows that dump trucks basically have only one purpose, but a friend of ours found another use for his dump bed during lunch one day. This fellow had pulled his truck into position to be loaded first after lunch, and it was parked alongside a dirt wall. A bulldozer would push the dirt over the top of the 20’ high wall, and then a front-end loader would load each dump truck. The dozer driver stayed on his equipment while he ate his C-rations, which provided him with a view of all personnel and trucks below him. We all watched the driver of that first parked dump truck as he climbed from his cab. He walked several yards to greet this nice looking, 18to 20-year-old young woman who had come to visit him. The driver helped the girl up into the bed of the dump truck, and he had come prepared by bringing his poncho liner (blanket).
I suppose our Commanding Officer just loved keeping track of how we were performing our duties, because he drove-up in his Jeep just after the driver had taken his girl into his bed (dump bed that is). The CO asked of the missing driver’s whereabouts, and someone told him that he had gone behind some bushes to do his “business.” After speaking with the rest of us for a few minutes, the CO drove away. After lunch, the dump truck driver had a big smile on his face as he helped the girl down off the rear of the dump bed. He walked with her for a short distance before he returned to his truck. Before we started back to work, the dozer operator hollered down at us to get our attention. He asked that we not label him as Peeping Tom, but due to his position on top of the wall, he had watched the driver with his girl while the CO was on-site. He also said that the soldier, who had told
the captain about the missing driver doing his “business,” sure as hell knew what he was talking about, because the driver had certainly been giving the “business” to the girl the whole time the CO was talking to us a few feet away in his Jeep. The dozer operator said he damnednearly laughed out loud when the dump truck driver looked up at the dozer operator, grinned at him, and shot him a “thumbs-up.” We all applauded the dump truck driver for “unloading on time.” I was driving supply runs back and forth from Danang, so I did not witness
that particular driver having other clandestine meetings with the young lady, but other drivers related that the couples “get-togethers” happened frequently for several weeks. SP
customers and make ongoing improvements to meet their operational needs. The Mack MD Series is available with diesel or electric drivetrain options in the MD6, a Class 6 model with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 25,995 pounds, and the MD7, a Class 7 model with a GVWR of 33,000 pounds. Both models are exempt from the 12% Federal Excise Tax (FET). These key updates – now standard on the MD without raising its price – include enhanced driver comfort and safety features, while improving ease of installa-
tion for body builders. The biggest change is that the MD’s cab is now four inches longer than the previous version, which gives drivers more seat recline and leg room. This refreshed cab further shows how the Mack Anthem® cab influenced the MD cab design and many of the shared driver-comfort features, such as an overhead console for additional storage. The interior boasts premium satin aluminum trim, improved seating with lumbar support and enhanced LED lighting. New steering wheel controls for cruise control, telephone and audio functions have been added,
increasing driver convenience and safety. All of these have been popular with Mack’s Class 8 customers. The trucks now come standard with several enhanced safety features including new ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) with ATC (Automatic Traction Control), radio mute in reverse and a park brake alarm. Pre-wired body builder connections relocated air dryer and updated wheelbases to industry-standard Cab to Axle (CA) dimensions make the updated MD Series easier to install an even wider array of body installations than previously.
“The MD Series continues to build on the success of our initial medium-duty offering,” Randall said. “Built with Mack’s heritage of reliability, these enhancements will provide a more versatile and efficient truck, across a wide range of applications.” The MD Series is a leading choice for various applications, including dry van/ refrigerated, stake/flatbed, dump and tank truck vocations. The MD6 model does not require a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) to operate for non-hazardous payloads. SP
Me, standing beside one of the dump trucks we used to haul sand to the Army soldiers.
Sandbags protecting an Army APC (Armored Personnel Carrier).
ED MILLER
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Ed Miller (atruckerstale@ gmail.com) has more than 40 years of management and ownership experience in the trucking industry. Today, he is a parttime tour bus driver, published author of “A Trucker’s Tale”, and regular contributor to Supply Post. He is a father of three and a grandfather of two, and lives with his wife in Rising Sun, Maryland.
Source: Mack