Uncovering the evolution of the different packer designs, the stories of the men and haulers behind the shaping of the trucks we drive today is an important story to the waste industry.
Zachary Geroux
Legacy. It鈥檚 a concept that drives every man to create something and leave a piece of themselves behind. So when I explain the motivation behind my passion for the waste industry, that is the one word which encapsulates it all. The legacy is not my own but of those whose stories are not told or known. From a very young age, like some of you I鈥檓 sure, I was fascinated by the refuse truck that serviced my house twice a week. The design and technology behind how they worked was the one thing that always stuck with me. I also had a love of history growing up and one day these two loves merged and the history of refuse trucks became my passion. Some people love cars and truck; others are sports fanatics who could quote you statistics until they were blue in the face. That鈥檚 how I feel about refuse trucks. Uncovering the evolution of the different packer designs, the stories of the men and haulers behind the shaping of the trucks we drive today is the story that I鈥檓 recording.
Early Workhorses
The trucks of our profession were designed to be workhorses. The daily punishment they endured meant a relatively short life span, followed by a trip to the scrap yard. No one thought to save refuse trucks because they hold no value unless they鈥檙e making you money. In today鈥檚 world, you would be hard pressed to find a refuse truck built later than the 1990s. However, there are still some survivors out there in back lots, junkyards, and fields collecting rust and age. On a recent trip to Idaho, I found a late 1940s/early 1950s Leach Refuse Getter over a Ford of the same vintage rusting away in someone鈥檚 yard. He had bought it to turn the Ford into a rat-rod and had no interest in the body. How about an original Gar Wood Slam Door Load Packer and LP-200 I uncovered in Washington? Those are both at the Waste Pro Refuse Truck Museum in Florida. These trucks are out there and I need your help finding them.
One of my goals behind this new monthly vintage feature is to detail the different refuse collection philosophies in different regions, how they developed, and the 鈥渨hy鈥� behind it.聽 For example, those not from the Pacific Northwest who run roll-off operations might not know about the Continuous Chain Hoist run exclusively in this area. What about the single point, triangle frontload system designed by LoDal for their front loaders used in some parts of the Midwest, or bottom channel forks used in Southern California? Are any of these methods better than others used in different parts of the country or is it just something that haulers have always done and it works for their operation? Tell me about a unique or different collection method used in your area of the country and why do you choose that system.
Past Manufacturers
Most of us can count on two hands the number of body manufactures who have gone out of business in the last 30 years. There are so many companies whose history and information is fragmented and incomplete. For example, in Southern California, the front loader was originally created in 1952 by S. Vincent Bowles as a simple non-compaction body with a simple straight loading arm and bucket on the end. Information about some of the early builders is not known besides a company name and possibly a picture or two to go along with it. Some obscure companies include Cook Bros, Pico Body, and A&P Body. In the 1970s the LA market broke open for cheap frontload bodies. Many welders, hydraulic and metal fabricators who worked for the big companies: Bowles, Bemars, Western Body and Hoist, and Maxon, left to start their own companies making a few trucks here and there for one of the many haulers around their shop. Not many of them are known as they sometimes only made a handful of trucks. Some of the names I鈥檝e come across are Medallion, Cougar Truck Body, Standard Carriage, Rite-Way Mfg and Active Enterprises. If you remember these companies, owned some of their trucks or have pictures, drop me a line, help me fill in the blanks and put a better face to these names!
Your Piece to the Puzzle
Finally, I leave you with this. My father told me when I was younger, when I didn鈥檛 see the point in studying my history lessons, that you can鈥檛 know where you鈥檙e going in life, until you know where you鈥檝e been. Every hauler, dealer and manufacturer has a piece to this puzzle鈥攚hether it鈥檚 a picture, information, brochure, manual or location of an old truck. This is why I need your help to complete the story, which has become the legacy of the haulers and body manufacturers. This way, as we continue to forge ahead into the future, we will always know where we came from and where we鈥檝e been.
Zachary Geroux is a historian, photographer and owner of Refuse Truck Photography. He lives in Western Washington with his wife where he currently works full time for the Air Force and has been driving garbage trucks off and on for the past nine years.
He can be reached at [email protected] or visit .
Starting in September 2015, Zachary will host a spot in 国产麻豆 called 鈥淰intage History Corner鈥� where he will highlight the history of a specific body manufacturer and truck model. If you have a vintage truck story you would like to share, contact Zachary at the above information.
