Last night I watched a “Modern Marvel” episode on the first trucks. Among many things, names like Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack, Cummins and of course Rudolph Diesel came up. But what I didn’t know surprised me the most.
Did you know that in 1931 Clessie Cummins drove from coast-to-coast in a diesel truck (Cummins-powered of course) that only consumed $11.22 worth of fuel? Pretty crazy huh? These days $11.22 worth of fuel would be burned off within the first 30-45 minutes of a long road trip.
Also surprising was how unaccepted the first combustion engine-equipped trucks were by the freight-movers that were still using horses. According to The History Channel, horseback teamsters used to back their horses and trailers into the radiators of gas-powered trucks to put them out of commission and temporarily disable them from moving their freight!