I'll skip the toughness part of it, but you are not alone, I drove '68 AutoCar, 13 spd, 2 something cummins, maybe a 220, it was not a 290 thats for sure. Also drove a '72 AutoCar, 13 spd. 335 Cummins, both pulled lowbows, the '68 pulled one large enough to handle a D8K though, the '72 pulled a 50 or 60 ton Rogers, and I moved D8K's, later high track, 8N's which were new in those days, 235 hoes, 980 wheel loaders, 627 scrapers, 12G grader etc. Nothing but truck, you had to wear hearing protection in them, everything in them except the seat was steel.
I ran a '61 B61 Model Mack tandem dump with a 5x4, manual steering, 54K rears, definitely a mack engine, darned thing sounded like a rod was knocking to me at least until I got used to mack engines like that old naturally aspirated lunker.
Also ran those old Ford tandems, 850's with big gas engines, tandems with 5x4's, even an automatic, 318 detroit and Allison.
Thinking back, drove many 4spd/5spd with 2 speed rears, 7 speed (international tandem flatbed, 8 speed with low hole,('87 tri-axle freightliner dump w/315 cummins) 9 speed,('81 Mack R model tandem tractor) 10 speed, (international 4300 with 350 or 400 cummins big cam, first truck I drove with a 3 stage Jacobs engine brake, but also drove it without it before, engine was totally rebuilt and it was added, was on a '64 lowboy that was self contained, it had a wisconsin engine)13 speed (both AutoCar's '68, '72) 13 speed Ford (not Fuller Roadrangers in '77 & '78 Louisville L8000 or L9000 tandem dumps, 5 speed mack, R model, DM' RD's all tandems. Newest one I drove was a '00 Freightliner with a Detroit and 10 speed, that was a bit different than the old ones in regards to the RPM spread where you shift.
The old trucks were a learning curve, I had no formal training, learned from someone 20 years my senior who was a coast to coast owner operator, that ran in the early to mid 60's and up, he just happened to take a mediocre job like the rest of us had at the lumber yard to keep busy. He accompanied me to my NYS Class 1 road test, there was no CDL then.
Yes, most of these were raw truck, you were lucky to have AM/FM and a CB. In regards to shifting, besides the 5x4's, those other transmissions were not hard to learn if you were not a bonehead or had no sense for coordinating speed, engine rpm's with up and downshifting, to me it was common sense, you learned how to smoothly shift, how to approach and handle steep slopes. The R model tandem I drove with a flatbed trailer full of wet pressure treated lumber had no engine brake, you drove those slopes with respect to speed at the approach and to your brakes, by not overheating them, so that takes some experience, that and knowing you cannot get caught out of gear. I do recall the monkey on the back feeling with these heavy loads, there was always a little driver stress knowing whats behind you on a trailer. I really never cared for driving truck, but did so as necessary, full time for several years, then as assigned, all to make a paycheck, and still have my license and current medical card.
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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