Hello all! Jumping right back into footage from my recent trip to California, this week's all-new video features a true SoCal classic combo: the venerable Peterbilt 320 cab and chassis paired with an Amrep Octagonal automated side load body. This pairing could arguably be considered the gold standard of automated collection in California, operating for decades as the automated collection vehicle of choice for countless haulers in the state. Some unique features of this particular truck include the extra-long high-capacity body, extended chassis with tag-axle, and extra-large tailgate for even more added load capacity. Overall, this was an incredibly fun truck to watch, and I hope you all enjoy watching it too!
As always, a big thanks goes out to this friendly and professional driver for letting me shoot some video!
Garbage Trucks: From Northern Idaho to Southern California
It's been two years now since I put together the first installment of a series of nearly-20-minute-long multi-truck mega-compilations, and now after many more miles on the road and countless hours of filming and editing, the time has come for the next piece of this ever-popular series! This third chapter covers by far the most territory of any compilation I've published to-date, and also showcases the widest variety of trucks I've ever been able to film. From scenic northern Idaho, to the pine trees and mountains of northwest Washington, down the often rainy Oregon coast, and all the way to sunny SoCal, this compilation covers some of the most diverse variety of garbage trucks that North America has to offer. From automated side loaders to rear loaders; curb-sort recyclers to residential front loaders, and everything in between! There's even a delivery van that's been converted into a recycling truck! All of these clips are one-off's from all of my filming adventures over the past year-and-a-half, for most of these trucks, this is the only footage I was able to get, and many if not most of them will never be featured on my channel anywhere but in this upload. As always, comments and questions are more than welcome!
I would also like to extend my warmest thanks to everyone involved in making this video possible! From the fellow Garbage Truck Enthusiasts that joined me for most of these journeys, to the courteous and professional drivers of each of these trucks, thank you!
Autocar WX64 - F. F. Gomez Contender
The Maxon Legal One series of bodies has long been when of my favorites, ever since having my garbage occasionally collected by a Legal One manual side loader throughout my childhood. As such, the faithfully replicated reincarnations of the Legal One front-end loaders and automated side loaders built by F. F. Gomez have been high up on my must-see list for years. On all of my previous journeys to SoCal, I've managed to spot dozens of them out on the streets, but I never managed to be in the right place at the right time to catch one on video. Naturally, that made them one of my highest priorities on my most recent adventure, and on my very first day in California, I was able to catch this fine example doing its thing! This particular build of the F. F. Gomez Contender ASL is my absolute favorite, as it features the Sunbelt automated arm, making it a true throwback to the original Maxon ASL's. Being paired up with this Autocar Xpeditor WX64 cab and chassis, one could almost mistake it for a mid-90's Maxon ASL from a distance. I am beyond thrilled to finally be able to present one of these trucks here on my channel, and I hope you all enjoy it as well!
As always, a huge thank you goes out to the extremely friendly driver of this truck for doing a stellar job and allowing me to shoot some video!
CCC LET - Heil Formula 4000
Here is the next installment of adventures with SSC, this time featuring one of their commercial rear loaders! This single-axle Crane Carrier Co. Low-Entry Tilt (LET) cab and chassis is paired up with a mid-sized Heil Formula 4000 rear load body is the perfect size for navigating the narrow alley ways, crowded parking lots, and tight apartment complexes that make up this commercial route. The Formula 4000's quick packing cycles and kick-bar easily keep up with the 1- and 2-yard dumpsters with ease. The most unique feature of this truck is the cart tipper assembly. A Bayne Thinline Taskmaster cart tipper is affixed to a custom frame work below the hopper sill. When it's time to empty a dumpster, this whole assembly is raised up by two hydraulic cylinders, folding up over the hopper, and out of the way of the kick-bar and hopper sill. This allows the cart tipper to be installed without having to make any permanent modifications to the kick-bar or hopper sill. I was able to catch this truck handling a very well-rounded variety of stops from a number of different angles, which I think made for one of my best videos to-date! I am quite proud of how this one turned out, and I hope you all enjoy it too!
As always, a huge thank you goes out to this very friendly, dedicated and hard-working driver!
WhiteGMC WXLL - Maxon SL-108
The last time I found myself in Southern California, much of San Diego County was still dominated by manual yard waste collection. A handful of places had started to dabble in semi-auto yard waste collection by offering residents a choice between carted or manual collection. The City of San Diego had begun to pilot automated yard waste collection, and Oceanside had become one of the very first places in the county to fully automate yard waste collection. Now fast forward nearly four years to today, and manual yard waste collection has become all but a thing of the past. The endless plethora of '80s and '90s MSL's that used to dominate the yard waste collections have almost completely vanished, replaced by modern ASL's. Of the few remaining places with manual yard waste collection, most are handled by front loaders with carry cans. So what a treat it was for me to be able to find and film this gorgeous Maxon Eagle manual side loader paired up with an equally appealing WhiteGMC WXLL cab and chassis handling some manual yard waste in National City! Since I was there in the middle of January, there was not much in the way of yard waste out at the curb, so it was a real challenge trying to keep up and get some good video! But I believe the end result was well worth the effort! This truck has been so well preserved, that watching it chug through its route almost felt like stepping right back in time! It's always an honor getting to see a classic garbage truck in action, and this particular truck was no exception! I hope you all enjoy watching this truck as much as I did!
Here's a big thank you to the hard working driver of this truck for letting me get some video of it in action!
