Maybe something we don't know?

[trukinbear]

Southbound I-5 Oregon I've passed a truck loaded like this one every 2 to 2-1/2 minutes, a spread out convoy.

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[Alexx1401]

They go with the black helicopters that are circling

 

[trukinbear]

They go with the black helicopters that are circling

I must be deaf, I can't hear them

 

[Xaevian]

 

[Meridian7750]

'merica dammit!

 

[trukinbear]

Most of the vehicles looked tired, and covered in bird crap. Being pulled out of mothballs? Going where? All the trucks were private carrier, and I didn't see any troop carriers in the convoy. Maybe they've been sold? Pssst, yeah you - you know your country needs these worn out Humvee, just the thing to get you through the coming oil crisis. Actual miles per gallon this time, not gallons per mile.....

 

[trukinbear]

And look, they fit perfectly the roads of your ancient cities once you've knocked the corners off all the intersection buildings. Easy peasy.

 

[Nosferatu]

First time on the freeway?

Keep the phone in your purse and hands on the wheel, kiddo.

 

[Jade Falcon]

'merica dammit!

 

[gmerkt]

All the trucks were private carrier, and I didn't see any troop carriers in the convoy.

It's fairly common for the DoD to hire commercial carriers to move wheeled vehicles around like that. Especially if they are going in for rebuild, see below.

Even with fully serviceable vehicles, it's sometimes deemed less expensive to ship commercial than it is to round up military drivers, organize a convoy, possibly pay per diem, pay or arrange return travel, and avoid the liability of vehicle mishaps involving what amounts to amateur drivers. In particular for one of the reserve components, who'd have to identify and call up people on FTTD (extra pay drill days) to do it. Commercial carriers assume all the risk. A single vehicle accident or injury involving a service member could cost way more than what hired transportation might cost.

Most of the vehicles looked tired,

At present, models of these vehicles are involved in a modernization and rebuild program in the WA ARNG, and many other units. Some will be replaced by the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). Vehicles going through this program are being rebuilt at Red River Army Depot in Texas. They can knock out about 20 per day. Since these were seen southbound in Oregon, could be they are going all the way on those trailers. After all, we have railhead facilities a lot closer to Camp Murray in Wash. so I doubt they are going to a rail head in Ore. But I couldn't say with certainty.

 

[lucusloc]

The Oregon I-5 corridor has a number of Nat Guard bases and smaller military training grounds, and I believe there is also a fairly substantial vehicle service center around here somewhere. These convoys can be spotted fairly frequently and I have seen several while traveling on 1-5 and watching trains on the nearby rail lines. You will rarely see heavy equipment, or even anything with tracks, but smaller trucks and light vehicles are pretty common.

 

[Knobgoblin]

First time on the freeway?

Keep the phone in your purse and hands on the wheel, kiddo.

 

[trukinbear]

The Oregon I-5 corridor has a number of Nat Guard bases and smaller military training grounds, and I believe there is also a fairly substantial vehicle service center around here somewhere. These convoys can be spotted fairly frequently and I have seen several while traveling on 1-5 and watching trains on the nearby rail lines. You will rarely see heavy equipment, or even anything with tracks, but smaller trucks and light vehicles are pretty common.

I live 120 miles away from I-5, and about as far from a train track so I seldom encounter either, semi trucks other than log/chip haulers, local milk tankers to Rumiano cheese, and outbound crab in season. No truck traffic passes through this area so I thought this spaced out convoy to be curious. Thanks for the info

 

[gmerkt]

Back in the Dark Ages, after I separated from the Regular Army, I met a sergeant major who kind of inveigled me into joining the Army National Guard. Where I stayed for a while, even working for them full time for several years. This was right about when the legal draft dodging National Guard was coming to an end and having to morph into an all volunteer basis. To avoid any driving duties, three of the lower ranking men in my section came up with excuses for not being able to drive. Two of them intentionally flunked the military driver's test. What're you gonna do. By this time, I was an NCO but I still found myself driving a truck to Annual Training. Alone, because there were so few drivers that assistant drivers were there none. A couple of years, I drove a colonel to camp in an M151 (the rear diff. went out on the way in one of them). But more typically, I drove a 5 ton cargo truck, heavily laden with equipment. This thing had a big NH-250 Diesel engine, similar to civilian big rigs but with none of the transmission gearing. This army 5 ton truck had only five (5) forward gears. It had a high and a low range, but those cannot be combined. So when you get to a steep mountain pass, the vehicle speed drops, you have to keep shifting down. Of course you never get down into creeper gear, even in high range. You just couldn't find a gear for this thing. If you were in one gear, you'd be lugging down the engine; going to the next lower gear, the engine would be screaming away at higher rpm. It was maddening, creeping over a mountain pass at 12 mph in one of those things, wondering if you were going to have to scrape a civilian vehicle off your tailgate that didn't see you (yes, it happened but not to me). No air conditioning, lots of heat from the engine, no sound deadening, the roar in the cab was pretty strong. I never wore hearing protection but probably should've.

I never thought of it at the time. But maybe what I should've done, was when we got to the mountain pass, pull out of the convoy to the side of the road. Shift the transfer down into low range, then go up the hill in a higher gear in low range. The rpm range between the different gears wouldn't have been as wide, I'd think. Then on the other side of the hill, pull over again and shift it back into the high range. But this is the kind of individual thing they don't want you to do, break serial out of the convoy. Of course, we didn't have intra convoy communications, no cell phones yet, etc.

There was one nice thing about the difference between the Deuce and a Half and the Five ton. The Five ton had a shock absorber under the driver's seat. Oh, and the Five ton had power steering.

Now that I'm thinking back on it, I never took a camera along anywhere when I was in the Guard. After I went to work for them full time, the fun went out of it. I could no longer just coast along like the first term EM, I was kept fairly busy. During drill and AT, I had two jobs to try to keep up, my full time civil service work, and my position in the unit.

 

[arakboss]

I saw a truck hauling 3 military rigs this morning heading south on I5.

 

[dangerranger60]

Since at least the VN era there have been military repair depots in central CA. I see trucks and trains delivering both old equipment for refitting and returning refreshed equipment. I see so many I don't pay them much attn. DR