Road to the Past

We are ready to do battle with mud or sand. The County Line now has its very own Army truck.

When I first heard it rumble into the farmyard, I grabbed my camera and found both Randy and Jake grinning from ear to ear. 

"Boys and their toys," I told them.

Randy bought the 1991 5-ton, 6-wheel drive Army truck from a local auto repair shop, which has bought and resold at least 10 of the trucks. Randy plans to add a feed box on the back of ours and will use it to feed cattle in the winter. Some of the other people who've purchased the trucks around here are using them to haul water and chemicals.

Back during the Korean Conflict, Randy's Dad drove an Army truck. We don't have photos of the trucks he operated, but I did find some photos online that might represent the vehicles he drove.

I wonder what Melvin would think of the latest addition to the vehicle fleet around here. I'm guessing he'd been grinning, too. Boys and their toys, you know.

I practically needed a boost to get up into the cab for my maiden voyage around the section.

 I felt like I was up among the tree branches as we motored down the road.

This shows the size of the truck, compared to our pickup.

Our diesel-powered Army truck has 16,000 miles on it. It has a heater, but no air conditioner. You can't have everything, I guess.

The operator can inflate or deflate tires from the cab. If you're starting to get stuck in the mud or sand, you can let out air to increase the surface area. If you get a hole in the tire, you can inflate it from the comfort of your truck cab.

Of course, it will have to rain for us to test out the maneuverability of this monster machine.

Randy had some help reading his new instruction manual. Kinley seemed pretty excited about the new addition to the farm fleet, too.

Kinley's Grandma is reserving judgment.