I just found out some info on this truck.
"Allentown, PA – Mack Trucks, Inc., which gained its Bulldog identity during World War I, has again rallied its troops to support America’s military.
According to Sam Carr, Mack’s manager of international accounts, Mack people, dealers, customers and suppliers recently joined ranks in a spirited fashion to help the U.S. Army fill an unusual, yet highly critical, order during Operation Desert Storm.
Carr said that on December 21, 1990, the Army contacted Mack in search of 48 tractor trailer combinations that would be used to transport huge 70-ton M-1A1 Abrams tanks and other military equipment to the front lines. Without the semis, the tanks would have been forced to travel as far as 200 miles across the rugged desert terrain of Saudi Arabia. The solo trek would have greatly increased the likelihood of costly, dangerous breakdowns and excessive fuel consumption.
One of Mack’s toughest Bulldogs, the RD800, was drafted for the job.
Mack Trucks was given only 20 days to fill the order.
“We found ourselves in the middle of a very real emergency,” said Carr. “Rather than risk missing our deadline, we decided to complete the order by pulling the RD800s from dealer inventories. To accomplish this, of course, we needed the cooperation of our dealers.”
After scouring North America in search of the vehicles, Carr found the RD800s that he wanted.
- Worldwide Equipment, Inc. of Prestonsburg, Kentucky sent 19
- South Kentucky Mack of Somerset, Kentucky sent 18
- Knoxville Mack of Knoxville, Tennessee sent eight
- M.A. Caribbean Corporation of Caguas, Puerto Rico sent one
The remaining two were procured from Mack’s inventory, one each from Mack Used Trucks and Mack Canada.
“The dealers were 100 percent supportive, often sending us vehicles that were already ticketed for customer delivery,” said Carr.
Having located the vehicles, which were all straight trucks outfitted for coal hauling, Carr next had to coordinate their delivery to Lehigh Consolidated Industries (LCI), Inc. of Stockertown, Pennsylvania.
LCI modified the trucks by installing fifth wheels and trailer brake packages.
Carr’s deadline for on-time delivery to Bayonne, New Jersey was January 10, 1991. The logistical headache turned into a nightmare when Carr was notified in the midst of the run that the caravan had been reassigned to Jacksonville, Florida. On top of that, the deadline had been moved up one day to January 9!
Despite the odds, and having to arrange for new state permits to accommodate the oversized 12-foot wide trailers, the Army’s newest ally made its appointment.
Carr said overcoming the odds for making delivery required a joint operation between the company, the Mack distributors and the vendors.
Carr summarized by saying, “It was obvious that the national interest needed to be served, and I was proud to play a part in helping our country win the war. I’m sure that there are countless other example of how good logistic support separated the winners from the losers. Just ask Saddam.”
My truck is one of those trucks. It has a sticker in the door that says "Outfitted by Lehigh Consolidated Industries". There was also a phone number but when I call it said the number was no longer in service.
