So Alex and I were in LA, more or less just cruising around to see what we could find. We ended up having NASA's '87 Peterbilt 310 Amrep Octo merge on the freeway right in front of us and so we followed it for nearly 45 minutes through early morning rush-hour.
After only managing 2 clips before losing the truck, we drove off discouraged. We got about 2 blocks down the road before Alex and I both caught this truck out of the corner of our eyes in a small shopping area.
To put things into perspective, this truck was filmed at one stop a coupe years ago and shared on facebook, so we knew it existed. However that was back when LA Waste & Recycling / Millennium Waste owned it. So after SoCal took possession of their trucks, this truck was put on Craigslist and so we assumed it was done for. Or at least as far as my chances of ever seeing it on route are concerned. So imagine my surprise when we saw this in a parking lot, running route again! We were headed the opposite way that the truck went and we were stuck at a red light, just watching it drive off. Anyone of you who's tried following a commercial truck in a car knows that feeling. So the moment the light changed, I flipped a u-turn before any other cars had a chance to go, and that is the only reason we got even one clip of this truck. Little did I know at the time, that was just one of a series of questionable driving decisions I'd make. But (thankfully) all went smoothly, and when it was all said and done, I ended up with a solid 12 minute video for you guys! Pretty good considering we completely lost it 2 times. Luck was certainly on our side.
Alright, story-time is over. This truck is easily the most amazing truck I've ever filmed, and I doubt I'll ever find something better than this either. Legal Ones have always been one of my favorite front loaders, and if you know me, you know that I am a sucker for black rims on a truck. But this one took it to a whole new level. Just paint the whole dang body black. Throw in some yellow to really make it pop (and prevent idiots from rear ending it) and you have the most visually appealing truck I've ever filmed.... BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Take my second favorite engine, the L10 Cummins (actually, turns out its a 3306 Cat, but still awesome) and just straight pipe it. Who needs a muffler? Let 'em know you're coming!
But in all seriousness, this was a blast to film. A huge thank you goes to the crew for allowing us to tag along for over an hour to make this video. And thank you to SoCal Waste for running this truck.
One last thing, this truck was completely reconditioned by Amrep not too long ago. All components repaired or replaced, so it's basically a new packer body again. Try to find the Amrep badge ;)