Hi Jim,
Great to hear from you. Your inquiry about this odd trailer of C66 has brought you to the
right place. I had to do some deep digging not only into my photo files but also into my
memory. C66 was in business from 1926 to 1986 and Frank Campbell was known in the
trucking industry as one of the pioneers. The company developed a lot of ideas about the
most efficient way to move freight via truck. Some were great ideas and others flopped.
This trailer is an example of one that flopped. During the 1950s and 1960s, small freight
shipments began to change. They became lighter and less dense due to the use of
plastics and other lighter materials. Plastics replaced steel, cardboard boxes replaces
wooden crates etc. Because of this, we were packing our trailers with small shipments that
completely filled the trailer but came nowhere close to exceeding the weight limits allowed.
We came up with the idea of expanding the floor of the trailer gaining additional cubic
space. The floor had four large doors that opened up for this storage space but when
closed would still allow a heavy loaded forklift to operate into the trailer normally. It did
allow more freight to be loaded however, the drawbacks were that it was difficult for the
loader to bend over and dig the freight out of the pouch hence the increased labor cost
outweighed the revenue the additional pouch shipments produced. C66 had three of these
trailers built as I recall. Your photo is of no. 2606. I am sending you my photo that shows
the brand new no. 2605 just after being hand painted by Bill Boyd at our Springfield Shop.
As a side note, I would call your attention to the overhead door on these trailers. C66 in
conjunction with the Whiting Door Company of Indiana developed the overhead door for
trailers you now see on the road today. C66 made over 700 design changes in the Whiting
door to make it work on these trailers. And it all started when Mr. Campbell expressed his
ire over our spending too much money replacing the swinging doors our drivers were
tearing off backing into tight delivery docks. Your inquiry has given me joy in remembering
the great days of Campbell 66 Express and Humpin" to Please.
Thanks, Bruce Crim
Great to hear from you. Your inquiry about this odd trailer of C66 has brought you to the
right place. I had to do some deep digging not only into my photo files but also into my
memory. C66 was in business from 1926 to 1986 and Frank Campbell was known in the
trucking industry as one of the pioneers. The company developed a lot of ideas about the
most efficient way to move freight via truck. Some were great ideas and others flopped.
This trailer is an example of one that flopped. During the 1950s and 1960s, small freight
shipments began to change. They became lighter and less dense due to the use of
plastics and other lighter materials. Plastics replaced steel, cardboard boxes replaces
wooden crates etc. Because of this, we were packing our trailers with small shipments that
completely filled the trailer but came nowhere close to exceeding the weight limits allowed.
We came up with the idea of expanding the floor of the trailer gaining additional cubic
space. The floor had four large doors that opened up for this storage space but when
closed would still allow a heavy loaded forklift to operate into the trailer normally. It did
allow more freight to be loaded however, the drawbacks were that it was difficult for the
loader to bend over and dig the freight out of the pouch hence the increased labor cost
outweighed the revenue the additional pouch shipments produced. C66 had three of these
trailers built as I recall. Your photo is of no. 2606. I am sending you my photo that shows
the brand new no. 2605 just after being hand painted by Bill Boyd at our Springfield Shop.
As a side note, I would call your attention to the overhead door on these trailers. C66 in
conjunction with the Whiting Door Company of Indiana developed the overhead door for
trailers you now see on the road today. C66 made over 700 design changes in the Whiting
door to make it work on these trailers. And it all started when Mr. Campbell expressed his
ire over our spending too much money replacing the swinging doors our drivers were
tearing off backing into tight delivery docks. Your inquiry has given me joy in remembering
the great days of Campbell 66 Express and Humpin" to Please.
Thanks, Bruce Crim
Photo of a experimental trailer Campbell 66 Express tried out in the early '60s.
This photo was taken by Jim Steele of one of the old Camel Pouch trailers. It was painted over but
you can still see a faint Campbell 66 Express logos. Jim wrote to Bruce asking if he had more
information about this trailer. Below is the email Bruce sent back to Jim.
you can still see a faint Campbell 66 Express logos. Jim wrote to Bruce asking if he had more
information about this trailer. Below is the email Bruce sent back to Jim.
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