Re: Freight on Streets Of San Francisco--Willig Freight Lines
Author: George Andrews
Date: 01-08-2015 - 19:40
Yes, Willig did buy a dozen or so Volvo 2 axle conventional line tractors around 1993. Still, they remained committed to cab-overs much longer than most of the other "California Doubles " LTL carriers. I really didn't see much of their old fleet sold to other carriers after their shutdown in 1995; kinda strange considering how well they maintained their equipment. Of course I moved to Seattle in April of 1995, where Willig had only a small presence compared to Cailfornia and Nevada. I will say all the LTL drivers respected and admired the Willig guys. Basically, if we saw Willig pull over to hang chains, we did so too !!! And if they said they were waiting for conditions to improve, we did too. I spent many a long night watching those twin happy faces blow by me in the San Joaquin Valley fog.
Off topic I know, but it's worth noting that for many years any carrier wanting to run doubles in California was basically required to use cab-over tractors, due to CAL - PUC's length limit of 65 feet, " from front bumper of power unit to rear bumper of rear trailer."