Riding in a 1967 Mack R-Model Wrecker - Coming Home from the 2019 ATCA National Meet in Macungie, PA

On the way up to this year's ATCA National Meet in Macungie, PA, I lost a wheel bearing on my truck. Being Father's Day weekend, no local repair shops were open, so I was unable to drive it home at the end of the day. I arranged for a family friend with a truck & trailer to go pick it up, but he wasn't able to get up there until the following Monday, so I had to find a ride home.

I walked around the show looking to find anyone headed back towards South Jersey on their way home who might be able to give me a ride. I was introduced to Louis Barber, who had his 1967 Mack R-model wrecker on display at the show. He was from South Jersey and was going to be passing through my town in a convoy with a few other truckers on his way home. He was kind enough to let me ride along with him, and we got to talking... turned out we had a couple friends in common, and he even recognized me from the "famous" 1977 Peterbilt 359 video! What a small world.

His truck is a Mack R607ST with an interesting history. It was originally a tractor, but later had a Holmes 750 wrecker body installed. The previous owner, Johnny Lilla (also from South Jersey) ran it all over the eastern U.S. (and even traveled out to Utah with it one time) for his towing & recovery service. He put about 1.2 million miles on the truck before Louis bought it in 1998.

The truck had a 673 Thermodyne engine and Triplex 15-speed transmission when new. The 673 had problems on a trip down south many years ago, and a nearby Mack dealer replaced it with a 237 Maxidyne they had sitting around. Louis replaced the Triplex with a Quadruplex 18-speed after he acquired the truck. It had new frame rails put under it some time ago, and the cab and hood were just recently repainted. This truck sure has been around. Louis takes it to the Macungie show every year.

I owe Louis a huge thank-you for giving me a ride home from the show. He was a great guy to talk to once I got to know him, and we became very friendly during the ride. That R-model is his pride and joy. I'd like to find an R-model myself, someday...they built America and are one of the toughest trucks ever made.