This 1912 C-T electric truck is a heavy-duty four-wheel drive Model A 10 that was produced by the Commercial Truck Company of Philadelphia. All 22 of these trucks were originally open-air with a simple folding top. However, at some point the Charles Wacker Company built and installed the more modern closed cab on 20. Red oak was used for the construction of the cab and it matches the rest of the vehicle. The truck bed however is two sections of 1/4″ thick steel plate over 2″ thick red oak, and it is secured by over 500 bolts–this kind of incredible over-building is likely a large contributor to so many surviving 100+ years later. The yellow area below the bed is the battery compartment, and while pneumatic tires were available, solid rubber items were specced from new here. The steering and throttle are both combined on the single vertical shaft seen here. The spokes can be seen, but the rims for both wheels are missing. The top wheel was for steering, and the lower wheel controlled the throttle which handled both forward and reverse. Turning it clockwise accelerated the truck forward, an opposite movement slowed or reversed the truck–a foot brake was also provided. Each wheel is backed by one 85-volt, 10-amp General Electric motor. The each produced 16 HP when new, and give the truck true four wheel drive. In the battery compartment, nine trays were used to hold a 500 pound, five-foot-long lead-acid battery pack that produced 10 volts. Today five modern 12-volt batteries can replace the 45 originals for full power, but according to the seller just one 12-volt will suffice to move it. Interestingly, the seller says each truck could operate for 22 hours (unladen) on a single charge. A full recharge took two hours, battery units could be swapped (technology the Curtis Publishing Company employed), and ten years of service was possible before needing to rebuild the batteries. #ev #electrictruck #electrictrucks #electric #batterypowered #cdljob #cdljobs #cdlhunter #ayearago #throwback🔙 #100yearsago #rustytruck #rustytrucks #throwbackpic #yearsago #thosewerethedays #throwbacks #thursdaythrowback #throwback #workingtruck #workingtrucks #history #vintage (at United States) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClbAUEIuhvC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
