Republic Truck Meets
Big Challenges
By David McMacken
[private]Within the company’s first year, several events energized the Republic organization. A Republic truck won a truck contest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the competition several trucks were in the running, so to speak, and were being judged on several characteristics: motor, drive, frame, general assembly and utility. The truck had to sell in the area of $2,000. When the points were totaled, the Republic met or surpassed all criteria and was given the “palm.” The winning Republic truck was selling for $1,350.
A Republic truck had been purchased by the U. S. government for use in the Arizona wilderness between the Mexican border and the tracks of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Arizona had just become a state, and some of this vast area had never been traversed by a wheeled vehicle, either motor-driven or horse-drawn. Some area had never been surveyed. The demands on the Republic, carrying supplies for a party of engineers as well as its own fuel were extreme. The Republic was chosen over its competitors for its strength, power, and reliability.
One of the rarest used of a Republic truck occurred early in the company’s history. The Mexican army was engaged in warfare with rebels led by Poncho Villa. The Mexican government was one of the first to use trucks in battling insurgents, and the Mexican army had obtained more than 100 motor vehicles and a number of armored trucks from France, Germany and Italy.
The rebels, likewise, saw the need for mechanization. They did not have time or resources to import trucks from Europe. Instead, they sent representatives to investigate the truck companies in the U. S., and found the one-ton Republic Truck to their liking. Soon four of these trucks were in a secret shop where armor plates were attached. With plating, the truck was impervious to either Mauser or machine gun fire. Plates were installed on the truck’s bottom, too, protecting it from mines. The wheels, supplied with Firestone solid rubber tires, could be removed and replace with flanged wheels for use on railroad tracks. The heavy truck could travel 40 miles per hour on the railroad and carry supplies for a 500 mile run. Each truck was designed to carry three machine guns and one field rife as well as a crew of twelve. These armored personnel carriers were taken to Mexico to join the rebellion.
It was clear to the managers of the Republic Company that the basic chassis could be adapted to many needs. If Republics were serving as armored trucks in Mexico, surely the possibilities were nearly limitless. The city of Anacortes, Washington, north of Seattle, was ready to buy a fire truck. A committee hired a special mechanic in Seattle to examine the various trucks available in the city. He drove them all, judging power, speed, and hill-climbing abilities. He recommended the Republic for purchase. The trucks final test was the 100 mile fun to Anacortes where it would undergo another series of grueling tests. The Republic made the run in six hours and 15 minutes, burning only seven gallons of gasoline. The truck met all other tests with ease, and a check for the purchase price was handed over to the manager of the Settle Republic agency. In Alma a truck chassis was fitted with a combination chemical and hose body and was soon on its way by rail to the Anacortes fire department.
Taking orders by letter or telegraph or telephone must have been exciting for the sales department. They never knew what unusual request would appear. Rev. Joseph Deal of Flint requested that a motor home be designed for him. It was to be built on a regular Republic chassis and powered by the customary 30 horsepower engine. The body was to cover all of the truck from the very front to the back, a distance of 18 feet. It was to be six feet high and six feet wide, and looked like a very large box on wheels. Inside, it was to be finished with living quarters for the minister, his wife, his two children, and an associate minister. On the very rear of the truck a folding platform could be lowered so that the minster might use it to deliver his messages to the crowds that would surround his car. This early motor home cost nearly $2,000, and its first journey was to Petoskey, Michigan, followed by a trip to towns in western Tennessee.
Exerpt taken from David McMacken’s “Flash and Fizzle”[private]