NOVEMBER 2007 OLD TIME TRUCKS
MORE THAN SPRINGS & BUMPERS
By John & Shirley Sponholtz

The Hendrickson Motor Truck Company was formed in 1913 by inventor and businessman Magnus Hendrickson.  This small Chicago-based manufacturing company built chain-driven trucks, often equipped with cranes or dump bodies.  Due to the genius of Magnus Hendrickson, the company introduced many innovative designs to meet the needs of its customers.  In 1922 the company built a worm-drive truck with pneumatic tires and in 1926 they introduced the first tandem truck suspension, which mounted the axles on each end of an equalizing beam.  This unique “walking beam” design distributed the truck’s load evenly between the two rear axles, which improved traction and greatly reduced the effects of bumps and potholes in the road.  In the 1930s, the company introduced a power divider that drove both tandem axles.  Hendrickson’s popular K-Series truck used an International cab, but it was replaced in 1970 by the H-Series, which used a larger International cab.  The 1974 H-Series truck pictured here was originally owned by McDougal & Hartman Construction of Peoria, IL.  Its current owner worked for them and bought it in 1995.  Except for some cleanup, the truck is original as you see it here.  Today, Hendrickson no longer makes trucks but is known around the world for their trailer suspension systems, auxiliary axle systems, springs, bumpers and a host of other heavy-duty components.