When automobiles and trucks became available in the early 20th century dairies slowly began to transition from animal power to vehicle power. Small companies sprang up, specializing in manufacture of “delivery trucks.”
It wasn’t until 1938 that a delivery truck came on the scene that came close to being universally accepted, when the Divco-Twin Truck Co. introduced a streamlined, modern-looking truck with a “drop frame,” all-steel body and a snub nose: the Divco Model U.
With entry close to the ground, the truck could be driven from either sitting or standing position, the drop frame was a boon for deliverymen.
Not only was the new Divco functional, it was good looking. Designed on a clean sheet of paper, its style was universally acclaimed. For the next 5 decades that little truck was the industry standard. In fact, it's one of the few automotive product that is universally known by its main job: delivering milk. (of course the UPS truck, the Curbmaster for roach coachs, and the Helm's bakery truck are the others that come to mind instantly)
Built extra sturdy, Divco milk trucks were designed to haul considerable weight. Early models had a load rating of 3,000 pounds. Claimed to have a life expectancy of 10 years, twice the competitor vehicles, the Divco cost more than its competitors.
The Divco milk truck had a long production run; the last one in 1986. Even though modifications and improvements were made from time to time (such as higher speeds, increased hauling capacity and the addition of refrigeration), demand fell off to almost nothing as home delivery disappeared from modern life due to the refrigerator.
Because of their relative scarcity when new, and that most were used hard on a daily basis and worn out, few Divcos survive today. The one pictured here was used by a small dairy in southern Idaho from 1948 until the early 1960s, then it languished in a wrecking yard for more than 50 years.
Wrecking yards survive by selling parts, but the old Divco proved worthless for that since no one had another one needing parts. Surprisingly, the yard operator could have sold the truck several times, but all potential purchasers planned to make a street rod out of it. Unwilling to let such a unique vehicle end up that way, the owners decided they would rather crush it.
Recently, it was decided to crush it to gain space but the new owner happened to come along at the right time mentioning it was getting a 2nd life being driven in parades and getting fixed up a bit
https://www.farmcollector.com/farm-life/divco-milk-truck-zmcz18mayzhur
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