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    Mixermobile Twin Truckmobile powered by twin 90-horsepower engines

    Sept. 22, 2023
    Built in the early 1940s, the Twin Truckmobile hit a road speed of 50 mph.
    Mixermobile Manufacturers, HCEA Archives
    A look under the twin Ford hood of a Twin Truckmobile. The Road Show was the place to show new equipment, but note the 1941 dealer plate.
    A look under the twin Ford hood of a Twin Truckmobile. The Road Show was the place to show new equipment, but note the 1941 dealer plate.

    Mixermobile Manufacturers of Portland, Oregon, was nothing if not innovative. It built some of the first purpose-built wheel loaders, some of the largest wheel loaders ever built, and the first articulated wheel loaders. They also produced the self-contained, truck-mounted concrete mixer that gave the company its name, a variety of other concrete and material handling machines, and, briefly,  a truck.

    Not wanting to rely on commercial road or rail transportation, Mixermobile developed its own truck to haul equipment around the country. Dubbed the Twin Truckmobile, it had two Ford 6-cylinder, 90-horsepower engines mounted side-by-side under the dual Ford hood.

    The driver operated two clutches, two gas pedals, and four gear shifts: one for each engine and each of the two-speed tandem rear axles, giving 64 possible forward combinations. The driver didn’t have to run all that; he could use one or both engines and powertrains. On the level, it cruised under load at 50 mph.

    The cab was 6-1/2 feet wide and sported triple windshield wipers. The front fender was just under 8 feet wide, and the bed 23 feet long. Gas was supplied by a 40-gallon tank for each engine.

    The first Twin Truckmobile was built in 1941, followed within three months by two more. Rather than being in factory service as intended, the first two were sold: the first to a logger near Bellingham, Washington; the second to an oil carrier in southern California. 

    As was the case with many commercial machines, the project was killed by wartime production needs. But Mixermobile saw a potential for its revival and dedicated a full page to it in their catalog for the 1947 Road Show in Chicago—complete, strangely, with what appear to be 1941 photos. It’s not known if more were built. Interesting too is that, with its twin parallel engines and powertrains, it predicted Euclid’s famous Twin-Power off-highway haulers that were introduced in 1947.  

    The Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the construction, dredging and surface mining equipment industries. With more than 3,600 members in over a dozen countries, our activities include publication of a quarterly educational magazine, Equipment Echoes; operation of National Construction Equipment Museum and archives in Bowling Green, Ohio; and hosting an annual working exhibition of restored construction equipment. Our next International Convention and Old Equipment Exhibition will be August 7-10, 2024, hosted by the New York Steam Engine Association’s Pageant of Steam at Canandaigua, New York. The HCEA is raising funds for construction of a new purpose-built building to house its equipment collection. Individual annual memberships in the HCEA are $35 within the U.S. and Canada and $55 elsewhere. We seek to develop relationships in the equipment manufacturing industry, and we offer a college scholarship for engineering and construction management students. Information is available at www.hcea.net, or by calling 419.352.5616 or e-mailing [email protected]. Scan this QR Code for information on joining. 

    About the Author

    Tom Berry

    Tom Berry is archivist for the Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA). Information is available at www.hcea. net, or by calling 419.352.5616 or e-mailing [email protected].