Time Capsule: Circa 1911 Franklin Commercial Truck
As this circa 1911 advertisement shows, OEMs have been highlighting the benefits of efficiency and reliability. Other issues touched on in the advertisement sound surprisingly modern, including TCO, maintenance, concerns about depreciation, and an emphasis on safety.


As this circa 1911 advertisement for a Franklin Commercial truck shows, OEMs have been highlighting the benefits of efficiency and reliability. Other issues touched on in the advertisement sound surprisingly modern, including TCO, maintenance, concerns about depreciation, and an emphasis on safety.
Franklin's Commercial Division was located at 242 East Water Street in Syracuse, New York. The truck was used by the State of California for its highway commission, mining engineers in Arizona and New Mexico, and in the Philippines, and New Zealand for business purposes. The company declared bankruptcy in 1934.
Work Truck eNews will be featuring historic images of fleet trucks on a regular basis. If you have an historic fleet truck image you'd like to share with readers, e-mail it to Lauren Fletcher or Chris Wolski.
More Operations

EV Fleet Reality, Ford Fathom, Robots, and Smarter Fleet Tech Lead the News
EV fleet lessons, Ford’s new Fathom electric truck, robots, manufacturing shifts, and smarter fleet technology headline this week’s Truck Chat Cheat Sheet.
Read More →
Elite 11 Semi-Finalists Announced for the 2026 Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award
The 11 semi-finalists for the 2026 Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence award have been announced. The award honors the achievements of military veterans who have transitioned into careers in the professional trucking industry.
Read More →
Are You Saying These Work Truck Company Names Correctly?
Think you know how to pronounce the biggest names in work trucks? We asked the companies themselves to settle it once and for all.
Read More →
Why Reactive Fleet Management Is Becoming Too Expensive to Sustain
Research highlights a growing need for proactive management strategies to address rising costs in fleet operations effectively.
Read More →
Is Your Fleet Structure Built to Scale?
As fleets grow across regions, structural inconsistencies can increase costs, limit visibility, and create operational risk. This guide helps fleet and business leaders evaluate whether their current operating model can support growth without sacrificing control or performance.
Read More →
Fleet Management Guide for Growing Field Service Fleets
As HVAC, plumbing and contractor businesses grow, fleet complexity can begin to affect technician productivity, customer response times, operating costs, and revenue. This guide helps field service leaders build a more structured approach to managing vehicles, drivers, maintenance, safety, and lifecycle decisions.
Read More →
Fleet Forward Conference Registration Opens With Plenty on Tap for Work Truck Fleets
From commercial vehicle safety and AI to benchmarking, crash costs, OEM relationships, and autonomy, this year’s Fleet Forward Conference agenda has plenty aimed at the issues work truck fleets are dealing with now and preparing for next.
Read More →
Viatec Fleet Intelligence: Turning Fleet Data into Actionable Insights
Fleet managers don't need more data, they need better answers. Viatec's new Fleet Intelligence platform connects telematics, maintenance, fuel, finance, video, and other systems to deliver actionable insights through simple, natural language queries.
Read More →
Drones, Robots, DTNA Manufacturing Moves, and Smarter Fleet Tech Lead the News
Drones, robots, major manufacturing moves, and smarter connected fleet technology headline this week’s Truck Chat Cheat Sheet.
Read More →Motive Automations Explained: From Insight to Action
Motive Automations helps fleets turn real-time insights into immediate action. In this video, you will learn how automated workflows can notify drivers, alert maintenance teams, streamline coaching, and even use AI-powered Atlas calls to improve safety and efficiency.
Read More →

