SUPER PACK
Superior Manufacturing Company
Portland, Oregon
by Eric Voytko
Superior Equipment Company built the Super-Pack side loader from 1957 through 1974. The concept was very similar to that of the Hyd-Pak; a straight-frame side loader with a hydraulic powered partial-packing blade and tilt-to-dump unloading. One critical difference is the full-height packer panel of the Super-Pack, as compared to the half-height blade used by Hyd-Pak.
Most of the Super Packs were sold in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, through General Equipment Co. of Portland. Some customers had fleets of up to 40 trucks, and a few are still currently in operation. The company also marketed their own continuous chain roll-off. Some versions of the side loader were badged as "PACK-AM-IN".
Western Super Pack from a 1962 advertisement
The Super Pack was also distributed by Western Equipment Company of South Bend Indiana during the 1960s. Body sizes available were 22, 22.5 and 28.5 cubic yards. Western listed an optional side hoist for containers of 1.5 cubic yards capacity, and "standard front loader" for containers up to four yards.
CRT contributors Zachary Geroux and Bill Tetreault located a rare example of a Super Pack, rusting in an Oregon lot in July of 2009 (shown below). It is mounted on a 1962 Chevrolet chassis with a stand-up drive cab.
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Note: More trucks found during this trip are not shown here, but are featured in another album here at CRT:
