Convoy | Phoenix Hydraulics Blog

"Breaker one-nine, this here's the Rubber Duck!"

It's hard to believe it's more than 40 years since this iconic phrase was first uttered on the big screen. The famous film, Convoy, was one of the most memorable trucking films of the 1970s.

Celebrating the decade's boom in Citizens' Band radio and truck-driving, Convoy was released on 28th June 1978, hot on the heels of its predecessors, White Line Fever in 1975 and the Burt Reynolds' classic, Smokey and the Bandit, in 1977.

Sam Peckinpah directed Convoy and turned it into an all-action roller-coaster ride, with more than a smattering of humour. The idea for the movie came from the 1975 country and western hit of the same name by CW McCall and Chip Davis.

The quirky hit topped the US pop and country and western charts, it reached number two in the UK and Ireland and was also number one in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Citizens' Band radio was at its peak in 1977 and the Peckinpah film, with the screenplay written by Bill Norton, was a natural progression of the craze.

Plot and characters

The main character of the film is truck driver Martin Penwald, played by Kris Kristofferson. He drives across the Arizona Desert, keeping in touch with fellow truckers via CB radio. His moniker is Rubber Duck - taken from the opening line of the song.

His buddies are known as Love Machine and Spider Mike, played by Burt Young and Frank Ajaye respectively. They chat to each other continually via their CB radio as they hit the road, but their light-hearted banter comes to an abrupt halt after the twisted sheriff, "Dirty Lyle" Wallace (played by Ernest Borgnine) cons them into incurring a $50 speeding fine each. Later, Spider Mike rushes off to be with his wife after he learns she has gone into labour.

However, the dishonest sheriff has him wrongfully arrested for vagrancy this time and has him taken to a Texas jail. A furious Rubber Duck veers off the route to bail out his friend, telling other truckers en route what has happened. Communicating by CB radio, he drums up support from a massive convoy of truck drivers, who follow him to Texas.

Romantic interest is provided by Melissa (Ali McGraw) who has set off for a job interview in Dallas but ends up stranded at a dilapidated truck stop with no vehicle. Enter her unlikely knight in shining armour, Rubber Duck, and the scene is set for a romantic interlude.

Scene of devastation

As the truckers drive relentlessly on towards Texas to bail out Spider Mike so he can join his wife, comic disaster ensues when they wreak havoc in a local town. Rubber Duck, with Melissa in the passenger seat, accidentally veers across the road, his truck dangerously out of control.

A billboard and a barn are wrecked, leaving escaped chickens flapping about all over the road. Sheriff Wallace renews his determination to put a stop to the convoy. He chases the truckers across two states, as Rubber Duck picks up more drivers along the way.

They end up in a standoff with the sheriff at the United States-Mexico border - could this be a type of Mexican stand-off? Wallace begins wildly firing his machine gun and Rubber Duck crashes over a bridge in the ensuing mayhem when a tanker explodes.

Everyone thinks Rubber Duck has died in the accident and the enraged truck drivers start honking their horns. Melissa realises her feelings for Rubber Duck but thinks she has lost him.

A few days later, Rubber Duck's funeral is held. His death has highlighted the truckers' grievances, with their case being taken to Washington DC. However, Convoy is essentially an action comedy film, so of course, the hero can't be dead - he has survived the crash and Melissa is led to his hideout (the back of a bus), where he is sitting in disguise to welcome her.

Famous truck

Rubber Duck drove a mighty Mack RS-712LST truck. Most people didn’t realise that four different trucks were used during the filming. The one used in the promotional posters was the 1977 Mack RS-712LST. The film was produced by EMI, who had commissioned the unique design of the truck, especially for their star.

Mack built the stunning vehicle, which became famous after it appeared in cinemas across the United States. The big budget action movie meant some rigorous challenges for the vehicle. It was reported that once the filming had ended, the main RS-712LST truck was almost wrecked. It was returned to Mack and restored to pristine condition. Eventually, it was sold and turned into a dump truck.

Another of the trucks used in Convoy, the 1973 Mack RS-797LST, became a stunt vehicle and sadly ended up as scrap metal! The other two trucks used to film Convoy were totally destroyed doing the stunts.

The exact whereabouts of the original truck that became a dumpster isn't known today, although some vehicle enthusiasts believe it has been totally revamped and is back on the road. Next time you're on the motorway and you're overtaken by a huge silver and black truck, take a good look, as it could be the Rubber Duck's legendary vehicle!

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Convoy in 2018, a commemorative Rubber Duck car ornament was manufactured to fix to vehicles' bonnets. Unlike the usual ornaments, such as a sleek jaguar or a horse, it was a caricature of a rubber duck! A special edition pink duck was also sold in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness.

Hydraulic systems

Phoenix Hydraulics has invested heavily in our engineering department to provide well-equipped, modern manufacturing facilities. We produce hydraulic power unit systems and specialist machines to use in a range of sectors, including the automotive industry.

Hydraulics play a crucial role in the engineering of gears, steering and brakes, as well as a vehicle's suspension. They are used on road-going vehicles, agricultural machinery such as tractors and harvesting machinery, and also on military vehicles.

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