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Alaskan Junkyard Is Loaded With Classic Trucks, Rare Military Haulers Included

If I had a penny for every car junkyard in the U.S., I'd probably have enough to buy a pristine 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Okay, maybe not quite that much, but you get the point. But while car junkyards may be common, scrapyards that focus on trucks are actually rare. And I think I just discovered one of the coolest out there.
Alaskan truck junkyard 7 photos
Photo: AlaskaTrucker/YouTube
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Located somewhere in Alaska, this place is actually part truck junkyard, part hauler collection. Because while many of the pickup trucks and semis that are resting here are rusty or have been parted out, the military haulers parked next to them are in far better shape.

And that's exactly what sets it apart from other truck junkyards: this place is loaded with military rigs. According to "AlaskaTrucker," the yard includes vehicles from the 1940s to the 1970s, but the footage below focuses on World War II trucks. So if you're a fan of 6x6 beasts like the GMC CCKW and the Studebaker US6, you'll see quite a few of them.

A 2.5-ton, off-road capable hauler, the GMC CCKW was built from 1941 to 1945 to a standardized design for the U.S. Army. Also known as "Jimmy," the CCKW was produced in more than 500,000 units, which makes it a highly successful hauler. It was very versatile, too, with more than 20 different variants produced during WWII. The lineup included dump trucks, fire engines, surgical vans, and gasoline tankers.

But even though GMC built more than a half-million of them, these trucks are somewhat rare nowadays, mostly because many of them were wrecked during the war or abandoned soon after. Seeing more than one CCKW in the same place is a rare treat.

The yard is also home to at least a couple of Studebaker US6 trucks. Very similar to the CCKW, the US6 is even scarcer, as Studebaker and REO made about 220,000 units during the war. And unlike the GMC hauler, the US6 was exported under the Lend-Lease policy, and many ended up in the Soviet Union and on the Eastern European front.

But some US6 trucks were also operated in North America, mainly for construction purposes. Quite a few of them helped build the Alaska Highway in 1942, which probably explains why US6 haulers are more common in this region.

Unfortunately, the footage doesn't include close-ups of the WWII trucks, but they do appear to be in good condition. Some have been repainted, and judging by the way they look, they still run and get driven regularly. And that's great news because these old trucks are too cool to rot away in the mud.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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