Page 4 - DRVC Travelore Winter 2019

Page 4 - DRVC Travelore
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Cummins Completes 100th Year
line that comes as standard on many RVs. (See related paragraphs below).
“We continue to look at how power needs are changing, how we’re delivering that power, and how we can unleash the power of our customers by the innovations we’re pro- viding,” says Michael Anderson, communications director for power systems for Cummins. “We’re in the market to power customers through innovation and development.”
There are many stories related to the history of Cummins, some of which were related in the previous issue of this publication. One mentioned was one of Cummins’ first jobs was that of being a chauffeur. The fuller story is that for William Irwin, a banker, the car served as a status symbol just before the 1920s. It fact, it was considered
so technologically advanced it required a driver: Cum- mins. However, Cummins’ interests were in the mechani- cal aspects of motive power, and in 1919, he founded
the Cummins Engine Co. with a six-horsepower model designed for farm use. As with any new product, it took
a while for Cummins and the diesel engines to be widely accepted. After all, this was when tractors, cars, and trucks were still new developments and had not fully entered the mainstream of American culture.
Because of funding from Irwin, Cummins was able to stay afloat while he tried other markets, such as large marine applications. Clessie Cummins also tried the automobile market, entering one of his designs in the 1931 Indianap- olis 500. In that race, the diesel-powered car traveled the entire distance on one tank of fuel. That feat was unheard of at the time.
The company moved into a higher gear after Cummins made a trip from New York to Los Angeles in a Mack bus. Cummins’ two-pronged approach was to prove the value of diesel engines as well as see where Irwin owned a control- ling interest in a supermarket chain. It was after making that trip that Cummins persuaded Irwin to put diesel engines in the trucks used to deliver food to the stores. Their higher torque made them ideal for the California mountains in addition to being more durable and econom- ical to run. This innovative concept ultimately contributed greatly to the over-the-road diesel trucking industry that grew from the effort.
Cummins and the RV Market
The company is still known for producing a diesel engine that’s powerful, reliable and fuel-efficient. With Caterpil-
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In 1932, the Cummins-Powered Mack bus traveled from New York to Los Angeles in 78 running hours, achieving a faster travel time than by express train. The 125-horsepower Model H test bus reached speeds of up to 65 miles per hour during that trip.