Richard & Roxie Kerr and their 1951 “Cab Over” Dodge

Why would Richard Kerr want a two ton Dodge truck?

1951 dodge 2-ton interiorYup, you guessed it… he has been a truck driver since he was nineteen years old and that is what makes him happy. He found the truck about 20 years ago, so the restoration has been a long haul for him. Richard works 10 to 12 hour days, for the past 26 years for ABF in the Burlington area, so he has had to farm a lot of the work out. He also claims he is not a mechanic but there is evidence in his garage that he might be more of a mechanic than he claims. They are a ‘trucking’ family, as Roxie works for FedX in the office in Burlington. She also has her antique ride sitting in the garage…a really nice MGB.

1951 dodge COE restorationThe truck engine, transmission and rear-end have all been taken apart and rebuilt when needed. The body was taken down to the bare metal before repainting this beautiful green. It is a very impressive eye-catching vehicle. Richard built the flat-bed wood body in his shop and as you can see, he did a great job. The truck has a 238 Dodge Six engine with a 4-speed transmission and a single speed rear-end with a weight capacity of 2 tons. It has 27,915 miles registered on its odometer. Some call this type of truck a “COE” meaning Cab-over-engine. Another term used is a “pilot-house cab” which seems to be a loose term used even for some Dodge pickups. A more modern term is “cab-forward”.

1951 dodge COE 2-tonAnother term that came up during the Wheel Tracks feature is something that is hard to read but is printed on the area just above the number plate. The term is “Job Rated”. The best history Wheel Tracks found was that Dodge started using it in 1938 as a sales way of getting folks to think about matching their “jobs” to one of the many types of trucks that Dodge produced. Do any readers have more of the term.

Richard bought the truck from Dale Slack of Jeffersonville, Vermont after it made its way here from North Carolina.


Editor’s notes… The amazing thing about this truck is how little is published about this type of Dodge truck. A few of us in the club have International High Wheelers and if you try to research this type of vehicle, except for some pretty pictures and a video or two, there is practically nothing available. I found the same for Dodge trucks from that time period. The High Wheeler folks attempted to put something together by starting a “registry” of owners and vehicles and the “Horseless Carriage Club” agreed to hold the registry. I did find a registry for Dodge trucks for 1948 to 1953 with only 298 trucks registered and no 1951 “Cab-over engine” trucks. This might mean that Richard and Roxie has a fairly rare vehicle. The Dodge Truck registry can be found online at townwagon.com

Another term I found when looking for information on this truck is “Fargo Truck”. Fargo was a brand of truck back in the 1920s and over the years after a number of buy-outs, Chrysler ended up with the brand. Also over the years, the way I understand it, the word “fargo” just became a truck type and not a brand.

Lets start talking about those heavier antique trucks. I know we all have stories from our younger days about these big work trucks. Example… I was too young to throw bales of hay on to the old ’47 Reo 2-ton. So they put me behind the wheel. I knew what I was doing but my short legs tended to get the truck into regular “jogs” that made the worker on the back of the truck call me names. If you have information or a truck… or a truck story please pass it on to Wheel Tracks. I know VAE members have a few pickups but I don’t know if VAE members own larger antique trucks.

7 thoughts on “Richard & Roxie Kerr and their 1951 “Cab Over” Dodge”

  1. I used to own that truck. Dale purchased it from me back in the early 90s. It was originally a Wrecker, with a Medium Duty Ernest Holmes model 525 Wrecker unit on it’s back. I purchased it out of Lexington, Virginia, back in the mid 80s. For pictures of it while I had it, email me at ehardy120@gmail.com

  2. Hello, what a beautiful truck! And such a nice job on making your own bed. Wow 😮. I have been looking for people that might be interested in parts from a 1950 dodge coe that I currently own. I bought it about 4 years ago and have not started my project yet. I plan on keeping only the cab and selling the drive train to someone looking to restore a similar truck. I believe this truck used to be a “roll off” style truck. It has a straight 6 cylinder engine with manual trans, a large cable winch on its long straight frame and a 2 speed rear end. The truck was altered at some point in its life as the frame has been lengthened. If any one knows of a club or interested parties, my email address is listed below. Can send pics too. Thanks Dan

    1. Where are you? I am in Georgia — might be interested in that chassis/wheels/axles….

      Have ‘45, ‘50 and ‘57 dodge coes

      1. John, can you call me at 540-525-6913. i am to complete my restoration of 52coe 131 inch wheel base. Are you the author of

        dodge truck books? Do you have a 52 dodge oil filler tube that is like a snake, not the L shape one for 48-50 model coe?

  3. Wow! It is beautiful. I am restoring a 52 dodge coe at the present time. Do you have any extra parts for this model. I have lost my oil filler
    tube. It is different than the one of 48-50 coe. call me steve parker, 540-525-6913.

  4. This is to Richard & Roxie Kerr, Congrats on the wonderful COE. Beautiful! But where in the World did you find brake parts? I have a 1951 b3 1.5 ton and all I need are brake parts. Please help me with any info. or somewhere to go for these 1.5 brakes. Thanks, Chet k.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *