09/01/2026
In the crowded world of early truck makers, Available Truck Company found its own way to stay in business.
It didn't design its own trucks. It built them out of whatever was on hand.
Founded in Chicago in 1910, Available spent nearly five decades as what the industry called an "assembler." No signature cab. No proprietary parts. The company sourced whatever it could from outside suppliers and cab builders, then pieced together working trucks from the results.
This wasn't a wartime shortcut. By 1917, Available already had four models on the market, from a 2,000-lb light hauler to a 10,000-lb heavy model. The strategy was working well before WWII. When military surplus cabs became available after the war, Available just folded that into a sourcing habit it already had.
The results were never uniform. Collectors who've tracked down surviving Availables say almost every truck wears a different cab. There was no catalog and no consistent look, just whatever kept trucks moving and customers happy.
Available rarely sold outside the Chicago area, so the name never built the national recognition of a Mack or a White. Production stayed modest, and the company built its last truck in 1957 before fading from memory almost entirely.
What's left today is scattered. Less a footnote in trucking history than a small mystery, waiting for someone with the right photo or family story to fill in the gaps.
