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quicksilver

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Here's a question for you drivers - what is it like to drive a tractor unit solo? Given how responsive a normal vehicle feels when you unhitch after towing something (relatively) weighty, I'd expect them to absolutely fly along!

Unless there are other factors, like traction perhaps? Presumably you can skip gears on the way up if needed.

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Running bobtail is hilarious for the first 15 mins, but it gets tiring shortly after. Back in the days of fully manual, drifts and slides were a piece of piss, especially in the wet, and most especially up the long spiral sliproad from Houston Ind Est in Livingston. Throttle control was key, cos they just couldn't be steered quickly enough. 

The furthest trip I did bobtail, was Oldham - Falkirk, and that ceased to be amusing by the time I hit the M6. By the border, I was in actual pain, and I remember feeling it for days after. 'A Bad Back' comes with the job...

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Gearing is too low. Don't have any true sensation of speed until maybe 10th gear 40mph plus and then going through the box you have a couple of shoves in the back until top gear and hits the limiter.

If you can imagine bhp per ton. An 8ton unit at 500bhp is a fair bit.

Gets a bit tiresome, OK for a quick blast back to the yard but i prefer a skelly trailer with no box on. Seems more settled and can get the power down properly.

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FIL is at the end of his tether with his Merc camper van based on I think the 711 chassis on an L reg 1993

He's had some brake work done but when you pump the brakes a few times the warning lamp comes on, levae it running for a few secs and the light goes off again, the fluid level in fine.

Anyone got any ideas?

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You can actually handbrake turn with air brakes...it takes a fair bit of practice to get right, but it's worth it for maximum hilarity. 

IIRC Mercedes offered a very special chassis range in the late 80s, which were listed as 'fire tenders': which Feuerwehr needed a carbon fibre cabbed SWB with a low C of G and engines readied for four figure power outputs, and the auto box, brakes and suspension to match, I do not know. Nor which one would have deep enough pockets. They were pretty quick in BP colours though, and basically marked the point at which European truck racing went into full prototype/silhouette mode. 

It's been a bit further than bashing the TC defeat button (or whipping the fuse out) ever since.

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5 hours ago, Floatylight said:

 

FIL is at the end of his tether with his Merc camper van based on I think the 711 chassis on an L reg 1993

He's had some brake work done but when you pump the brakes a few times the warning lamp comes on, levae it running for a few secs and the light goes off again, the fluid level in fine.

Anyone got any ideas?

Assuming that's the T2 chassis (like the Vario buses) and not the cab over LN2, there's not much different to car brakes on those, just bigger. The LN2 is full air, somewhat different animal. Assuming the master cylinder is ok, I'd be looking at the load compensation valve etc., out the back. These things were designed mostly for 5-7t, so a camper might not load it up enough, or often enough. If it's partly or fully seized, might it be causing odd pressure fluctuations that are pinging the light on? 

Saying that, air brakes aren't immune to underloading/under use either: I knew a guy ran a training school, and all his units, trailers and rigids got exchange brake chambers and LSVs before testing, cos they would almost inevitably get failed on that.

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On 8/5/2020 at 3:52 PM, quicksilver said:

The most interesting spot came through just as I was leaving so I didn't manage to photograph it. A fairly elderly RHD Scania unit registered UKAX 175 with what was obviously an American box trailer. Turns out it belongs to the AAFES, the retail arm of the US Department of Defense (with an S 'cos Septics can't spell) and had presumably been supplying the shop at the nearby USAF base. A European unit pulling a US-style trailer was a really weird looking combination.

Gotcha! Looks like it does its delivery on the first Tuesday of the month. A pretty special spot as UKAX plates are reportedly very rare and the combination of RHD European unit with American trailer just adds to the intrigue.

UKAX175.thumb.jpg.7308fec294f737cd03b16eed4a166ab5.jpg

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8 minutes ago, Crackers said:

That's a bizarre sight. But I don't hate it...

There's at least five such combinations knocking about. Apparently they used to run proper Yankee Freightliners so it looks like they shipped over complete rigs originally but have replaced the units and kept the trailers. I bet those trailers don't comply with UK C&U regs and are running under US regs.

Back in the eighties they had a fleet of gray (cos US) GMC Astros and this one has been preserved.

FNC 324T - AAFES

 

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5 minutes ago, Crackers said:

Would love to see that running in the UK. Imagine seeing the british drivers' faces when that rocked up in a truckstop!

Funny you should say that, I ended up reading about GMC Astros in Europe and there was a UK firm who ran two of them in the late seventies. Detroit two-stroke V8 FTW! That sleeper cab is quite pleasant but day cab Astros look really weird.

The big problem with Septic stuff is the amount of changes needed to get type approval here; the AAFES ones apparently weren't ever type approved and ran under US regs, which restricted what could be done with them when demobbed.

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On 8/29/2020 at 1:04 AM, CreepingJesus said:

Assuming that's the T2 chassis (like the Vario buses) and not the cab over LN2, there's not much different to car brakes on those, just bigger. The LN2 is full air, somewhat different animal. Assuming the master cylinder is ok, I'd be looking at the load compensation valve etc., out the back. These things were designed mostly for 5-7t, so a camper might not load it up enough, or often enough. If it's partly or fully seized, might it be causing odd pressure fluctuations that are pinging the light on? 

Saying that, air brakes aren't immune to underloading/under use either: I knew a guy ran a training school, and all his units, trailers and rigids got exchange brake chambers and LSVs before testing, cos they would almost inevitably get failed on that.

711Ds were air braked, 709Ds weren't; no idea why, 811Ds and 814Ds were air too.

British Airways ran auto 809Ds, they ran 17.5in wheels but I'm not sure what their setup was.

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On 8/29/2020 at 1:04 AM, CreepingJesus said:

Assuming that's the T2 chassis (like the Vario buses) and not the cab over LN2, there's not much different to car brakes on those, just bigger. The LN2 is full air, somewhat different animal. Assuming the master cylinder is ok, I'd be looking at the load compensation valve etc., out the back. These things were designed mostly for 5-7t, so a camper might not load it up enough, or often enough. If it's partly or fully seized, might it be causing odd pressure fluctuations that are pinging the light on? 

Saying that, air brakes aren't immune to underloading/under use either: I knew a guy ran a training school, and all his units, trailers and rigids got exchange brake chambers and LSVs before testing, cos they would almost inevitably get failed on that.

711Ds were air braked, 709Ds weren't; no idea why, 811Ds and 814Ds were air too.

British Airways ran auto 809Ds, they ran 17.5in wheels but I'm not sure what their setup was.

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On 9/1/2020 at 2:01 PM, quicksilver said:

Gotcha! Looks like it does its delivery on the first Tuesday of the month. A pretty special spot as UKAX plates are reportedly very rare and the combination of RHD European unit with American trailer just adds to the intrigue.

A very similar trailer (giveaway round rear lights built into the bodywork rather than hanging underneath ) used to be a regular sight on the A12, pulled by an american cabover of some kind. I always presumed it was associated with the US airbases in Suffolk.

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On 9/1/2020 at 2:01 PM, quicksilver said:

Gotcha! Looks like it does its delivery on the first Tuesday of the month. A pretty special spot as UKAX plates are reportedly very rare and the combination of RHD European unit with American trailer just adds to the intrigue.

UKAX175.thumb.jpg.7308fec294f737cd03b16eed4a166ab5.jpg

That is very strange. Hopefully not Anne Sacoolas driving. I've seen US fire engines on the road too on the A43, so probably originating from Croughton.

Here's the inverse. Can you guess where it is?

13947316094_1ca6198c12_k.jpg_MG_7530 by suigintou13, on Flickr

American trucks in Russia

I went to the CIS (Russia and other ex-Soviet states) last year and US trucks were pretty popular over there. I did a bit of research and they are a popular second hand import due to their ruggedness and ease of maintenance, plus I imagine there are a lot dumped on the market from the US.  Ex-European stuff was predictably popular too, although they tend to have the 'new build' market. Big Japanese stuff didn't really exist but Chinese trucks were very popular in the 'stans'. They seemed extremely overbuilt and rugged, these I saw on the Afghan border:

IMG_20180808_110448459.thumb.jpg.e6037c46932aae068516e6eea8a4baf8.jpg

IMG_20180808_120302158.thumb.jpg.046e6e398a8235f4dfd6d1ce4fed55a7.jpg

'Shacman' - used a MAN cab. The biggest brand I saw alongside CNHTC and FAW.

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Some great stuff being posted here, keep it up chaps. With HS2, East West Rail and who knows what else going on, there are tippers everywhere and word of my presence must have gone round the sites as many of them were waving, honking and/or flashing at me :) Those guys don't hang about, their driving style is shall we say rather energetic and it's amazing how much an eight-wheeler can be thrown around. Oddly, different firms seem to be working on different days and this Hino has just turned up. Something a bit different with a friendly chap behind the wheel.

YJ12 OUK - unknown

 

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On 9/4/2020 at 9:27 AM, Vantman said:

Not Astros but Locks Transport of Headcorn,Kent ran a couple of White Road Commanders which caused many a double take when you saw them--

lock5 (2).jpg

Used to load the occasional Lock tanker in a previous job. They always looked like they got their money's worth out of their units. 

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Saw this absolute cracker today, a lady driver in a 20-year old ERF. I bet there's not many ladies who can tame one of these beasts.

W581 YAV - Steve Pridgeon

 

W581 YAV - Steve Pridgeon

 

W581 YAV - Steve Pridgeon

Also some unexpected fairground loads. The FH is a rare thing, a lorry that has never been HGV and was bought new by Emmetts as a showman's special.

KX08 UGO - John AT Parrish

 

N2 KTE - Keith Emmett

 

 

 

 

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There's an equestrian centre nearby so I see quite a few horseboxes, everything from the all-singing all-dancing modern palaces on wheels down to some pretty elderly 7.5-tonners. The Leyland Roadrunner/DAF 45 and Ford Cargo were the trucks of my childhood and were everywhere but you just don't see them now. They're almost extinct even on the fairground and very few appear on the show scene so it was a nostalgia trip to catch these horsey survivors still at work. The DAF is 28 years old and the Ford almost 32!

J66 NAY - horsebox

 

F999 MLF - horsebox
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