Truck Shite

[quicksilver]

10 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

@quicksilver, I followed an early/mid 1990s grey ERF tractor unit pulling some sort of bulk liquid trailer, on my way back from the last FoD event . It pulled out of front of me on the Buckingham to Bicester road, about halfway along, it turned across me very sharpish from the large farm which advertises pick your own asparagus frequently.

Initially I was like ‘WTF’ but then it proceeded to travel at least 70mph for most of the rest of the way, I struggled to keep up with it, it only slowed down (to about 60-65) when it caught up a National Express coach about 3 miles out of Bicester, which it proceeded to tailgate all the way to the roundabout by the Heritage place, where it shot off in the direction of Aylesbury.

Lots of diesel smoke puffing out of the stack. It did not appear to brake at any point in the journey, maybe the trailer lights were disconnected. The trailer had no plate so no idea of the actual year.

It seemed illegal on several fronts, and also absolutely perfect if someone ever wanted to remake Duel but this time set it in Buckinghamshire. 

I assume it is well-known, or perhaps notorious locally? 
 

There's only one man that could be: the infamous local character Robert Gassor aka Nobby. He loves ERFs, has had that one for years and drives it very enthusiastically. I've seen him many times, along with his uncle who has a slightly newer blue one.

[sutty2006]

14 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

@quicksilver, I followed an early/mid 1990s grey ERF tractor unit pulling some sort of bulk liquid trailer, on my way back from the last FoD event . It pulled out of front of me on the Buckingham to Bicester road, about halfway along, it turned across me very sharpish from the large farm which advertises pick your own asparagus frequently.

Initially I was like ‘WTF’ but then it proceeded to travel at least 70mph for most of the rest of the way, I struggled to keep up with it, it only slowed down (to about 60-65) when it caught up a National Express coach about 3 miles out of Bicester, which it proceeded to tailgate all the way to the roundabout by the Heritage place, where it shot off in the direction of Aylesbury.

Lots of diesel smoke puffing out of the stack. It did not appear to brake at any point in the journey, maybe the trailer lights were disconnected. The trailer had no plate so no idea of the actual year.

It seemed illegal on several fronts, and also absolutely perfect if someone ever wanted to remake Duel but this time set it in Buckinghamshire. 

I assume it is well-known, or perhaps notorious locally? 
 

It’s pre 2000 ish so it’ll be speed limiter exempt. 
 

hit the gate doing 98 drive and let those truckers burn 10-4. Toot toot! 

[quicksilver]

And right on cue after I mentioned him, Rob's Uncle Phil turned up this morning.

[warch]

I've often wondered why older trucks aren't more common, is it a question of them reaching the end of their economic life and being too expensive to contemplate rebuilding or it is more to do with the need for reliability/warranty on something that needs to be utterly reliable? TBH I've heard that some modern trucks can be a bit deficient in the reliability stakes these days, usually down to electronic or sensor issues.

I couldn't help noticing how many old trucks are still running in Australia, and how many engine remanufacturers/rebuilders there are. Same with heavy plant, people prefer to keep rebuilding what they've got rather than buying a replacement digger or whatever every six or seven years. They also prefer fairly old tech designs, although I think emissions rules are much more lenient over there.

[CreepingJesus]

Our haulage industry is very 'consumerist' and for the most part, old equipment is bad for image. Add in that the bulk of second hand sales come off the back of the deals manufacturers do with the big corporate fleets, and so smaller fleets will tend to fall into line. It's pretty much only those sorts of owner drivers (or farmers, sole traders etc.,) who use genuinely old equipment; probably because it's bought and paid for, they know what it'll do, and they can probably service it blindfolded! 

There's really no reason not to use an ERF like that; even though the company is defunct, the makers of the bits that compose it, aren't. Cummins, ZF, and Rockwell/Cameri parts aren't any harder to get than anything else. It'll plate to 44t and hook onto an ISO equipped trailer, and the 'lack' of BHP isn't that big a handicap when you've got a manual box. So you can't go into London (or any other LEZ)? No bother! Most truckable stuff isn't within LEZ's anyway. And if it's just you driving it, you're not going to rack up the interstellar kilometres that a triple shifted corporate trunker will. 

[808 Estate]

On 8/21/2023 at 5:30 PM, quicksilver said:

 Top speed of 28mph and an unladen weight of about 8.5 tons.

Will probably still do 28mph across a ploughed field towing a portacabin with no wheels.

[quicksilver]

13 hours ago, CreepingJesus said:

Our haulage industry is very 'consumerist' and for the most part, old equipment is bad for image. Add in that the bulk of second hand sales come off the back of the deals manufacturers do with the big corporate fleets, and so smaller fleets will tend to fall into line. It's pretty much only those sorts of owner drivers (or farmers, sole traders etc.,) who use genuinely old equipment; probably because it's bought and paid for, they know what it'll do, and they can probably service it blindfolded! 

There's really no reason not to use an ERF like that; even though the company is defunct, the makers of the bits that compose it, aren't. Cummins, ZF, and Rockwell/Cameri parts aren't any harder to get than anything else. It'll plate to 44t and hook onto an ISO equipped trailer, and the 'lack' of BHP isn't that big a handicap when you've got a manual box. So you can't go into London (or any other LEZ)? No bother! Most truckable stuff isn't within LEZ's anyway. And if it's just you driving it, you're not going to rack up the interstellar kilometres that a triple shifted corporate trunker will. 

This 100%. It's fundamentally for the exact same reasons we shiters like to drive older cars despite their occasional challenges but the majority of people don't. Hauliers like Rob Gassor and Bob Carmichael really do embody autoshite principles as applied to trucks.

[5speedracer]

On 8/19/2023 at 6:52 PM, sutty2006 said:

Most expensive engine crane going

 

 

Wow an AWD, that's a rare beast.

[puddlethumper]

I couldn't find a Twinned Truck thread so I'll chuck it in here. I think I mentioned somewhere that the circus bought an ex Ferrari race team Iveco. Sorry @Cavcraft but we have it's twin brother now. Not exactly the same which I'm sure you will spot. Not quite consecutive but silver medal.. The first one looks slammed yo innit bruh, but the ground slopes up there a bit, although they do sit pretty low anyway.

[puddlethumper]

Another addition lately is this, yep, another I***o.

[Cavcraft]

Could you train them to drive through balls of fire?

 

*Asking for a friend.

[puddlethumper]

47 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

Could you train them to drive through balls of fire?

 

*Asking for a friend.

I think you meant into rather than through, no? I'll check with Jeff who knows about these things. 😃

[Cavcraft]

2 hours ago, puddlethumper said:

I think you meant into rather than through, no? I'll check with Jeff who knows about these things. 😃

To be fair, an owner-driver used to come into my old job and he had an Iv*co 400E which he absolutely raved about. Have noticed very recently there's a lot of the (brand) new ones kicking about.

[Cavcraft]

On 8/22/2023 at 9:30 PM, CreepingJesus said:

Our haulage industry is very 'consumerist' and for the most part, old equipment is bad for image. Add in that the bulk of second hand sales come off the back of the deals manufacturers do with the big corporate fleets, and so smaller fleets will tend to fall into line. It's pretty much only those sorts of owner drivers (or farmers, sole traders etc.,) who use genuinely old equipment; probably because it's bought and paid for, they know what it'll do, and they can probably service it blindfolded! 

There's really no reason not to use an ERF like that; even though the company is defunct, the makers of the bits that compose it, aren't. Cummins, ZF, and Rockwell/Cameri parts aren't any harder to get than anything else. It'll plate to 44t and hook onto an ISO equipped trailer, and the 'lack' of BHP isn't that big a handicap when you've got a manual box. So you can't go into London (or any other LEZ)? No bother! Most truckable stuff isn't within LEZ's anyway. And if it's just you driving it, you're not going to rack up the interstellar kilometres that a triple shifted corporate trunker will. 

Pretty sure a huge fan of ERFs I know (who had a mint one with a RR engine) got told to get rid, as he was contracting to a large lift tank firm who didn't want a bad image. IIRC, he ended up buying a modern Volvo automatic and the gearbox shit itself shortly afterwards. 

[CreepingJesus]

I wouldn't be in the least surprised if it were true. 

Away, way back in this thread there's pics of a scruffy Scanny 124-420 'red dot' that I had use of. It had something like 1.2 million k's on it, and other than needing a good tidy up, its' only mechanical issue was occasionally jumping out of second gear. Needed a gearbox overhaul, or maybe a good used one, but it wouldn't have been a huge ask either way. They chopped it for a newer one... It was only delivering engineered timber to building sites: image? What image? 

It's no bloody wonder the main 'refurbish for service' content I watch on YT is from Germany, Russia and Pakistan. Granted, the latter two have to 'make do and mend' through necessity, but even so, they all have in common that tired engines get pistons and liners, tired gearbags get synch rings and bearings, and it gets stitched back together and sent out. 

[AnthonyG]

On 8/22/2023 at 9:12 AM, quicksilver said:

There's only one man that could be: the infamous local character Robert Gassor aka Nobby. He loves ERFs, has had that one for years and drives it very enthusiastically. I've seen him many times, along with his uncle who has a slightly newer blue one.

That’s it! I knew you would know who it was 😀!

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

Could you train them to drive through balls of fire?

 

*Asking for a friend.

Might need a bigger tent, tho

[warch]

12 hours ago, CreepingJesus said:

I wouldn't be in the least surprised if it were true. 

Away, way back in this thread there's pics of a scruffy Scanny 124-420 'red dot' that I had use of. It had something like 1.2 million k's on it, and other than needing a good tidy up, its' only mechanical issue was occasionally jumping out of second gear. Needed a gearbox overhaul, or maybe a good used one, but it wouldn't have been a huge ask either way. They chopped it for a newer one... It was only delivering engineered timber to building sites: image? What image? 

It's no bloody wonder the main 'refurbish for service' content I watch on YT is from Germany, Russia and Pakistan. Granted, the latter two have to 'make do and mend' through necessity, but even so, they all have in common that tired engines get pistons and liners, tired gearbags get synch rings and bearings, and it gets stitched back together and sent out. 

I spotted quite a few engineering refurbishment places in Aus, offering remanufactured engines and the like. I think its quite common in the US and Canada as well. 

On a related note a lot of agri repair places are refurbishing old or middle aged tractors and other farm equipment for farmers who don't want to or can't afford to pay for modern (astonishingly expensive) kit. There is also something to be said for mechanical systems which usually give fair warning before they break, whereas electronic systems can often shut down and leave a vehicle completely inoperative. 

[quicksilver]

I knew Rob Gassor had bought another ERF a few weeks ago but hadn't seen it until today, so here it is still grafting at a mere 24 years old. I think he's driving this one now and has employed another driver for the grey one.

[worldofceri]

Tried to get a shot of this immaculate Dodge six-legger earlier as it trundled past, but all I managed was a close up of one of  ol’ Robbie Bosch’s finest wiper blades.

[bigstraight6]

4 hours ago, worldofceri said:

Tried to get a shot of this immaculate Dodge six-legger earlier as it trundled past, but all I managed was a close up of one of  ol’ Robbie Bosch’s finest wiper blades.

I do like a Dodge Commando, the washer jet looks a bit why tho in a startled kind of way.

[SunnySouth]

On 8/25/2023 at 2:35 PM, quicksilver said:

I knew Rob Gassor had bought another ERF a few weeks ago but hadn't seen it until today, so here it is still grafting at a mere 24 years old. I think he's driving this one now and has employed another driver for the grey one.

I’m fairly sure this was parked/dumped by Gynn Square in Blackpool last weekend?

[quicksilver]

52 minutes ago, SunnySouth said:

I’m fairly sure this was parked/dumped by Gynn Square in Blackpool last weekend?

It was, he has been up to Blackpool recently. His old girls still get around and he's not afraid of clocking up the miles.

[SunnySouth]

2 hours ago, quicksilver said:

It was, he has been up to Blackpool recently. His old girls still get around and he's not afraid of clocking up the miles.

Superb!

[Dirk Diggler]

A brilliant watch, maybe posted before

 

And we think we're right lads travelling a few hundred kilometres with eircodes / postcodes etc,

[martc]

[martc]

[martc]

A Tempo Matador built by Vidal Sohne in Hamburg from 1949 to1951. They were available as mini buses, vans and pickups. Despite their measly 25-hp motors sourced from Volkswagen, driving the front wheels, they were famous for their ability to haul huge loads.

[martc]

[martc]

1956-1957 Willys FC-150 - what a lovely looking thing.