Truck Shite

[danthecapriman]

  On 29/12/2024 at 16:12, LightBulbFun said:

indeed it is! when retro-reflective plates where made mandatory for all *cars and motorbikes* first used 1st January 1973 or later, there where a few vehicles exempt from that requirement, this included most predominatly buses, which is how London Transport got away with using white on black plates for so long, but it also included HGV's but very few HGV operators actually used that exemption, but I understand that Ripponden Motors made a point of using it/doing it like London Transport did  but you otherwise very rarely saw it outside of that, so very nicely found  

you can read the actual rules and regs of the time here

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1972/1865/pdfs/uksi_19721865_en.pdf

the main relevant bit for us being

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I was going to say lots of London buses used those style plates. It looked weird seeing the black plates on stuff like Leyland Titan’s and National’s. 
Can they still use them?

[cms206]

  On 07/11/2024 at 22:14, Split_Pin said:

Some guy on a truck Facebook page is trying to say the Volvo FL7/10 was a bus chassis.

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I lied - I have just been reminded of this blinder, what I believe actually *is* the only Volvo FL-series bus in the British Isles - built by Mooney of Ardara on a Volvo FL6 chassis using a second hand Van Hool body!

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

[martc]

  On 29/12/2024 at 16:12, LightBulbFun said:

indeed it is! when retro-reflective plates where made mandatory for all *cars and motorbikes* first used 1st January 1973 or later, there where a few vehicles exempt from that requirement, this included most predominatly buses, which is how London Transport got away with using white on black plates for so long, but it also included HGV's but very few HGV operators actually used that exemption, but I understand that Ripponden Motors made a point of using it/doing it like London Transport did  but you otherwise very rarely saw it outside of that, so very nicely found  

 

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Thanks, you've come up trumps again.

Strange thing is I'd forgotten all about Ripponden and District* lorries and their distinctive livery/bw plates even though they were a common sight in East Yorks (in fact anywhere oop North) in the '80's. Thanks for jogging my memory. A friend of mine at the time was a great fan of them and 'collected' sightings of them in the same way people did with Eddy Stobart.

*and Ripponden Motors, which I guess were the same outfit.

If I remember correctly they were parcel couriers but of a slightly higher class than todays cowboys.

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

Snow clearing and road gritting in Portland Maine circa 1940. Lots of great trucks here.

 

[Metal Guru]

  On 22/12/2024 at 15:45, Joey spud said:

Rings are still going near me.

What would have been the nicer truck to operate ?

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I remember Rings from when I lived  in Medway but not Goddens. That truck is 1967 and looks well used , so they must have folded or been taken over maybe mid 70s?

[Vantman]

  On 31/12/2024 at 05:22, Metal Guru said:

I remember Rings from when I lived  in Medway but not Goddens. That truck is 1967 and looks well used , so they must have folded or been taken over maybe mid 70s?

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@Metal Guru When the two brothers who controlled Richman Removals went their separate ways in 1967, one of them purchased the small business that Bert Godden ran from an office on New Road in Chatham.

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

[The Old Bloke Next Door]

[dozeydustman]

  On 25/10/2024 at 09:10, willswitchengage said:

I doubt EV trucks will really catch on other than maybe local distribution, bin lorries etc.

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We have 2 electric bin lorries at work. Powerwise they are higher than the standard 290hp Mercedes lump fitted to the Econics or the 300hp Volvo/Renault units in the Dennises, and bloody hell they shift up to about 40mph. If you engage what would be the exhaust brake into full retardation mode, it is one-pedal driving down to a 5mph creep. Great going down a hill and will regen up to 80kWH, though in normal driving and collecting work rarely do they hit this figure.

Range is terrible. For the town rounds they are fine, but given our district is huge (about half of West Sussex) we can't use them on a rural round as they run out of juice. Running the PTO for the packer and bin lifts isn't battery draining, it's the driving which is. Using the heater, radio and air con also drains the battery quickly; at this time of year they'll go into limp mode for the last 10% of charge and won't let the driver tip off until charged above 20%.

They're a mixed bag, but ours are first generation and converted from diesels.

[dozeydustman]

  On 06/10/2024 at 18:11, martc said:

The TL, Bedfords last gasp. The ferry behind it lasted a lot longer, built in 1979 for the Swansea-Cork service, the Connacht is still sailing, as Prince, between Italy and Montenegro.

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The problem with the TL is Bedford barely disguised it from being a facelifted TK. The TK wasn't a bad truck range for the 60s and 70s by any means, beside the galloping rot which invariably got them. I think the only upgrade was the turbocharged engine. At the time the game had moved on a lot, the Ford D-series was now the much more modern Cargo; the Ergo and G-series Leyland stuff was now T45 and GM still churned this out.

Growing up in the 80s most TLs I saw were local councils, BT and a handful of independent removals companies.

The TM wasn't as popular as GM had hoped I don't think; only recall the Army using them.

[somewhatfoolish]

  On 07/01/2025 at 16:15, dozeydustman said:

Using the heater, radio and air con also drains the battery quickly; at this time of year they'll go into limp mode for the last 10% of charge and won't let the driver tip off until charged above 20%.

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They should fit them with eberspachers, reduce the battery drain.

[catsinthewelder]

A few ipads in the back should keep the crew toasty.

[dozeydustman]

  On 07/01/2025 at 20:06, somewhatfoolish said:

They should fit them with eberspachers, reduce the battery drain.

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I have no idea what they are!

EDIT. Just googled. Nowhere on the truck for a small diesel tank.

[Crackers]

  On 07/01/2025 at 16:15, dozeydustman said:

We have 2 electric bin lorries at work.

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I was on an electric Merc bus in Hamburg earlier this year and christ alive did it fly. Must be quite good fun in a bin wagon, I've heard they handle pretty well?

[dozeydustman]

  On 08/01/2025 at 18:02, Crackers said:

I've heard they handle pretty well?

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They don’t! When you have roly-poly suspension like a 70’s Renault cornering fast is interesting, especially if you leave the rear-steer on or the packer plate pushes something heavy to the top of the body! 

The little DAF 12t I was in today drives like a go-kart, but a 26/27t 6-legger is a bit of a pudding.

26 years on the bins I’ve seen a few sights where a driver has misjudged a corner/junction/roundabout/bit of landfill

[Crackers]

  On 08/01/2025 at 18:25, dozeydustman said:

They don’t! When you have roly-poly suspension like a 70’s Renault cornering fast is interesting, especially if you leave the rear-steer on or the packer plate pushes something heavy to the top of the body! 

The little DAF 12t I was in today drives like a go-kart, but a 26/27t 6-legger is a bit of a pudding.

26 years on the bins I’ve seen a few sights where a driver has misjudged a corner/junction/roundabout/bit of landfill

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Ah fair enough! I must be mis-remembering what an HGV driver mate told me. He trained on dustcarts, but maybe it was something else that he was quite enjoying - maybe his 8-legger when unladen. 

[dozeydustman]

  On 08/01/2025 at 22:40, Crackers said:

Ah fair enough! I must be mis-remembering what an HGV driver mate told me. He trained on dustcarts, but maybe it was something else that he was quite enjoying - maybe his 8-legger when unladen. 

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Depends when he trained and what he drove. I cut my teeth on 17t Dennis Deltas and Elite 1s with leaf spring suspension, and by and large they were a bit less wallowy but without an assisted clutch the left leg got a bit achey!

Until Dennis went full air suspension their wagons were a bit tighter on the road. The Elite 2 with airbag rear and sprung front were their peak of handling, especially in 6x4 form.

This said I once drove an ERF EC8 hire vehicle and that was the smoothest bin wagon I had ever driven.

[leakingstrut]

When I was on the bins (back of the lorry, not driving) we had a mix of Dennis diesels and electrics. The electric ones were a pain in the arse, shite on hills when loaded up, and despite being newer they were less reliable than the diesels. They also took less weight, so a run you would get done with two empties became three, which could really mess you up on a busy day. Shame as an electric in lorry is a great idea in theory , just the execution was shite. I don't recall issues with range as we were in an urban area, aside from when they failed to charge 😕

After I left they got some new diesels, I think the plan was to go all electric but due to the issues and one depot not having any charging (half the place is condemned, and to be replaced but obviously they have no money, so not worth fitting chargers) they got more diesels. Unfortunately they got ones with smaller bodies, which have the same problem with filling up as the electrics, and they changed some springs on the lifters to crappy little thin ones which constantly fail. I enjoyed being on the bins but I'm glad I left when I did! 

[danthecapriman]

Speaking of electric commercial vehicles…

Southern Electricity had a spell of trying a range of them out. So far I’ve found Commer Walkthru, Dodge 50 and Leyland Terrier electrics.

If you read the little block of writing towards the back of the truck it tells you it’s electric.

I don’t think they proved very successful though.

[sutty2006]

Trailer shite. 
 

motors on axle 2 that charge an underslung battery that powers an aircon pump up front for the fridge. 
 

 

[Dyslexic Viking]

I've seen this before but now someone has posted it on youtube with poor English subtitles. Transport of cheese from Trondheim Norway to Milan in winter in a Fiat that actually still exists.

 

[SunnySouth]

  On 30/12/2024 at 18:47, cms206 said:

I lied - I have just been reminded of this blinder, what I believe actually *is* the only Volvo FL-series bus in the British Isles - built by Mooney of Ardara on a Volvo FL6 chassis using a second hand Van Hool body!

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Fuck me, that’s *attractive…

[quicksilver]

  On 11/01/2025 at 20:12, SunnySouth said:

Fuck me, that’s *attractive…

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Look at the angle of the door relative to the wheelarch. Something seriously wonky going on there.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

  On 12/01/2025 at 11:11, quicksilver said:

Look at the angle of the door relative to the wheelarch. Something seriously wonky going on there.

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Looks like a bodge  using a door from a straight-sided vehicle on bodywork with a curved side... 🧐

[Datsuncog]

  On 11/01/2025 at 20:12, SunnySouth said:

Fuck me, that’s *attractive…

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Styling by...

[martc]

Potters Fields Park SE1, mid '70's & 2024. Only slightly less mud now than when it was a lorry park back then, which I guess was serving the Docklands area to the east.

[martc]

A ZIL-4331 by the K.D.d.Ushinsky State Pedagogical Library named after K.D.d.Ushinsky,  Bolshoy Tolmachevsky Lar, Moscow.

There's the look of a Magirus Deutz about it, but I can't find any link between them. More info here - https://1cars.org/887-zil-4331-specifications-modifications-photos-videos-overview.html

[martc]