Truck Shite

[panhard65]

The London Underground used to have some A-series emergency response tenders. Great big unwieldy and gutless crew-cab things with huge box bodies and a massive wheelbase. Legend has it the crews used to carry around a whole box of easystart cans because they were so reluctant to fire up. They sound GR0.1 for rapid response.

 

Pic of one here: http://www.ltsv.com/sv2/pic_view.php?selpic=391

Where I used to work they had a crewcab A-series spec lift. Fitted with the V6 petrol it did sound nice and went well but drank fuel and was rotten back then nearly 20 years ago.

[Grundig]

 

[oman5]

Big capacity n/a is where it's at

 

[Split_Pin]

TKs are such ahqndsome truck. Also, I love the way it looks like it should be a tilt cab but instead its fixed and you have only the wee side flaps for engine access..

[oman5]

Whs ! A straight 6 atmo diesel must be one of the most unstressed and reliable engines ever made.

Absolutely true. Gardner certainly knew what they were doing, it's relatively common for some old dump of a truck that hasn't been touched for 30 years fitted with a gardner 150/180 to fire straight up when a battery is attached.

It used to be the way that after a company had finished with a truck and it had done a million miles, the truck would get scrapped and the gardner engine would be sold on to have a second life as a boat engine in Africa.

Gardners were low revving sluggers producing maximum torque from just above idle speed and governed to 1700 rpm. This meant that whilst never a fast vehicle, a vehicle so fitted would just run and run, achieving mpg figures that would be impressive today. Ever tightening emissions regs plus being uncompetitive with newer turbocharged engines was what killed them, but they were probably one of the best engines ever fitted to a truck.

The Leyland o680 was also held in such high esteem that both DAF and SCANIA based their heavy truck engines on it , and license built engines continued to be made by Ashok Leyland in India long after Leyland truck and bus ceased to exist.

[Grundig]

 

"Lorry drivers need brain aswell as brawn"

[MarvinsMom]

reminds me of the olden times when i was working as a labourer at a scrap yard, they had 2 wagons, a ford cargo and an older tk.

 

first thing on a morning, especially if it was a cold morning the tk, (it had a 6 pot dizzller) it used to produce a smoke screen across the yard while building up air pressure. though no where near as quick as the ford, i always preferred the bedford, just on looks alone.on that wagon the cab would tip forward aswell as having the side flaps for access to the oily bits, but also because it had much better visability from the drivers seat. plus been slower, it never seemed to run quicker than the ability of its brakes to stop it.

 

happy days

[scruff]

The Mercedes truck driving people I fairly often encounter seem to put them in the same sort of bracket as Iveco. F*ck*ng awful.

 

 

The EuroCargo is a definate case of worse improvement; how they started with the original Cargo and ended up with the EuroCargo I'll never know.

 

Maybe I'm biased having been launched from the cab of one, or been party to them being a dirty bastard in the wet, but my time on EuroCargos was not a happy one to the point that my preferred fleet vehicle at the end up was a G-reg Volvo FL6 instead of an 02-plate EuroCargo.

 

Hateful, hateful, hateful.

 

Just had a week learning in a EuroCargo, and thought... what are these AS geezers on about, it's not too bad....?

 

Then I got in a real lorry for the first time on the open road... actual brakes, power, grip, a nice gearbox, comfortable arse perch... I see what you mean! 

[wuvvum]

I didn't actually mind driving my €cargo.  Granted it didn't feel as solid as a Cargo, the gearshift wasn't great and it had a variety of random electrical faults, but it went like the clappers, cornered like it was on rails and the engine would rev to the heavens (I took it up to over 3,000 on more than one occasion).  I didn't find the brakes at all bad either - sure they were nowhere near as sharp as the ones on the Roadrunner I had before, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing - the Leyland would put you through the windscreen if you stomped on the brakes in a panic (literally - no seatbelts).

[Split_Pin]

i always preferred the bedford, just on looks alone.on that wagon the cab would tip forward aswell as having the side flaps for access to the oily bits

 

happy days

Can't think of the name of the company that did them but your TK must have had one of those conversion kits fitted to make it into a tilt cab as the truck's cab was fixed and was not offered with a tilting facility by Bedford. Think I've only ever seen one like this before.

[willswitchengage]

I didn't actually mind driving my €cargo.  Granted it didn't feel as solid as a Cargo, the gearshift wasn't great and it had a variety of random electrical faults, but it went like the clappers, cornered like it was on rails and the engine would rev to the heavens (I took it up to over 3,000 on more than one occasion).  I didn't find the brakes at all bad either - sure they were nowhere near as sharp as the ones on the Roadrunner I had before, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing - the Leyland would put you through the windscreen if you stomped on the brakes in a panic (literally - no seatbelts).

 

Did Cargos have seatbelts?I don't think I've ever seen an occupant wearing one...

[MarvinsMom]

Can't think of the name of the company that did them but your TK must have had one of those conversion kits fitted to make it into a tilt cab as the truck's cab was fixed and was not offered with a tilting facility by Bedford. Think I've only ever seen one like this before.

well that is something that i didn't know.....

 

yes, there where seatbelts fitted to the ford cargo that i knew, they where also fitted to both the bedford and the leyland roadrunner too, but no, at that time we didn't bother with wearing them when driving!

[wuvvum]

Several times over the past week or so I've passed a Volvo NH12 on sugar beet hauling duties.  Not managed to get a picture yet, but it's an impressive looking beast.  LHD, natch - I believe the Scanias were the only normal control trucks sold here in RHD.  There's one of those around these parts too, hauling heavy plant around.

[scruff]

SCANIAS THROUGH THE YEARS

 

 

 

Quite interesting actually: http://newsroom.scania.com/en-group/2015/01/19/wheel-feel/

[Cavcraft]

The 75E15 (I.e six pot) Euro Cargos went pretty well, but the six banger Cummins engined Leyland Dafs pissed all over them, in performance and build quality.

 

I saw George's ERF on the M53 yesterday evening, still looks incredibly tidy.

[wuvvum]

The 75E15 (I.e six pot) Euro Cargos went pretty well, but the six banger Cummins engined Leyland Dafs pissed all over them, in performance and build quality.

 

 

See I actually found that my 75E15 was quicker than the Roadrunner 8.15 (Cummins 6 litre turbo) that I had before.  Quite agree on the build quality though, and the Leyland was better on diesel too.  Don't know if the later DAF 45s were quicker mind.

[Cavcraft]

That's my fault, soz, when I say Leyland Daf it's because I'm working in old money still, it was the 45 I meant. The older ('pre-45') types were mega reliable old things, I'd love one of these as a recovery truck...

 

[Cavcraft]

 

[Vantman]

Our heavy recovery vehicles when I worked at the Canterbury branch of Blundells,this would be about 1964/5.

 

[Inspector Morose]

Ooh, a coffee pot Scammel! Gate change?

[Vantman]

 Gate change?

 

Sorry.i can't remember,it was 40+ years ago!

[willswitchengage]

Do lorry industry types use the pronunciation 'man' or 'em ay en'? Same for 'daff' or 'dee ay eff'

[cms206]

Do lorry industry types use the pronunciation 'man' or 'em ay en'? Same for 'daff' or 'dee ay eff'

I tend to say M-A-N and DAF. I realise that doesn't help...

[Split_Pin]

MAN and DAF but always E-R-F.

 

Cavasomething that big J is ace. GR8 for starting a right old war on Trucknet by saying its a Gardner 240 stright 8.

 

ND PROOF SHOW US A PIC OF ENGINE STICKING OUT TI BACK OF THE CAB.

 

And so on, forever.

[Junkman]

MAN = Emma Enn.

[Split_Pin]

"I'D LIKE TO REPORT A TRUCK DRIVER THAT'S BEEN ENDANGERING MY LIFE....MY NAME?...DAVID MANN, M-A-N-N".

[oman5]

Always M-A-N and Daf round my way, but Daf is an abbreviation too - basically "Doorne's auto factory" so to be correct it ought to be D-A-F. But the company themselves don't do that so bollocks.

[Cavcraft]

Found it by accident yesterday in Shropshire as I was going to pay for the Corsa.

I'd gone to have a poke round Furber's salvage yard in Prees, but it either isn't open anymore or was shut on Saturdays. Rumour has it he's in the shit financially, though hope that isn't the case.

 

Anyhow, they have or did have a commercial vehicle breakers there, so would guess this was part of that bit of the business.

[rml2345]

Ooh, a coffee pot Scammel! Gate change?

Pioneer! Beloved of Monty's tank recovery squads in Africa during the war. Should be gate change, as was the Explorer that replaced them.

[Grundig]

 

 

Truck driver Wayne  was travelling back to Burnley  when he noticed smoke coming from the dashboard.