Tow coach

[bigstraight6]

Spotted this old Leyland coach outside the premises of a small operator in South East Cornwall today, and the old boy owner took great pride in showing me the slide out towing attatchment housed in the luggage compartment. The old coach is used as a back-up vehicle, and for towing when one of the fleet fails. I've not seen anything like this before, might interest some of our resident bus bashers

[dollywobbler]

Excellent! I'm sure I'm not the only one who fancies turning a coach into a car transporter.

[Pillock]

Fuggin' eck, that's a proper bit of oldschool engineering there!Imagine a 40ft coach towing another 40ft coach around some of the Cornish roads...

[trigger]

That is a classy idea, I would love to see that at work towing one of the fleet.

[FredTransit]

Sod the towing bit, wouldn't mind the coach on the books. Is that the number on it? I can't read it....

[Cavcraft]

Is that a Plaxton bodied coach? Used to see them absolutely everywhere at one time, and that firm/livery is well known.

[brammy777]

Hey that thing is sweet. I do remember coaches like that even being used on most of my School trips.Plaxton Supreme I think?

[Pillock]

Sod the towing bit, wouldn't mind the coach on the books. Is that the number on it? I can't read it....

Hmmm, it's in Cornwall but the luggage lid says "Maynes Warrington", and it's a Warrington dialling code. So I suspect the rest of the number may not help much

[Cavcraft]

I thought it was a Bedford tbh, where's the coach buffs tonight?

[aled]

duple and plaxton used the same rear ends (i think)but the fronts differed quite alot a local operator near me had these new in late 70s early 80s, all gone now tho but another operator has taken the yard and garage over will have to go and take some photos :wink:i do think it is a plaxton tho --supreme III.

[brammy777]

Bedfords did have that body on them, as did Leyland Leopards and Tigers, which this one is.

[dollywobbler]

More likely to be a Leyland. Don't think Bedfords went that big? Probably a Leopard as they certainly did. Bodywork is definitely Plaxton and a little Google-fu reveals that they could be Ford, Bedfords or Leylands. And probably more.

[aled]

can somone zoom in on the rear lights the lettering below the top lenses will either say plaxton or duple.

[Pillock]

RAC SEZ:

Vehicle Details for registration number UCE665Make ModelSCANIA K114

DVLA SEZ (when told it's a Scania):

Date of Liability 01 06 2010Date of First Registration 13 05 2004Year of Manufacture 2004Cylinder Capacity (cc) 11000CCCO2 Emissions Not AvailableFuel Type Heavy OilExport Marker Not ApplicableVehicle Status Licence Not DueVehicle Colour CREAMVehicle Type Approval Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle 6 Months Rate £181.5012 Months Rate £330.00

Scania? K114? Interesting! Oh, and it's taxed but AskMID says not insured....

[dollywobbler]

Arse. While I was on the google-fu, everyone came in with answers!

 

EDIT - Duple's were different arses I think. This Duple is VERY different at the back!

[aled]

Arse. While I was on the google-fu, everyone came in with answers!

 

EDIT - Duple's were different arses I think. This Duple is VERY different at the back!

the ultimate shite tow truck. want big time.

[Justin Case]

The plot thickens It is definitely not a Scania K 114, they are rear-engined After looking at a few blown-up photos on various bus sites (has he nothing better to do ) I think that it is a Leyland Leopard with Plaxton Supreme bodywork, about 1978 - 1982. One clue is the stainless steel thingy (wheel-nut ring/ step for driver?) on the front hub, the Reliance doesn't have one, but the Leopard does.

[Albert Ross]

This any good to you??

 

http://www.mayne.co.uk/

 

 

Just looked at the bootlid!

 

On the history pages it does say they used Leapords at some point....

[Lukas]

It´s nice but one thing is bothering me: Where is the engine?

[Cavcraft]

Under the floor near the driver?

[Justin Case]

Under the floor near the driver?

More or less, but the engine is nearer the back axle. The Volvo B10 is very much the same layout, so if you want an affordable mid-engined turbo-diesel 6-speed Volvo, then here you are. It's even in Warrington http://www.usedcoachsales.co.uk/picture ... &coach=672

[Cavcraft]

O hai wud u swp pppl carryr for Saxo wiv bodykit?

[Lukas]

Most busses I´ve seen or traveled with had their engine in the back, where the Hella-lights are. I didn´t know either that Van Hool buses are based on Volvo-ones. Autoshite, learn something every day!

[eggy]

i do like that, the bedford above was on the bay for about £1200 a month or two back and in the back of cvc for about 4 months.the chap who does some of the school busses round my way usually gets a tractor and a long bar to tow his home when the commisoner takes them off the road...

[FredTransit]

RAC SEZ:

Vehicle Details for registration number UCE665Make ModelSCANIA K114

DVLA SEZ (when told it's a Scania):

Date of Liability 01 06 2010Date of First Registration 13 05 2004Year of Manufacture 2004Cylinder Capacity (cc) 11000CCCO2 Emissions Not AvailableFuel Type Heavy OilExport Marker Not ApplicableVehicle Status Licence Not DueVehicle Colour CREAMVehicle Type Approval Vehicle Excise Duty Rate for vehicle 6 Months Rate £181.5012 Months Rate £330.00

Scania? K114? Interesting! Oh, and it's taxed but AskMID says not insured....

Myabe they are driving on trader's insurance, but it should still have been put on the MID.

[warren t claim]

Does anyone know if I would be able to drive a coach on my HGV license or would I have to remove the passenger seats first?

[Pete-M]

Myabe they are driving on trader's insurance, but it should still have been put on the MID.

If their trade policy is anything like mine then the database really doesn't mean shit. I had to renew my policy last Friday, got a letter from them telling me which vehicles were on my insurance policy and it was a bit of a shock. The BMW - which I'd spoken to them about four times wasn't on the database, the Audi was, as was a Transit I owned briefly last year, an Escort van, and the Range Rover..I decided to wait for a while before renewing, and let the policy lapse for a couple of hours. During which, the BMW appeared on the MID as being insured. As soon as I paid 'em the money, it disappeared off the bloody MID again.I've just checked the database now, and guess what? It's not on there again. FFS.

[simmo]

Does anyone know if I would be able to drive a coach on my HGV license or would I have to remove the passenger seats first?

As a mechanic I used to drive PSVs on my HGV but when the vocational licence thing for coaches/minibuses came in we had to have this put on our licences, which we got automaticly if the company said we were driving them already. So can drive a 53 seater as long as the passengers aren't paying.My old man had a Leyland Panther with a Plaxton body (Panama Elite III) From memory the Plaxtoxs were a bit more bling than the Duples.

[barrett]

I think there is an age limit, busses over a certain age don't need a PSV, and you can only carry a maximum of 8 people or something like that. Which is probably 6 more friends than the average bus enthusiast has anyway....

 

(hides)

[Cavcraft]

Myabe they are driving on trader's insurance, but it should still have been put on the MID.

If their trade policy is anything like mine then the database really doesn't mean shit. I had to renew my policy last Friday, got a letter from them telling me which vehicles were on my insurance policy and it was a bit of a shock. The BMW - which I'd spoken to them about four times wasn't on the database, the Audi was, as was a Transit I owned briefly last year, an Escort van, and the Range Rover..I decided to wait for a while before renewing, and let the policy lapse for a couple of hours. During which, the BMW appeared on the MID as being insured. As soon as I paid 'em the money, it disappeared off the bloody MID again.I've just checked the database now, and guess what? It's not on there again. FFS.

Mixed bag that MID lot. They actually told me not to bother e-mailing in details as they rarely checked them and it took 'ages' to update them.I often wonder if something takes ages to show up on the web but gets updated to the OB before we see it.Is there a chance the ones you've sold are now insured by the new keepers hence showing up on the database?I keep my insurance policy and driving licence on me at all times now as I hear about traders having cars taken off them by the coppers because they're not on the database. IIrc you get two weeks to add them to the database by the way.Quick edit: I phone mine in but I also e-mail them and 'cc' myself to prove it 'just in case'.