Working vehicles past their sell by.

[danthecapriman]

25 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

More than likely ex-British Telecom, as a 1981 registration - I think BT were pretty much the only organisation buying such an antiquated vehicle in any great numbers! Still, if the deep discounts offered made the fleet accountants happy (see also Bedford HA etc...)

I think British Rail were still buying vans like the HA and Dodge Spacevan etc etc. usually government utilities… says a lot!😄

[jon.k]

 

[holbeck]

On 10/01/2025 at 12:40, danthecapriman said:

I think British Rail were still buying vans like the HA and Dodge Spacevan etc etc. usually government utilities… says a lot!😄

BT were the only Spacevan customer at the end. 

Once Chrysler UK had sold out their Commercial Vehicle operations including the Spacevan,  to Renault RVI, production would have finished there and then but there were ongoing contracts with BT that lasted into 1983. 

Renault were obliged to honour those contracts and continued to manufacture it. 

[warch]

My dad was still using this as his business vehicle right up until he actually retired a couple of years ago. It’s of uncertain age but seems to have been built in about 1971. 

 

 

[Leyland Worldmaster]

Not the Croydonshire Unicorn Combi...

But is is older...

 

[morrisoxide]

On 16/12/2024 at 08:51, bunglebus said:

Just too far away in a compound to see the reg, but K plate Transit with a huge body was spotted on one of my Northern jaunts. Manchester maybe? Leeds? Can't remember

 

It's in Leeds not far from the Dalek. I got a picture of it not so long ago.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, morrisoxide said:

It's in Leeds not far from the Dalek. I got a picture of it not so long ago.

Postman Pat's branching out...

[Faker]

On 10/01/2025 at 11:32, Datsuncog said:

That crusty Dodge Spacevan posted upthread reminded me that this one is still going locally...

It's been nearly six years since I took these pics, but I've regularly spotted the old girl still pottering about the Shore Road area, most recently a few months back, so presumably still in service as a commercial vehicle.

Long may it continue.

It’s changed it’s advertising. It’s been an advertising van for a long time. Abbey fireplaces didn’t actually use it for work purposes 

[mat_the_cat]

On 31/12/2024 at 08:51, loserone said:

They've got some decent looking kit about

 

...and an Iveco.

[Lord Sterling]

Spotted this as I was coming back from a 4-mile long walk after dropping the Jag off to confirm that I'd just dropped a load of money for fuck all.

[artdjones]

On 10/01/2025 at 12:13, Datsuncog said:

More than likely ex-British Telecom, as a 1981 registration - I think BT were pretty much the only organisation buying such an antiquated vehicle in any great numbers! Still, if the deep discounts offered made the fleet accountants happy (see also Bedford HA etc...)

The P and T (Post and Telegraph) organisation down in the Republic were another late customer.  Here's a gaggle of them parked up in Fleet Street, Dublin in the early 80s.

An acquaintance who was a telephone worker told me that there was some kind of union dispute over them, as they were too easy to roll over with the narrow track. I'm sure the fuel economy was awful too. The 1725 Rootes engine wasn't very economical in a Hunter.  In a PB the consumption must have been dire.

All in all, a bit of a false economy.

[bunglebus]

Cool looking vans though. Apparently another problem was driving in snow, as the narrower track front wheels pushed a pile of snow out to just the right place to help the rear wheels lose traction. 

[Rustybullethole]

15 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Cool looking vans though. Apparently another problem was driving in snow, as the narrower track front wheels pushed a pile of snow out to just the right place to help the rear wheels lose traction. 

Cool as. Thought it back then and would love one now. 

[quicksilver]

These big beasts (the Oshkosh M1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter) must be worthy of this thread now. The army bought 92 of them in 2003/4 and they're all still working at over 20 years old with no apparent plans to replace them in the near future. Note that it's on civilian plates: they're actually operated in peacetime under a partnership agreement by a company called FTX Logistics.

[dozeydustman]

On 18/12/2024 at 16:30, horriblemercedes said:

Does anyone on the forum have a Chrysler that's as big as a whale?

I’m more into going to the beach with matching towels.

[warninglight]

10 hours ago, quicksilver said:

 

I love that these are so big that they can only run on UK roads with Amber beacons on. I imagine in wartime they'd get an exemption for that!

[quicksilver]

1 hour ago, warninglight said:

I love that these are so big that they can only run on UK roads with Amber beacons on. I imagine in wartime they'd get an exemption for that!

And they also require escort vehicles covered in beacons that are not exactly covert. They all have additional military registrations that are used when they're driven by squaddies so I guess different rules apply when running on those military plates.

[Inspector Morose]

3 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

I’m more into going to the beach with matching towels.

Look out for the killer whale...

[martc]

The MoD operate all sorts of old vehicles, there's an Oshkosh tanker (fuel and water (not mixed!)) from the early 2000's -

The MAN's that they run were introduced in 2008, I've seen some brand new ones badged as Rheinmetall rather than MAN. These are still made at the old OAF factory in Vienna and modified at a factory in Doncaster so I guess the name change is something to do with supply contracts (like the ridiculous situation of CCM built Armstrong motorbikes being called Harley Davidsons).

However, I guess their oldest vehicles will be the Land Rovers, and as I understand it, there are no plans to replace them anytime soon.

 

[danthecapriman]

Haven’t the MOD only recently pensioned off the last of their Bedford fleet? I’m sure I read something somewhere that said the only Bedford trucks now still in MOD service were a handful of special purpose ones.

[sheffcortinacentre]

That reminds me off the story I was told ( dunno if true) about tanks & exhaust pipe emissions, no problem re emissions of depleted uranium coming out of the other pipe!

[goosey]

On 01/08/2025 at 18:38, Lord Sterling said:

Spotted this as I was coming back from a 4-mile long walk after dropping the Jag off to confirm that I'd just dropped a load of money for fuck all.

He had a red (?) Mazda E2200 before this, used to see it about as he’s local to Summerhill School were I went in the 90s 

[reb]

39 minutes ago, goosey said:

He had a red (?) Mazda E2200 before this, used to see it about as he’s local to Summerhill School were I went in the 90s 

This Summerhill? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerhill_School

They showed us a documentary about that one when I was at school, memorable moments include pupils sitting around drinking lager and smoking fags with a teacher, and some pupils euthanasing a rabbit with myxomatosis.

[horriblemercedes]

1 minute ago, reb said:

This Summerhill? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerhill_School

They showed us a documentary about that one when I was at school, memorable moments include pupils sitting around drinking lager and smoking fags with a teacher, and some pupils euthanasing a rabbit with myxomatosis.

I think it'll be this one:

https://www.summerhill.dudley.sch.uk/

[reb]

7 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

I think it'll be this one:

https://www.summerhill.dudley.sch.uk/

Well that's boring, it's just a normal school!

[horriblemercedes]

1 minute ago, reb said:

Well that's boring, it's just a normal school!

Unfortunately it is! But that's the Summerhill School that's in Summerhill where the carpet van is based

[reb]

1 minute ago, horriblemercedes said:

Unfortunately it is! But that's the Summerhill School that's in Summerhill where the carpet van is based

My knowledge of geography south of the border is very loose, I can point to Cornwall and London and that's about it. There's also too many places with the same name!

[horriblemercedes]

4 minutes ago, reb said:

My knowledge of geography south of the border is very loose, I can point to Cornwall and London and that's about it. There's also too many places with the same name!

To be honest, I  don't think anyone from outside the immediate area would know the Summerhill in question. It's only very tiny and is really just a hill in Kingswinford, which itself isn't that big and is kind of swallowed by Dudley/Black Country/West Midlands. 

[Inspector Morose]

1 hour ago, goosey said:

He had a red (?) Mazda E2200 before this, used to see it about as he’s local to Summerhill School were I went in the 90s 

My brother might have taught you. God, I feel old.

[goosey]

38 minutes ago, Inspector Morose said:

My brother might have taught you. God, I feel old.

What’s his Surname? 
if you don’t mind me asking