Lawrence Dunbar:
Bewick:
DEANB:
Here you go Ray !That is an interesting shot of the Mastiff of which we ran two , one a 26 ton gvw and the second one a 28 ton gvw. The Mastiff didnât enjoy much of a reputation but it was a cheap economy motor which was expected to work like a Premium motor which was impossible. But in defence of the Mastiff I have got to say we treated our two with the utmost care and respect which entailed giving them fortnightly oil changes, filters every other time, we drove them sensibly and steady. I can recall that just prior to selling the 26 tonner we were just getting a faint sniff of burning oil so probably the Perkins was starting to wear a bit. The trailer in the shot is also interesting, looks as if could be a forty footer ? However the biggest drawback to the Pitt, York, Fruehauf tandem Fours etc. was the use of normal narrow track axles and large brake drums for use on a 8wheel tandem bogie which in turn necessitated the use of the centre knave wheel assemblies. To overcome this problem I had Primrose Trailers build me a 32 ft trailer using wide track axles fitted with Mastiff front hub assemblies which enabled the use of standard, and interchangeable, tubeless 1100 x 22:5 wheels. By using smaller brakes savage braking was avoided ! Cheers Bewick.
Dennis, You are a man who looked after his gear with perfection, We did the same & ran a small fleet compared to yours , But nevertheless, Prevention was allways better than cure, Regards Larry
Aye Larry we had to look after the gear like âa cake and an eggâ in the early years eh!, couldnât afford to do owt else !
Cheers Dennis.