the good old ford cargo are to some people like marmite you either love them or hate well ive grown up with them about and love them from a 0813 0809 2424 all were good work horses and very cheap to run so now ive got well 1 for going to shows a 3828 ts and another getn restored and just sold a 4x2 3828 this particular truck has the biggest engine fitted 290 L 10 ■■■■■■■ with a proper mans gearbox(eaton twin splitter) and well it does goo and returns around 20mpg wen running solo so abosulutely great for doing road runs
Those old Ford Cargos were great motors, I did my apprenticeship on them, they were sound workhorses, and very rarely broke down, If they did it was usually only pre filters. Then Iveco Launched the Euro cargo Need I say more, Clutches failures being transported to body builders, Wiring was just like telephone wires which and broke continuous and exhaust brake butterfly fitted wrong side of exhaust baffle which wouldn’t take the back pressure so would fail regularly.
tim
f88vol:
the good old ford cargo are to some people like marmite you either love them or hate well ive grown up with them about and love them from a 0813 0809 2424 all were good work horses and very cheap to run so now ive got well 1 for going to shows a 3828 ts and another getn restored and just sold a 4x2 3828 this particular truck has the biggest engine fitted 290 L 10 ■■■■■■■ with a proper mans gearbox(eaton twin splitter) and well it does goo and returns around 20mpg wen running solo so abosulutely great for doing road runs
What a nice looking lorry that is. 
Got the keys to D720 GOR when I first turned 18. An 0811 with a 25’ removal body on it. I thought I was the Dogs ■■■■■■■■!
Took that little truck all round Europe and it never missed a beat. You just had to be a bit careful when it was raining hard as the brakes were bad enough in the dry and almost non existent when driving through standing water
Was a Ford Cargo artic i took my hgv in.with the standard driving school trailer with axle right at the back.
Having driven Ford D series and Bedford TK’s the cargo was a godsend, drove 0811’s 0813’s 1615’s and finally a 1718, the 0811 below, D479YVH, was the first new truck i ever got, back in 87.
Jerry
Disgusting, dangerous, death traps.
Cabs that were about as strong as a paper bag. I saw so many good men killed in those things after collisions.
In the days when they came out Swifts got some demos and as muggins here got every demo tractor they obtained I was always the test pilot. The first we got was a white day cab with a Maggi Deutz (probable spelt wrong). I had to take a load from Duston to Crick along the back road, a distance of about 16 miles. The pile of rubbish overheated on alomost every hill and took 45 minutes to travel the 16 miles, I took it back and threw the keys over the traffic desk and said ‘Either I get my Volvo back for the rest of the shift or I quit’ I got my truck back. Over the next few days every driver refused to drive it and eventually our general manager who was a real Ford man got in the cab and took it round the block, he then stormed into the office, phoned Fords and told them to take the thing back and replace it with a real lorry 
Some months later they sent a sleeper cab version with a L10 ■■■■■■■■ it was bright orange with dark tinted windows which I liked because nobody would see me driving the shed. I drove it to Stroud and back in 9th gear and used vast amounts of fuel, I also filled in the questionaire they sent with it and under the section ‘Sugested work use’ I wrote ‘Keep left sign or milk float’
When I got in to work next night it had been sent back to Fords because it used to much fuel
In short … I detest the piles of junk and can’t believe they still make the crap over here ? … well I can actually because they are 20 years behind over here.
I have only ever driven a little 3 ton Cargo, that was awfull as you only had to touch the brake and the thing practically stood on its nose, but a few O/D’s at our quarry had six wheeler tippers with the L10 ■■■■■■■ in them. They had a good payload, nearly 18 tons, but when they were around 14 years old or so the cabs were corroding badly. A couple are still around at 22 years old so they cant be too bad, but I found that the unsprung cab gave a rough ride compared to the sprung Foden cab but then the drivers had Clydesdales previously so were probably used to being chucked about! 
Pete.
I drove one at United Carriers for a while, it had come with one of the companies they were buying at the time, my run was to do two Bostons from Fogartys per night, with the Cargo it made things much easier and there were not many pigeons left in Lincolnshire
Hello all, bit bright this new format, still I can put off going to the opticians for a few more months, (yet again Ive squashed my spectacles, farming and spectacles dont mix)!Ford Cargo`s, well I can only speak as I find, I ran a mix of about forty, 7.5, 12.5, 16/32 d/bars,&32tonne tractors, in a substantial mixed rental and contract hire fleet. Some day cabs, some factory, and cab top sleepers. As a product they had their strengths and weaknesses, overall, taking into account that we really looked after our vehicles, and all were on guaranteed buybacks, so good preventative maintenance was vital, they were good value, and always “performed in budget”.At 7.5t we only ever experienced disc problems, and Ford looked after us, they were much cheaper pence per kilometer than Roadrunners, and had a higher utilisation overall. 12.5s well they were ultra reliable, both as tippers, and boxes on multi drop work. 16/32t, probably one of the most under rated vehicles on the market. The engine and driveline was premium spec, ■■■■■■■■ Eaton, four of my tractors achieved nil breakdowns in 400000kms, on a hard job, and made their residual guarantee with no penalties. Easy to drive, could take the abuse of the less skilled driver, good vision, easy to keep clean, warm, yes I liked them. But like any vehicle, if abused and not properly maintained would be a dog to drive, that is presuming that the driver had not decided to drive "his"Cargo like a dog! f88, that looks a lovely lorry, nice that people will have the opportunity to see one of the last real UK Fords, good luck with her. Cheerio for now.
[attachment=1/attachment]My first time in haulage was in a Cargo and i loved it 
hi
about 1988 united carriers bought six ford cargos,for years they had used erf units,when i was informed that i would be getting one i told the boss that i would rather eat worms than drive one of those things 
so i kept my trusty erf, seven years later i had no option than to drive one, i was suprised how nice it went and it was comfortable, looking back now it was just an ego thing not wanting one as they didnt look like a proper lorry, mechanicaly they were the same as an erf but with a tin cab.
cheers diesel
windrush:
I have only ever driven a little 3 ton Cargo, that was awfull as you only had to touch the brake and the thing practically stood on its nose, but a few O/D’s at our quarry had six wheeler tippers with the L10 ■■■■■■■ in them. They had a good payload, nearly 18 tons, but when they were around 14 years old or so the cabs were corroding badly. A couple are still around at 22 years old so they cant be too bad, but I found that the unsprung cab gave a rough ride compared to the sprung Foden cab but then the drivers had Clydesdales previously so were probably used to being chucked about!Pete.
most of the o/ds round this area had jake brakes fitted as well after they had run them for a while, this involved cutting a few inches out of the back cab crossmember and back pannel
j wayne stil has his that he had new on a (g plate) though not on the road at the moment
moose
It was Johns truck that I had in mind Moose, it has given him good service though! I forgot about the Jakes being retro fitted, it made them into a decent truck apart from the ride quality.
Pete.
Bigrig, I’m sure I’ve driven that!!!
Certain it used to belong to a hire company from Nottingham, and when I worked for the parcel company Captain Cargo, their hq was in Derby, and they hired us a 7.5 tonner for our depot in Ossett, and I’m as near ■■■■ certain E521 DTV was that vehicle.
It had a white cab and white body with white curtains on it. It would have been about 1 year old when we got it
Ken.
diesel dan:
hi
about 1988 united carriers bought six ford cargos,for years they had used erf units,when i was informed that i would be getting one i told the boss that i would rather eat worms than drive one of those things
cheers diesel
You traitor 
Quinny:
Bigrig, I’m sure I’ve driven that!!!Certain it used to belong to a hire company from Nottingham, and when I worked for the parcel company Captain Cargo, their hq was in Derby, and they hired us a 7.5 tonner for our depot in Ossett, and I’m as near ■■■■ certain E521 DTV was that vehicle.
It had a white cab and white body with white curtains on it. It would have been about 1 year old when we got it
Ken.
Yes it was white and an ex hire vehicle
A pic of a not so good pic, this was taken outside a firm called BPS Runcorn before we got her painted
I adore mine - use it regularly as a second runabout and as F88Vol says, they return a good mpg solo. Mine only weighs just over 5 tons, not bad for a unit really:
What warmed me to them (the tractors at least), was driving the White Arrow units on early Agency work. Always tried to get on the MoD work (the blue Cargo units with private military plates) but never found an outlet for that and always assumed that was done ‘in house’ with millitary staff!?!. Also plenty of 6 wheel tippers and 7.5’s of course. The problem comes when people compare them to more prestigious marques - they were never meant to be a worthy rival to a Volvo or Scania (in terms of a tractor unit at least, but imo the 7.5 tonners were in a league of their own!) but were designed and sold as a cheaper alternative in challenging economic times (1980’s).
They may have had reasonably bullet proof drive trains (■■■■■■■ coupled to Eaton’s etc), but the cabs would rot out (Like earlier Ford cars, the rustproofing and steel quality was sub-standard to say the least!) years before a Volvo, Scania or DAF and most were exported when the major players who operated them, dispensed with them. Malta, New Zealand etc were a dumping ground for ex-UK Cargo’s that were still serviceable in the mid to late 90’s(heavyweights at least) and consequently they are a rarity over here nowadays. I reckon there are less than 10 the length and breadth of the country on the show/preserved scene?? Anyway, Driver’s hated 'em, Fleet Managers loved 'em as they were very cheap to run relative to other marques. I think there are numerous threads on here where people have said the same and I agree!
I’ve had various old cars over the years that I’ve restored, cherished and maintained as a Summer runabout - but none come close to the fun I’ve had with the Cargo thus far. I’ve even used it to go to work on more than a few occassions (Agency Driver) and the looks I get when getting out of a DAF after a 12 hour shift and then into the Cargo to drive home would sink ships Great fun!! One Driver asked me if it was a replacement shunt unit (cheeky!)
Always try to drive it at least once a week, but now the salts on the road, I don’t want to have to get the Mig Welder out next year and repair the cab. . . 
, so it’ll be a quick coat of Waxoyl on the underside to accompany the 3 or 4 coats I’ve already put on it and then into the lock up for the Winter months. I can’t overstate the way these things rust; though having owned numerous MK1 & 2 Escorts over the years I’m more than used to that!!! Hope to do a road run or two next year anyway!!
I don’t think anyone really considered them to be part of the heavy truck market - and they did offer the 38 tonne option which (as someone already mentioned) offered a great payload considering the weight of the tractor. I remember a firm I worked for running a couple on general haulage (one driver loved it, the other got passed around like a hot potato) Most of the complaints were about the small sleeper, high bunk, low roof and one bad memory I have is that you could hardly see the back of your trailer with them bus mirrors, along with the curvy cab front! However unlike some others mentioned before, ours seemed to pull very well (■■■■■■■ powered with Eaton box) We also got one which was an ex demo from Ford’s (it had the diagonal blue stipes on it IIRC) and that didn’t half shift, but the brakes were cack.