They had twin meth spirit burners in for cooking but we bought gas units to fit in there place and had an ally box made fitted on the chassis for a small gas bottle as they had to be outside the cab, plus they had a flat plastic water tank (in the storage box behind the doors took up half the space) and electric pump to a small sink which was within the unit quite good in there day, cheers Buzzer.
PS. The Scanias we have now have fridge and freezer and microwave, how things change.
Buzzer:
They had twin meth spirit burners in for cooking but we bought gas units to fit in there place and had an ally box made fitted on the chassis for a small gas bottle as they had to be outside the cab, plus they had a flat plastic water tank (in the storage box behind the doors took up half the space) and electric pump to a small sink which was within the unit quite good in there day, cheers Buzzer.PS. The Scanias we have now have fridge and freezer and microwave, how things change.
You live and learn – even at my advanced age – I never knew this pack was a Volvo option or even existed and at one time I even drove a Globetrotter…
I remember the ACH vehicles (always top of the range Scania or Volvo) and what I know of the drivers they would have had no call to use this “in cab” facilities… I ran with some of them to Greece, Italy & Spain and as I recall with the exception of the occasional “brew” they ate in restaurants or cafe’s. Maybe if they ran further afield they would have been grateful for such an option.
HI Big Leggy,how right you are very few if in deed any did any cooking in the cab at all unless it was to make abrew.however i worked for them 3 times over the years and i was the only one to cook in the cab as i was a ex fridge man.i used the bake house once only could never see the popularity of it.but it was up to them.
. all jobs had been done a hundred times before so always a unwritten schedule that is why the same eating places ,competition was always there between all drivers,some would say ■■■■■■■■, however if you took longer than anyone else your next job would be uk shunt.
And of course the A and B team ,you could have a nice load to AVON italy clear on site ,so you would think you would get a return trailer back from there.noway you would get the 3/4 dropper ,while the A team man would roll up with another 3/4 dropper, drop it at Avon the go home with a return Avon trailer and you got the crap.
DAVID FOWLER worked everyone at his whim ,my way, or the highway and a small wage packet if you do not keep up… most of the names mentioned in the previous posts would agree i assume .one good thing came out of it all was march 1994 when AYLESBURY MAGISTRATES COURT got to the truth! of “ACH” yes i was one of the naughty drivers.
I worked with a few ex ACH boys at Solstor, one of them used to cook in the cab all the time.
We used to do a month away then 6 days at home and sometimes your lorry would get used and you would take one of the others whose driver was on his week off and meet your lorry and swap over. If you ever were unlucky enough to have this bloke’s lorry it was a complete PITA as every available bit or space was taken up with tins of food.
Not much fun trying to get to bed in a single bunk F12 with a month’s worth of gear to move before you could even see the mattress.
Never understood it myself, we were on bloody good money and away for a month at a time you got out of the cab every chance you had or it sent you stir crazy.
Sorry newmercan you felt that way however i also did a stint at solstar,but never stayed long enough to get my own unit as i knew i never would get one playing second fiddle to every one else.
As you well know lockers under the bunk and one each side,so plenty of storage ,i would put money on that if the driver who cooked,offered you tea and toast if you were in a queue you would not have refused it ,then maybe a sarnie,out in the middle of nowhere ,you would have eaten it…some or lots of drivers liked to be to “house proud” “what cooking in cabs how awful” LOTS WERE TO LAZY to attempt it , or just like to chew the fat at the usual watering holes and slop the old red plonk in to themselves. i did not.
funny enough i went back to ACH from solstor.one Thing about DAVID Fowler no matter how much we did not like each other, if you could do the job and go anywhere he would set you back on .
I was working for another International out fit in the Aylesbury area when we heard about the 1994 incident. I think most of us managed to stay over the water for a few months after that, and had trailers shunted to Calais… ( More efficient, and cost effective you under stand… no other reason )
Jeff…
deckboypeggy:
Sorry newmercan you felt that way however i also did a stint at solstar,but never stayed long enough to get my own unit as i knew i never would get one playing second fiddle to every one else.
As you well know lockers under the bunk and one each side,so plenty of storage ,i would put money on that if the driver who cooked,offered you tea and toast if you were in a queue you would not have refused it ,then maybe a sarnie,out in the middle of nowhere ,you would have eaten it…some or lots of drivers liked to be to “house proud” “what cooking in cabs how awful” LOTS WERE TO LAZY to attempt it , or just like to chew the fat at the usual watering holes and slop the old red plonk in to themselves. i did not.
funny enough i went back to ACH from solstor.one Thing about DAVID Fowler no matter how much we did not like each other, if you could do the job and go anywhere he would set you back on .
I didn’t have a problem with the driver at all, he was a really nice bloke, it just made things difficult if you had his lorry as there was nowhere left to put your own gear.
Personally I used to make a cup of tea and sandwiches in the cab, but sat at a table for dinner every night. I did carry all the gear just in case, but it would have to be a real emergency for me to break out the pots and pans and I’ll tell you why…
I was delivering a load of frozen peas to a little town in Italy, I had got there in the early evening and wandered down to the local trattoria, which was closed, oh well I’ll find a bar, nope, that was closed too.
So out came the slab of stumpies, the Tilley stove and pots and pans, a tin of chilli, some baked beans and tinned potatoes for a camion stew. I thought I’d save on washing up and eat it out of the pan, this was to be my undoing.
Obviously the pan was red hot, so I let it cool a bit before wedging it on the steering wheel so I could hold my spoon in one hand and my bottle of beer in the other, I started tucking in and then the pan slipped, I attempted to grab it, but it was still hot so quickly let go, which made it worse and it went flying through the air landing on my left leg, upside down.
The contents went all over me, all over my driver’s seat and much much worse, down the side of the seat and the carpeted engine tunnel of my F12.
I had to unbolt the seat to get it all cleaned up properly and this did not make for an enjoyable experience. When I had finally got it cleaned up and put back together I very calmly placed my three burner stove beside the lorry and jumped up and down on it until it was demolished, I then threw it and every piece of cookware and food that I had in a big bin and have never used a gas cooker in a lorry since.
Nice one
newmercman:
deckboypeggy:
Sorry newmercan you felt that way however i also did a stint at solstar,but never stayed long enough to get my own unit as i knew i never would get one playing second fiddle to every one else.
As you well know lockers under the bunk and one each side,so plenty of storage ,i would put money on that if the driver who cooked,offered you tea and toast if you were in a queue you would not have refused it ,then maybe a sarnie,out in the middle of nowhere ,you would have eaten it…some or lots of drivers liked to be to “house proud” “what cooking in cabs how awful” LOTS WERE TO LAZY to attempt it , or just like to chew the fat at the usual watering holes and slop the old red plonk in to themselves. i did not.
funny enough i went back to ACH from solstor.one Thing about DAVID Fowler no matter how much we did not like each other, if you could do the job and go anywhere he would set you back on .I didn’t have a problem with the driver at all, he was a really nice bloke, it just made things difficult if you had his lorry as there was nowhere left to put your own gear.
Personally I used to make a cup of tea and sandwiches in the cab, but sat at a table for dinner every night. I did carry all the gear just in case, but it would have to be a real emergency for me to break out the pots and pans and I’ll tell you why…
I was delivering a load of frozen peas to a little town in Italy, I had got there in the early evening and wandered down to the local trattoria, which was closed, oh well I’ll find a bar, nope, that was closed too.
So out came the slab of stumpies, the Tilley stove and pots and pans, a tin of chilli, some baked beans and tinned potatoes for a camion stew. I thought I’d save on washing up and eat it out of the pan, this was to be my undoing.
Obviously the pan was red hot, so I let it cool a bit before wedging it on the steering wheel so I could hold my spoon in one hand and my bottle of beer in the other, I started tucking in and then the pan slipped, I attempted to grab it, but it was still hot so quickly let go, which made it worse and it went flying through the air landing on my left leg, upside down.
The contents went all over me, all over my driver’s seat and much much worse, down the side of the seat and the carpeted engine tunnel of my F12.
I had to unbolt the seat to get it all cleaned up properly and this did not make for an enjoyable experience. When I had finally got it cleaned up and put back together I very calmly placed my three burner stove beside the lorry and jumped up and down on it until it was demolished, I then threw it and every piece of cookware and food that I had in a big bin and have never used a gas cooker in a lorry since.
Hi Newmercman like it,i would have done just that…however i did have the odd ,“ohh for fu-ksake momments” but i progressed to a “pressure cooker” but yes if after a few Bevvies a dangerous game [cooking ].
I did the jumping up and down bit on my wallet after the Basque police took all my cash.Not on ACHas i do not think they ever went to our spanish friends.
Hi JELLIOT,would that have been BENNETTS THAME.?
Hi Fatboymark,yes all ACH motors were very well looked after before every trip and i mean every trip the unit and maybe the trailer were run over the garage pit for a quick inspection.also i am pleased you mentioned the customs sealing the ropes etc over your flat load,they would in aosta or other forward custom clearance you may have had for onward transit within Italy they would seal the corners of crates, boxes,anywhere cut holes anywhere to get a wire seal on…,
They called that Colis Sealing, the Austrians used to love doing that too. I’ve had a fork lift sealed to a stripped down tilt quite a few times at Süben.
deckboypeggy:
Hi JELLIOT,would that have been BENNETTS THAME.?
Nop… Fiasco International Bicester road … near the Total servo … We later had a yard at Charndon… sort of out by the old brick works between Bicester and Buckingham…
And just like Stobarts there was a dress code as well…
Ex page 3 girl Kim Stevens used to do Italy Turkey and Spain with us…
Jeff…
NEW ONE on me, how come i never heard of them. there was a blond ■■■■■■■ Rokold carol.
We were very rarely in the country Vic, spent most of the time the other side of Calais… the boss and his dad used to shunt trailers for us… also there was only one trailer that had any writing on it… the rest were just mid blue…
Kim was a good mate with Carol… and also used to hang out with Diesel Kate that did Danzas trailers out of Modena…and Ilona Richardson Econo freight… and a French girl called Monica that had a Renault draw bar…
This was my regular ride for a few years… 480 with a tag… Italy… Spain…North Africa… Turkey… Ukraine
Jeff…
Nice 6 bay Tlit was it a sliding roof we had similar on Pulleyns. It was as well you stayed in Calais in 1994 then as the hounds had been and were out.
I do not recall the company .as you know it was in the yard then out . At sometime i come across 2 of the ladies you mention , however carol and me never hit it off.i was to old school ,however she could and did her job well ,and was doing EUROPEAN BEFORE ME ,i think it was her unit…
IS that tabasco kim has in here hand somthing is going to be livened up.
No sliding roof on that one Vic, just a good old fashion tilt… I left it in Turkey for a while and when I went back to pick it up I could get an extra 5 euro pallets on board… still looked the same… no one ever picket it…
I think that’s the bosses ■■■■ in Kims hand… she was always threatening to cut it of… 
I left 2 weeks before Christmas in 93 and other than a quick in and out to Manchester and the Wirral I wasn’t back in Aylesbury until after Easter… pretty much like that the whole time for him… You didn’t want to leave milk in the fridge at home…
Jeff…
Yes i knew lots of blokes like that,ruled by their dicks, like ,“yes ill take your duty free home for you”,yeh,ok fu-k off…
I lived in lancashire after 1990 but still worked Aylesbury,london area.for a time.ONCE WHILE at ACH all our cars got done in the yard,david fowler was such a prick he never got the police he said it was down to us if we left our cars there, although we worked there thats how much thought he had for drivers, with stuff in them i used to leave my duty free hidden in the back. so that went … i thought i new who did it … [i think] one of the drivers had a son in the garage this chap was “mr know every one”,loud.large… I would put money on you would have known him… The same guy used to help himself to all our odd foreign coins left in the cab… One of the fitters, said he would hold it for me[duty free] and if i had 3 trips -back to the yard and out again, so i said fine it was ok for a month or two then ,he would now when i was coming back and out again. one month i decided to go home after 3 trips ,well that fu-ked i did not know he was selling my ■■■■ so he panicked ,he said they have fell down behind the fridge and his wife cannot get them…i gave him 4 hours i said you get my ■■■■ or pay,me the going rate…or sure enough later on his missus come in the yard with over a thousand ■■■■ all from a wholesale store… i left after the 1994 fiasco… I" was" normally good at judging blokes ,but i got that one wrong but not many .someone will say what a" ■■■■■■■■■ but it get me safe all my working life…THERE IS THE SAYING not for me, BUT IT GOES -HES A GENTLEMAN, SQUIRE .AND A FINE JUDGE OF ARSE.
