Hi Mike,
Lovely looking integral…proper removal van !
Pictures from my trip in the oldest van in the fleet (this is my beloved Sprinter 6t payload)Polruan by Fowey , 7min carry down hill from the garage ,with stops 17 min return up hill (knackered) 
started at 5.55am got back to the yard at 8.30pm ,but ran out of driving time at Membury , one of my drivers bought the Vito out ,he drove mine back and my porter drove the vito back , unloaded two of the items off on to another van ,bound for Cromer and Cambridge ,finished at 850pm.
Hi Steve ,long haul mate at least it was dry it’s nice down there lovely views ,how’s work with you we flat out at moment
Hello John , longest run my van done for a long time !! busy as you would expect , a two day job dropped out this week so that’s peeded me off , been booked weeks for Thursday/Friday ,I emailed them Friday morning confirming all is ok our end ,had a email Friday afternoon saying its now the following week !!! (not with us its not was my reply) they called me Yesterday asking why ,because we are fully booked them days !!! “that’s why” now there going else where ,most likely saying I let them down , Cambridge to Wootton nr Woodstock .
Mike Ponsonby:
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Nice pics Mike, keep them coming. 
marktaff:
DEANB:
Its surprising how many different body builders there were back in the 60s/70s.That’s a big body for a 5 tonner Dean…just as well it was built to carry new furniture only…if you were to put the content of a four bedroom home on the back her today…I dread to think…nice article Dean
.
Your right Mark would have been overweight everytime ! 
Thompsons Bedford 1978.
DEANB:
marktaff:
DEANB:
Its surprising how many different body builders there were back in the 60s/70s.That’s a big body for a 5 tonner Dean…just as well it was built to carry new furniture only…if you were to put the content of a four bedroom home on the back her today…I dread to think…nice article Dean
.Your right Mark would have been overweight everytime !
Thompsons Bedford 1978.
Hi Dean, to the right you will see the rear of one of our Bedford Marsdens. If you kook closely it illustrates how they managed to fit the Radcliffe 2 tier tail lift inside the rear so it could be totally enclosed within the rear doors. They did quite a few like these for us from about 1986.
If you compare with this Marsden built trailer in this Ebro advert you can see the ram at the top & the side rails which were all successfully hidden & enclosed by the rear doors.
As you can imagine quite a lot of design was involved by both Marsden & Radcliffe tail lifts, and it meant that when we washed with our Wilcomatic vehicle wash the brushes washing the rear were not obstructed & the flat rear was clean. Often on buses you can see were the brushes leave dirt marks where the rear is not flat.
Regards Carl
This meant the rear of the vehicles always presented a clean view with no tailboard tagged on the rear and ugly rails showing. The operational benefit was significant also as it kept the tail lift ram which was up at the roof inside & the rails which enclosed the cables free from dirt and in particular salt & grit during winter months so the taillifts worked more efficiently
![edbrobakgavellyft3b1975[1].jpg](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/business20/uploads/trucknetuk/original/4X/1/1/5/11543b1edbe73a0aa631d08b9aa183436d80d941.jpeg)
oiltreader:
Borrowed off FB Jakey, I remember them, are they still going.
Oily
A memory tester this, I worked for Len Stevens coaches in Charney Basset at one time and Cripps were based in the village also and parked up adjacent to their house -two vans I think it was ,they later sold out to Lukers of Oxford possibly around 1960 .maybe Chris (ADR)would know because he was with Lukers at one time ,-- toshboy
oILY , Ref the Cripps ! I will try and recall two of there men who lived in Charney Bassett who came with the take over ! they always travelled to work together and were always together on the vans ,mainly national and local ,but they did one euro trip per year , Gerald was one of the guys 
,I try and think who the other one was ,I do know one of them loved a lunch time pint .
I seam to recall on the way to work about ten years ago they were involved in a nasty car crash 1 both survived but gave up work after that .
DEANB:
marktaff:
DEANB:
Its surprising how many different body builders there were back in the 60s/70s.That’s a big body for a 5 tonner Dean…just as well it was built to carry new furniture only…if you were to put the content of a four bedroom home on the back her today…I dread to think…nice article Dean
.Your right Mark would have been overweight everytime !
Thompsons Bedford 1978.
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Another lovely looking integral Dean…Thompson’s had a lot of the forces moving work when this beauty was new…but I think they are no longer in business to.
Carl Williams:
DEANB:
marktaff:
DEANB:
Its surprising how many different body builders there were back in the 60s/70s.That’s a big body for a 5 tonner Dean…just as well it was built to carry new furniture only…if you were to put the content of a four bedroom home on the back her today…I dread to think…nice article Dean
.Your right Mark would have been overweight everytime !
Thompsons Bedford 1978.
Hi Dean, to the right you will see the rear of one of our Bedford Marsdens. If you kook closely it illustrates how they managed to fit the Radcliffe 2 tier tail lift inside the rear so it could be totally enclosed within the rear doors. They did quite a few like these for us from about 1986.
If you compare with this Marsden built trailer in this Ebro advert you can see the ram at the top & the side rails which were all successfully hidden & enclosed by the rear doors.
As you can imagine quite a lot of design was involved by both Marsden & Radcliffe tail lifts, and it meant that when we washed with our Wilcomatic vehicle wash the brushes washing the rear were not obstructed & the flat rear was clean. Often on buses you can see were the brushes leave dirt marks where the rear is not flat.Regards Carl
This meant the rear of the vehicles always presented a clean view with no tailboard tagged on the rear and ugly rails showing. The operational benefit was significant also as it kept the tail lift ram which was up at the roof inside & the rails which enclosed the cables free from dirt and in particular salt & grit during winter months so the taillifts worked more efficiently
Hi Carl,
Was this the vehicle with its rear in the photo…I remeber you telling me this was in a show at Earls Court in London…Marsden showing it at an event ?
Regards Mark
2
JAKEY:
started at 5.55am got back to the yard at 8.30pm ,but ran out of driving time at Membury , one of my drivers bought the Vito out ,he drove mine back and my porter drove the vito back , unloaded two of the items off on to another van ,bound for Cromer and Cambridge ,finished at 850pm.
Hi Steve,
That looks and sounds like a hard and long day there mate…fair climb up that hill even with the hand truck…you must have been knackered.
