ERF LHD 5MW (European)

This thread is intended to collect data and pictures but mainly to re-experience this nice truck!

In other threads frequently this truck popped up and I will try to get everything back over here.

Best regards, A-J

Here we’re gone…

I took the air cleaners out from the boxes under the bed and refitted them on the rear wings with an intake pipe down the back of the cab. made really good toll boxes.

If the ‘ERF European (1975)’ thread had been purely about the 7MW-cabbed European, I could have seen the point of creating this new one, but the ERF European (1975) thread is right in the middle of heavy-duty exploration of the ERF LHD 5MW so what is the point of this new thread? :question:

But anyway, good luck with this thread. I’ll see what I can dig out. Meanwhile, I’ve just put some interesting stuff on the European thread about 5MW ‘Europeans’! Happy blogging! Robert :slight_smile:

Some ‘fresh’ input to keep it going…however Egyptian circumstances did not keep it cold

Hiya…if you go to the …old companies from Stoke on Trent site look on pages 3/4and 6 you’ll see many Beresfords
lorry photos in colour PVT and the 5 mw cab wrecker been two of them… their’s also some Thor photo’s of them on
their was to the M/E…also a photo of the LAD,s who was driving…and i mean lads it looks like they bunked of school.
John

3300John:
Hiya…if you go to the …old companies from Stoke on Trent site look on pages 3/4and 6 you’ll see many Beresfords
lorry photos in colour PVT and the 5 mw cab wrecker been two of them… their’s also some Thor photo’s of them on
their was to the M/E…also a photo of the LAD,s who was driving…and i mean lads it looks like they bunked of school.
John

Thank you John, I will enjoy it…

Within soon a ‘new’ register will be shared on th various ERF LHD 5MW…bear in mind
that CDB did assemble 25 vehicles in their first two years…thus being Belgian ERF’s!

Delcon, Delsaert, Hydrocar, Hye Bros., Van Driessche, Calor/Coulier …

It’s been long silent on this thread, however behind the scene a lot of efforts for more information
and pictures did not (yet) result in significant results.

A meanwhile status:

28 LHD 5MW’s known…

17 in Belgium/Luxemburg of which 10 (4x2) tractors and 7 (6x4) tractors/drawbars
7 in Great Britain, all 4x2 tractors
4 in Kingdom Saudi Arabia, all 4x2 tractors

Strange (by all means in my own backyard) no registrations in Netherlands and France.

Well …perhaps something will suddenly change that mystery?

Nice day, A-J

Who can tell more about the right ERF? An A-serie 5MW-cabbed…

ERF-Continental:
Who can tell more about the right ERF? An A-serie 5MW-cabbed…

Well it’s not an ERF ‘European’ because it has right-hand drive. I think it was registered PDF 443P - Reads had other RHD 5MWs. Robert

It’s been quiet for some time…however meanwhile there was some discussion on the Delcon LHD 5MW’s.

Till now, let’s assume they were produced in Sandbach and not assembled in Brussels, so not to gathered
in the total of 25 5MW’s assembled by CDB. From the 4 “Hydrocar” (6x4) 5MW’s it is likely they were indeed
assembled in Brussels. Next week I will release the register on what is known till now and feel free to add
and correct. Just an update, A-J

Out of some publications I noticed a 6x2 tractor, twin steered, was exhibitioned on Brussels Show from 1969.
Are there more details known? The second steering axle was set back, so not a Chinese six, when I am correct.
Did not pay attention to it earlier, but as an exception good to know what was the intention to release and if
it was a commercial success somewhere in other countries? Benelux was in fact ‘very’ late with twin steers…

ERF-Continental:
Out of some publications I noticed a 6x2 tractor, twin steered, was exhibitioned on Brussels Show from 1969.
Are there more details known? The second steering axle was set back, so not a Chinese six, when I am correct.
Did not pay attention to it earlier, but as an exception good to know what was the intention to release and if
it was a commercial success somewhere in other countries? Benelux was in fact ‘very’ late with twin steers…

According to CM’s archive, there was indeed an ERF 6x2 tractor shown at Brussels in 1969. The article says that the twin-steer chassis was launched at Earls Court in 1968:
archive.commercialmotor.com/page … r-1968/143
Interestingly, they say it had air suspension at the rear, which was unusual in 1968.

Twin-steer 6x2s were a brief fad in GB around 1970, to meet badly-designed legislation. I do not know if any of those air-suspended ERFs made it onto UK roads- perhaps someone has experience of them?

[zb]
anorak:

ERF-Continental:
Out of some publications I noticed a 6x2 tractor, twin steered, was exhibitioned on Brussels Show from 1969.
Are there more details known? The second steering axle was set back, so not a Chinese six, when I am correct.
Did not pay attention to it earlier, but as an exception good to know what was the intention to release and if
it was a commercial success somewhere in other countries? Benelux was in fact ‘very’ late with twin steers…

According to CM’s archive, there was indeed an ERF 6x2 tractor shown at Brussels in 1969. The article says that the twin-steer chassis was launched at Earls Court in 1968:
archive.commercialmotor.com/page … r-1968/143
Interestingly, they say it had air suspension at the rear, which was unusual in 1968.

Twin-steer 6x2s were a brief fad in GB around 1970, to meet badly-designed legislation. I do not know if any of those air-suspended ERFs made it onto UK roads- perhaps someone has experience of them?

I thought these were tippers. According to the Chassis magazine (which I posted on the ERF European thread), these were 3-axle tippers designed for 26tonne GVW, powered by NHK 220s through Fuller RT915 15-speed 'boxes with 20 tonne capacity double-drive rear ends. Although this article was written in '71, the same vehicles had been exhibited in Brussels in 1969, and this is covered in Wobbe Reitsma’s article on Flemmish ERFs (which I also posted on the ERF European thread). Hope that helps. Robert :neutral_face:

Thx Anorak & Robert…

I know Transports Delsaert had a 5MW 3-axle tipper, but how do we deal with 6x4 twin steer then? There is a picture
of the Delsaert tipper, as well as of one of the four tar sprayers, but I don’t see how twin-steering could be effective,
assuming we/you are now talking about 6x4. With Anorak’s remark on air-suspension, I also doubt what the extra use
of that could be in off-highway-operations, when we assume it were tippers…

To my humble opinion it was probably an answer to the LPS333 (twin-steer tractor, actually chines six) of MB and
to show Europe still had suppliers for three-axle tractors, besides air-suspension. I remember DAF introduced air-
suspension on their 2-axle wide spread trailers in late sixties but apparently not every operator was convinced or
needed air-suspension. Or what harm can be done to the content of a tipper? Assuming first the clay for Wedgwood
is in the tipper and later as decorative porcelan in an air-suspended vehicle :wink:

In 1968 /9 ERF were making twin-steer RHD chassis with the rare LV sleeper cab (pictured below). I don’t know of any LHD ones - where did you find this twin-steer? Are you sure it had LHD? Robert

Nottingham LV in 75 on Mid East wk.jpg


5866846939_4f350f49dd_z.jpg
erf-lv-series-11.jpg

You’re getting mixed up- the 6x4 rigid tipper and the 6x2 twin-steer tractor were two different vehicles, although I did like the idea of a tipper needing air suspension to carry crockery! Presumably, it would unload onto a huge cushion, like the ones they put in pub cellars to catch the beer barrels. Both lorries were exhibited at Brussels in 1969:


There were lots of German rear-steer 6x2 tractors around at the time- the Mercedes LPS2023 springs (steel suspension on that, I think!) to mind. Did Belgian legislation favour this layout, or was ERF hoping to attract German operators?