I ask as I note it does not seem to get a mention here. Was it no good? I thought Commers were but this post Rootes/Chrysler truck seems ignored. Why?
Dipster:
I ask as I note it does not seem to get a mention here. Was it no good? I thought Commers were but this post Rootes/Chrysler truck seems ignored. Why?
Never drove one myself. They are best remembered I think as lighter weight rigids.
However, and lest we forget, they also came in light artic form:
That last one looks almost respectable 
We had some at Atlas express I really liked them nice motor to drive
I know of a Commer Commando that was bought by a company N reg was sold to the driver who operated the Commando until his death now its owned by his son kept in a garage and is in immaculate condition but never taken out of the garage. Its a long wheelbase flat with a Perkins T6.354 6 speed box 2 speed rear axle
We ran Commer/Dodge and the later Renault Commandos, we found them a very good basic wagon and didnot cost to much to run ,servicing was fairly easy and the only known problem we had was the rear diff seals leaking on to the rear shoes.
The last one ran for 15 years and I had to force my brother to go on a brand new 1o t DAF lf with a sleeper when before he was on a day cab with night heater and cutrtains .
ERF-NGC-European:
Never drove one myself. They are best remembered I think as lighter weight rigids.
However, and lest we forget, they also came in light artic form:… And they also came in PCV form:
New to Abbotts of Blackpool in 1955. (now preserved awaiting restoration).
A farmer and forestry guy i worked for briefly in Oz in the early 80s had a Commando 4 wheeler. He called it a Pommy Dodge in rather disparaging tones. That said that truck was probably 7 or 8 years old and received some serious stick on/off road hauling timber and hay. I had a brief drive (illegally) down some back roads and it pulled well and sounded good with the Perkins 6.354 turbo and vertical exhaust behind the cab. IIRR it had 5 speed box with a 2 speed axle.
Debenhams used to run quite a few 4 wheelers on distance work from their Bedford distribution depot, they had sleeper pods on the cab roof, I did a few runs for Debenhams but can’t for the life of me remember driving one of them.
Had a few at a company I worked for many years ago, never really had any problems with them.
It seems they weren’t a bad truck at all. So why didn’t they sell more? Too pricey?
Dipster:
It seems they weren’t a bad truck at all. So why didn’t they sell more? Too pricey?
In my mind I think they were quite popular, I have no exact figures but I would put them in about fourth position after Ford,Bedford & Leyland in sales of four wheelers, but as I said that is just how I seem to remember them.
They must have been decent motors Mr Bewick had some,
“Seen on a farm somewhere up North, owned by a collector of vintage tractors”, text and photo thanks to Shaun Ballisat.
Oily
There was an Asphalt company, Zagni Asphalt, in Ipswich that ran a Commer Commando. They specialised in block pitch roofing and floor sealing. The lorry was taken off the road quite a few years ago but kept stored in a garage and a few years ago the owner contacted me to enquire whether the local transport museum were interested, as he was selling the yard.
With a bit of persuasion they decided to take it on as it was of local interest. It is GV registered, has a Ben Cooper of Claydon body, and has been in the ownership of the Zagni family from new and still in their livery. It was purchased because it had been a cancelled sale and was available “off shelf” which was unusual at the time - there being a lead time of months to a year for new wagons. I think Zagni’s traded in a Commer VC with TS3 engine and the body transferred over.
On collection the brakes were locked on so it had to be winched out of the garage and obviously, over time, seals have perished but have been renewed. However it starts with little trouble, it having the Perkins engine. Weren’t they also available with IH engines, or was it Mercedes?
The wagon was in surprisingly good condition having been stored under cover and has a very low mileage.
At present it is not on public display, due to space not being available in the Museum, the committee being a trifle bus orientated, but will hopefully see runs on the Ipswich - Felixstowe road run in the future. It is stored at a safe and secure location but a visit to the Museum at Cobham Road, Ipswich, is highly recommended.
Other wagons which are on view are a Bedford J.
An Ex BRS Bristol HA tractor unit, that operated out of Felixstowe, and matching Bristol trailer. Unfortunately the Trailer is stored outside and unrestored which is a shame as I know of no other “correct” combination in existence. The cost of restoration is deemed too high - £40000 + and as it would take up valuable space (can fit another 2 busses in 
) is not deemed a priority!
An Atkinson 8 legger that was donated by "Stocks Fairground Amusements (they as an aside used to operate a chinese 6 BMC Laird or similar) but is now restored in the original owners “Chivers Preserves” of Histon.
A Scania 110 tractor unit in “Brains Haulage” livery.
An ERF A series tractor unit that was donated by “Cranfields Flour” and used as a shunter in their mill and on the quayside at Ipswich.
A Commer VC TS3 4w flatbed donated by “Green and Skinner Haulage LTD” and still in the livery it carried when taken off the road.
A Scammell Scarab with grain hopper trailer that was ex “Pauls Malt”.
The museum also possess a “Manchester” lorry of which only a handful still exist, but at present is unrestored but on view.
Just remembered. When I worked in Bradford, Leeds council ran Commando refuse lorries badged as Karrier.
Will also try and dig out a photo of the Zagni Asphalt lorry. Forgot to mention it is a 4 wheeler rated at 10 tons and piped for pulling tar boilers one of which was saved by the museum.
teech:
Just remembered. When I worked in Bradford, Leeds council ran Commando refuse lorries badged as Karrier.
Will also try and dig out a photo of the Zagni Asphalt lorry. Forgot to mention it is a 4 wheeler rated at 10 tons and piped for pulling tar boilers one of which was saved by the museum.
Hi they were just being phased out when I started at LCC for 6 wheel Dennis and Leeds had loads of them they were ok but not suited for refuse collection as they had a manual gearbox which was hard work on the bins
teech:
Just remembered. When I worked in Bradford, Leeds council ran Commando refuse lorries badged as Karrier.
Will also try and dig out a photo of the Zagni Asphalt lorry. Forgot to mention it is a 4 wheeler rated at 10 tons and piped for pulling tar boilers one of which was saved by the museum.
Photos here teech
flickriver.com/photos/prese … 181246481/
flickriver.com/photos/14290 … 313555037/
Oily
dave docwra:
Dipster:
It seems they weren’t a bad truck at all. So why didn’t they sell more? Too pricey?In my mind I think they were quite popular, I have no exact figures but I would put them in about fourth position after Ford,Bedford & Leyland in sales of four wheelers, but as I said that is just how I seem to remember them.
I had all four of these marques in the BRS Rental Fleet in the 7.5 and 16 ton range. Don’t remember having many issues with the Dodge or Fords but the Bedfords and Leylands were a handful. Bearing in mind that, at that time, we only kept the motors for 2 years before returning them to the dealerships we bought them from so I don’t know what they were like as a long term proposition.