…were the best days IMO. i was on for Carryfast North Kilworth upto '85…night trunking up to Dewsbury at a steady 75mph in ‘proper’ lorries 
in the fast lane at times,no trouble from the OB as long as you didn’t do anything really silly (they were on our CB channel in those days)…still got left for dead by the Irish lads on the way back though!
peterm:
LASHHGV:
How big we’re the trailers in the 70/80s?I pulled from 28’ tandem through to 40’ tandem in the 60’s, including a 30’ single axle that bounced about like mad when it was empty. The 28 footers disappeared as soon as you touched the wheel when you was reversing.
Used to take them round the Borough Market… [zb] nightmare.
yes the old single axle trailers were fun…especially the 40’ ers with the axle right at the back 
Can we stop now please, it was crap the trucks were crap.
2 things were good, 1 the money 2 we all buggered of home by 12 on Saturday and hardly anyone worked nights.
robroy:
red7jase:
My Dad was a driver in the 80’s. Came off the road after a major rta, lost his hgv rights as he lost an eye. Tells me all the time how they were proper drivers. Standing up to steer(lack of power steering), ridiculous gear boxes and no sat navigation ect.
He was still over the moon when I told him I passed my class 1 todayYou aint that thick are you mate to believe all that
Nah I aint having that, Gearboxes that weren’t auto? do you mean they had clutches like cars,…and ridiculous? So are you saying the gears didn’t just ‘go in’ like a car?
And NO SAT NAVS??you what?..no… how did they find their way around then?
I think your Dad is having you on bud, everybody takes the ■■■■ out of us newbies, they think we believe anything.
You obviously have no idea about driving and vehicles in the 60/80s and in comparison with todays working conditions you would not survive.
Dont dismiss what what you dont know about, as someone taking the ■■■■, MANY of us on here can verify and add a bit more to what has been told
Sorry Mike, best lorry years and lorries of my life, best pay in real terms of my life, just go out and get the job done, great times to be at the wheel.
Didn’t have a hi viz between us, transport office in most cases had done the job before and knew what they were talking about…but more importantly once you proved yourself you were given respect and just allowed to get on with it and do the job as you saw fit, mind you if it went wrong we’d also sort it out ourselves and not start crying on the phone ‘‘i’ve broke a fingernail’’ or ‘‘i’ve twisted be ankle/leg/arm so you’ll have to rescue me’’ or ‘‘the battery’s died can you get the fire brigade to rescue me from the tail lift’’ 
and Mike that’s the best one ever.
Lorry HP means bugger all these days other than willy waving (Jeez those ponces with the HP writ large on the headboard etc amuse ), a proper 320hp if it came from a 14 litre engines was far more driveable and useful than this modern pish reckoned to be giving some 120/160hp more, these modern engines lack low rev guts, you only used about 5 gears of a standard 8 speed box when the engine cos its big enough in cc will pull like a good un from stall speed.
lolipop:
robroy:
red7jase:
My Dad was a driver in the 80’s. Came off the road after a major rta, lost his hgv rights as he lost an eye. Tells me all the time how they were proper drivers. Standing up to steer(lack of power steering), ridiculous gear boxes and no sat navigation ect.
He was still over the moon when I told him I passed my class 1 todayYou aint that thick are you mate to believe all that
Nah I aint having that, Gearboxes that weren’t auto? do you mean they had clutches like cars,…and ridiculous? So are you saying the gears didn’t just ‘go in’ like a car?
And NO SAT NAVS??
I think your Dad is having you on bud, everybody takes the ■■■■ out of us newbies, they think we believe anything.You obviously have no idea about driving and vehicles in the 60/80
s and in comparison with todays working conditions you would not survive.
Dont dismiss what what you dont know about, as someone taking the ■■■■, MANY of us on here can verify and add a bit more to what has been told
WOOOOOSH.
the maoster:
lolipop:
robroy:
red7jase:
My Dad was a driver in the 80’s. Came off the road after a major rta, lost his hgv rights as he lost an eye. Tells me all the time how they were proper drivers. Standing up to steer(lack of power steering), ridiculous gear boxes and no sat navigation ect.
He was still over the moon when I told him I passed my class 1 todayYou aint that thick are you mate to believe all that
Nah I aint having that, Gearboxes that weren’t auto? do you mean they had clutches like cars,…and ridiculous? So are you saying the gears didn’t just ‘go in’ like a car?
And NO SAT NAVS??
I think your Dad is having you on bud, everybody takes the ■■■■ out of us newbies, they think we believe anything.You obviously have no idea about driving and vehicles in the 60/80
s and in comparison with todays working conditions you would not survive.
Dont dismiss what what you dont know about, as someone taking the ■■■■, MANY of us on here can verify and add a bit more to what has been toldWOOOOOSH.
Even i spotted that one! 
lolipop:
robroy:
red7jase:
My Dad was a driver in the 80’s. Came off the road after a major rta, lost his hgv rights as he lost an eye. Tells me all the time how they were proper drivers. Standing up to steer(lack of power steering), ridiculous gear boxes and no sat navigation ect.
He was still over the moon when I told him I passed my class 1 todayYou aint that thick are you mate to believe all that
Nah I aint having that, Gearboxes that weren’t auto? do you mean they had clutches like cars,…and ridiculous? So are you saying the gears didn’t just ‘go in’ like a car?
And NO SAT NAVS??
I think your Dad is having you on bud, everybody takes the ■■■■ out of us newbies, they think we believe anything.You obviously have no idea about driving and vehicles in the 60/80
s and in comparison with todays working conditions you would not survive.
Dont dismiss what what you dont know about, as someone taking the ■■■■■ MANY of us on here can verify and add a bit more to what has been told
OK mate sorry point taken 
Btw I was on a wind up, I was just amused by his ‘ridiculous gear boxes’ and no sat navs crack.
Here are a few examples of what I have driven just to prove it, complete with wife (girlfriend at that time) The old Atki was the first one I owned it was 8 yrs old with no pas.
Great photos Robroy, but how many years between the Atki and the DAF, as your wife/girlfriend seems to have not aged and also hasn’t got any new clothes.
muckles:
Great photos Robroy, but how many years between the Atki and the DAF, as your wife/girlfriend seems to have not aged and also hasn’t got any new clothes.
New clothes? times were hard then as an owner driver and I didn’t want to spoil her I thought a new washing machine and hoover was enough for her, I was all heart . ( hope she doesn’t read that bit)
Bought the Atki about 82, kept it for a year and p/exed it for the 2800 DAF, it was 4 yrs old…and luxury in comparison
My previous job before buying the Atki was on a brand new F10, …that was a shock to the system I can tell you.
Like coming off a Porsche on to a Ford Cortina.
robroy:
muckles:
Great photos Robroy, but how many years between the Atki and the DAF, as your wife/girlfriend seems to have not aged and also hasn’t got any new clothes.
robroy:
Bought the Atki about 82, kept it for a year and p/exed it for the 2800 DAF, it was 4 yrs old…and luxury in comparisonMy previous job before buying the Atki was on a brand new F10, …that was a shock to the system I can tell you.
Like coming off a Porsche on to a Ford Cortina.
I can imagine the Atki was a hell of a shock after an F10, sacrifice for going it alone I suppose. Looks more like something from the 50’s not the 70’s, seems very dated compared to the DAF or a Volvo, I can relate to driving those the first trucks I drove when I passed my test was a rigid version of the DAF and an F12.
All joking aside , I bet all of us trucking in the early eighties wish it was still like it now.
Actually making a Good Living without all the crap of today !
3 wheeler:
All joking aside , I bet all of us trucking in the early eighties wish it was still like it now.
Actually making a Good Living without all the crap of today !
Amen to that, in the days when someone trying to flog (palm off) an Arsetronic box and associated crap would have been laughed out the transport office.
muckles:
I can imagine the Atki was a hell of a shock after an F10, sacrifice for going it alone I suppose. Looks more like something from the 50’s not the 70’s, seems very dated compared to the DAF or a Volvo, I can relate to driving those the first trucks I drove when I passed my test was a rigid version of the DAF and an F12.
That’s about right they were 50s technology, no pas, air operated wipers that were temperamental, non suspension seat, drop down windows, certainly no night heaters, and all the rest of it.
Mine was a day cab with a sleeper extension, so at least it wasn’t a board over the engine cover job, although I have done that in the past, as everybody else did in the 80s at one time or another.
When the Volvo 86 and Scania Vabis made a UK appearance (even before my time 60s) they were like chalk and cheese compared to the Brit motors, but they were not in a great hurry to catch up.
My first class 1 job (agency) was driving an FL10. I thought this was a bad truck even then with not much experience. This truck replaced the F10 so why do people keep going on how good the F10 was.
LASHHGV:
My first class 1 job (agency) was driving an FL10. I thought this was a bad truck even then with not much experience. This truck replaced the F10 so why do people keep going on how good the F10 was.
What didn’t you like about the FL?
I think you’ll find that the F10 and F12 were really replaced by the FH12, the FL10 probably replaced the smaller cabbed F7’s in many fleets.
LASHHGV:
My first class 1 job (agency) was driving an FL10. I thought this was a bad truck even then with not much experience. This truck replaced the F10 so why do people keep going on how good the F10 was.
Not really too up on Volvos but was it not the FH10 that developed from the F10?
Maybe at that time truck standards were higher.
The difference between a F10 and an FL were not as drastic and severe as the difference between an Atki Borderer and a 2800 DAF.
edit: muckles beat me to it.
carryfast-yeti:
…were the best days IMO. i was on for Carryfast North Kilworth upto '85…night trunking up to Dewsbury at a steady 75mph in ‘proper’ lorries
That’s something like I remember the 2800 but not the torqueless gutless 2500’s when they even saw the hills. 
robroy:
muckles:
I can imagine the Atki was a hell of a shock after an F10, sacrifice for going it alone I suppose. Looks more like something from the 50’s not the 70’s, seems very dated compared to the DAF or a Volvo, I can relate to driving those the first trucks I drove when I passed my test was a rigid version of the DAF and an F12.That’s about right they were 50s technology, no pas, air operated wipers that were temperamental, non suspension seat, drop down windows, certainly no night heaters, and all the rest of it.
Mine was a day cab with a sleeper extension, so at least it wasn’t a board over the engine cover job, although I have done that in the past, as everybody else did in the 80s at one time or another.When the Volvo 86 and Scania Vabis made a UK appearance (even before my time
To be fair there was nothing stopping anyone from buying a 400 with a big cam ■■■■■■■ and 13 speed fuller in it before 1980.
LASHHGV:
My first class 1 job (agency) was driving an FL10. I thought this was a bad truck even then with not much experience. This truck replaced the F10 so why do people keep going on how good the F10 was.
Had them for years on car transporters with full length lorry and drag bodies, good totally reliable little lorry and with such a low cab superb for the job in hand, best i ever had though for workability was one of the last with that cab FL12 with the 380 lump under the bonnet with even lower cut down cab, probably the very best general purpose chassis ever stuck under a full length transporter, flat load of 8 cars could get under 13’ 9" bridges, so you could start your run with 10 cars @ 15’6", get rid of two or three then adjust heights for ducking and diving round the back roads, brilliant.