Stumbled across this site and thread whilst trying to find some info or photos on my old truck H557 HJF OR EJF?,
It was a ERF E10 with 325 ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ twin splitter ,jake brake and was fitted with a light weight alloy body.
I’m not sure of the history of H557 but when I drove her in 1997 she was owned by Gordon Thomas and painted in ennemix’s colours, when I left Gordon he sold H557 and replaced her with a erf e14 and bulk tipping trailer, about 12 months later I saw her on the A47 at Tilton on the hill sporting a new white paint job
I remember seeing a couple of Bedford TM versions, was the drawback a very poor turning circle IIRC ?
Trev_H:
I remember seeing a couple of Bedford TM versions, was the drawback a very poor turning circle IIRC ?
I dont think that they were too bad as the rear bogie was on a turntable affair, though I guess that it would be wider than a standard fith wheeler.
Pete.
The rear bogie was a Hendrickson norde rubber suspension outfit mounted on a turntable, the trailer wheels followed the line of the unit but the downside was you couldn’t screw it round like a normal artic.reversing took. Bit of getting used to as you had to remember to watch the rear axles and not the body, also tyre scrub was a problem as well as it used to take the shoulders off the trailer tyres
There was a couple of the Scammell type doing muckaway work round Stoke a few years ago,popular tipper firm,I think it could have been Bernard Kettle.
Gentlemen, good evening, Ian, yes it was Kettles, (eclectic fleet was it not)? The AWD was in my opinion quite a “■■■■■■■■■■ machine, with that “extended prop shaft”, and bogie steer, but effective never the less. But really, with the constraints on margin within the tipper industry was never going to be a big seller. But or military contracts, well that is another story, (after all, its our money that they are spending)!!
Working in Europe I was soon conversant with driven trailer axles for on /off road work. Mainly hydraulic drive by Somua, although “our” subsidiary, SINPAR, could offer a similar set up. Their forte being front wheel drive versions of our 6 &4wheel chassis, (as well as quite exciting Renault 12, and 16 4x4s)!
The ability, off tarmac , of these driven trailers was quite astounding, and the weight penalty was not enormous. For example a bonneted Saviem TP 240 (DIN) hp, 4x2, and single axle 6cu metre mixer easily worked within France`s, (then) 35tonne 3axle limit.(oh those wonderful 13tonne axles)! Although those short trailers were a b… to reverse.
But with a driven bogie, the operator had an articulated 8x4 240hp, 24tonne payload 38tonne GTW outfit that could work off tarmac as easily as any UK 8x4, and was more manouverable! Where is the progress today, from what was available in the European 70s■■? I shall away to my slumbers, with a large Bollinger, I think, Cheerio for now.
Colas in Warley had several of them but I think they are all sold off now – at least one is doing the rounds of the shows
I found this picture of Truck magazine this morning with a picture of a erf multidrive, exactly the same as the one I drove, would be good if I could see the number plate to see if it’s H557.
I tried unsuccessfully to put a pick up so if I put a link up could admin or a moderator put the pic up, thanks 
cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VIS … 0354533005
hi Lads if you want to see more pics there is a thread on here called AWD bendy Wendy and there are pics of the Bedfords, scammell and don bush’s unit.interesting stuff! ian
On loose stone and in sand pits,quarries etc H557 was brilliant, on wet clay she was a b*****d! As the trailer would tend to kick out to the side. When I was driving h557 I only ever saw one more multidrive and that was a Bedford cabbed AWD milk tanker
My first job from school at sixteen was at a motor factors in stoke…I was a brake recliner…kettles was one of our accounts…the back ends on them multi drives were fitted with old Albion brakes…totally unfit for the job…they went through brakes shoes like mad…basically the back end on the trailer was like the back end of a six wheel Clydesdale / constructor…seems a lifetime ago now! Lol
hiya the reason colas had multi drives was when they was tar spraying on steep hills in
Scotland or Cornwall the bitumen run to the back of the tank, that took the weight off
the drive axle of the unit. solution. Multi drive, you could then drive up steep hills slowly
and tar spray easily. i think their,s another site on tn about these multi drives if you look.
i worked at colas/laybond for quite a while.thats how i know about them using multi drive.
John
I can remember one of the motoring tv,s episode when they were driving an all drive through a quarry and made a big deal about getting out before blasting took place.Think it was a Roadtrain.
Has anybody had any thoughts about some of the trucks in New Zealand in the logging industry where they have another engine fitted under the trailer forward of two drive axles, and a drive by wire arrangement for the accelerator .Regards Alec.
I remember Ameys of Wootton having at least one, a Roadtrain I think, not sure, and discussing it with a mate John Long who along with his brother Alan ran tippers out of Queensford pit at Dorchester on Thames, anyway some cracking pictures here, click on all side images and category pointers to bring them up multidrivevehicles.com/about-us/history/
Cheers
Oily
A 10 x 6 on e.bay currently - item no 172118504475
Steve
Wheel Nut:
It will be the AWD Multidrive system you remember. Owned by David Brown and used by the military for a while.
I can remember some Bedford AWD tanks which we used for a year or two.
There was also some Foden AWD 20,000 Litre tankers used in Bosnia during the early 90’s.
It wasn’t the AWD system the vehicles the original poster was asking about, they were Scammell Units with Tippers, a place at Peterlee just off the A19 used to make them, I’m sure there was an article in Truck about them too. I often passed the works going up and down the A19 in the early 90’s. I believe they used a hydraulic drive system to transmit traction to the trailer wheels and the trailer stayed coupled to the unit. Whether they made many sales I don’t know they may have sold for export. Franky.