What about a Eaton twin splitter took me a few weeks to get used to it,Parcel force, but I was very young and had just passed my class1 and the first ever artic I drove, I had two weeks training and manged to get used to slowly, later loved it.
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capofarukgb:
What about a Eaton twin splitter took me a few weeks to get used to it,Parcel force, but I was very young and had just passed my class1 and the first ever artic I drove, I had two weeks training and manged to get used to slowly, later loved it.Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk
No rocket science in driving the Twin splitter but there are some that will never master it plus the lipe rollway clutch ceramic or organic even with a synchromesh box .
Them Fullers where the 3rd and 4th gear positions were the wrong way round caught me out a bit the first time I used one. 
and apart from the splitter…some even had an overdrive lever on the dash…if i remember it only worked in high range…basically a half gear higher through the last four…but great fun. Also had the pleasure of driving a pre select…mind you that was on a bus…lol
My first driving job I got given an “old” S Reg SedAtkinson, 240 Gardner with a Fuller Roadranger box with the "backward H gears. The gearstick had the big flat round top with the three way splitter Lo-Med-High and the range change jubilee clipped to the stick ! Great once you got used to it but a proper handful for a beginner, especially with all that circular play ! Like stirring a big pot of soup. Combine that with the heavy clutch and the steering that needed you to stand up to pull it round with a good lock one way and a not so good lock the other way ! 
What a way to start…GS
Harry Monk:
Them Fullers where the 3rd and 4th gear positions were the wrong way round caught me out a bit the first time I used one.
I had one of those in my Road Commander, I quite liked it but it was on the back of a CAT with plenty of grunt
gogzy:
ive had a 12 speed in a rigid that had 3 settings low, mid and highso each setting had 4 gears and soo on.though it was weird how it went up
1-4 was normal then it went
5/6 in the same slot, the 7/8, 9/10, 11/12
was an eaton box aswell.
That’s a 13 speed direct Road Ranger.
herbertanchovy:
anyone old enough to remember the fuller roadranger with the back-to -front shift pattern? I found that out the hard way!!
With Road Rangers, the top and penultimate gear can be swapped, resulting in an overdrive top. This can be done with 9, 10, 13 and 15 speeds (resuting in a double O/D in RTO boxes)
del949:
anyone old enough to remember the fuller roadranger with the back-to -front shift pattern? I found that out the hard way!!
Me too!!! no signs on the gearknob on that . I had one in a Guy Big J, and after 2 years still could not get the hang of the clutch brake knob on the back of the stick.
Look on the inside of the visors.
GS OVERLAND:
My first driving job I got given an “old” S Reg SedAtkinson, 240 Gardner with a Fuller Roadranger box with the "backward H gears. The gearstick had the big flat round top with the three way splitter Lo-Med-High and the range change jubilee clipped to the stick ! Great once you got used to it but a proper handful for a beginner, especially with all that circular play ! Like stirring a big pot of soup. Combine that with the heavy clutch and the steering that needed you to stand up to pull it round with a good lock one way and a not so good lock the other way !
What a way to start…GS
Sounds like an old 13 speed direct that had been overdriven in the main box, with a two speed diff.
I had a few drives in a 12 speed, LAD cab 8x2 Albion or Leyland many years ago. Typical of Pommie trucks of the era, it was painfully slow. Prior to it being tasked to a daily, 600km round trip produce run, it was given more legs with a three speed O/D joey box. It also had a two speed diff, don’t know when it aquired that. Seventy-two separate, if not different gears kept the gutless old 400 on the boil.
Star down under.:
GS OVERLAND:
My first driving job I got given an “old” S Reg SedAtkinson, 240 Gardner with a Fuller Roadranger box with the "backward H gears. The gearstick had the big flat round top with the three way splitter Lo-Med-High and the range change jubilee clipped to the stick ! Great once you got used to it but a proper handful for a beginner, especially with all that circular play ! Like stirring a big pot of soup. Combine that with the heavy clutch and the steering that needed you to stand up to pull it round with a good lock one way and a not so good lock the other way !
What a way to start…GSSounds like an old 13 speed direct that had been overdriven in the main box, with a two speed diff.
Most likely but I don’t know. Anyway I got the hang of it, then got given a different SedAtki and then promoted to a newly painted sleeper cab Marathon 2. That was a flying machine.
dieseldog6:
Is nobody going to mention the FODEN gearbox with the leaver on the dash, only drove one once, nightmare…!!! but I know alot of old hands swore by em.
I’ll mention them. 1st 2nd 3rd in low range, 1st direct, 4th low, 1st high, 2nd direct, 2nd high, 3rd direct, then high, 4th direct then high. Hope I got it right, it’s 50 odd years since I’ve been in one.
Driveroneuk:
I like that 3 over 3 Rog, i could see myself quite happily never having to come out of the right plane all day whilst on the road.
Some old Volvo FL10’s we had as rentals had that it was a good box much nicer to to use than the awful synchro 12 speed splitter in the DAF 2500.
peterm:
dieseldog6:
Is nobody going to mention the FODEN gearbox with the leaver on the dash, only drove one once, nightmare…!!! but I know alot of old hands swore by em.I’ll mention them. 1st 2nd 3rd in low range, 1st direct, 4th low, 1st high, 2nd direct, 2nd high, 3rd direct, then high, 4th direct then high. Hope I got it right, it’s 50 odd years since I’ve been in one.
As i recall you had two normal choices going up the box, 123L, 1D 1H 2D 2H etc all the way up.
or 1234L, then 2D 2H etc, i think you used one less gear using the second method.
again its been some 40 years since i drove one and what’s left of me memory isn’t improving any 
My first artic an S39 with the range shifter on the top RH side of that slab of cast steel amusingly known as the dashboard, itself bolted directly via a steel steering column to the chassis, a baptism of fire indeed ‘there’s your lorry away you go’ 
, then an S40 where the range shift was moved to the gearlever, both of these blessed (if that be the right word 
) with bloody Gardner 180’s and no power steering, then finally got me hands on an S80 with the same box but powered by my first ■■■■■■■ of many and thankfully superlight power steering.
S39 had sintered iron clutch plates if i recall correctly, these were like an on/off switch in use which prevented clutch slipping practices, if you were in too high a gear and tried engaging the clutch the vehicle would kangaroo enough to chuck you out the seat.
I’ll say something for those old boxes, once mastered they were swift precise and tough, miles faster shifting than either typically poor Swedish synchro boxes or the junk autos everything now has and don’t mention that bloody awful powershift (olympic standard misname) which is one box i’d rather forget, once you’d cracked those old boxes no gearbox ever phased you again.
My lad had the same benefits of having to drive an eaton twin split not long after passing his test, hated it bout got the hang of it as you do, again anything since is a doddle.
The only box since the Fodens requiring serious concetration was a column change MAN 232, 13 speed as i recall, again just guesswork what and where the gears were, but once mastered a brilliant box.
Carryfast:
Driveroneuk:
I like that 3 over 3 Rog, i could see myself quite happily never having to come out of the right plane all day whilst on the road.Some old Volvo FL10’s we had as rentals had that it was a good box much nicer to to use than the awful synchro 12 speed splitter in the DAF 2500.
Wow, it’s a while since I wrote that. Has anybody else noticed this topic was started in October 2008? I think it must be a record for an old thread revival.
Kenworth W900 with a three stick system would be fun, especially when two sticks need shifting… Lots of YouTube vids with those, looks a fantastic way of keeping busy…
Sumsmeister:
Kenworth W900 with a three stick system would be fun, especially when two sticks need shifting… Lots of YouTube vids with those, looks a fantastic way of keeping busy…
Or a Mack Quadbox.
youtu.be/4uhkygogd1A
Having used many different ones, there’s only one worth mentioning…
I-shift. Nice and easy, job done.
Sod all that flick this push that, revs just right. Nah been there done that. I-shift every time
Willie Roadstar:
Hi All,16 speed F88s have a seperate range change lever as well?
Yes F88s & F89s and early F10s & 12s used to have a 4 over 4 with the splitter switch on the dash, a longish leaver in the 88’s & 89’s and then a neat little lever on th 10’ & 12’s
Also had hand throttle, which in the days before speed limiters - used to give you more throttle than the pedal !!! - termed as super charger mode !!!
Regards
Ant
Yes I drove a 1979 F12 and I had it for 3 weeks before I realized there was a lever on the dashboard (with top missing) that was the splitter button. I fooled around and used to flick it and his hissed air, finally the penny dropped. I remember too those 16 speed Volvo boxes were troublesome and were replaced by a stronger 12 speed in latter versions.