At some point in the late 90s (not 100% sure, might have been mid-90s) the Brambles name suddenly appeared in Holland, as they’d just took over a well respected HH firm. Didn’t last long though for some reason, haven’t seen the name back ever again on this side of the world.
Do you have Chep pallets, palecons and cages etc?
Are Europallets a standard size? Our pallets, be they Chep or Loscam, are 4’x4’ durable hardwood. Everything else is disposable pine skids.
“Heavy Haulage through the years” - UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS / OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT - Trucknet UK "Heavy Haulage through the years" - #1085 by pv83 - OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT - Trucknet UK
I seem to have forgotten that we actually discussed Brambles before, see the link above, or post/page 1085.
And this appeared too, a Leader! Something that @oiltreader found on the www 
It’s a Marathon 2 built from 1977/8.That was the standard day cab there wasn’t a wider version but a short sleeper was also an option. Over here they were usually TL12/Cummins 240/250 or Rolls 265.They did start putting the E290 in them later on .Most fitted with the 9 speed Fuller and that whiney axle you mentioned. Very rare over here now so get it bought get the T Cut out and make yourself a bob or too SDU.
You deposit the money in my Nigerian bank account, Ramone and I’ll post it to you. I’ll even throw in a bottle of Turtle wax. 
Probably a Cu 290 then.
EDIT. Just seen Ramone’s post
Blimey Patrick, that’s an hour I’ll never get back again in this life,following that link has been a real trip down memory lane. Nice to see Dig once again though, some time since we last ‘spoke’.
Interesting to hear from Rikki re Econofreight too, my time there was briefer than his and I was long gone before the events re Brambles that he describes, but I am surprised at the Tarmac comment though. My memory, from many years ago long before I worked for them was of lorries in Tarmac’s dirty brown and black livery with Econofreight written on the doors and that logo of a little stack of tiles or some such. Thus I always thought they were a spin off from them.
TDG I did work for, at Midlands Storage, (also Stirlands) and we were required to diesel up around the country at TDG companies, Strathclydes, McElvies etc. and it was from such sources that we ‘gained’ our chains and stretchers, essential for genuine trampers roaming the country and finding our own loads. They were guarded like gold and I am surprised I don’t still have mine. 
After I retired from the managership at Toray (formally Courtaulds) and returned briefly to the road, I once called in to Econofreight’s Thornaby yard to beg some minor repairs to my Foden and discovered that the old 2nd in command at Leicester depot (Geoff somebody?) was now the boss there and to my surprise was trying to pump me for info on them doing distribution work for Toray. This would be in ‘98/’99.
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No worries, there’s so much good stuff on here that I’ve forgotten about!
Pity we lost DIG as a regular contributor, I’d rather read anything that he post or has posted, than the drizzle of TK’s own self proclaimed “expert”.
Well if it had been a pristine Volvo 164E i would have put 1000 Aus dollars in your dodgy account as long as you paid the shipping
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I think it was late on that the 290 was introduced to the Marathon.The E290 was virtually the same bhp as the TL12 so probably why they didnt offer it on launch of the Marathon2
That is a Leader Challenger, one of only two built for Brambles Heavy Haulage originally.
IIRC they were Cat 3408 powered with 15speed RoadRangers.
One of them was purchased by a company that reconditioned heavy mining equipment. When the company was started, I responded to an ad for a driver, to collect and deliver the equipment. I was short listed from the eighty applicants I made it to the final three but missed out.
Maybe my face didn’t fit. 
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The odd rigid yes (Aboods had at least one) but some were stretched prime movers/ tractor units: all were Marathon 2s AFAICT. “JRA” on the compliance plate is Jaguar Rover Australia (we know how that venture went) wich would suggest it’s a genuine Oz-spec Marathon rather than a later import. Nonetheless, it seems JRA had high (if naive) hopes:
Relevant thread on HCVC Australia for those interested: https://www.hcvc.com.au/forum/truck_Chat/3675-leyland-marathons
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Re: Volvo 164. I know of one that’s been knocking around town for years - it’s a bit tired, the paintwork … well there’s just enough of it to confirm it would’ve been dark metallic green. Anyway I haven’t seen it in many months and I’ve been wondering if it had been scrapped, but no! The old dunger was parked outside a tyre-fitters last Friday.
That straight 6 was smooth but i think the fuel injection could be unreliable .I preffered the big bumper model to the earlier ones
Not sure who you’re asking SDU, but I’ll barge in anyway.
AFAIK standard euro pallets are 120x80cm. UK CHEP are 120x100cm I think (corrections welcome) and some of the CHEP pallets we get through here are something else (Asian?). Standard CHEP/ LOSCAM pallets here are more like 3’10" square. /end random nerdy stuff
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@parkroyal2100 thanks mate, I was asking anyone who knew. You’ll do.
I knew ours were nominally 4’x4’, but they will fit side by side in a fridge van with an overall width of 8’ 2½"/2.5 metres.
Typical is 116 or 117cm. I know I can get two chep/ loscam across inside the comings on the bottom deck of a linehaul trailer easily [1], and two across on a mezz deck. Theoretically, two euro pallets should fit end-on (240cm) across, but I sometimes have to … encourage them to do so.
[1] The bottom decks of all bulk linehaul trailers have about 3/4" of accumulated crud wedged against the comings: if you’re the bloke assigned to loading the thing (me, usually) take that into account.