When the new FH was introduced in 2002 we at Gwynedd shipping got flat roofed FH12 420’s for tramping in…
Shortly after they got some I-shift 420 FM Globys and the lads in FH’s laughed at them for having “LITTLE FM’S”… In truth the FM’s were a better trampers truck, more lockers and better space!
Even now i just swapped a HUGE MAN XXL on a 60 plate for a 60 plate FH Globetrotter (Non XL) because the FH is a better truck. Yes the XXL is bigger, but it’s useless space!
On the DAF argument, i’d take a CF space cab over an XF space cab any day!!!
Look how well specced your globetrotter is though, someone is thinking of the driver there. You could however do the same job with a FM, P cabbed scania, daf cf or axor. If however the money was the same, you would rather be in your globetrotter.
jonnytruckfest:
Well if these top notch trucks are so good, high cabs all bells and whistles, someone tell me why every time i went away with my dad in the scania topline talkin an 08 R series not your like fully kitted out just a basic topliner explain to me why it was more cramped in the topliner then it was when i went away with my dad when he was on tippers back in 03-06 how come it was alot more spacious in a 04 Foden space cab. And have done nights out in them both Foden didn’t have 2 bunks only had one. But get my point, In my opinion i’d take the foden/daf cf spacecab over most trucks to be honest. But thats my opinion. Not to mention i think the CF looks better then an XF daf. To me the XF looks nothing more then a big box on wheels correct me if im wrong
you have grown more since then so you are taking up more space . if i had to do a couple of nights out i would prefer the flat roof fh over the fm globetrotter,the one we have is the twin bunk one, at least in the flat roof fh you could get out of the seat and sit on the edge of the bed where in the fm the bed is down on the floor so after driving all day you are still stuck in the seat . probably no better than the 143 topline i had years ago. at least in the full globetrotters and the other big cabs at the end of a long day you can get up and move around.
The secret with the FM Gobstopper, or any Globetrotter is to ask the boss not to spec a top bunk, they are a waste of time!!!
As for the 143 topline, they were great! PROVIDED you had the model that allowed the top bunk to fold flat to the wall and the passenger seat to slide fully to the back wall, made it a great space to live in! I loved my 143 topline!
I driven some nice Trucks and some Crap Trucks but the one I drive now is not ideal but it is ok for 4 nights out a week in the uk it’s a Low cab FH12…Would be nice to have a Globby but doing site work it would get knocked about a bit.
Just a Thought I had once when driving a Highline Scania, if they turned the Bed round and it went from front to back over the driver that would create acres of room on the other side, you could put in a Khazi a kitchen, Table anything you wanted really.
Why do they have to go across the cab■■?
There does seem to be a lot of wasted space in these modern cabs…
Foden 4000 series; Best cab layout for a tday cab tipper; High roof, overhead storage nets, cab back nets, room behind seats, flat(ish) dash and flat engine hump for sleeping. If Daf had modernised it rather than replace it with their cast-offs with a daft hump storage box (an optional Foden extra that I had ripped out as soon as I had mine new)…
Well thats it then, Truck makers & hauliers take note . You are truly wasting your money on making a spacious comfortable enviroment for real lorry drivers, in fact why even fit a bunk , i’m sure the real driver brigade will be quite happy just to sleep across the seats ( just like the old days eh? ) Merc Axor- the future of british haulage
If we can ignore the ■■■■■■■■ from boris, the thread makes some good points.
I have done some serious miles in an FM, an FH both Globetrotter cabs and MAN Roadhaus and TGA and Gaz has worked it out spot on.
The FH cab has less usable storage than an FM, the side lockers are too high and too deep to organise properly, much easier to keep the FM sidelockers uncluttered and tidy. I do like the underbed drawer in the FH, but I also like the fact that you can use the overhead lockers in the FM more easily.
The MAN is a big square cab, yet with a months tramping gear it ends up on the top bunk or in cardboard boxes in the footwell. Granted the MAN bunk is comfier than a Volvo and to agree even more, the DAF CF is an ideal truck to live in for a week
You’re right Wheel Nut, some trucks have all the mod cons but what use are they if you have to wrench your spine trying to reach them? Just because a truck’s old doesn’t mean it’s badly designed…
Makes some good points? Oh yeah, it’s so much easier to get to your bunk by clambering over the engine hump isn’t it? Muppet!& I wonder why they prefer conventionals in the usa Could it be… more room in the cab?
tonyhogi:
Makes some good points? Oh yeah, it’s so much easier to get to your bunk by clambering over the engine hump isn’t it? Muppet!& I wonder why they prefer conventionals in the usa Could it be… more room in the cab?
I don’t have a bunk in my cab, never have. And the best laid out cab I’ve driven was in this old girl;
Horses for courses really…no good for nights out but for visibility and space on a 06.30-1630 job it was brilliant
You could wipe your ar$e with sandpaper and it would probably clean the ■■■■ away as well as bog roll, but why have the hardship when double quilted velvet is available?.
tonyhogi:
Makes some good points? Oh yeah, it’s so much easier to get to your bunk by clambering over the engine hump isn’t it? Muppet!& I wonder why they prefer conventionals in the usa Could it be… more room in the cab?
Like everything in America that is bigger, the reason why they wear big hats
It’s 'cos they look like the one in Smokey and the Bandit! I couldn’t tell a new conventional from one that’s 10 or 20 years old, to me they never seem to evolve, 10-4!
I currently night out in a flat roofed, wide cab man tga and ok its not the highest of cabs but for the 2 nights a week I do its fine, just lacks any storage space really. Find it much better than the r-series I had before.Must admit though,will be glad when my xlx cab comes next year.
globby 480:
BIG/TALL CABS WHY■■? how long do you plan on standing up in your tall cabs when on a night out or do you sleep stood up?? i always lay down to sleep so what is it with big cabs amoung drivers he has one i want one would sooner have a longer cab, even spanky mandys cab as hideous as it may look is a better way for space better bed and better floor space, christ knows why you need a super doooder high cab to be a big trucker is the main reason
you spend alot of yoru time lying down you lazy sod,
as for spaky mandys ikea add on bedroom, well i wouldnt say its a better bed after spankys been in it…but then again his drivers have spent more time in that bed than he has lol.
We have nothing but top range cabs, but my mate does class 2 hiab work, so the weight of the cab is vital to his lifting / carrying ability.
26t truck with the hiab at the front is pretty limited anyway, start putting a massive xxl cab on it and it’ll lift / carry bugger all.
So, he does 4 - 5 nights a week out in a MAN wide cab flat roof with a huge engine hump in the middle and only 2 lockers. Before that he had a Scania that was similar but worse laid out and bed on the floor.
I know which I’d rather be in, especially as I earn more than him too, but he’s a rigid driver, I’m an artic.
I have said it before I will say it often, you will not get much better than one of these, granted this is a model but I used it to show off the screen and the wrap round to cut out blindspots, they had all the mirrors we need for H&S except the overhead front, but that is aftermarket anyway in many cases.
They went well, the ATi had a metal outside storage box for gloves and oil cans etc. Underbunk storage, single bunk in the sleeper, twin bunks in the spacecab. The dash had 2 handy document and bottle holders, a lockable glove box, a flat top dash for a TV and they were a bloody comfy tool, even in this short wheelbase.
To improve them they could have probably had a smaller adjustable steering wheel but that is all that was needed in my opinion, if at all.
Foden didn’t have 2 bunks only had one. But get my point, In my opinion i’d take the foden/daf cf spacecab over most trucks to be honest. But thats my opinion. Not to mention i think the CF looks better then an XF daf. To me the XF looks nothing more then a big box on wheels correct me if im wrong 
if i had to do a couple of nights out i would prefer the flat roof fh over the fm globetrotter,the one we have is the twin bunk one, at least in the flat roof fh you could get out of the seat and sit on the edge of the bed where in the fm the bed is down on the floor so after driving all day you are still stuck in the seat . probably no better than the 143 topline i had years ago. at least in the full globetrotters and the other big cabs at the end of a long day you can get up and move around.
