Wheel Nut:
I remember a bloke having a Leyland Super Comet, he used to sleep on two planks laid across the door tops. His mate had a sleeper cab. They were parked up together and his mate got him a cup of tea, opened the door and launched this poor bloke in to the road, in his sleeping bag like a burial at sea
Yeah me too Jonathanā¦LMFAO!
There was guy on Swifts in the 70ās who drove an AEC Mandator and made a fold away bed from two planks. The bed just folded up against the back of the cab and was secured by two straps. The regular driver of this truck was on holiday one week and another driver took it out, he was expected to be out all week, on his third day out we got a message from Glasgow police that he had hit the brakes at a junction, the bed had fallen down and traped him, breaking his arm, and he had to be released by firemen
steveo999:
If I remember rightly, Tolemans had a load of these strapped to the back of their Ivecos in the early daysā¦
My brother worked for Tolemans on the Volvo job out of Ipswich,he had an Iveco with a coffin on the back.Before that he had an F7 sleeper which he said was the best motor for the job,before that an F86.
Iāll ask him about the Dock-Basin incident,see if itās true.
Didnāt most car transporters have these until quite recently??
As I recall it was simply due to the fact they canāt have high roofs (still canāt)
Pat Hasler:
There was guy on Swifts in the 70ās who drove an AEC Mandator and made a fold away bed from two planks. The bed just folded up against the back of the cab and was secured by two straps.
Not much has changed in 30 years of progress then 
(think top bunk)
I wish I had a pic of a 78 B series day cab I modded myself, it was half a internal door that strecthed across the hump and passenger seat. On the passenger side I got two bits of wood and made legs to support the cut down door, which made storage for the dogs & chains and spanners ect. I got a caravan mattress, rolled and tied with rope. At night, you pulled the rope, and the mattress sprung out and there was your bed! 
Curtains were on nails in the four cab corners, Luxury! 
I well remember the visual atrocities that were the early āBritishā sleepers of the '70s. The all time classic of course had to be the shelf on the back of the Atki Borderer run close by the Foden S80 series, the biggest cab ever to have absolutely no room inside, particularly if the front had been pushed forwards to accomodate a big power 240.
The early A series ERF was actually not bad looking and the Marathon was much improved in appearance when fitted with a sleeper.
Limey:
The early A series ERF was actually not bad looking and the Marathon was much improved in appearance when fitted with a sleeper.
Agree! I really like the style of the A series. I only breifly drove one though, and the Marathon was up there with the Transcon for me back then, we had one with the 250 ā ā ā ā ā ā ā in, I loved it!
I remember the first truck I drove after passing my test back in '79,a Fiat 130,which basically was a day cab. My brother,who at the time was a mechanic,got hold of a top bunk from a Volvo F88 and welded a couple of legs on it and I stowed it behind the seats.
That Fiat was damned cold too,just bare metal around the back of the cab interior.I remember laying there some nights shivering so much that I couldnāt sleep! Oh how we whinge nowadays when the night heater packs up for a couple of days 
Maybe the people from "Changing Rooms " could have helped the old cabs.
You never know what a bit of M.D.F. and a few hinges could have done
With all the luxuries to-day, Improvisation was the word then.
Niall.
You should see what one of the ODās at our place has done to the inside of his MAN TGA with some MDF and leather, Changing Rooms doesnāt even come close. 
I love to see trucks like that, where somebody has modded them personally, it makes a change from the bland design of the manufactureres!
How about this then Mal.
My old mate is on for Ralph Davies on the fridges.
The last time I looked in his Globetrotter, it was a cross between M.F.I. and Comet.
Fair play to him, the neat set up was a t.v. a playstation,video,dvd,etc. all housed in a purpose built unit at the end of the bottom bunk.
Room was included underneath for his long legs.
All in all, a nice self built conversion.
Niall.
Thats the type of idea Niall. I was toying with the idea of scrapping my bottom bunk, well, at least half of it, also the passenger seat. And getting an arm chair similar to the Stralis for stretching out in a seat. A small table could be fastened to the back wall as well. And in between the remainder of the bunks a unit of cupboards could be fixed. Since im getting a Eurostar soon though, Im not going to bother, Iāll see what ideas I get for that instead!
The guy I mentioned has removed all the above windscreen stuff from the MAN and replaced it with very well made custom built units. He has various cupboards, built in microwave etc. He has fitted extra lights in the base of the units as well, those round flush fitting down lighters that you can get in B & Q etc; they are 12 volt so wiring was easy. At one end of the cab is a fitted flat screen TV, about 17 inches, and a DVD player. Along the back wall of the cab is a slim unit that houses extra speakers for the sound system and it is all finished to a very high standard in wood veneer and leatherā¦ He is a bit handy when it comes to stuff like that.
It sounds very impressive Neil, Im crap with stuff like that, so mine would be rustic and agricultural in finish!
Sounds like a true āHome from homeā.
With most of the units on the road these days being Top-liners,Space-Cabs, Sky- Cabs or ā ā ā Lās, I wonder when someone will think of the Loft Conversion !
Seriously though, do you remember the Scania a few years ago with a double width bottom bunk AND a shower ?
I think it was from Scotland somewhere.
Cheers .
Niall.
niall that scania you speak of was owned by graham cordiner and called tropical paradise its now owned by a guy called chris who owns tyretracks of eccleshall they supply alloy wheels and other custom made stuff for trucks www.truckwheels.net anyway its now called leading lady and is for sale in comercial motor this week for Ā£15000 cheers carl
Thanks Carl. I knew I had seen it.
Niall.
Iāve got a photo of that from Truckfest a few years ago, if I can find it Iāll scan it and post it on here.
