Ricekrispies:
I’ve driven a 14 yr old daf 7.5t with no radio, no heating and no electric windows. I’ve also slept lying across the seats (while waiting to be tipped). Does this make me one of the old school real drivers
No, they didn’t have time for sleep, there was no waiting to be tipped, they had to roll the sheet up and take he ropes off and all this was on break (according to their book of lies), and this was after doing 80mph across the A66, woodhead pass, the a5 and the a74, whilst wiping any rain off their windows with a dirty rag by hand.
Ricekrispies:
I’ve driven a 14 yr old daf 7.5t with no radio, no heating and no electric windows. I’ve also slept lying across the seats (while waiting to be tipped). Does this make me one of the old school real drivers
No, they didn’t have time for sleep, there was no waiting to be tipped, they had to roll the sheet up and take he ropes off and all this was on break (according to their book of lies), and this was after doing 80mph across the A66, woodhead pass, the a5 and the a74, whilst wiping any rain off their windows with a dirty rag by hand.
■■■■, and I was just about to share some of my many interesting yarns about how much better everything was back then.
But seriously I am glad I drive a lorry in these times and not back when they were driving 20 hours a day with no red bull nor nothin
truckyboy: F.me i think most of you lot would be out of work back in the day, a lorry was a work horse and that was it, take it or leave it. Today all lorries are comfortable with the introduction of air suspension, power steering and roof vents, that was all the comfort we needed, and the summers were a lot hotter than they are today and lasted longer, on saying that, the winters were twice as cold as well, so if you had a lorry with a heater, you were lucky ( especially if it worked )
todays machines have all the comforts of home and i guess a lot of drivers are still not happy wanting Air con, named marques, named gear changes, night heaters etc etc todays drivers are too spoilt for their own good and shouldnt be too fussed a lorry is a lorry and if i had to earn a days crust without all the garb, then i would, maybe i wouldnt be too happy for the day, but its the thought of a good days pay without all the handball, roping and sheeting, getting soaking wet, thats why i`m one of the old school, would go there and do that but in luxury.
Eh by eck, yas dont know ya born lad. Back then I was driving round it 't coal powered cardboard box, with no sides or roof and in 'twinter it used to be -40c. The only way to get heat was to set the load on fire. Took me four weeks to do a ‘Scotch’, 5 days to go over Shap.
I think its just a case that trucks and tractor units have now caught up with modern cars with the type of specifications and comforts that you can have. The basic cars these days have electic windows , a type of air con , radio , CD , seat suspension etc , so why not lorries , particulary as you would spend more time in a lorry.
My only luxury that is non negotiable is electic heated mirrors…what a god send
tamarman:
I think its just a case that trucks and tractor units have now caught up with modern cars with the type of specifications and comforts that you can have. The basic cars these days have electic windows , a type of air con , radio , CD , seat suspension etc , so why not lorries , particulary as you would spend more time in a lorry.
My only luxury that is non negotiable is electic heated mirrors…what a god send
ha wot happened to the old rags flapping round the mirrows
truckyboy:
Well said to the posters above, but manufacturers have made the changes to give drivers more comfort in the hope of selling their vehicles, i believe that if bosses had a say it would be different in a lot of cases, vehicles have changed a great deal, yes there is a great deal more comfort which is nice, its almost a pleisure to go go to work but it doesnt do to work a 15 hr day just because the boss has bought a nice motor to do it in with all the mod cons, for you will still have to do it in an old banger. Years ago we still had to do the work in whatever vehicle a company provided, it just wouldnt do to say i`m not driving that thames trader i want a tk bedford, for they sure as hell would show you the gate, not just tell you where it is, and thats what i am saying here, you drive what they give you regardless of what luxuries are in it, the name of the game for me is safety, money, workload.
I agree with much of the thrust of your posts Truckyboy, but disagree with the bosses not being in on this, they have fallen hook line and sinker for this state of the art crap, got themselves hooked by the short and curlies and caught for ever in lease/rent/contract hire payments trap.
Some of us want simpler motors, we don’t want satans gearbox we actually like driving a lorry properly because thats why we got into this game in the first place, we want an industrial quality tool not a mobile game boy to do the job with, you can stick fancy badges or the latest image or the biggest willy waving HP figure stencilled on the side to impress other little kids.
I wouldn’t expect a bloke who’s at the wheel of a truck today, but was a shoe salesman last week, or going to be a plumber next week, to have the foggiest idea.
switchlogic:
I do love how some drivers hate comfort. Does it make you feel more manly? I’m glad the reason I got into this game wasn’t a love of gearsticks.
It is all relative really. What was the height of luxury yesterday will be cr*p to next years driver!!! I never drove a really uncomfortable truck, but then any new driver nowadays getting into one of my old Fodens or the Sed Ak would be very unimpressed and probably chuck the job in! I sat in a new MAN auto last year, blimey, it was comfier than my settee and better appointed than my living room! Quite a difference to a 1989 Foden, but I was OK in that at the time. I did have one truck with an air seat but the rest had just sprung bases, all had constant mesh gearboxes and not synchromesh or automatic but they were not heavy to drive and you did a days work without being too knackered. One had an electric passenger window, WOW what an improvement at junctions! Whatever you have and are content with something new then comes along and somebody will say, How did you manage with that thing?" yet you were quite happy until then. Of course I didn’t live in my truck, home every night, but my old man who drove distance in the fifties and sixties found it hard to grasp that years later drivers would actually prefer to sleep in the cab rather than go into digs for the night and reckoned that you needed time away from the truck to relax properly and chat to other drivers, nobody chats much these days I doubt?
What I do think is that with all this new technology things go wrong and there are few ‘get you home fixes’ now like there used to be, in 20+ years I always got the truck home under its own steam even with a few bits dropping off!
Radio and heater that work, in a condition that won’t attract any vosa attention. … that’s about it for me! Anything else you can live with or adapt to.
Truckyboy talks a lot of sense. You can knock the old school drivers all you like, but think on this; Its only because those drivers with their flat caps & clogs drove those motors without PAS, AC, 2 speed wipers, radios, night heaters, pratnav, etc. etc. moving freight about that contributed towards you having the comfortable motors for your delicate little ■■■ to sit in today.
Some of these nancies should be put in a low roofed 2 axled 320 with no AC & sent off to the middle east in Summer - with a tilt to strip in 40C+ on arrival. See how much complaining they then do about their modern rides on their return.
I bought my daughter an iPad for her birthday, I was going to get her a hoop’n’stick or a spinning top but then I realised that times move on even if some people don’t
Driveroneuk:
Truckyboy talks a lot of sense. You can knock the old school drivers all you like, but think on this; Its only because those drivers with their flat caps & clogs drove those motors without PAS, AC, 2 speed wipers, radios, night heaters, pratnav, etc. etc. moving freight about that contributed towards you having the comfortable motors for your delicate little ■■■ to sit in today.
Some of these nancies should be put in a low roofed 2 axled 320 with no AC & sent off to the middle east in Summer - with a tilt to strip in 40C+ on arrival. See how much complaining they then do about their modern rides on their return.
And you know what, I bet there were old boys in the 60s moaning about how easy drivers had it compared to their day with horse and carts. People just like moaning. And I bet if you could get a driver from the 60s to time travel to now and experience the job as it is now they’d find it just as hard but in totally different ways.
The more acquainted one becomes with an environment, the more one knows about it’s shortcomings and, hence, the easier it is to dislike that environment.
Darb:
I bought my daughter an iPad for her birthday, I was going to get her a hoop’n’stick or a spinning top but then I realised that times move on even if some people don’t
You should have bought them, I bet all her mates have an iPad but none will have the hoop or top and they would have been envious of her. Let’s get back to basics!
switchlogic: And you know what, I bet there were old boys in the 60s moaning about how easy drivers had it compared to their day with horse and carts. People just like moaning. And I bet if you could get a driver from the 60s to time travel to now and experience the job as it is now they’d find it just as hard but in totally different ways.
Spot on there, my old man thought that I was a right sissy because my truck had powered steering, a heater and full air brakes! I remember one haulier who ordered a new Foden and it came fitted with optional power steering (which he hadn’t ordered) so he had it removed as he reckoned the hydraulic pump would use extra fuel, don’t think his driver was too impressed but some folk just didn’t like ‘unnecessary gimmicks’ on what was basically a tool to do a job as cheaply as possible.
Possibly sixties drivers would appreciate the shorter working hours nowadays, but would probably struggle with all the bullsh*t that goes with the job now?
truckyboy: F.me i think most of you lot would be out of work back in the day, a lorry was a work horse and that was it, take it or leave it. Today all lorries are comfortable with the introduction of air suspension, power steering and roof vents, that was all the comfort we needed, and the summers were a lot hotter than they are today and lasted longer, on saying that, the winters were twice as cold as well, so if you had a lorry with a heater, you were lucky ( especially if it worked )
todays machines have all the comforts of home and i guess a lot of drivers are still not happy wanting Air con, named marques, named gear changes, night heaters etc etc todays drivers are too spoilt for their own good and shouldnt be too fussed a lorry is a lorry and if i had to earn a days crust without all the garb, then i would, maybe i wouldnt be too happy for the day, but its the thought of a good days pay without all the handball, roping and sheeting, getting soaking wet, thats why i`m one of the old school, would go there and do that but in luxury.
id like to see some driving my old C reg erf 3 moves to make it stop foot on brake peddle,hold steering wheel tight, then stand up and press as hard as you can lol
The reason for my intake on the original post, which happened to be about how fussed you are when going to work, was to point out how things were back then, and how wheel attendants would react today, so going on most of the replies, you have helped me decipher who is a driver, and who is a steering wheel attendant. Its obvious that when going for a permanent job you would possibly know the fleet, get the terms and conditions sorted, then be given a start date, i was pointing out that when i went for a job, i didnt look at the fleet, but was quite happy to get a days work if not a regular one, regardless of what heaps of ■■■■ were parked in their yard, and it seems that a lot of driv ( sorry ) steering wheel attendants are of the mind that to go into a yard for a days work, they would like a top of the range motor with all the bells and whistles, and for the most part i do love the modern technology, i do agree that times change, and i also agree that in most cases it has changed for the better, but when working either for an agency or an employer for a day or whatever, i am not really interested in what trucks they own/operate, as i can drive whatever they give me with confidence, and that includes left hookers and whatever trailer i am given, for i am a true professional, and i am still working.
…steering wheel attendants are of the mind that to go into a yard for a days work, they would like a top of the range motor with all the bells and whistles
i cant see the problem with that, im sure most people would rather take the top of the range motor instead of the knackered old nail in the corner.
I never drove a really uncomfortable truck, but then any new driver nowadays getting into one of my old Fodens or the Sed Ak would be very unimpressed and probably chuck the job in! 
I sat in a new MAN auto last year, blimey, it was comfier than my settee and better appointed than my living room! Quite a difference to a 1989 Foden, but I was OK in that at the time. I did have one truck with an air seat but the rest had just sprung bases, all had constant mesh gearboxes and not synchromesh or automatic but they were not heavy to drive and you did a days work without being too knackered. One had an electric passenger window, WOW what an improvement at junctions! Whatever you have and are content with something new then comes along and somebody will say, How did you manage with that thing?" yet you were quite happy until then. Of course I didn’t live in my truck, home every night, but my old man who drove distance in the fifties and sixties found it hard to grasp that years later drivers would actually prefer to sleep in the cab rather than go into digs for the night and reckoned that you needed time away from the truck to relax properly and chat to other drivers, nobody chats much these days I doubt?
