Has anyone ever had a 2 speed that matched all or most of the gears making it worth using in every gear ,the 2 boxes ive had direct and over drive had many ratios the same engine speed and road speed but at the same time in a different gear the same engine and road speed give more torque at the back wheels .
I drove a Bedford KM with a 5 speed gearbox and an Eaton two speed axle for C M Philpotts as the regular driver Dan. 466 engine and nothing much could live with it on the hills at 16 ton gross.
Cheers Dave.
Punchy Dan:
Has anyone ever had a 2 speed that matched all or most of the gears making it worth using in every gear ,the 2 boxes ive had direct and over drive had many ratios the same engine speed and road speed but at the same time in a different gear the same engine and road speed give more torque at the back wheels .
Hi Dan, The Dodge I drove in 1966 with the Eaton Two speed, Was IIRC Called a short fourth box when in low 4th you changed into low 5th then back into high 4th then straight into high 5th, It was a bit funny at first as Ide been used to driving a 4 wheeler Atki with the normal two speed in it, This Atki only had a 4LK Gardner engine in, But it used to return 19 to 20 MPG, But of course it only carried 6 to 7 ton, Plus it tared off at 3 Ton empty, The brakes on it were ■■■■■ so one had to drive with great caution if you know what I mean, The good old days in my book, 
Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Punchy Dan:
Has anyone ever had a 2 speed that matched all or most of the gears making it worth using in every gear ,the 2 boxes ive had direct and over drive had many ratios the same engine speed and road speed but at the same time in a different gear the same engine and road speed give more torque at the back wheels .Hi Dan, The Dodge I drove in 1966 with the Eaton Two speed, Was IIRC Called a short fourth box when in low 4th you changed into low 5th then back into high 4th then straight into high 5th, It was a bit funny at first as Ide been used to driving a 4 wheeler Atki with the normal two speed in it, This Atki only had a 4LK Gardner engine in, But it used to return 19 to 20 MPG, But of course it only carried 6 to 7 ton, Plus it tared off at 3 Ton empty, The brakes on it were [zb] so one had to drive with great caution if you know what I mean, The good old days in my book,
Hi Larry , Mastiffs had that gear change sequence and we had some Big J’s with Perkins V8’s that had the same gearbox and 2 speed axle set up. The Guys had the more traditional red Eaton switch and were reliable but the Mastiffs had some cheap BMC flick switch and wiring that was always breaking.
Yes the two Mastiff 16 tonners we ‘inherited’ at Ballidon from Grimshaws of Hartington were like that, I only drove them a couple of times but they caught me out when it changed down half a gear when I actually intended changing up! The Boxer of theirs might have been the same, I forget now? Our Sed Ak 200’s were more conventional I believe, but again I only drove them occasionally.
Pete.
I always liked the Eaton 2-speed axle, in effect giving the same gearing as later splitter boxes, which the Eaton axle pre-dated. It was often referred to as a “booster gear”, and used correctly could transform the performance of a lorry with a standard 5-speed direct drive gearbox. Lazy drivers would keep the axle in low gear until reaching top gear in the gearbox and then engage high gear in the axle, giving an overdrive. The skilled, or keen, or enthusiastic driver would split every gear. The early vacuum operated rear axle switch could be slow to engage but the later electric operated switches were quicker to engage, although you could end up with a horrible noise from the back axle and no drive if you were too ambitious, as once happened to me with a Dodge 500 series with ■■■■■■■ V8. That had a 6-speed overdrive 'box and 2-speed axle.
I had one in a KM, I only used it in the top two gears out on the road and in the bottom gears in heavy traffic, it was a handy thing to have on that, but in the Seddon Atki 400 with 6LXC a d DB 6spd it was next to useless as it was so slow to shift speeds and with the lazy nature of the Gardner to lose rpm it had almost come to a halt by the time the change went through, a great shame as that thing really would’ve benefitted from the ability to split the gears as it was a bit on the lethargic side to say the least.
Punchy Dan:
Has anyone ever had a 2 speed that matched all or most of the gears making it worth using in every gear ,the 2 boxes ive had direct and over drive had many ratios the same engine speed and road speed but at the same time in a different gear the same engine and road speed give more torque at the back wheels .
In answer to the original question NO I have never found a combination that that changed a 4 speed box into an 8 or a 5 speed into a 10 and that covers a few vehicles I have driven from a Bedford tipper in 1965 up to an ERF C series unit (on United Carriers) in 1988, but there was a great advantage that, when preselected, you could drop that half gear in an instant and make good headway up hills where a full gear was not needed. As discussed on another thread once you got used to the ‘■■■ backwards’ illogical sequence they were a good bit of kit in their day.
My smoothest change with a load on is set off in 2nd ,in to high ,then before peak revs are reached pull out of 2nd into low axle and in to 3rd with no clutch needed as I can feel 3rd as the teeth engage making the most of basically being in neutral ,now once in top with the overdrive box that is and high axle it’s not worth changing down to low as there’s just no torque in overdrive so a full gear is best then drop in to low axle once in direct gear when climbing .
gingerfold:
I always liked the Eaton 2-speed axle, in effect giving the same gearing as later splitter boxes, which the Eaton axle pre-dated. It was often referred to as a “booster gear”, and used correctly could transform the performance of a lorry with a standard 5-speed direct drive gearbox. Lazy drivers would keep the axle in low gear until reaching top gear in the gearbox and then engage high gear in the axle, giving an overdrive. The skilled, or keen, or enthusiastic driver would split every gear. The early vacuum operated rear axle switch could be slow to engage but the later electric operated switches were quicker to engage, although you could end up with a horrible noise from the back axle and no drive if you were too ambitious, as once happened to me with a Dodge 500 series with ■■■■■■■ V8. That had a 6-speed overdrive 'box and 2-speed axle.
Hi Gingerfold, This Dodge had a V 8 Perkins in along with a 6 speed box & the Eaton 2 speed, It was too fast, IMO my cousin who owned was forver relining the brakes, Regards Larry.
The Ford D-series at 28 tons had the V8 “Thirsty Perky” ahead of a 6-speed synchro overdrive box and Eaton 2-speed axle. Once you got used to the “odd” gearchange sequence you could make decent progress, albeit at the expense of fuel consumption!
What’s the preferd method ,mines electric ,my dad had a cable one ,are some air controlled ?
Bedfords started fitting the Eaton 2-speed in some of their S-types, then made a retrograde step in bringing in their own 2-speed which had a much slower air change. In my opinion, the original Eaton make was the most reliable and fastest-shifting no matter what vehicle it was fitted to.
I think if had a blower on Larry I could give your Dodge a run for its money ! May be even keep up with the V8 ■■■■■■■■ sheeter.
BMC used a vacuum shift cable operated and they were very hit and miss. My dad had one stick in neutral in Trafalgar Square driving a BMC 701 back in the sixties, a copper on point duty who had been a mechanic took the little plate off of the diff and wedged it into cog with a piece of wood to get him moving again! Later on they fitted an electric shift, much better. The most troublesome part was the speedometer ratio change gearbox really.
Pete.
This Albion unit has the Eaton 2 speed axle, It seems that these Albions with the Scammell Coupling had to have them for height reasons concerning the trailer.Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
This Albion unit has the Eaton 2 speed axle, It seems that these Albions with the Scammell Coupling had to have them for height reasons concerning the trailer.Regards Larry.
Vacume eh pete that’s a new one on me ,those speedo compensator box are not very reliable.
Punchy Dan:
Vacume eh pete that’s a new one on me ,those speedo compensator box are not very reliable.
IIRC, the earley TK Bedfords had this type fitted, Regards Larry
Lawrence Dunbar:
Punchy Dan:
Vacume eh pete that’s a new one on me ,those speedo compensator box are not very reliable.IIRC, the earley TK Bedfords had this type fitted, Regards Larry
On second thoughts, I could well have been wrong in my previous post- Larry has just reminded me that it was probably a vacuum change on the S-types. And I had completely forgotten the speedo gearbox- the speedo needle took a wild swing around the dial when you changed the 2-speed axle ratio.