Man very slow to die down ,hmm not sure about the SA bit that 401 is one very hard ride incompairison to an Erf of the same time ,but i too wish I could find a ■■■■■■■ eaton rigid to run that’s not based on a Daf .
Juddian:
but i’d go back to a ■■■■■■■■ Eaton/Fuller, Rockwell combo in a Sed Ack 401 tomorrow.
I’d give you about a week. Old vehicles are nice to drive for fun now and again but you’d soon be woken up from your misty eyed nostalgia if you had to drive one of them for a living today. I get to drive a 97 143 and a 93 F12 now and again and it’s fun but my god I’m glad to get back to modernity after a day
I preferred the David Brown six speed with a two speed axle.
I liked the twin splitter once I got the hang of it. It was a great gearbox once you got the hang of it - about a week for me .Boss tried to show me with a unit only and i couldn’t get the hang of it at all , another driver took me out with a loaded tank and in 20 mins I’d got the hang of it (almost) and by the end of the week had really got on to it . Liked it - would I swap it for an I-shift - not fing likely.
Santa:
I think that it is that sense of achievement when you master it. Making nice smooth changes all the way up without the clutch; then the downshifts and, finally, fast downshifting in the lower gears when climbing a steep hill fully loaded.To a lesser extent, it’s that same feeling you get the first time a blindside reverse slots in first time.
I seem to remember they called those fast shifts ‘bunnyhops’? You could go up through the box and not lose any momentum as long as you got it right. Just keep the pedal to the metal, flick the switch up one, then pull the stick back into neutral and forward again as quick as possible … gear changed and no momentum lost.
Whats an I shift 
The Eaton Fuller box is still big this side of the pond I think Volvo is the only make with auto box as standard. I do mostly highway work with mine so I don’t mind it at all but wouldn’t want it for city work.
taffytrucker:
The Eaton Fuller box is still big this side of the pond I think Volvo is the only make with auto box as standard. I do mostly highway work with mine so I don’t mind it at all but wouldn’t want it for city work.
My dear old shed sports a 13 speed Eaton Fuller and while I’m completely used to it now as I’ve driven nothing else for quite some time, I did spend a considerable time when I first got to Canada missing a European style syncromesh gear box or a decent auto.
I made the error today of opting for Highway 17 coming across Ontario towards Manitoba instead of the much flatter highway 11. It’d been almost six years since my last jaunt this way having gone on 11 every time since and I’d forgotten how bloody twisty and hilly the ■■■■ road was. I’m fully grossed out on Canadian weights for a tandem trailer, with an 11 year old Kenworth with over two million klicks under her belt, and plenty of standing starts on some horrid hills due to road works, traffic lights etc. Its been bloody hard work to say the least, barely managing 15mph up some of the drags. Thankfully I only missed a gear once, which resulted in much swearing.
As for Twin Splitters, have you ever heard of one over here? I certainly haven’t.
switchlogic:
Juddian:
but i’d go back to a ■■■■■■■■ Eaton/Fuller, Rockwell combo in a Sed Ack 401 tomorrow.I’d give you about a week. Old vehicles are nice to drive for fun now and again but you’d soon be woken up from your misty eyed nostalgia if you had to drive one of them for a living today. I get to drive a 97 143 and a 93 F12 now and again and it’s fun but my god I’m glad to get back to modernity after a day
90% of my driving is in london so I realy appreciate auto I also drive off road on landfill sites and the manual function on I shift has never let me down.
I drive a new volvo fmx artic and yesterday took my old 05 fh12 manual out for the morning and was realy glad to get back to the new one.
I love old lorry’s and cars there great for a jaunt out on a nice day and do a few shows with but as a daily driver give me a modern car or lorry every time.
I learned to drive truck with gearbox like in the picture and drove with it for 2 years, then was given autos. Its great for long distance driving, hill climbing(especially the 13 speed)etc. But the autos(12spd) I drove were great, when you have 5-7 pick ups like I had in one day in busy towns you appreciate the auto. The 10 speed auto I didn’t like, but 12 speed full automatic in Freightliner was excellent.
In my opinion every truck driver must learn to drive manual splitter, how to shift, when to shift going up and down hill etc.
Here we go… again!
The twin splitter wasn’t nowhere near as good as a 13spd Fuller, not even close.
12 forward gears and a million neutrals.
newmercman:
Here we go… again!The twin splitter wasn’t nowhere near as good as a 13spd Fuller, not even close.
12 forward gears and a million neutrals.
oh dear nmm you will start the next 10 pages on how you didn’t know how to drive it properly now 
mind you the old merc eps box was even better at finding neutral.
Oh I could use one just fine, I had one in a Hino, a Strato and a 420 Eurotech, never had a problem going up or down the box and going over the Alps and running the old roads through France in the IVECO or driving around London in the Seddon Atki and Hino meant lots of gearchanges.
I’m just not in the “best box ever” club. I had a Transcon too and I thought they were complete junk, I’m not a believer in all that 20yrs ahead of their time nonsense. It’s my rebellious streak lol
whilst I think it was actually ahead of its time (in a reducing wear and tear) way, once I got used to it, it was a good box but preferred the fuller.
if you asked me during the first week I would have quite happily set fire to it mind.
The one I had in the Hino was awful, like stirring a bucket of porridge with a broom handle, but that was the one I learned all the tricks in. I had read an article by Pat Kennett in T&D and picked up the theory behind it all, I always drove a constant mesh box using clutch less shifts and so the Twin Splitter was second nature really.
my dad had a hino artic donkeys years ago (think it was one of the first in the UK), all I can remember is you needed to be about 6 stone dripping wet to be able to lie on your back in the so called bed.
I knew it was tight as I got the bed whilst my old man slept across the seats with a wooden board between them (something which never happened in any other truck he had).
the trouble you have with drivers and I am guilty of this to an extent is the days where the Iveco 360 was a good truck was when less traffic, more gear changing, less weight, etc. I mean seriously running to Greece in a eurotech was pure luxury 
I had a Transcon too and I thought they were complete junk
Oooh, go stand in the corner and wash your mouth with soap.!!
They were great… except for the electrics, brakes, cab nod , leaks from the roof and a few other assorted things.
(but they could fly!!)
The Eaton Twin-splitter 'box, to give it its proper name was probably the finest manual lorry 'box ever invented, IMHO. It was almost indestructible and once you mastered it, this mechanism was enormously satisfying to use. As has been pointed out, the installations tended to vary enormously in quality, with SA being at the bottom and ERF, MAN and Iveco being at the top. I had a Eurostar with a well-installed Twin-splitter which took me on trips to the Middle-East and back, all over Europe and lots of North Africa.
The Twin-splitter was constant-mesh box and should not be confused with the Eaton splitter box fitted in later ERFs, which was called the ‘S’ box for Synchromesh!
Because there were different ways you could approach it, there was scope for creative individuality. For instance, I never used the clutch going up the box but always double de-clutched the stick changes coming down. Drivers less familiar with the TS used to become frustrated with down-changes when entering roundabouts etc, but there were techniques for that.
If you were down-splitting while ascending a hill, you simply pre-selected, lifted your foot a fraction off the throttle to break the torque and the gear went through - no need to double-declutch or blip the throttle. However, when approaching a roundabout (or any other hazard), the torque was already broken, but by pre-selecting the lower split, moving the stick into neutral, double-declutching and returning the stick to its original position, a perfect change could be executed. Done habitually, this technique was relatively effortless, ensured cleaner and more reliable changes and was particularly satisfying to use when ascending steep hills or entering roundabouts.
Long live the Twin-splitter! Robert
The gearbox thàt tells you you’re tired
did you never practice bunny hopping robert ? select next range , lift off , whip into neutral and back into gear double quick , good for upshifting on an uphill drag . it took a bit of practice until you got it smooth . no clutch involved by the way . i was introduced to that by an instructor from the man agents . dave