Worst gearbox ever i think was the twin splitter,horrible thing fitted to an ERF E14 320 i once had the misfortune to drive 
Also,anything ERF really, awful build quality and all the image of a 70’s Skoda 
Best gearboxes? Definetly VOLVO…
AndrewG:
Worst gearbox ever i think was the twin splitter,horrible thing fitted to an ERF E14 320 i once had the misfortune to driveBest gearboxes? Definetly VOLVO…
Therein lies your problem. The ■■■■■■■ 14 litre on a twinsplit was trickier because you had to convince it. If you really had to change in a hurry then you had to pull it out of stick in the lower gears as you flicked the button. A quick ■■■■■■ but a vital one. If you did it like that then you didn’t get as lost…
I used to drive a 220 ■■■■■■■ ERF with a Fullers Split 8,with a Deep Reduction giving me 24 gears,I was on heavy haulage with excavation plant,that 1st gear,in DR gave you 2 MPH ,and believe it not,with a CAT D9 and Kelly Ripper on board[over 100tons] there were the odd occasions you needed that 1st gear,if you selected too high a gear,the gearbox bell housing used to crack,I had 3 renewed at ERF’s in Sandbach over just as many years!
Good, and more importantly reliable, gearbox.
Hey 5thwheel
I had something similar back in Saudi in the 70’s on a 6x4 FTF (I believe it was a dutch version of the ERF) it was a twin stick with 6 on the main stick and a 4way splitter on the other.
Give me any Fuller.
Twin split hook up to a 410 STC any day.
I drove a Scammell at Millers of Longton on heavy recovery and that was fitted with a Scania V8 and a 15 speed fuller and god was that good.
Been a round merc EPS,s when they was about but when they started to give big trouble we turned them to gear levers.
Also be about Atkisons from being a kid and drove lot of roads rangers, then 400s then 401s then the strato with the 410 and what a motor to work on and drive.
Wish I could bring them days back. 
Peter.
Maggie 232 had the same box, I called it the humbler box! 13 speed Fuller my fav
newmercman:
Rob, I remember reading in TRUCK about the twin splitter when it was still experimental, it was in the US & called a twin snapper, don’t know if it caught on as I’ve never heard it mentioned, but as you know the twin splitter did make it in the UK, if you used it properly it was a fantastic box, but get it wrong & it had 12 gears & a million neutralspersonally I liked it, had a Foden 12 speed in an 8 wheeler & that was a strange one, there seemed to be different gears in different places on different days! Had a David Brown 6 speed with a chinese gear pattern, that was a nasty thing, the worst though was a constant mesh ZF 12 speed splitter in a 2800 Daf, it was pure evil, you had to use every gear up & down the box or it just would not go in, didn’t matter if you had the revs right, try & go down a couple at a time like when you approach a roundabout or a traffic light that turned green & it would just make a load of crunching & you’d have to stop & start from scratch
I’ve got an 18spd Fuller in my current steed, I have no issue with it, but it’s no I-shift
Hi,
My favourite box was the 9 speed fuller in a 73 Big j with a ■■■■■■■ 290, this was the W shift pattern and was a quick change.
Worst was the side by side H pattern 8 speed ZF in a Leyland constructer !
An exploded view of the Foden 12 speed g/box, and the diagram showing the recommended gearchange pattern. Foden’s used to have a clutch brake as well, their instruction was that when changing up on the main box you pushed the clutch pedal halfway down, moved gearlever to neutral then pressed the pedal fully to the floor and engaged next gear. For changing down, double declutch. In practice however, unless the clutch and it’s brake were adjusted “spot on” it was easier to double declutch when changing up as well.
The auxillary box was changed by either flicking the throttle or dipping the clutch, the air change was instant although as anyone who has used one might testify you could end up with a box full of neutrals!! 
Basically, if you couldn’t get up a hill with a Foden then you needed something on tracks. 
Pete.
I would love a Twin Splitter again, especially after struggling with a ZF Ecosplit, they are just so slow. Your arm was a blur as you raced through the 12 speed or hopped through missing a few out when running light 
any eaton/fuller box,had a 9 speed in a 410 foden doing waste so always top weight,could go up through the gears so fast without usin the clutch was almost seemless as if it were a torque converter auto,then a 13 speed in a 375 foden,loved it,shame the engine was so tired.
I have a crusader now with a 15 speed (rto 915)10 on the stick and 5 extra low on the dash switch,you only need the clutch to pull away n stop,fast change,lovely,keep y i shifts etc.
Am restorin an erf with a twin split in at the mo,so looking forward to learnin that one properly,have driven it solo for about 30 miles and had no problem atall,but will a different story with a bit o weight on,
So to sum up,eaton/fuller 4eva,IDT,INDT. etc.
For them that have never had the pleasure 
I’ve got the last twinsplitter fitted in my motor apparently and I keep turning down newer motors because I don’t want to lose the twinsplitter and have to use a clutch again
And the Scandinavians nairily get a mention:
Volvo SR61 (F88/89) or SR62 (F10/12) 16 speeders. I remember Pat Kennet of Truck mag. describing the F88 290 gearchange with the overdrive lever on the dash centre as being akin to a toy monkey on a stick when trying to do compound gear changes (or summat to that ilk)( early F10/12’s too) but what a super gearbox it was, smooth precise positioning and evenly spaced gearing.
Dont mention the SR72 12 speeds, best forgotten.
Scania boxes have always been slow to change and the range change operation abysmal, many a time found the lever moved faster than the cogs and left you in neutral! Funny thing is they STILL do it. Or is it me just too quick with my hand?
gazzer:
And the Scandinavians nairily get a mention:Volvo SR61 (F88/89) or SR62 (F10/12) 16 speeders. I remember Pat Kennet of Truck mag. describing the F88 290 gearchange with the overdrive lever on the dash centre as being akin to a toy monkey on a stick when trying to do compound gear changes (or summat to that ilk)( early F10/12’s too) but what a super gearbox it was, smooth precise positioning and evenly spaced gearing.
And very Slow
Pete
I learnt to drive HGV’s at the tender age of 21 on a Foden S20 with the 12 speed but this one didn’t have an air change, it was manual change with a lever on the floor (left side) Made it that little bit more difficult. She was a handful if you were grossing around 50 tons and if you didn’t change down a range before top speed in that gear/range it would just sit in neutral. Used to drive watching the speedo. Got pretty good at it though because as you can imagine with the Foden fitted with the Gardener 150 and a gross max weight of 67 tons all you did all day was change gear. Even though it was a crash box you soon learnt how to change gear without the clutch though.
windrush:
An exploded view of the Foden 12 speed g/box, and the diagram showing the recommended gearchange pattern. Foden’s used to have a clutch brake as well, their instruction was that when changing up on the main box you pushed the clutch pedal halfway down, moved gearlever to neutral then pressed the pedal fully to the floor and engaged next gear. For changing down, double declutch. In practice however, unless the clutch and it’s brake were adjusted “spot on” it was easier to double declutch when changing up as well.
The auxillary box was changed by either flicking the throttle or dipping the clutch, the air change was instant although as anyone who has used one might testify you could end up with a box full of neutrals!!
Basically, if you couldn’t get up a hill with a Foden then you needed something on tracks.Pete.
hiya,
Once worked for an oufit that ran a Guy Otter 4 wheeler that anybody drove when stuck in the depot, fitters for bits, drivers for the butties and the odd bit of C and D work this thing had a Gardener 4LW engine and a 5 speed box which felt like a stick in a bag of manure, just wonder if anyone would know what type of box this would have been, it was horrible, although very ancient, i suppose the excessive slop was due to wear, and never driving the thing in it’s baby days it might have been OK when new.
thanks harry long retired.
Finest gearbox 13 speed fuller behind a 400 ■■■■■■■ with a rockwell axle on the back also drove scania 140 with a 13 fuller pull a house down.
Hi harry, I think that the gearbox in your old Guy Otter was proberbly a David Brown because they were notoriously sloppy even when new, could be wrong of course. I had one in an ERF tractor unit that I restored and it was like stirring Rice pudding with a clothes prop!
regards doublereduction.
hiya,
Doublereduction, yes i think your spot on with the DB box in the old Otter they always seemed to finish up behind Gardners the description of a clothes prop in a bucket of rice pudding is most apt, once drove an Atki unit for Walshy of Darwen “I originate from that area” it was 4LW engined and i’m fairly certain it had the same box as the Otter it also had a Scammell coupling with a fifth wheel overlay and was regularly run at well over the odds but was so low geared and slow it always managed what it was given to do albeit very slowly this was the early 60s though, I did graduate to an ERF with a 5LW in time, WOW.
thanks harry long retired.
At this point I could just point out that none of these ‘Extinct gearboxes’ are in fact extinct
They have all JUST been invented over here