I think the term ‘■■■■■■’ is rhyimg slang for ‘■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■’ cos they bloody well do.
Did I mention that I hate them?
The creed with ■■■■■ people is that they hate anyone that works for a living… 
Hello everyone, some of you older members may well remember me.
Perhaps I can clear a couple of things up for you here.
First of all I have to say that for those of you who don’t know me I am an owner driver with a truck on contract to Cemex, formerly RMC.
I am also a travelling showman and have been involved in the fairground industry for over thirty years.
The question regarding artics with a second trailer on is I believe a grey area which will be sorted out when someone gets taken to court over it. The law says that a “showmens special” vehicle is one that carries a generator and is entitled to pull two trailers up to the length of eighty five feet. ( I think that length is correct, got nothing that big myself ) If you look next time you see one of these loads there will probably be a box behind the cab and this will house the generator. For what it is worth I think these loads are illegal.
Old lorries, yep there are still quite a few of them in use, but most of them travel on the roads only one or two days a week and even then it can be as little as ten miles at a time. Some showmen are now travelling greater distances and these are buying much newer trucks, Volvo FH’s seem to be favourite at the moment. I know of several Y reg and a couple of 51 plate motors. I have got to say it is much more fun driving an old B series ERF than a new motor as long as it isn’t too far !!!
Anyone who thinks showmen don’t work for a living should try it!!!
If anyone has any other questions I will try and answer them for you, and by the way to A frame trailers are a nightmare to reverse 
cheers
STEVE.
A friend of mine is a showman from near Bedford, and he is one of the most decent blokes I know.
He is always smartly dressed and clean. He has four trucks, and although they aren’t the newest on the road, they are well maintained and well tidy.
If anyone wants to call him a ■■■■■ - go ahead. Just don’t do it to his face if you fancy keeping your legs intact.
I think we all know the difference betreen showmen,Romanys & those scrotes that run round the truckparks with a marine engine & a length of pipe instead of a debit card. ■■■■■■ are hated by truckers for very good reasons. They are the ones that make us lock up our trucks like Fort Knox everytime we step outside them. & on & on. On an earlier post i said that it was the only time I wanted to join the circus when a French showman passed me in his Kenworth motorhome. But amongst the showmen you will still find ■■■■■ people. They are like any walk of life; The good & the bad. That goes for truckers as well.
I used to work on the fairgrounds as a gaff lad as we were called then and the traveler’s I worked for used to use scammell highwaymen as the tractor unit and these used to have two gardner 6lw180 engines on as lighting set and when we moved to the next gaff it was always two a frame trailers hitched up to it then we would go back for the living wagon and the lads caravan which nearly always was a 14’ sprite
if I remember rightly our loads where about 85-90 foot long
what class of licence do you have to hold to drive these vehicle is there some grandfather rights issue?
happylooni:
think 6 miles refers only to tractors, been a couple of
years since i read the legislation, might have got it arse about face
Spacemonkey
If that figure is correct, I expect it refers to the average over the year. Bearing in
mind that they may not turn a wheel all winter it would not be too hard to
achieve. Doubt if anyone’s checking though 
As regards A-frames being a nightmare to reverse it’s like anything else - if
you start off with a bit of talent it’s just a case of practice, no more difficult than
anything else really 
what class of licence do you have to hold to drive these vehicle is there some grandfather rights issue?
I’m not aware that showmen are exempt from needing, or are required to have some other special, driving licence, it’s the same licence as any other person driving a LGV has to hold, for the class of vehicle being driven.
So that means a C+E, and grandfather rights would only come into it, if a restricted C+E(R102) had been obtained from the original HGV Class 2 or 3 licence. That means the licencee can drive drawbar outfits, but not semi-trailers, whether that person can drive with more than one drawbar trailers, is another matter, I don’t know.
As for the overall length of the combination, here’s what it says on Chris Hodge’s site,
And here is a showmen’s roadtrain,
3 trls 
sod that 
I’m not aware that showmen are exempt from needing, or are required to have some other special, driving licence, it’s the same licence as any other person driving a LGV has to hold, for the class of vehicle being driven.
They’re exempt under this rule;
mobile project vehicles - having a maximum authorised mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes and constructed or adapted to carry not more than 8 persons in addition to the driver and carries principally goods or burden consisting of;
play or educational equipment and articles required in connection with the use of such equipment, or
articles required for the purposes of display or of an exhibition, and the primary purpose of which is used as a recreational, educational or instructional facility when stationary.
Drivers must be aged 21 and have held a category B licence for at least 2 years. A mobile project vehicle may only be driven on behalf of a non-commercial body. However, drivers who passed their car test before 1 January 1997 are not subject to these conditions.
which can be found here dvla.gov.uk/drivers/special_ … ents_f.htm
Saw a typical showmans outfit today at the Dartford Bridge toll booths, it seemed to be at the booth for a while. Anyone know what their policy is for multiple trailers, maybe the attendant was stumped. Or perhaps the driver was trying to pay with tokens.
Either way I was disappointed that the attendant didn’t nip out of their box and ride along on the rear bumper for a bit.