boris:
What about the new inventions/ideas that seem brilliant when they came out, but then seem to disappear two i can think of are the sloping sided curtainsider trailer -i think it was called the ‘load hugger’ and was popular with the breweries about 20 years ago & what happened to the ‘strapless’ curtainsiders
Didnt they call them Brewliner in the same vein as Tautliner? DHL still run them and I am sure the guy who brings my Marstons Pedigree uses one as well.
Were the strapless ones like the electric sides that B&Q run with a winch or motor to pull the curtains tight?
But I get your drift about new inventions. I am still waiting for Maggie Philbin to pick me up on a floating bike and take me out for a chemical meal pill
A guaranteed ten hour day with time and a quarter after eight hour, Monday to Friday.
Time and a half on Saturdays before midday, minimum five hours and time and three quarters after midday.
Double Bubble on Sunday minimum ten hours for Sunday running.
A phone call from the company to your home as regards a change of plan, book a quarter of an hours pay.
Washing wagons, loading and shunting on a Saturday morning, five hours at time and a half plus an extended breakfast break and then a trip to the local pub,… priceless .
Well I remember when I was a young Fitter, Gas Turbines were going to be the next big step in motive power but alas it all died a death, the ■■■■■■ engine too was being talked about but again it didn’t do what it said on the tin! Although we now have good Air Suspension systems and Disc Brakes in the beginning the teething problems meant it was back to the drawing board for while. One idea I recall failing miserably was the four wheel unit hooking up to a one axle dolly to convert the unit into a six wheeler to pull tandem trailers at 38 Tonne, good idea when concieved but overtaken by events when bosses went for 6x2 units or Tri-axle trailers instead. Franky.
Wheel Nut:
I am sure the guy who brings my Marstons Pedigree uses one as well.
Bloody hell Malc, I like a drink as much as anybody, but i don’t warrant bulk deliveries from the brewery yet
You know what it is with this southern muck, you need a drop more volume to get the same affect Mind you we did have Timothy Taylor’s Landlord on as a guest beer last week. I got the last pint, and possibly the first
Wasnt there a concept truck a few years ago with a centre mounted steering wheel ? Seem too remember “it would be a boon to aleviating blind spots”- surely it would had doubled them
Couldnt see the point tbh.
Back in the 60’s Readymix started using single wheels on their six wheeler mixers,seemed a good idea at the time,they were a bit bigger than the twin wheels,a bit like super singles.They didn’t use them for long,seemed strange as the drivers I spoke to at the time rated them.
Cheers Dave.
Suedehead:
Wasnt there a concept truck a few years ago with a centre mounted steering wheel ? Seem too remember “it would be a boon to aleviating blind spots”- surely it would had doubled them
Couldnt see the point tbh.
I was instrumental in buying a Mercedes Benz Unimog fitted with a Ducker twin flail mower unit 7 or 8 years ago.
We registered it as an HGV as it was used for cutting grass verges on motorways, so if we’d taken the cheaper option of registering it as an agricultural vehicle it would have had to be transported around on a low loader.
Anyhoo, it had a ‘Variopilot’ steering wheel, pedal and dash unit that could be slid to either side of the cab, which was quite novel…
hanging ya towel off ya sunroof
having a red light in ya cab
in the 70s having a cut out hand that stuck to your window that when you rocked the hand would wave
and having as many stickers on ya window from all lorry parks you had stopped on
putting ya sheets and timbers on the very end of ya trailer why? surely they were safer up ya headboard ■■
flashing ya lights on and off when let in overtaking now its a curtious indicator wink wink
toowise:
How about the purpose built sink and cooker unit fitted to the early Globetrotters,
They were HATED by most all fitters that were unlucky enough to look after trucks so equipped.
The drain pipe from the sink was routed in such a way that they often burnt through from heat from the engine and as such became very short. The result of this was that when the driver had finished his washing up, or more than likely took a ■■■■, in the said sink it would run out of the shorter drain pipe all over the engine, this in turn caused a very strong and not pleasent smell which would last for weeks !! Not good when having to service the truck.
I used to maintain Peter King’s ( Peterlea Trucking ) trucks, some of which had them fitted. You could sometimes tell that they were parked outside the rear garage doors before you even opened them !!
There was one of Peter’s drivers who was particularly fond of using his sink in that fashion, so much so that he was for some time fondly known as “Sinkpisser”, enough said…
Illuminated roof headboards
Multidrives
Leyland fixed head engine (put that in for a joke)
That little kerb window fitted in Leyland Roadrunners
Fibreglass cabs
Air cooled engines (Moggy anyone?)
WILLENHALL:
hanging ya towel off ya sunroof
having a red light in ya cab
in the 70s having a cut out hand that stuck to your window that when you rocked the hand would wave
and having as many stickers on ya window from all lorry parks you had stopped on
putting ya sheets and timbers on the very end of ya trailer why? surely they were safer up ya headboard ■■
flashing ya lights on and off when let in overtaking now its a curtious indicator wink wink
how things change ay?
You had to have a bucket fastened on the tow pin too, and PHAENG stickers
two i can think of are the sloping sided curtainsider trailer -i think it was called the ‘load hugger’ and was popular with the breweries about 20 years ago & what happened to the ‘strapless’ curtainsiders
.
Just remembered Air operated landing legs, are they still about?
yet 
Mind you we did have Timothy Taylor’s Landlord on as a guest beer last week. I got the last pint, and possibly the first 
