I liked the XF Dafs until they started putting autos in them.The 16 speed ZF synchro box was great in ours the auto abysmil like my spelling with my big thumb
It’s obviously news to you but in Euroland and even pre limiters UK, more than 10 hours driving in a shift was always considered bad form and the definition of hard working was never how many dead pigs we could hand ball on and off a trailer.
Ironically I preferred working with tilts than box trailers in that regard.Dont mind a bit of hard work where essential but forklifts and pallets were invented for a reason.
Charnock Richard was around similar mileage as Dewsbury both were less than 4 hour runs but much tighter on time with limiters.
Killington was around another 50 miles and less than an hour up the M6.
No big deal but not a regular occurrence.
Just the very rare occasions when the Scotch was running very late and he had the worse hills to contend with and was always heavy Southbound around maxed out with paper on the prime mover + a trailer load.It was me that told them not to forget about allowing for the trailer nose weight on the prime mover drive axle because close coupled trailers impose weight on the drive axle.
Give UPS its due, unlike us, they obviously realised the advantages of A frames in that regard.
So how many and which 400 + mile runs did you do in the days before limiters, let alone speed cameras and smart motorways and night time motorway closures, became an issue ?.To my knowledge Cumbernauld- Nuneaton-Cumbernauld was the only double manned run on the firm.
Both are absolutely true.Equally absolutely impossible now.Even driving a car.
We did Bradford Gloucester Porth or Bradford Porth .Also Bradford to Paddock Wood into Brains Barking for a couple of empty 20fts for Leeds base . All through the day. Bradford to Great Oakley near Harwich for Ferranti Oldham. We had the disposable tachos which were around at the time
It is surprising news, I’ve never considered 12 hours unreasonable, let alone bad form.
Fortunately for you, the first 100kg pig would have broken your fragile back.
Is that why you look down your nose at any job that requires you to get out from behind the wheel and advise new drivers to reject any role which involves other duties? It may surprise you, but what you consider ‘other duties’ are actually included in the drivers’ role.
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I think Tony’s last DAF was a 500. His nephew used to post on here,Will ?
Oh yes…
I first met him when he was at La Brujula when his older F12, a silver and red one I think, gave up the ghost. It was after that one that he bought the blue “Hot To Trot”. Met him a few times after that too.
I’m pretty sure he down-plated the DAF for the hanging garment work to save on tax. Not much weight on that work. And later I think he mostly did the Santander or Bilbao crossings.
I’m 99% sure that he married his young lady in Maghreb, according to local laws at least, although I don’t know about UK law.
Absolutely agree. They did what they were meant to do.
Decent enough power for most uses. As reliable as other trucks around then. Not stupid money on purchase price, nor fuel. And a roomy cab.
The autos were awful.
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Steve Jones was his nephew. He was a good lad too. There’s plenty more on those two in the North Africa work thread:
One or two did that but it was a risky move because we nearly always ran down there with full loads of bolts of cloth which could be quite heavy. Also, from time to time we’d get unusual back loads instead of hanging garments. I once ran a full load of second-hand computer gaming machines to Lara’che; and on another occasion picked up a full load of iron bedsteads from Fez for an antique furniture outfit in Wales. Then there were the outward runs to M&S in Gibraltar with dry groceries. It also ruled out picking up local work when the garments went slack if you were downplated to 24t or similar.
Good point made, but Tony was not adverse to taking a punt at almost anything, I think you will agree?
Definitely! He was the sort of bloke who, having decided he was always going to run light, would have made sure that that was the only work he’d be given. 
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Has the GUY, pictured top right of page,got an 8LXB though?
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Steve Jones, that’s the lad, he was always very pleasant.
What happened to John Mann, they were everywhere, then gone?
You mentioned M&S in Gib, are you sure it wasn’t Safeway that became Morrisons, I’m trying to remember the company that had a contract to Gib with a double man driving teams?
Fridge work to Gib, or ambient and perishables.
I seem to remember there were a couple of different companies doing it at various times.
Burlington Ocean Express? Did Ralphie’s ever do it?
Two drivers from Burlington were killed on that horrible bend before you got to Victors, near to that statue of the shepherd.
The local newspaper said one died of a heart attack during the accident with the shock of what was about to happen.
I don’t recall seeing Ralph Davies motors on the Gib runs as he was busy with Kazakhstan along with Russ Anglia which was Peter Gilders Russian company in his wife’s name.
Definitely M&S, Stuar. I used to load a DTS garment trailer on the international bays at Gist, Hemel Hempstead and tip at York’s in Gib, who handled all the M&S stuff. Then run round to Algeciras to ship out to North Africa.
John Mann finished pretty abruptly, not long after Breda Tspt. Maes and Davies Turner picked up a lot of the work. Lots of big things were on the change at that time. Morocco started to really pick up their own transport and the big new port was about to open up the coast from Tangiers. Big changes.
You are right, there is a M&S in Gib, I got myself muddled up with the Morrisons contract and the delivery to the supermarket.
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Was there also Pegasus doing that run at some time?
I think @hurryup_amp_wait for a while?