pv83:
Proper “little” motor DIG, looks like he’s bogged down though… …coat…
Nah, just taking it slowly, that would be my mate George, the Victorian fugitive. (wanted down there, he was left alone by the Territory police as long as he stayed and didn’t try to recross the border ). Nothing fazed him, with his Beenleigh rum jammed between the seats, fresh water bottle on the floor. and a glove box full of pills he would be good for another 100 miles.
I did one trip with him as a newbie for my ‘apprenticeship’ (as I had told Buntine that of course I had driven a twin stick after mistaking with his accent, for a twin steer ) and he never once let me behind the wheel. I watched in fear and awe the 100 mile ritual but we got there. Back at ‘the ranch’ he would stay with the wagon while the rest of us went into town, promising to bring him back a crate of stubbies and a steak sandwich.
One more trip with Kevin, who before my time had dropped off for a second and flipped the last trailer half over spilling cows through the bush, He showed me the ropes and then I was on my own. Fond, but hard, memories.
I’m guessing you take the lower pins out, and somehow it pivots about those slotted holes on the top. In use, the loads are reacted by those flat pads on the end of the chassis. Seems like a lot of bits to achieve the same as a lift axle. Legislation driven?
I’m guessing you take the lower pins out, and somehow it pivots about those slotted holes on the top. In use, the loads are reacted by those flat pads on the end of the chassis. Seems like a lot of bits to achieve the same as a lift axle. Legislation driven?
I.m guessing its to reduce the length but its hard to see how it works with load sharing and as you say anorak a lot of bits.
Dig
pv83:
Proper “little” motor DIG, looks like he’s bogged down though… …coat…
Nah, just taking it slowly, that would be my mate George, the Victorian fugitive. (wanted down there, he was left alone by the Territory police as long as he stayed and didn’t try to recross the border ). Nothing fazed him, with his Beenleigh rum jammed between the seats, fresh water bottle on the floor. and a glove box full of pills he would be good for another 100 miles.
I did one trip with him as a newbie for my ‘apprenticeship’ (as I had told Buntine that of course I had driven a twin stick after mistaking with his accent, for a twin steer ) and he never once let me behind the wheel. I watched in fear and awe the 100 mile ritual but we got there. Back at ‘the ranch’ he would stay with the wagon while the rest of us went into town, promising to bring him back a crate of stubbies and a steak sandwich.
One more trip with Kevin, who before my time had dropped off for a second and flipped the last trailer half over spilling cows through the bush, He showed me the ropes and then I was on my own. Fond, but hard, memories.
I once read in a article that Australian lorry drivers were notorious for “popping pills like they’re sweets”… not sure how much truth there is in that, but you mentioned it as well Spardo, so there must have been a few around who used sommat extra to keep awake…?
Very impressive Johnny and it looks like a Hill Detector suppling the power upfront. Tin Hat, LOL
Dig
You mean… that example of superbly Teutonic engineered craftmanship DIG, both Oily and Pete are eager to take that one out for a swing, you can’t blame them, as they’re still used to Guy Big J’s you see… ahum, coat and tin hat on, going to my shelter now…
I’m guessing you take the lower pins out, and somehow it pivots about those slotted holes on the top. In use, the loads are reacted by those flat pads on the end of the chassis. Seems like a lot of bits to achieve the same as a lift axle. Legislation driven?
I.m guessing its to reduce the length but its hard to see how it works with load sharing and as you say anorak a lot of bits.
Dig
Doesn’t look like it’s a steer axle either, so it’ll be probably under some stress when loaded…? Quite a interesting solution though to sort out the axle weights.
pv83:
I once read in a article that Australian lorry drivers were notorious for “popping pills like they’re sweets”… not sure how much truth there is in that, but you mentioned it as well Spardo, so there must have been a few around who used sommat extra to keep awake…?
Well I can only speak for George who I witnessed at first hand, but looking back I reckon the prodigious mileages done in the North were very likely to have been pill driven. But, I emphasise, I only know personally of that one example.
I refused to do that and, as a result, had to be rested from time to time. Once I spent a whole week with a government vet, or inspector, at a holding place in the middle of nowhere. Not sure of its purpose but I thoroughly enjoyed the change, and the rest, even though we were really roughing it with only a metal garage with a concrete floor to sleep in and no other facilities at all.
The only part which I didn’t like, but was able to avoid witnessing, was when Davy had to go out with his pistol and shoot a cow that was unable to rise and dying.
Getting back to George for an instant and maybe this explains why I wasn’t tempted because he was my first experience on the road with the cows. There was absolutely no conversation in the cab, apart from a couple of brief remarks followed by his addressing me as ‘father’, which he pronounced ‘fa’her’ (although he was older than me and he used that term to everybody), and he just sat there for mile after mile with empty eyes. It really spooked me but I must admit he never put a wheel wrong on the track. Back at base we had to service our own trucks, oil and filter change and mend all punctures, patching tubes where possible (on my 1st trip solo I had 16 to do). Then it was into town for a meal and back to the bunkhouse for whatever sleep was possible before setting off again. As I said before, George never came, and one time he needed to do some work on the gearbox. This was accessed through a panel in the floor of the cab. I left him lying flat out doing whatever he had to do and when we came back he was fast asleep with his arms dangling through the hole. It’s no wonder that I ‘paced’ myself.
newmercman:
The last few weeks, got the tractor from Baltimore docks, took that to Manitoba, picked up the transformers and took those to Seattle, coast to coast with a stop in Canada along the way. From there I went just down the road to Tacoma and loaded the D6. That went to Saskatchewan the long way around thanks to the spring weight restrictions on the direct route. Then I got the 1963 vintage forklift from Calgary airport and took it to Winnipeg airport, reloaded with the trackmobile thing that’s used to move train cars around and that went to New Hampshire, from there it was empty down to North Carolina for an excavator which I’m taking to Regina, again taking the long way around due to road restrictions and construction.
Looks like you have been busy “newmercman” .Great pics, that looks like a serious tractor.
Hi Mark. Nice photos. What’s the reason for the red and white cover on the bumper?
If you want info on tractors with out being over involved, you can look at Grassmen and Lordmuck videos on youtube. They visit all the big shows in the U.K.
The flip axle is a typically American method of doing things, as in it makes little sense! It basically converts a tandem into a triaxle, so does add versatility and I’m sure that it should be flipped when running off the interstate when empty on some roads in some states as technically a 48’ trailer is as long as you can go, there’s no way to flip it manually without a crane/forklift and therefore mine stays on the floor.
Patrick is correct about the shims to get it sitting level and load equalization is done through the load sensing system of the trailer itself, it can be a lot of messing about, but that is this job in a nutshell, no two states or provinces have the same rules and they seem to change with the weather too, each load requires a permit and three trucks can load the same thing, in the same place for the same destination and each get a different route to take.
A sat nav is a complete waste of time, as the routing you get conflicts with it and you’re constantly being told to make a U turn. My last trip was 1900 miles give or take according to Garmin, in reality it was 2600 miles on the odometer. All because of the routing specified in my permits.
Finally, the reflective red and white D sign is used in Ontario to allow night time running, but then only on dual carriageways and when the weather is clear, if you need the wipers on, you have to get off the road asap. The do’s and don’ts on this job are like the complete set of the Encyclopedia Brittanica!
And there’s me thinking I’m good pulling through a 14’ wide fuel pump with a 13’6" load! Those super heavy haul lads really know their stuff, some of those big moves seem to defy the laws of physics. Although when it does go wrong, it goes spectacularly wrong.
newmercman:
The flip axle is a typically American method of doing things, as in it makes little sense! It basically converts a tandem into a triaxle, so does add versatility and I’m sure that it should be flipped when running off the interstate when empty on some roads in some states as technically a 48’ trailer is as long as you can go, there’s no way to flip it manually without a crane/forklift and therefore mine stays on the floor.
Patrick is correct about the shims to get it sitting level and load equalization is done through the load sensing system of the trailer itself, it can be a lot of messing about, but that is this job in a nutshell, no two states or provinces have the same rules and they seem to change with the weather too, each load requires a permit and three trucks can load the same thing, in the same place for the same destination and each get a different route to take.
A sat nav is a complete waste of time, as the routing you get conflicts with it and you’re constantly being told to make a U turn. My last trip was 1900 miles give or take according to Garmin, in reality it was 2600 miles on the odometer. All because of the routing specified in my permits.
Finally, the reflective red and white D sign is used in Ontario to allow night time running, but then only on dual carriageways and when the weather is clear, if you need the wipers on, you have to get off the road asap. The do’s and don’ts on this job are like the complete set of the Encyclopedia Brittanica!
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The “messing about” and “that’s the job in a nutshell” comments are very familiar NMM Still, that’s part of the fun isn’t it, I wouldn’t do owt else if I’m honest… not that I’m qualified to do owt else as some on here might say…
Cheers for the info mate, seems it’s a bit like in Europe, every country has got their own legislations, sometimes it’s even different from one county to another (Germany).
newmercman:
And there’s me thinking I’m good pulling through a 14’ wide fuel pump with a 13’6" load! Those super heavy haul lads really know their stuff, some of those big moves seem to defy the laws of physics. Although when it does go wrong, it goes spectacularly wrong.
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DEANB:
Looks like they are in a nasty spot here.
LR Man:
Here’s some classic heavy haulage with Bakers of Southampton with not much room to spare!!!
Cheers Dean and LR Man, some proper “when the going gets tough” action shots there
I reckon we’ve all had those “oh bugger” moments NMM…
Turning the clock back some 10 years, my colleague and I had to tip some components for a shipyard in Navia Spain, the width was about 4 to 4.5m wide and somehow we ended up going through town centre of a place not far from Navia, the ■■■■■■ car took a wrong junction and realised too late what he’d done, so after a good 15minutes of messing about (no traffic lights were harmed) and a proper bollocking from the old Bill, we were on our way again…
Sticking to the “oh bugger” moment topic a bit longer if I may… this was another one, steel rings with a diameter of 5.9m and the entrance to the building had a width of 6m… somehow I managed to get in without destroying the whole lot, pure luck if you ask me!
…coat…
). Nothing fazed him, with his Beenleigh rum jammed between the seats, fresh water bottle on the floor. and a glove box full of pills he would be good for another 100 miles. 
