LDD - Richard's Bay to Lephalale

highlander · 6 April 2010 22:31

Fantastic diary,thoroughly enjoyed it.
How do you go on for fuel? You can’t just nip into the local supermarket with your 5p off per litre vouchers

n-icky · 30 April 2010 10:22

rob you go on about the driver being the best ever, ask him who taught him what he knows now and remember i was out there 1st time round with a bigger trailer than your running now

buycrider · 30 April 2010 14:06

Well whadya know.

If you are the man who taught the driver in question n-icky. Take a bow. Then show us some more foties. You will then be able to share in the praise that has been deservedly heaped on this top notch thread.

newmercman · 1 May 2010 05:00

Wow, that’s a trip & a half, thanks for sharing it

I used to run past the Nicholas factory on RN6 in France, they were still using the Berliet/Transcon cab then, they were huge, I had a Transcon at the time & the floor of the Tractomass was at roof level on my motor

I was going to try & blag a drive of one of the Fauns when I was at TRUCK mag, never got around to it though

big_brummie_macca · 1 May 2010 07:02

Rikki-UK:
I never got as far as this type of work, the girder type jobs I was on I was very much a minor contributor, helping out or driving the spare ballast tractor, the world of proper ballast tractor driver is very small and those guys that get into it are really the best of the best, I am proud I have moved loads that 99% of drivers will never get a chance to, of that 1 % who get to do what I enjoyed only a tiny minority will get on to be Ballst tractor drivers… in my view the best of the best…

Saying that, any load once you get into special order moves, is not about the driver, the steersman/trailerman is as important if not more so, and there is an entire team. moving loads like this is not down to the driver , but a team effort. Any driver who thinks otherwise would not be in the job…

What is a ballast tractor, and why are those drivers the best of the best? Apologies if it is a dumb question I have no knowledge of heavy haulage what so ever.

There is some amazing pictures there mate, great diary I would love to do a run like that in a truck like those.

44_tonne_ton · 1 May 2010 08:40

One word. IMPRESSIVE!

robv8 · 2 May 2010 13:35

n-icky:
rob you go on about the driver being the best ever, ask him who taught him what he knows now and remember i was out there 1st time round with a bigger trailer than your running now

The same Dennis that tried teaching you?

And your point about the trailer? The bigger 4 file trailer that managed to lose money than earn any and spent more time jackknifed than straight.

shade · 2 May 2010 15:11

And your point about the trailer? The bigger 4 file trailer that managed to lose money than earn any and spent more time jackknifed than straight.

pmsl

Wicked pics Rob , thanks for taking the time bud

buycrider · 2 May 2010 16:52

robv8 and n-icky, I got the impression with n-icky,s post that there was a bit of needle in it. Up to now this has been a great thread. Does it really matter who trained who?. In my opinion they are all experts at what they do. So come on fellers. No falling out over a great thread.

I can,t wait for September, when we get the full array of pics from the July trip. When you do post them Rob, put one up of that little guy, (was it Bobby Boden?), I want to see him in action,at the wheel of one of them ginormous zbing Faun or a Tractomass. That,ll be really worth waiting for.

Keep that flag flying. Show the Boers we are still about

big_joe · 3 May 2010 06:54

Awesome diary awesome trip too, so are the trucks staying out there waiting for the next shipment, and whats going to happen to the poor old Titan you bent

robv8 · 3 May 2010 12:08

Big Joe:
Awesome diary awesome trip too, so are the trucks staying out there waiting for the next shipment, and whats going to happen to the poor old Titan you bent

I think the way things are going, all but the Goldhofer will stay out there forever.

The Titan has supposedly been repaired, but the 3 Mercedes won’t be used as 2 Faun SLT 8x8 are being sent for extra traction instead.

teatree · 3 May 2010 13:05

Brilliant pictures and diary, looking forward to the next set. Thanks for posting.

Stu

ellies_dad · 12 May 2010 22:09

Any pic’s or info on the Merc’s RobV8

simon · 13 May 2010 21:30

I don’t know why it’s taken so long, but I’ve only just found this thread

I’m REALLY glad I did, it’s been a brilliant read .

Big Brummie Macca:
What is a ballast tractor, and why are those drivers the best of the best? Apologies if it is a dumb question I have no knowledge of heavy haulage what so ever.

There is some amazing pictures there mate, great diary I would love to do a run like that in a truck like those.

I’ve never done heavy haulage of any sort, but I’m interested in the haulage job in it’s entirety, so I keep my eyes and ears open. Especially when it’s something new to me, so I learn stuff.

You know how an artic unit carries more weight as the load on its trailer get heavier ?
And if the weight is too far back in your trailer, you can get a fair bit of wheelspin ?
Well these rigs weigh a bit more than 44t, but the full weight of the load is carried by that trailer, none by those tractors. So to get enough weight onto the driven axles to stop wheelspin, they fit a big box onto the chassis and load it with ballast weights, so it’s a ballast tractor.
More regular sized STGO tractors can be either a ballast tractor or a normal artic tractor, by using a ballast box designed to fit onto its fifth wheel.

sugar_ray · 14 May 2010 07:46

I think the phrase, we’ve had bigger than that down here drive has been put to bed.

Excellent post, many thanks for giving me the pleasure of reading about your exploits.