Air Brakes – so that when the lemming in the car finally succeeds, you’re not picking bits out of the front of the lorry for the next six months (having said that how many times have I wished I still had the old fashioned 1/4" thick steel bumpers… )
Air con – You don’t freeze your b#lls off in winter and feel like you’re in a turkish bath in summer [alternately, you don’t have to wrap up like Bibbendum!]
Full auto box – Yeah, ok, so the Eaton splitter etc, etc… but, (and let’s be honest here) the ability to just press the pedal and go. … … especially in heavy traffic. … …
Air suspension – I can get out after a long day… and still have all my fillings in place!
Seats which are comfortable; heated and multi-adjustable … … … … … not just a badly formed piece of thin steel with a cushion over the top!
A cab you can leave after living in it for 4 days+, and still feel vaguely human!
Missing older lorries ? No , still running one w reg ,fearing newer lorries ,yes definatly . There’s nothing I can’t mend my self here at home , sub zero temperatures lying underneath out side on some nice new cardboard with a fire burning in a drum is great thinking that iam not paying out dealer labour prices ,not having my lorry sitting at a dealers for a week for a days job to be done is a great feeling .
AndrewG:
Yes, new trucks are easy to drive, comfortable and are nearly home from home but does anyone miss driving older trucks, lower power, manual gearbox but needing actual driver input??
Myself i look back at my old F7, fairly hard ride,low power (224hp) and correspondingly low torque output but actually great and involving to drive.It wasnt a std 7, i had the chassis stretched to 4m to allow getting under long pin tilts and rear air suspension. At 38tonne and sometimes over that it struggled on the hills, needed full use of the gearbox,much engine thrashing and much use of downhill sections to climb the next gradient and may just as well had the pedal nailed to the floor! Imacculate paint, cab and chassis, alcoas and Eminox it was my pride and joy. Engine noise alone meant falling asleep at the wheel wasnt an option
I went from that to a F10, F12 400 and F16 470 (all great trucks) and now have a FH 500 but find it relatively boring and uninvolving to drive…
1979 in a scammell routman 160bhp 6speed david brown box ashbourne to banff day one 9 hours day2 2and half hours present day scania 490 bhp 9 hours 45 mins tip then back to turiff 10 mins away nuff said
Winston mentioned Bibbendum which is the Michelin man, there is a true story about the Michelin man.
The Volvo FL 12 aka Wendy House, pulled well but if you were a tall driver, get dressed outside.
Scania 142, V8 pre speed limiter days, fix them with your own tool box, no stupid computer, simple to fix, no call out.
Pegaso Troner, always broke down, Gbe International loved them.
VOLVO FH 16 fuel guzzlers.
Iveco 360 Turbostars.
Foden with Caterpillar engines.
I’ve never driven anything newer than a 1996 Foden 3000 series, and nothing ‘foreign made’ or fitted with a synchro gearbox, so I possibly wouldn’t have a clue how to even start the engine in a modern lorry, sorry, truck! And yes, I do still miss them!!
toby1234abc:
ERF Eaton twin splitter, what a ridiculous format .
Rubbish to drive, don’t give me that only a proper driver could drive it .
To be fair not everyone likes,let alone needs,a truck that drives like a girl’s automatic Ford Fiesta. Although I’d prefer the 13 speed Fuller over the twin split.As for the pre limiter ERF with 320-400 ■■■■■■■ in it on pre traffic calmed motorways v modern limited computerised toy on a smart motorway.No chance all you’d see would be tail lights then it would be gone.
The F16 i had for 2 years used only marginally more fuel than my F12 400. Best thing about it just squeeze the throttle on gradients and even at 40 tonne plus it just took it in its stride.
Re the Iveco Turbostar, when passing these i always noticed a very low pitched resonance from the engine, ive never driven one so was it the same driving one? Noticed it more on the hills when under load more than anything. I think it was Iveco’s 13 litre fitted to the 360■■
I passed an Iveco on the motorway that had “Pegaso” written on the back complete with the horse symbol. Aspiring that it was a dodgy 1990s Spanish truck that Iveco brought rather than admit it’s a Stralis . To be fair it had slight retro charm I suppose, but only if you knew what a pegaso troner was.
The op mentions how boring the FH500 is, Ive always wanted a go in one of them . Still think they older shape is one of the best looking motors.
windrush:
I’ve never driven anything newer than a 1996 Foden 3000 series, and nothing ‘foreign made’ or fitted with a synchro gearbox, so I possibly wouldn’t have a clue how to even start the engine in a modern lorry, sorry, truck! And yes, I do still miss them!!
Pete.
Do you miss the silly exhaust brake floor button that used to stick to the floor if your boots were muddy?
I miss the old Bostron seats that Fodens had. I think that ex Smiths one you drove had one (it did when Dad had it new).
Muckaway:
I miss the old Bostron seats that Fodens had. I think that ex Smiths one you drove had one (it did when Dad had it new).
I never drove any modern truck which could beat the comfort of the old Bostrom suspension seats.Especially those zb evil Isringhausen things which might also have been what the Merc 2534 had.
I fully understand that not everybody will agree here, but I reckon the ‘missing link’ between the old truck and the ‘new age’ truck we know today was the …wait for it …
Iveco Turbostar, …a very under rated truck.
This thing was released over here in 1986 ish, in lh drive form only, then rhd about 87, it was a cut above everything else in terms of cab comfort and kit, including elec windows, elec mirrors, heated mirrors, electric blinds and numerous other optionals, all of which mine had.
I had a demo for about a month, and ended up hiring it for about another 6 month (I lost the work for it and ended up buying a ■■■■ Ford Cargo …bizzarely flavour of the month in transport in 1988, for a lighter job, but that’s another story)
I loved this truck great living space, pulled like a train (V8 as far as I remember) and about 10 to 15 years ahead of it’s time imo.
)
but I know no different 
it struggled on the hills, needed full use of the gearbox,much engine thrashing and much use of downhill sections to climb the next gradient and may just as well had the pedal nailed to the floor! Imacculate paint, cab and chassis, alcoas and Eminox it was my pride and joy. Engine noise alone meant falling asleep at the wheel wasnt an option 
. Still think they older shape is one of the best looking motors.
…bizzarely flavour of the month in transport in 1988, for a lighter job, but that’s another story)