A Powerliner Merc with turbos (35/38/44/48) was a flying machine in its day, the cabs weren’t the biggest, but apart from a Globetrotter or a Space Cab, neither was anything else 
Biggest disappointment for me was the Ford Transcontinental, such an iconic lorry, but it never lived up to my expectations. They say that you should never meet your heroes as you will often be disappointed, true enough in this case 
Tarrman:
A Tesco spec Merc’ Axor.Me being new and naive I was looking forward to driving one of the brand new Mercedes Axors, something different to drive and add to my experience. It was nice to be in a new motor but after trying to get used to it I started to take a dislike to it quickly. Unrefined, uncomfortable and cramped (lift your ar$e an inch off the seat and you head ■■■■ the tacho). I now try and avoid driving them as much as possible. Very disappointed.
+1, all axors are the biggest heap of zb I’ve ever had the displeasure of operating…!!!
Brucewillis:
I’m 48, but still feel like most drivers are a lot older than me. Doesn’t seem to be many younger drivers coming through, or is that just me?
You’re probably right, this industry doesn’t want young blood, if they really did you’d see it clearly.
i drove an axor today from dagenham to goodmayes then dagenham to forest gate +manor park+ilford.its horses for courses the axor is fine for the job im doing now.of course you wouldnt want to ship out for 3 weeks away in europe in one.dont reckon i did 30 miles today.trucks like the axor were never designed for tramping work blame the bosses not the makers.seen loads that come over land from turkey in london area
in 1994 chaging from an F12 400 globetrotter into an FH12 420 globetrotter about 30% of the cab was missing thanks to that dopey windscreen.super reliable truck though never missed a beat
Hi Juddian
I agree with a lot of what you say, especially the one about any idiot can aim an auto truck up a road.
But that is just what the present day "logistics"companies want , for any driver or “steering wheel attendant” to be able to do just that.
An auto truck can be driven by an idiot or a good driver, but a good driver will get more out of it than an idiot.If time is taken to read the handbook or ask a few questions an auto can be quite satisfying to drive,it can be more than just sticking it in drive and going. I’m afraid that the auto/manual debate will go on for a long time but as the present climate seems to be a preference for auto’s the newer drivers aren’t going to have a lot of choice.
As regards the TwinSplitter it always was a Marmite box love it or hate it, I loved it,but remember that when it was popular the alternative was David Browns 6 speed or the AEC or thorneycroft box unless your gaffer was a Fuller man.
Most dissapointing truck? Mine has to be a choice of one of the first Iveco’s or a 112 Scania (IMO highly overrated )Rubbish brakes on both of them but the Iveco had a very good installation of the TwinSplitter.
Cheers Bassman
Brucewillis:
I’m 48, but still feel like most drivers are a lot older than me. Doesn’t seem to be many younger drivers coming through, or is that just me?
Speak for yourself !!! Im 38…
Worst truck Renault Midlum 18t 240 couldn’t pull skin of a rice pudding next worst Iveco eurocargo 18t Middle truck MAN tgx 18t wouldn’t stay on limiter but was real comfy and roomy beat truck by a mile DAF CF 75 310 astray on the limiter all day not a spot of bother nice roomy too
robroy:
carryfast-yeti:
ERF ‘B’ 180 Gardnerhad to swap my SedAtki 400 for a desperate slug of a motor
had enough of it by the time i’d got it back to the yard
back in the '80’s though of courseWith a David Brown full crash box?
They sorted out the drivers from the steerers
The days when you had to actually develop SKILLS to drive a truckunlike today where you could teach a chimp.
And in a lot of cases today …They already HAVE
both lorries had David Brown 'boxes,with Eaton 2-speed
Juddian:
In defence of the MAN, its not the motor itself its that Godawful heap of crap that fits between the engine and the propshaft, that bloody AS Chronic gearbox ruins everything its fitted to.
I’ll go with that…it’s [zb] awful…seriously, whichever idiot let that box loose on the truck market needs shooting.
MAN for me too. German this and that, engineered, well built and all that… horrid airfix plastic cab/dash trim and lining and very basic feel to it.
18t Iveco Cargo with a 4 over 4 box, I used to get overtaken by Sainsbury’s wagons 
F-reds
Bassman:
Most dissapointing truck? Mine has to be a choice of one of the first Iveco’s or a 112 Scania (IMO highly overrated )Rubbish brakes on both of them but the Iveco had a very good installation of the TwinSplitter.Cheers Bassman
Hello Bassman.
Best twin splitter i drove was the F90 MAN’s so fitted, MAN’s were tough unbreakable motors in those days, hard to believe they share the same badge as the current plastic game-boys.
F90 i drove had the dubious ability of being able to cruise at 95 if you so wished, and i don’t mean kph… 
Most memorable thing about the 112 Scani for me was the ride, just about the worse boneshaker i ever encountered, and even more shocking when i discovered the reason, our steel sprung versions had no rear dampers at all…swear all me fillings loosened driving those things.
Dodge Commando. Decent brakes- everything else complete sh*te!
Iveco turbostars.360 engine.
British International had a few hundred of them on Portuguese work.
Breaking down was part of the job.They were flyers though.
MAN tga tipper. After driving a fair few of the old f8 f90 and f2000 models which were basic but solidly built and as tough as anything which is ideal for a tipper. The tga felt flimsy underpowered and nobwhere as near reliable.
Also anything american other than a volvo. A b series erf is more advanced but they look great though.
tarrman:
A Tesco spec Merc’ Axor.Me being new and naive I was looking forward to driving one of the brand new Mercedes Axors, something different to drive and add to my experience. It was nice to be in a new motor but after trying to get used to it I started to take a dislike to it quickly. Unrefined, uncomfortable and cramped (lift your ar$e an inch off the seat and you head ■■■■ the tacho). I now try and avoid driving them as much as possible. Very disappointed.
chicane:
Not been driving enough different units to have much of a comparison but I find the Merc Axor OK except for the seat I’ve sat on softer church pews
guys, guys… youre doing it wrong. 
you need to speak to trubster from a well known haulage company near trowell services and ask him to teach you some of his “advanced driving styles”, such as pressing the brake pedal a bit harder when youre not losing speed quick enough 
. these are not the kind of advanced driving tips that your average trucker would be privvy to so you should feel honoured and privileged that the Great Driving God is passing on his wealth of experience to us mere steering wheel turners. 
trubster:
I have driven a lot of B-AXOR’s in my time, I cant say I have ever had to wrestle one round a corner in my life?Maybe my advanced driving styles come into play on this one (Braking before the corner and power out of it), but even fully freighted I find this style fine, I have never ran off a road and dont see how anyone else could in one of these units.
The braking characteristics are totally different in a AXOR compared to any other truck (You need to press the middle pedal a bit harder to slow down) but again, this is something that is learned after the first time you slow down.
I would hardly call any the slacker brakes a safety issue at all, and they most definitely do stop when you need them to.
So that’s where I’m going wrong then, I’ll try pressing the middle pedal harder to compensate for the complete lack of feel/bite on the bits of wood either side of the brake discs
Might try powering out of a corner too, with a bit of luck I’ll shift the load that much that when I get to my delivery point it’ll get rejected due to damage and I won’t have to tip it
Done the IAM training/test so yes breaking on the straight and power on through and out of the corner …
Discovered the Axor pedal harder bit very early on, bit strange after DAFs, Volvos, ERFs, &etc. Actros is the same, agree with Tarrman they do lack ‘feel’. Actros gear & retarder programming is still ■■■■■ though Also seems to me the Axor is the easiest to manoeuvre in tight yards, maybe its because I’ve done more shifts on them.
chicane:
Also seems to me the Axor is the easiest to manoeuvre in tight yards, maybe its because I’ve done more shifts on them.
I like em too.
Helps that the engine has some useful tickover grunt when compared to most others, coupled with a manual box it needs no throttle at all to move (great in traffic), so those tight fits where inching is called for are a doddle, ruined by auto box though which is about on a par with AS-Chronic in the chocolate teapot stakes.
1st place Scammell EKA wrecker, odd gear pattern ( Ithink it was fuller road ranger) and very heavy steering with rubbish lock. Rolls Royce Eagle engine not bad though
2nd place Foden EKA wrecker seriously slow and nasty noisy tyres
3rd place any other military truck apart from civvy spec Leyland Terriers on Postal and Courier Mill Hill 1980s
4th place ERFs on Carlsberg /Bass circa 1999 cramped cab and very heavy gear change and lever felt kie it was about 6 inches too far back, also had to bend down to see through windscreen.
5th place FL10 cramped and draughty