Evening Gentlemen, I thought it may be of interest to all of us to learn what was our individual “favourite lorry”, and the very personal reasons why. It may be because it was the first one we ever drove, earned money with/from, the most reliable, powerful, enjoyable to drive, (or rebuild)! It is over to you all, I know what a diverse, knowlegeable, and cantankerous crowd we are,but lets get our feelings down for all to enjoy! Over to you, Cheerio for now.
A Commer Maxiload I drove for Clarence ( C W Griffiths ) in the late 60’s.One of the first 16 tonner four wheelers in our area when new in 1966.It pulled like a train with a two speed axle.After driving Bedford TK’s as a young lad,it felt like a proper lorry.I drove various others after,four and six wheelers,but the Commer Maxiload was my favorite.
Cheers Dave.
a daf 1900(1992 k reg)
i thought this was the ■■■■■■■■ when i got it-12 speed splitter,and it had a loud eminox stack(it was a grab/tipper)
even though the crane was awful it felt like a proper lorry lol.and i used to look after it like it was my own.and it used to sound awsome in the hyde park/piccadilly underpass !!
and i would gladly drive it tomorrow if it was in the same condition as when i had it…
Saviem:
Evening Gentlemen, I thought it may be of interest to all of us to learn what was our individual “favourite lorry”, and, the very personal reasons why. It may be because it was the first one we ever drove, earned money with/from, the most reliable, powerful, enjoyable to drive, (or rebuild)! It is over to you all, I know what a diverse, knowlegeable, and cantankerous crowd we are,but lets get our feelings down for all to enjoy! Over to you, Cheerio for now.
A Mk.2 Atkinson Rear Steer unit - I fisrt drove it on Pandoro’s private test track at Blackpool Airport when I was 17, and fell in love with it. Passed my test in it when I was 22, made 3 attempts to buy it between 1986 and 1991, then finally bought it in 1993. I still have it today, and it’s never been restored, although I’d be the first to admit it could certainly do with it!
A close second is my much-missed Viewline, the first wagon I ever bought, and which I owned for 19 years.
In the last 20 odd years I’ve driven pretty much every lorry on the road, from all of them there’s one clear winner, my Scania 143, it was one of the last on a P plate, a true testament to the evolution of the V8 Scania engine. It was ultra reliable, reasonable on fuel, pulled like a train and was a pleasure to drive.
If I could go back to any lorry I’ve driven and have it brand new tomorrow. I wouldn’t hesitate to choose that old girl again.
As a money earner it couldn’t compete with an F16 I had, but that was more due to the fact that it was much easier to earn money at the time, rather than the lorry itself, although that was one of the ‘supertrucks’ of its time, it was no match for my beloved 143 
MAN 30.331 tipper. First lorry I drove that wasn’t a total heap of scrap. Drove nice even though it was quite old plenty of get up and go and I would still cut the mustard against any tipper on the road now.
kr79:
MAN 30.331 tipper. First lorry I drove that wasn’t a total heap of scrap. Drove nice even though it was quite old plenty of get up and go and I would still cut the mustard against any tipper on the road now.
Especially in the mud, new 8 wheelers are like a submarine compared to those old MANs, they went like ■■■■ off a shovel too 
I think we all have a special affection for the lorries we drove when we were young(er) and daft(er). I drove most of the makes available in the late '60s and early '70s and the stand out lorry for me was the ergomatic cab AEC Mercury 16-tonner. For its time they were fast, powerful, and reliable. Bolton to London and return in a day wasn’t a problem, but of course there was a lot less traffic on the roads then. Happy days. 
OOh… that’s a question.
I love the DAF 3300, never drove one, but used to ride around with my dad during my formative years.
ERF E14 was the first truck I drove, hated the twin splitter, but loved the truck.
The first truck I drove regularly was a H reg DAF 95, loved that to bits and my boss was slightly miffed when I told him i preffered it to the mk1 actros he replaced it with.
In answer to the question I think I’ll umm and ahh between the DAF 95 I drove for Black Lion, and the Scania 113 I drove for Taft, not so much for the trucks themselves, more over the memories attached to them.
Sed Ack 401 twin steer, E320 14 litre ■■■■■■■■ Fuller, Rockwell, Jake which was an eye opening fitting in economic safe lorry control.
It was simply on top of the job at all times, economic and totally reliable, i loved the sound and the sheer guts of the engine, could be driven purely by the pitch of the turbo whistling, would pull from stall revs without the slightest murmur, proper drivers motor, cruise at 70 all day @ 1100 rpm.
At that time we still had a bouyant British industry and i enjoyed being a patriot and flying the flag.
The only ones that came close was the much derided Buffalo, again it was purely a drivers lorry, engine and gearbox combination perfect, and the DAF 2800 DKTD, again the gearbox made it, back to front splitter.
Of the more modern stuff, i like manual (only) Axors the best, simple honest durable no frills lorry.
1961/62 AEC Marshall, Fred Chappells, Batley.
A very fine bit of kit, I got a lot of job satisfaction with that motor.
In my later years I got to like my 3 axle Foden unit, 350 ■■■■■■■■
newmercman:
kr79:
MAN 30.331 tipper. First lorry I drove that wasn’t a total heap of scrap. Drove nice even though it was quite old plenty of get up and go and I would still cut the mustard against any tipper on the road now.Especially in the mud, new 8 wheelers are like a submarine compared to those old MANs, they went like [zb] off a shovel too
They were great in the soft stuff and the fuller box realy suited the MAN engine. Could tip one at quite an angle with no problems too.
For me just like the times it was 1970’s trucks which were as good as it ever got with their combination of decent constant mesh gearboxes and no speed limiters and I never drove anything which was made after that time which was as good to drive as the old 1970’s DAF 2800.Although ironically I finished up driving the drawbar outfits which I wanted to drive from the start but the early 1990’s Merc 2534 was a totally retrograde heap compared to those 1970’s DAFs.A job driving one of those first generation 2800’s,in drawbar configuration,on international work,instead of as an artic doing just uk,would have been perfect.
Carryfast:
For me just like the times it was 1970’s trucks which were as good as it ever got with their combination of decent constant mesh gearboxes and no speed limiters and I never drove anything which was made after that time which was as good to drive as the old 1970’s DAF 2800.Although ironically I finished up driving the drawbar outfits which I wanted to drive from the start but the early 1990’s Merc 2534 was a totally retrograde heap compared to those 1970’s DAFs.A job driving one of those first generation 2800’s,in drawbar configuration,on international work,instead of as an artic doing just uk,would have been perfect.
Found this on the web for you:
Plenty of interesting photos on that site (including some of my current obsession, Vabis LVs):
transport.jalbum.net/diverse%20f … index.html
Well gents i ve never driven a Merc or an F16 or a143 we did have Rick Mac Namaras 142 changed the totally rot box cab for a later one reg of this bag of crap A775 VVW, it turned out that it was a chopped down ex Belgian drawbar tractor the wheelbase was far too long non intercooler version and apart from a really well thought out spacious cab nothing to write home about it constantly broke down due in no small part to the lack of maintenance that Mc Namara had obviously showered on it. Cost afortune in replacement parts and TLC. Gary Lyons took it to Quatar how he got the bag of rubbish there is beyond me. My fav truck always will be the F89 20 plus years driving them all over Europe and mid east. If i had a 2nd choice it would be XF DAF what a really nice truck a good reliable motor regards Crow.
My favourite truck has to be the first Scania I drove a 110 on a J plate. I had progressed from british motors ERF and Atkis and this was like driving a roller. But I think the most comfortable and roomy motor and also looked good was the 2800 DAF. The gear box was a let down at times but it was like a bed sitter on wheels.
Cliff
[zb]
anorak:Carryfast:
For me just like the times it was 1970’s trucks which were as good as it ever got with their combination of decent constant mesh gearboxes and no speed limiters and I never drove anything which was made after that time which was as good to drive as the old 1970’s DAF 2800.Although ironically I finished up driving the drawbar outfits which I wanted to drive from the start but the early 1990’s Merc 2534 was a totally retrograde heap compared to those 1970’s DAFs.A job driving one of those first generation 2800’s,in drawbar configuration,on international work,instead of as an artic doing just uk,would have been perfect.Found this on the web for you:
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transport.jalbum.net/diverse%20f … index.html
Thanks zb that’s the one and the job for me or would have been if I’d have been in the right place at the right time.
A second vote for the tilt cab AEC. I don’t think anything produced even today comes anywhere near for seating position and ease of reaching the controls. They were noisy, but a lot depended on where the exhaust tail-pipe came out. Significantly no-one has since come up with a better and quicker operating window regulator. As already said, of all the models the Mercury was probably the best.
I cant decide between a 1986 Foden with a 320 Gardner ,and a 9 speed fuller and a Scania 113 ,380 topliner ,the Foden pulled like a train ,the Scania didnt !!!!! but the Scania was much more comfortable but the Foden had a certain feel to it ........ so i cant split em
Bearing in mind the strict criteria laid down by “Saviem” that posts should be strictly “My favourite lorry” singular! ( that means one only!) I wonder if he would grant me permission to nominate five!! Having had “umpteen” motors through my hands over the years via Bewick Transport there are 5(one wasn’t ,in fact, a Bewick motor) that I can’t seperate and as I drove all 5,some more than others,I still can’t promote one, above the other 4, for different reasons but they were all relevent and close to my heart !!One thing may put the “damper” on things as far as “Saviem” is concerned,none of the 5 motors are French!!! In the meantime I will await his considered response once he has returned from a day’s toil in the fields with his Shire team and washed down the dust with some cloudy “Scrumpy”!! Cheers Bewick.