My long distance lorry driving career started in 1969 at the age of 21, and finished in 2001…(my own decision, I hasten to add!.. though I missed it for quite a few years after).
This is my first ‘LONG DISTANCE LORRY’ complete with Gardner 100 power pack!
3 trips down to the Smoke one week and 2 the next, nights (well, 3 or 4 hours!) out over the bonnet!
And this was my last…proper European tramping!
And too many to mention in between!
Hi Petecud , love the Aframe drawbar , proper drivers drive Aframe 
, great truck abit diffrent from the old ERF ? ,DO YOU MISS THE DRIVING ?
Hi Pete.I had the same when i worked for BRS[i got sacked after 3months for being too quick] 
.Mine was an Albion and at that age[1972,age 21] i still thought it was cool to sleep across the engine 
Then when i got a Scania 110 non sleeper doing Europe for a ‘‘normal’’ company with a drop down bed,i thought i’d gone to heaven. 
Mike
JAKEY:
Hi Petecud , love the Aframe drawbar , proper drivers drive Aframe
Hi Jakey, I don’t think you ever stop missing it, it gets in your blood! But if I’d really want to do it now, with all the red tape, digital tachos, VOSA and drivers CPC’s, I don’t think so, Truck driving now is a totally different game to when I started. Pete
hutpik:
Hi Pete.I had the same when i worked for BRS[i got sacked after 3months for being too quick]
Hi Mike, My drop down bed was a plywood board that just fitted on the window ledge and the bonnnet, but it would only fit on the window if the sliding door lock was in the open position (till I modified the board after some body opened the door and I almost slid out of the cab head first!) Pete
My first truck (on long distance in 1967) was an Albion Reiver 6 legger tipper 20 ton. Had driven local stuff for a couple of years before going ‘up the road’. Last truck in 2011 was an all singing all dancing 44 tonne MAN doing curtainsiders and boxes, also drove A frame (proper!) drawbars and was driver/instructor with them on Soverign Distribution (part of United Carriers). Got a picture somewhere that I will scan and post.
Drove lots of diffrent wagons a a fitter in the workshops but when they did let me go out on my own as a relief driver this was the wagon i had ,bloody great wagon , later went on to drive full time on the Atlet contract with a 320 Man sadley no photo 
, shame because she was a beauty . in between was on Aframe on the Habitat contract for seven years with a 320 man before that a a Daf 2500 with a bloody pod .
Always thought that those Leylands looked the business, never drove one, but I think Nick Bull had one on Middle East, sure I sat in it once having a brew with him. The Leyland factory workers called them their ‘our Volvo’…’Oh ye of little faith!’… their adverts said, unfortunately, I think they were referring to the F88’s and Volvo had already moved on to the F10’s and 12’s. Pete
