My most hated truck!

[windrush]

Punchy Dan:
Anything with a steel cab .

A STEEL cab? Blimey Dan, how old fashioned is THAT, they will rot away in 20 years lad! Plastic Pigs rule, OK.

Though I didn’t actually hate it I suppose the Sed Ak 400 I had was not my favourite, the cab was lovely and comfortable but it had the steering lock of a supertanker (some left turns needed a shunt to get around) plus it broke springs like there was no tomorrow. Good brakes though, except the linings wore unevenly on all of ours. It was also too blooming heavy, 19.25 tonnes payload at 30.50 gross was ridiculous (and that was with a ‘light’ Gardner engine!) though I was paid on hours back then so it didn’t worry me unduly, apart from having to make sure that I put every last gramme of material available on before the TM would let me over the weighbridge! My RB1 was always shiny from being overweight!

Pete.

[dave_the_renegade]

Trev_H:
Anything with an LAD cab on it ! built for midgets

Have to agree with you there Trev.
Cheers Dave.

[robert1952]

Punchy Dan:
Anything with a steel cab .

What? Not even ERFs with Motor Panels 7MW steel cabs? Robert

[punchy_dan]

robert1952:

Punchy Dan:
Anything with a steel cab .

What? Not even ERFs with Motor Panels 7MW steel cabs? Robert

No sorry Robert you can keep them !

[pete_smith]

Punchy Dan:

robert1952:

Punchy Dan:
Anything with a steel cab .

Does that include the frame as well Dan? Mine has a wooden frame and aluminium skin!! ps asked about that trailer, i will go and have a look in the morning for you to see if its worth bidding on, Cheer’s Pete

[ossied]

mfm:
SCANIA …

As far as Scania’s are concerned, I was a massive fan of Scania from the days I had a E reg Vabis through the 110/140, 111/141 to the 112/142, then something went sadly wrong with them and they seemed to have seriously lost the plot I had a few of the modern one’s until I retired, not a patch on the old motors in reliability, with the old motors you could play a tune on the old gearbox but it would still get you home from far off places, but sadly with the auto boxes and the electronics on these new motors you don’t stand a chance, that is not just decrying Scania they are all the ■■■■ same nowadays.

[carryfast]

Ironically for the job the were used for in our case ( gully drain clearers ) the FG wasn’t too bad but I thought the WF was a much better wagon to drive.Relatively comfortable and It handled like a sports car with a full load of earth on along the lines of hell drivers.

Worst for me I’ll go with Renault G290 and Volvo F7.

[ramone]

Carryfast:
Ironically for the job the were used for in our case ( gully drain clearers ) the FG wasn’t too bad but I thought the WF was a much better wagon to drive.Relatively comfortable and It handled like a sports car with a full load of earth on along the lines of hell drivers.

Worst for me I’ll go with Renault G290 and Volvo F7.

I cant believe its happened i am agreeing with CF … Renault G290 GT … GT (whats all that about)

[cav551]

windrush:

Punchy Dan:
Anything with a steel cab .

A STEEL cab? Blimey Dan, how old fashioned is THAT, they will rot away in 20 years lad! Plastic Pigs rule, OK.

Though I didn’t actually hate it I suppose the Sed Ak 400 I had was not my favourite, the cab was lovely and comfortable but it had the steering lock of a supertanker (some left turns needed a shunt to get around) plus it broke springs like there was no tomorrow. Good brakes though, except the linings wore unevenly on all of ours. It was also too blooming heavy, 19.25 tonnes payload at 30.50 gross was ridiculous (and that was with a ‘light’ Gardner engine!) though I was paid on hours back then so it didn’t worry me unduly, apart from having to make sure that I put every last gramme of material available on before the TM would let me over the weighbridge! My RB1 was always shiny from being overweight!

Pete.

IIRC the S/A 400 eight wheeler was not a new model as such when introduced. It was an Atkinson Defender chassis with a heavier steel cab planted on top. The rest of the 400 range were however new chassis.

[windrush]

cav551:
IIRC the S/A 400 eight wheeler was not a new model as such when introduced. It was an Atkinson Defender chassis with a heavier steel cab planted on top. The rest of the 400 range were however new chassis.

Possibly so Cav, the rear balance beams etc were basically the same as on our Atkinson dumpers. Our first one was on a ‘P’ plate and the last were X registration but chassis wise they were much the same, just different engines and gearboxes. The ‘V’ registration ones like I had were also good at shedding crownwheel teeth on the Eaton rearmost diff when about a year old but after replacing them they gave no more problems. However Tilcon soon returned to buying Foden eight leggers when they became available again!

Pete.

[tubbysboy]

Several candidates for me…

Any of the b’strd things that broke down / didn’t start of a morning,

But think the worst was a seddon Atkinson 300 that we bought as it was light and had tipping gear fitted… Was a c reg and had. 10l ■■■■■■■ 290.

In fairness it pulled like a train, and flew on the flat, but was a horrible thing to drive all day,

[juddian]

Several from my time spring to mind.

1st will get me lynched, S39 Foden blessed with a 180 Gardner and no power steering, my first artic that and what a dreadful vehicle it was, row of switches digging in each knee cap, steering column bolted straight to the chassis so every road imperfection travelled straight into your arms mother of all rough rides, freezing in winter and boiling hot in summer.
The only vehicle ever to rival that Foden for appalling ride was a 112 Scania with no rear dampers, boneshaker.

2nd, as Tubbysboy, Sed Ack 200 and 300, awful awful things, gutless engines, brakes woeful, had a 300 with the IH engine on rolonoff tip work, couldn’t cope with the tip lack of power and no low gearing, better once Nothampton Diesels had breathed on it, the thing flew after that.

Ironically the 401 twin steer i received in 84 still stands as the best lorry for a days work i’ve had, to date, in some ways reflected in manual square cabbed Axors of all things, last simple rugged working lorry, that market now being the forte of Hino?

Joint 3rd, Daf 2300 and Volvo FL7, Dear God what did i do to deserve either of those.

4th, Ford A series, before i took my class 1 i drove an A series dropside rated at 7,5 ton, under the bonnet lurked a NA 2.4 York from standard Transit of the time, talk about lack of power…anecdote time, the things ate itself in Yorkshire, the boss sent one of the lads up in his Ford Granada estate and we towed it back down the M1 to Hertfordshire on a rope (standard hydraulic brakes with only a vacuum servo) behind that Granada far faster than it could have got their under its own steam.

[toxic_gas_man]

Have you ever drove a Scammell Highwayman? ■■■■■■■■ awful thing, but indestructable,i think 900-20 may have.i drove them for6 years, Ted.

[juddian]

I’d have liked to drive a Highwayman, think Harrisons from out Sheffield way were the last regular users of them in this country that i used to see on my journeys anyway, i’m a bit too young for their era.
Enjoyed the Crusaders though they could be a handful too (and as far from Highwayman as you could get), for some reason they gave a sense of driver satisfaction cos they were a handful that few other lorries gave except maybe a good 2800, make any sense?

[carryfast-yeti]

Juddian:
I’d have liked to drive a Highwayman, think Harrisons from out Sheffield way were the last regular users of them in this country that i used to see on my journeys anyway, i’m a bit too young for their era.
Enjoyed the Crusaders though they could be a handful too (and as far from Highwayman as you could get), for some reason they gave a sense of driver satisfaction cos they were a handful that few other lorries gave except maybe a good 2800, make any sense?

i used to see Harrison’s Scammell’s regularly when i was on the way back to Leicester from Dewsbury night trunking in the '80’s.they used to go quite well surprisingly.Sid had dumped the Leyland engines and fitted Gardner 180’s in them.i think most of his old motors are still parked up in the garage and yards

[dieseldog66]

Anything fitted with a Gardner, any A Series & B Series ERF, F7 Volvo, Renault 232, MAN 232 with column change.

[juddian]

Dieseldog66:
Anything fitted with a Gardner, any A Series & B Series ERF, F7 Volvo, Renault 232, MAN 232 with column change.

I liked the column change MAN, in fact all MAN’s were pretty blinkin good till about 15 years ago, usually fit for a proper days work, did VW cause the shift in priorities to pretty/image/bling?

[dieseldog66]

Juddian:

Dieseldog66:
Anything fitted with a Gardner, any A Series & B Series ERF, F7 Volvo, Renault 232, MAN 232 with column change.

I liked the column change MAN, in fact all MAN’s were pretty blinkin good till about 15 years ago, usually fit for a proper days work, did VW cause the shift in priorities to pretty/image/bling?

I have to say the column change wasn’t that bad, it was the lack of power.

Nearly missed one the dreaded Roadtrain, what some drivers liked about these I’ll never know.

[ste46]

LNY136D - Mk 1 Atkinson Borderer - Gardner 180, David Brown 5 speed box - not enough gears, no power, more ice on the inside than out during the winter. She was nearly seven years old when we got her and was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever sat in!

Steve

(sits back and awaits incoming from a missile site in deepest ■■■■■■■■■

[trev_h]

Ste46:
LNY136D - Mk 1 Atkinson Borderer - Gardner 180, David Brown 5 speed box - not enough gears, no power, more ice on the inside than out during the winter. She was nearly seven years old when we got her and was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever sat in!

Steve

(sits back and awaits incoming from a missile site in deepest ■■■■■■■■■

Ah, but on the plus side they did have a wonderful garden at the bottom of the windscreen in the summer with moss and fungi flourishing