shugg:
Whats the most reliable truck you have had knowledge of or driven , ( the truth warts and all ) !!! ? .
MAN TGA, biggest load of carp on the road. Unreliable, uncomfortable… there must be something good about it? Oh yes, never having to drive one again.
Tiger.
ooops, misread the post as most ‘unreliable’, oh well… must be my age
Re: Reliable vehicle .
A 55 plate MAN TGA, we had it new and double shifted it for 3yrs on a Carlisle trunk, it clocked 700,000kms and apart from regular servicing it only had a few bulbs replaced.
The 58 plate FH that replaced it clocked 660,000km was mostly reliable but had several breakdowns with wiring and computer faults.
The Daf XF 105 that replaced that is only 5 weeks old 30,000kms so early days yet.
AlexWignall:
ERF EC11 with the ■■■■■■■ Engine. Phillip Iddon told me they were the best lorries he ever ran.
I’ve never broke down in one and the ones I’ve had always started first time and ran like Swiss watches. We have still got an Olympic version at our place and the bloody thing is indestructable.
We even use it to jump start the modern lorries in Winter.
W
Alex my own personal experience`s confirm exactly the same , yet answer me why are neither E R F or ■■■■■■■ still with us . ?
I don’t know shugg, I stopped driving in 2003 (to sell scramble bikes to an unsuspecting public) and ERF had just opened that new factory and were going from strength to strength…
When I rejoined our Industry a couple of years later ERF had dissappeared. I even load out of the old factory now and again, it’s a Lucozade lake now.
The '89 M.A.N. i started out in was a horrible truck mostly due to it’s age and previous driver’s but apart from the range change not going into low when cold it never actually broke donw,however it did get retired in 1999 as the cost to get it DOE’d was shocking .it did only last 10 year’s though so maybe they where alway’s a short life unit. I had a couple of 4 serie’s after it and they where fine apart from the well known gremlin’s that plagued early model’s,1 did need a turbo at 300k though ,again probably due to abuse and being underpowered for bulk work. I then did a short spell in an mp1 1840,no bother with it.had a couple of version 1 Volvo’s,never liked them but apart from an injector pump and a driveshaft they kept going.Then more M.A.N.'s,TGA’s this time the most unreliable truck’s i ever winessed truly shocking.Had a 143 which was done but kept going and currently in an MP2 Actros,started out well but needed a clutch booster and a gearbox ECU last year,2 wheel bearing’s this year thankfully i got them in time to save the hub’s .it’s currently getting a set of cab bushe’s but that’s hardly a breakdown. Our Scania’s have to date done ok except one broke an engine cam the other had ECU problem’s . Our DAF to tell the truth is never out of the dealer’s,all small problem’s usually air related like valve’s,pipe’s etc. No perfect truck out there it seem’s unfortunately.
I find most of the replys rather scary , it would seem that no one produces a reliable truck any more . Or is perhaps the case that driving standards contiue to deteriorate , likewise maintenance standards , trucks made driver-proof which in turn makes them over complicated . Drivers who abuse trucks because they are not trendy or ■■■■ enough and dont have the right badge across the front of the cab , and take great delight when their unloved vehicle goes wrong to make a meal of a minor fault .
shugg:
I find most of the replys rather scary , it would seem that no one produces a reliable truck any more . Or is perhaps the case that driving standards contiue to deteriorate , likewise maintenance standards , trucks made driver-proof which in turn makes them over complicated . Drivers who abuse trucks because they are not trendy or ■■■■ enough and dont have the right badge across the front of the cab , and take great delight when their unloved vehicle goes wrong to make a meal of a minor fault .
The problem is a minor fault brings nowadays a mayor breakdown.
The old trucks would bring you home no matter what, the old Daf would run even if you took everything of them except the diesel pump.
Nowadays the smallest sensor of very little importance cause the truck to breakdown and not be able to repaired without dealer influence.
We had a FH of the road for nearly 3 month, the dealer and Volvo UK couldn’t find the fault, Volvo Sweden found the fault by luck (a chaffed wire from the I-shift beside the seat) the truck was not even 6 weeks on the road by then.
The other contributing fact is trucks are more and more build to a budget, the price went relative little up, but they are much more complicated for emission control etc.
If you only look at the quality of the wiring of the old and the new Volvo’s you know your in for trouble, half the problems we have is wiring problems, sensors and relais.
Merc 1838’s on K or L reg and L or M reg MAN 17.372’s runing 24/7 with any driver.The MAN’s could sometime blow fuses for the nearside lights but other than that I dont recall any problems with these.I broke down on Wednesday in a customers at 0200 in a Volvo FM460 with an ABS problem which the Volvo man sorted on site but a suspension “issue” needed the workshop so I followed him there and he replaced a sensor.It still wouldnt self- level,as he told me, but got me home,about 2 hours away.Around 3 hours from call out was’nt bad,It was an hour before he turned up,. I did think as I was watching him was make the suspension go up and down via the laptop that this would’nt have happened with steel but these have done over 700,000 in under 3 years and this is the first time I have been stopped though several had water pump problems when new.
M.A.N TGX440 Absolutely loved driving it. My Merc Axor is not as comfortable but is very reliable and double shifting from Bicester to Paisley every day of the week. I do love driving the TGX though and will be pressing our TM to get them when the Merc contract runs out. So if you’re a M.A.N contract manager get in touch
Phil
Most reliable over there … Volvo F7 I used on night trunk on Swifts, it was run day and night and I shared it with a good bloke on the day shift.
Worst over there … I used a Ford Cargo on odd occasions, PILE OF CRAP.
Most reliable over here … Volvo VN610 on St Anns.
Most unreliable … Frightliner Columbia.
caledoniandream:
The problem is a minor fault brings nowadays a mayor breakdown.
The old trucks would bring you home no matter what, the old Daf would run even if you took everything of them except the diesel pump.
Nowadays the smallest sensor of very little importance cause the truck to breakdown and not be able to repaired without dealer influence.
We had a FH of the road for nearly 3 month, the dealer and Volvo UK couldn’t find the fault, Volvo Sweden found the fault by luck (a chaffed wire from the I-shift beside the seat) the truck was not even 6 weeks on the road by then.
The other contributing fact is trucks are more and more build to a budget, the price went relative little up, but they are much more complicated for emission control etc.
If you only look at the quality of the wiring of the old and the new Volvo’s you know your in for trouble, half the problems we have is wiring problems, sensors and relais.
What he said; added to the fact that trucks are now made “driver-proof” and policy in the bigger companies especially deters drivers from even trying to fix the smallest fault themselves. It’s no wonder that the modern breed of driver knows bugger-all about what goes on under the cab; it’s not their fault, it’s just too bloody complicated. Even the fitters are only guessing half the time unless they’ve got a lap-top to plug in to the truck.
Volvos especially do seem to spoil their general reputation for reliability with niggling electrical faults.
most reliable…w reg clydsdale tipper…distance motor Maggie 192M16 drawbar outfit.only prob wi maggie was wire of electric splitter (was 12sp) kept breaking ,or was the boss too tight to fit new one
jimmy.
Ahem, dare I say it, but I never got stranded with the old Foden wiv a Gardner 180. Take the ■■■■ if you like, but them old things just kept slugging along. Even had a heater.
.it did only last 10 year’s though so maybe they where alway’s a short life unit. I had a couple of 4 serie’s after it and they where fine apart from the well known gremlin’s that plagued early model’s,1 did need a turbo at 300k though ,again probably due to abuse and being underpowered for bulk work. I then did a short spell in an mp1 1840,no bother with it.had a couple of version 1 Volvo’s,never liked them but apart from an injector pump and a driveshaft they kept going.Then more M.A.N.'s,TGA’s this time the most unreliable truck’s i ever winessed truly shocking.Had a 143 which was done but kept going and currently in an MP2 Actros,started out well but needed a clutch booster and a gearbox ECU last year,2 wheel bearing’s this year thankfully i got them in time to save the hub’s 
.it’s currently getting a set of cab bushe’s but that’s hardly a breakdown. Our Scania’s have to date done ok except one broke an engine cam the other had ECU problem’s 
. Our DAF to tell the truth is never out of the dealer’s,all small problem’s usually air related like valve’s,pipe’s etc. No perfect truck out there it seem’s unfortunately.
