weewulliewinkie:
I made 3 trips to moscow in 1994 for currie european with compaq computers
Ooh, a couple of us stopped to help a driver from Currie European about then, on the St Petersburg-Moscow highway iirc, his truck had frozen up and he had no proper winter clothing, he was wearing trainers and was almost frozen, we put him in one of our cabs to warm up and got his motor running, I seem to remember he was a slightly built Irish lad in his late 20’s?
Harry, how do you get them going again once waxed up?
Guess they didn’t have heated fuel filters housings?
Driveroneuk:
Harry, how do you get them going again once waxed up?Guess they didn’t have heated fuel filters housings?
Our trucks were fitted with Arctic Fox fuel tank heaters, which were like a big kettle element fitted to the inside of the fuel tank, hot water from the radiator was pumped through it, and we also had Thermoline heaters which were fitted onto the fuel lines between the pump and the injectors, but we still froze up too, often the only way out was to light a bonfire beneath the fuel tank which was a tad worrying in itself 
The most essential thing to do was to keep the engine running day and night.
Oh Jesus why did you have to post a picture of a double drive Scania! I’m sure Mr Carryfast will be along shortly!
switchlogic:
Oh Jesus why did you have to post a picture of a double drive Scania! I’m sure Mr Carryfast will be along shortly!
LOL, believe me that wasn’t a 6x4! It belonged to an owner-driver called Kenny who ran out of that famous yard in Braintree by the McDonalds roundabout which shall forever be known as “Borassic Park”… I did three trips in it after he broke his Achille’s tendon, on the first two trips the air tanks broke off while I was going along, on the third trip the entire battery box broke off and I watched in the mirror as both of my batteries skidded across the road towards the scenery along with all of the the framework… I ended up strapping the whole lot back on with ratchet straps, and got it all welded back on at a bus garage in Bialystock once I was back in Poland…
All good fun, but I wouldn’t do it now for two grand a week!
on the subject of russia,
i was talking to a driver from a particular transport company from new ross,
he was from either lithuania or latvia (i cant remember) and was saying he used to do trips to russia with his old company, there was a bit of a language barrier, he mentioned the temparature was -50, i thought he was joking and asked again “-50, and you were still driving?” he insisted he was, i asked while pointing at the the tank, did the diesel not freeze, he said no, 20 litres of benzene (petrol) per tank,
is this even possible? if the diesel was heated as mentioned by harry it might be ok, but -50 is fairly extreme, surely a night out would kill him??
Hi Harry Monk
I can remember 3 lads who did Russia out of Johny Bones yard ALAN JOHNSON ALAN KING DAVE KANE did you know them .
If that yard could talk it would beat every book that has been printed about trips to far flung places it has seen some characters in its time
saxo:
on the subject of russia,is this even possible? if the diesel was heated as mentioned by harry it might be ok, but -50 is fairly extreme, surely a night out would kill him??
The coldest measured temperature I have had a night out in was -40. However, it does get much colder as you go further east. As I understand it, -62 is the coldest it is possible to operate machinery as steel becomes brittle and cracks at temperatures colder than that.
mother trucker:
Hi Harry Monk
I can remember 3 lads who did Russia out of Johny Bones yard ALAN JOHNSON ALAN KING DAVE KANE did you know them .If that yard could talk it would beat every book that has been printed about trips to far flung places it has seen some characters in its time
Yes, I know all three of them. I last saw them about three or four years ago at a funeral for another of the blokes who used to run out to Russia at the same time, Michael M. he died while working on a Bryan Adams tour in Vienna and apparently Bryan Adams paid tribute to him during that night’s set and dedicated a song to him.
And yes, that yard is home to some of the furthest-traveller trucks and drivers in the country.
Harry Monk:
saxo:
on the subject of russia,is this even possible? if the diesel was heated as mentioned by harry it might be ok, but -50 is fairly extreme, surely a night out would kill him??
The coldest measured temperature I have had a night out in was -40. However, it does get much colder as you go further east. As I understand it, -62 is the coldest it is possible to operate machinery as steel becomes brittle and cracks at temperatures colder than that.
I remember on my first trip having to chisel the fuel caps off the tanks after the keys became soft with the extreme cold. Lesson learnt there!
Worse still was the hydraulic-oil for the tail-lift froze, which IIRC means its below -45.
Have to comment here…Just come off ‘Skype’ to relatives in Moscva … its PLUS 4C as we speak …(But -1c in Surrey U.K! 
)… OK admittedly at the moment its -8 in Novosibirsk, Central Siberia where my in-laws live, but … Just like Canada,the stereotypical statement that its freezing ALL Winter is vastly over exaggerated. 
Sure ; -50c can happen way,way up there like on the you tube clip, but its very changeable across the majority of Russia/Siberia. Just Afew weeks back in Novos’b’k it was +20c!
Just be prepared like anywhere, personally I hate the Siberian Summers PLUS 30/40C’s 
more than the -30/-40c’s
pps; Moscow DID have snow this week, but … 
P.P.P.S!! Shouldnt this be on the Euro/Int’ Forum?
Hi Harry can you remember IAN SNODGRASS he could tell more tales than TOM PEPPER the one that still sticks in my memory after all them many years ago when he loaded butter out of Harwich on a flat bed when he got to the destination all he was left with was the ropes and sheets what a man
jonka:
P.P.P.S!! Shouldnt this be on the Euro/Int’ Forum?
jonka, if you hit the “edit” button top right of your last post, you can then add the PS’s to the original post.
Thanks for the very interesting replies guys.
I am looking for some information on what it’s like to drive over there as things are now. I am importing a cat from a breeder in Chelyabinsk which is somewhere east of Moscow. (54 hours drive from Wales !) Am at the moment considering the differrent options. Flight, road trip, carrier etc. If some reliable haulier/driver was doing regular trips to Moscow that could also be an option.
Any suggesions to this logistic challenge would most welcome
I think the only practical way to do this would be by plane, you could drive there but it would take at least a week each way and cost a small fortune. It wouldn’t be practical for an animal to travel in a trailer because these have to be sealed by Russian Customs as part of the TIR agreement so it couldn’t be fed/watered etc, and in any event I imagine the poor thing would perish, a quick check suggests that night-time temperatures are already down to -4 in Moscow.
Harry Monk:
The coldest measured temperature I have had a night out in was -40. However, it does get much colder as you go further east. As I understand it, -62 is the coldest it is possible to operate machinery as steel becomes brittle and cracks at temperatures colder than that.
I’ve been cycling once at the temperature of -28 and my rear support went cracked as well… It’s all depends of the power put onto the element and quality of the steel
(To the lads who wonders if at these temperatures is not too cold for cycling: it’s not too cold for skiing, so why cycling should be worse? As my friends used to say “There is no such thing as “too cold for cycling”, unless we speak about temperatures when air in the tyres goes liquid” )
jonka:
Have to comment here…Just come off ‘Skype’ to relatives in Moscva … its PLUS 4C as we speak …(But -1c in Surrey U.K!
Sure ; -50c can happen way,way up there like on the you tube clip, but its very changeable across the majority of Russia/Siberia. Just Afew weeks back in Novos’b’k it was +20c!
Just be prepared like anywhere, personally I hate the Siberian Summers PLUS 30/40C’s
Two Russians speaks on the phone:
Harry Monk:
I think the only practical way to do this would be by plane, you could drive there but it would take at least a week each way and cost a small fortune. It wouldn’t be practical for an animal to travel in a trailer because these have to be sealed by Russian Customs as part of the TIR agreement so it couldn’t be fed/watered etc, and in any event I imagine the poor thing would perish, a quick check suggests that night-time temperatures are already down to -4 in Moscow.
I would never send a cat by plane. This is too big stress for them, as not many airlines allows cats to ride on the passenger knees any more. They have to be put to the cage and to the cargo bay…
My friend works on the airport in Poland and she is mad about it, she says that all cats are very stressed nearly 1 in 5 cats dies during the trip 