Muckaway:
I loaded an E reg FL7 6w this morning; 16t at 25t mgw, Hacklings of Bourton on the Water. Not sure what a warehousing/pallet firm do with a tipper■■?
Nathan, why was it only 25t gross not 26t ?
This one driven by my mate was only 25 ton gross Trev.I think it was either chassis or suspension,as the newer one’s were 26 ton gross.
Cheers Dave.
What Dave has said Trev; A local contractor near me used to run a pair of E reg FL7s (ex ARC ods) when I first started shovel driving on Smiths in '99. These were only 25t mgw;they carried at least 16t and I was bloody glad they weren’t uprated; They were a nightmare to load with really low bodies
Piston Broke, were you still driving that FL7 95-96? If so I reckon you liked the cafe at Sodbury quarry as it was a near certainty to see that wagon in the quarry.
a lot of 6 wheelers were 25 t gross at that age, on the ford cargo both the rear axles had to be moved back a few inches along with the fitting of a later type of steering box to get the upgrade to 26 t mgw
I had a n reg day cab fl7 flat with the hydraulic rear lift bogie which was on twins and that was plated at 25.5 t, it was a good truck and is still on the road today and is now fitted with a powder tank to carry salt, it’s often seen on the a50
Moose:
a lot of 6 wheelers were 25 t gross at that age, on the ford cargo both the rear axles had to be moved back a few inches along with the fitting of a later type of steering box to get the upgrade to 26 t mgw
I had a n reg day cab fl7 flat with the hydraulic rear lift bogie which was on twins and that was plated at 25.5 t, it was a good truck and is still on the road today and is now fitted with a powder tank to carry salt, it’s often seen on the a50
I uprated my Cargo but without modifications, including longer wheelbase, it would only go to 24.60 which wasn’t really worth bothering. I did hear of a couple of people who got them uprated by holding the end of the tape slightly over length when they were being checked at the test station but whether it was true I couldn’t say.
it was a joke realy as you could not realy tell the steering box had been changed,infact the same box was used time and time again!
as time went on i know folk that got them uprated without doing owt but paperwork, it seemed to get easier!
we uprated a narrow cab r reg foden 8 wheeler once, that ment fitting thicker steel plates on the ends of the front crossmember, not the simplest job, we ordered new parts then painted the old plates the same colour as the new ones, re fitted the old plates and sent the new plates back to the supplier, job done!
moose
Muckaway:
Piston Broke, were you still driving that FL7 95-96? If so I reckon you liked the cafe at Sodbury quarry as it was a near certainty to see that wagon in the quarry.
I finished for them in mid '97, Nathan. They did have three of the FL’s… Not very often that I stopped in the cafe - I was always too busy chasing the next load!
Basilbrush:
Nice pictures of better times Paul
You’re bloody right there, Basil! Good days indeed but probably not appreciated fully at the time. Did we ever think it would change SO much in such a relatively short time?
Moose:
a lot of 6 wheelers were 25 t gross at that age, on the ford cargo both the rear axles had to be moved back a few inches along with the fitting of a later type of steering box to get the upgrade to 26 t mgw
I had a n reg day cab fl7 flat with the hydraulic rear lift bogie which was on twins and that was plated at 25.5 t, it was a good truck and is still on the road today and is now fitted with a powder tank to carry salt, it’s often seen on the a50
I drove an 81 Leyland reiver tipper RFD 28W which new was 24t gross, we swapped the rear 10.22.5 tyres for 11 22.5 and got it uprated to 26t but it was a very long wheelbase with a sleeper cab, it would carry 17.8 t. I done 600,000kms with it running scrap metal from Scotland and it never once let me down, we put a clydesdale overdrive gear in the reiver splitter box which with the bigger tyres gave it a top speed over 70mph
Not many motors had an eberspacher night heater and sleeper cab in 81,happy days for me!
Moose:
a lot of 6 wheelers were 25 t gross at that age, on the ford cargo both the rear axles had to be moved back a few inches along with the fitting of a later type of steering box to get the upgrade to 26 t mgw
I had a n reg day cab fl7 flat with the hydraulic rear lift bogie which was on twins and that was plated at 25.5 t, it was a good truck and is still on the road today and is now fitted with a powder tank to carry salt, it’s often seen on the a50
I drove an 81 Leyland reiver tipper RFD 28W which new was 24t gross, we swapped the rear 10.22.5 tyres for 11 22.5 and got it uprated to 26t but it was a very long wheelbase with a sleeper cab, it would carry 17.8 t. I done 600,000kms with it running scrap metal from Scotland and it never once let me down, we put a clydesdale overdrive gear in the reiver splitter box which with the bigger tyres gave it a top speed over 70mph
Not many motors had an eberspacher night heater and sleeper cab in 81,happy days for me!
Aye,I can just imagine the scene,Trev with just his “jockeys” on,layed on top of his sleeping bag, parked up on top of Beatock,minus 15 outside,but sweating his bollox off in the Reiver cab !! But hang on he’s just about to jump out and have a roll around in the snow !! Hey! hey! Trev,not over there mate,one of Critchlows had a ■■■■ there last night !! Happy Days,Cheers Dennis.
A ‘B’ reg F7. From about 6 weeks old, only driven by one man. He was/is a queer fella but, credit where its due, he certainly looked after his truck - up until the time he led it on its side near Chippenham one day…
Piston broke:
A few more from my time with Harris’s…
Oldest on the fleet at the time and driven by one of the brothers… An ‘S’ reg F86 6 x 2
3
A ‘B’ reg F7. From about 6 weeks old, only driven by one man. He was/is a queer fella but, credit where its due, he certainly looked after his truck - up until the time he led it on its side near Chippenham one day…
2
A ‘C’ reg FL6, driven from new by the other brother. Seen here on site near Oxford
1
The brothers had two of these FL7’s - one ‘E’ reg and this one, the ‘F’ reg…
0
regarding the f7 driver did you mean queer odd or queer larry grayson
Paul John:
Paul, Is that the same F86 in the background (S reg). If so it has to be 11 years old and looks in good shape.
Hi Paul John
Yes, that is the same motor. She was actually pensioned off in '96 or '97 at 20 years old… One of the brothers is a trained Volvo mechanic and they look after the lorries very well. They’re still running a '95 FL7 today… I’ve known the lorry all of it’s life, driven it many times - it was actually mine for a year or so - and it is a cracking motor. I’ll put a couple of pics up in a day or so
