The more mature vehicles

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

…there was a post a while back about someone being asked to drive a D reg.

Well there is this skip firm next to us, no they dont have many ‘new’ trucks i think the newest i’ve seen is a 2000 MAN TGA, thats not too old though.

I noticed the other day though they have an 11 ton merc on an X reg, another 2000, nope this one’s on a suffix! :open_mouth:

About 1981/82 i think, now it didnt look mint, but it didnt look like a rotten old dog either. If you maintain these things and drive them properly then they should last a lot longer than the 5 years most firms keep them for. I just couldnt believe that anyone would run one for so long :laughing:

2

Arnold Laver Timber in Hull used to run a 1981 X reg Ford artic thing. Absolutely gutless - couldn’t carry 4 packs of timber up a hill in anything other than 1st gear. Bodywork was in pristine condition though.

3

I guess it could have been gutless in 1981 too though, depends how much of a tight wad they where when they spec’d the thing :laughing:

4

It’s only 16 years old, but I know of an H reg FL6 4 wheeler that does the London markets fully freighted with spuds every day.

It is well maintained using proper Volvo parts and it never misses a beat. Like the bloke who services it says - why get a newer motor?

If you look after your kit - you’ll get the wear out of it. That’s why most big firms chuck it out after no more than five years. :unamused:

5

delivered a fair few ancient and decrepit wagons when I was plating, the oldest of which was pre A-reg, at the wrong end :astonished: I had to ask where all the stuff was to work it and was still none the wiser :smiley:

The oldest non-antique (haha, get a load o’ that :smiley:) was a B-reg Ford Cargo rigid, that was full of lighting stuff, that’d been to Iceland, picked it up from Immingham and drove down to Uxbridge. Power steering went AWOL in the final few miles, and I dislocated my shoulder manouvering the thing :frowning:

6

We have a 1980 Scania R142E 6x4 (STGO 3) (D reg) still in service. Not bad for its age. Not in showroom condition but good enough, and we also used to have a Volvo F12 6x4 (STGO 1) (old style with the 4 round headlights). Not sure of the age or the spec as it was ‘‘disposed of’’ about 3 weeks ago. Shame it ended up like this. Used to be a nice motor. The scania is the oldest in the fleet now. Other than that they are all 1998 or newer.

7

as far as i’m concerned if a truck is not an 01 and above plate…it is unacceptable to standards…and should be scrapped…or is it that i’m just a fussy git

8

SuperSmiley:
as far as i’m concerned if a truck is not an 01 and above plate…it is unacceptable to standards…and should be scrapped…or is it that i’m just a fussy git

:unamused: :unamused: :unamused:

9

SuperSmiley:
as far as i’m concerned if a truck is not an 01 and above plate…it is unacceptable to standards…and should be scrapped…or is it that i’m just a fussy git

what standards are you talking about :question:

why scrap a perfectly good truck :question:

what type of truck are you talking about :question:

10

SuperSmiley:
…or is it that i’m just a fussy git

Err…yes :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

11

SuperSmiley:
as far as i’m concerned if a truck is not an 01 and above plate…it is unacceptable to standards…and should be scrapped…or is it that i’m just a fussy git

Did you learn morse code with all them dots

12

SuperSmiley:
or is it that i’m just a fussy git

fussy git…or part time troll…

someone asked why the dots :unamused:

13

of course there is a bit of a point there.

Older ones have less safety features, no ABS, Seatbelts etc.
If a firm was sending drivers out in such vehicles, there is less to protect you should someone else do something stupid, or protect others if the driver does something stupid.

01 plate or newer is a but OTT though (NB. they started at 51 plate) Certainly anything less than 10 years old should be fine.

14

dennisw1:
Older ones have less safety features, no ABS, Seatbelts etc.

Agreed, but I hate seat belts and have managed without ABS for 90% of my career. Has nobody ever heard of ‘dabbing’ and ‘feathering’ the brakes? Must admit though I did mourn the passing of the ‘dead man’, the seperate trailer brake, many moons ago. :cry:

15

of coure you can manage with out them, but they give you an extra safety margin.
ABS wont make up for a lack of driving ability but it will assist a good driver.

I just put the seat belt on as second nature, if i get in a vehicle without one, i still find myself reaching for it, better than being chucked through the windscreen.