In your career, what is the biggest pile of dog doo doo you ever had the misfortune to drive??
(I am excluding Military vehicles as they are built to be Squaddie proof)
Mine is definatly the bedford KM
My guv’nor at the time bought a brand new Bedford TL and parked it in the warehouse until my KM died
I drained all the engine oil from it and drove it to Felixstowe from south London in an effort to cause its demise… and the ■■■■ thing still refused to die…
I dont mind TK’s… and even MK’s are acceptable, but I have to say I detest the KM with a vengence!!!
Ive drove a lot of noisy cold harsh and uncomfy garbage over the years, but I will have to say the Scammel Routeman with the 680 in takes the biscuit!
The most gutless I ever drove was a toss up between a old DAF 2100 at 32 tons, or a Scania 81 again, at 32. Both were however, more comfy, AND had heaters that worked!
'83 vintage Leyland Cruiser. Plastic, cramped, hideous clutch( hill starts used to catapult you into the roof), noisey, hot in summer, cold in winter and bounced like tigger. It was brand new…
Its funny this Premium thing. I had a 6 leg 420cdi and I’ve got to say I liked it.
I have driven some of the more lowly models and they were indeed horrible but the one I had was fine. Some of the cable gearchanges were worse than the Foden ones
Now which one do i put at the top (of the ■■■ list)
Leyland Cruiser 210 @ 32 tons
Foden Haulmaster 8 wheeler with a 201 gardner
Sed Atki 6 legger tipper with a coach diff (do about 80 if it was downhill)
Leyland Bison 6 legger tipper
Daf 2100 with that awful 6 speed upside down box
Some dog of a scania 93 given to me as agency driver the first time at boston which managed to break down on the way to and back from Tesco’s didcot. Even Tesco’s felt sorry for me & tipped me in 30 mins But I was 5 hours late
A Ford D series that I used to have to hold into top gear or it would jump out.
A Renault G260 nicknamed The Beast, it cost the boss £300 he thought it was great, as it had paid for itself after a week. Gear change was a nightmare as was everything else about it. The only good thing was you never got a night out in it.
They also had a R310 that you used to start in the morning and go and have a coffee you knew it had warmed up when you could see it again through the smoke. Then there was the Yellow Peril a G290, this was a gem but it was an expensive motor £600. I used to use it on a daily trunk between Dereham and Grantham.
I also another driver that wants to stick up for Premiums, I had a privilege cab 385 for a year, tramping round the UK and I liked it, it seemed to ride nice the gearbox was sticky but with a bit of double de-clutching and taking you time and it wasn’t to bad, I had no problems with the seat or space for my feet. It had enough living space for 5 nights a week, and pulled ok even coming out of Par Harbour in Cornwall at 41 tonnes.
However I do think it is in need of a major update. (Major might be the wrong word for Renaults) Drove a topline Scania the other week and the gearbox was hardwork and the ride was rough, but this might have more to do with the previous driver treatment of the truck I hope anyway.
Qhunter:
Its funny this Premium thing. I had a 6 leg 420cdi and I’ve got to say I liked it.
I have driven some of the more lowly models and they were indeed horrible but the one I had was fine. Some of the cable gearchanges were worse than the Foden ones
Strange init?
I know what you mean, I drove a P reg 385 privilige when it was quite new, on tanker work, and I thought it was great! No accounting for tastes eh!
When i first started with my present job, we had to make do with some of the Companies left overs to open the depot with while our own Atego’s were being sorted out from Merc. I had a 1992(L) Merc 814 SWB for three weeks.
We affectionately named it ROCKY, due to the fact that when you pulled up at lights, the Lorry would still be rocking on the shocks when they changed to Green! It was such a bare cab, no heating,(thankfully it was in May) threadbare seats, so uncomfatable to kip in the lay by in!
When we took delivery of the Atego’s, it stood for three months in the yard, and failed its MOT before going off to Auction.
The auction fetched £254 !!
Minimerc:
I had a 1992(L) Merc 814 SWB for three weeks.
We have a couple of “J” plate 814 SWBs in our yard. I started on one a few years ago. They have Vancraft removal bodies on them and are 5t unladen. So imagine how much they swing about with a load of furniture on a windy day!!
Heaters are ■■■, gearboxes are ■■■, seats are ■■■. Even new - they’re ■■■!!
Old Leyland Dafs get the bonus goat though!! The seats were like those in those 80’s Fiat Pandas - ie. deckchairs!!
Has to be a “Quad” axle 1988 GMC rigd truck driven in 2002 on harvest in USA with a two stroke petrol engine!!! You had to hear it “scream blue murder” changing gears to believe it It was a character building drive without a doubt,crash box and all, and its name was “Bosshog” Yes and it was gallons to the mile with this monstrosity I kid you not
It was a large bodied Ivecoe rigid with a 7.5 tonne engine and could anyone get it round a corner? In the end we did the same thing as you. Unfortunatley (or fortunatley) the bloke the following day got the engine go pop. He knew full well what we were doing and so did the fitters. They told the boss the head gasket had cracked and it had been like that since he bought it at auction . Everyone breathed a sigh of reliefe when it blew up.
A bus which had been removed from another depots fleet due to their drivers refusing to drive it. Its drivers compartment had been reduced in size to allow some extra passenger seats to be fitted.
Close to this has to be a clapped out Ford I once & only once drove on steel work, this was not only a total wreak & hard ■■■■ work to drive, but also had the added extra of a gearbox which could lock up when you tried to move the gear stick, but only did so at the very worse moments.
But I was 5 hours late 