Lawrence Dunbar:
0I drove wagons all my life from 1957 onwards, loved every minute of it I worked with some of the best blokes any driver could wish for, mind you there were one or two I did work with that were the cause of many good jobs being spoilt, but they were the minority Im glad to say, This photo was the first brand new motor I got in 1960 , just a young lad at 25, but it was proud day for me being handed the keys, The bloke I worked for never told his drivers to do anything, he allways asked them to do it, a true gent, I still have my class one, I have some mates that are still in the haulage game & I help out if they are stuck for a driver., I would like to be able to turn the old clock back for a week or two Eh, the good old days, My youngest son is a driver he just does local work now. Regards Larry.
hiya,
Larry the bit about the odd driver “killing” a job has always existed we had a job, coal Consett to Fords at Dagenham tip and return to Peterborough a good days work for any boss, next day back to Consett load same job for next day three loads a week one of the long serving “star men” does the job but down tip and return to Consett in one hit knocking the job stone dead, yes he had a flying machine but I didn’t, you are talking about 600 miles+ and yes he croaked young.which was still sad.
thanks harry long retired.
Reading some of the posts off us older guys I think we are all of a similar mind, we where lucky enough to be born at the right time.I am 69 and still working as a trade plater, so I get to* drive* all the new stuff. I have inverted the word drive because the new stuff drives itself.I started driving trucks * real trucks* in 1963, you needed muscles in those days just to change gear,and by the time you had sheeted and roped a 40 foot you had muscles like popeye.Unfortunately, If you had a tendency towards fat you had a belly, brought on by sitting for hours behind the wheel.
If you where a tramper and wanted to save a bit of money you slept across the seats, so it was always advisable to keep in with the Vitafoam lads,to get a piece of foam off them.
Depending on which part of the country you came from you had certain places where you parked for the night,most manchester lads parked on North wharf rd. in paddington or Vallance rd. in the east end, when in london.Although street parking was not officially allowed , the police overlooked it.
I remember once having a drink with one of the kray twins(cant remember which one) in the well and bucket in bethnall green, before going back to sleep in my commer two stroke in a bed made up of two planks and a piece of foam across the seats.I could go on forever reminicing about the old days , but you older drivers will know what I am talking about, and you will have your own good and bad memories.
rocky 7:
Reading some of the posts off us older guys I think we are all of a similar mind, we where lucky enough to be born at the right time.I am 69 and still working as a trade plater, so I get to* drive* all the new stuff. I have inverted the word drive because the new stuff drives itself.I started driving trucks * real trucks* in 1963, **you needed muscles in those days just to change gear,**and by the time you had sheeted and roped a 40 foot you had muscles like popeye.Unfortunately, If you had a tendency towards fat you had a belly, brought on by sitting for hours behind the wheel.
If you where a tramper and wanted to save a bit of money you slept across the seats, so it was always advisable to keep in with the Vitafoam lads,to get a piece of foam off them.
Depending on which part of the country you came from you had certain places where you parked for the night,most manchester lads parked on North wharf rd. in paddington or Vallance rd. in the east end, when in london.Although street parking was not officially allowed , the police overlooked it.
I remember once having a drink with one of the kray twins(cant remember which one) in the well and bucket in bethnall green, before going back to sleep in my commer two stroke in a bed made up of two planks and a piece of foam across the seats.I could go on forever reminicing about the old days , but you older drivers will know what I am talking about, and you will have your own good and bad memories.
I once had an ERF artic, NO POWER STEERING, I still remember reversing that thing into tight spots…have a look, sit down and TRY to turn the wheel, Move back a bit, stop, have another look, sit down, etc. and so it went on. God it was heavy on the steering.
Well speaking of heavey steering Baxters the firm I drove for had an 8 wheeler Thornycroft & one of the places in Manchester a bacon wholesaler Ladefoged Ltd Ancoates St, when reversing in there they used to put the hose pipe on & spray water onto the tyrers to make it a bit easier, but the best one I drove with no P/S, was the MK 5 AEC, geared steering as you oldies will know anyway, happy days, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Well speaking of heavey steering Baxters the firm I drove for had an 8 wheeler Thornycroft & one of the places in Manchester a bacon wholesaler Ladefoged Ltd Ancoates St, when reversing in there they used to put the hose pipe on & spray water onto the tyrers to make it a bit easier, but the best one I drove with no P/S, was the MK 5 AEC, geared steering as you oldies will know anyway, happy days, Regards Larry.
hiya,
Larry we used to call it “trailer geared steering” and it was a big help when pulling a drawbar unlike the old Octopus’s which were hard work and in those days I was a bit skinny and spent the time on my feet when trying to push a trailer in a tightish spot, although hard work they was still happy days.
thanks harry long retired.
I drove several lorries without power steering including an AEC Matador breakdown wagon,but the heaviest was a little BMC 550FG with the threepenny bit cab.Small lorry but heavy steering it was only a few months old and I was a big fit 20year old.
Cheers Dave.
Hi Harry.
I was going to say the same thing Harry, sitting down to manoeuvre them old motors! more like standing up with two hands on one side of the wheel to pull it round trying to control a clutch and throttle with return springs that came of the buffers of a train, and on hot day with sweat dripping down your face so you cant see, oh the pleasures of lorry driving.
I had an AEC MK5 Mammoth Major tanker and it was uprated to 26t gross in 1970.Running at 24t gross without power steering was never a problem.The extra 2 tons didn’t affect the performance,but it sure as hell affected the steering.We used to leave the second compt empty or put the least in it but now it was always full.The first day out when it was uprated was a 4000 gall load of vinyl acetate out of BP Saltend for Beverley and it broke a front n/s spring on the weighbridge.After getting it strapped up I wrestled with the steering, tipped it at Beverley and took it back to Sheffield whereupon the power steering was re-fitted - apparantly it was taken off when it came secondhand from Cawoods Oils “to save weight”.
We usually worked in a 100 mile radius of the quarries this way.Never carried a spare on two firms I drove for to save weight.Have had a flat wheel 60 miles from base and then had to wait for a fitter to bring a spare wheel out.No ATS or tyre service network then.
Dave the Renegade:
We usually worked in a 100 mile radius of the quarries this way.Never carried a spare on two firms I drove for to save weight.Have had a flat wheel 60 miles from base and then had to wait for a fitter to bring a spare wheel out.No ATS or tyre service network then.
We always carried a spare wheel Dave and I got a dab hand at changing wheels - god knows I did plenty of them in me time. And it always seemed to be the inside wheel that had a flat on trailers and 8-leggers.There was no torque-wrenching up nuts in those days,a piece of tube on the wheel brace bar,stand on it and two clicks was enough.The worst part was when the nuts were tight all the way to the end when undoing them,effin’ and blindin’.
I worked on scrap tippers for ten years, must have had dozens of blow outs all over the country. Always seemed to be on the o/s, a*se stuck out in the inside lane trying to loosen wheelnuts off and wrestling the flat off then dropping the spare down on its windlass. Had a blowout on the M62 one day, loosed off the spare and started winding it down when the cable snapped. Luckily I had my legs out of the way. Changed the wheel, now what to do with the flat (super single). No chance of lifting it any where so a quick look about, no body taking any notice so I bools the flat into the ditch. It’s probably still there! Working on the scrap job you soon learn how to change punctures. Best of kit I ever had was an air line to blow the soft tyres up, no good for a blow out though. I think we could start a new thread - “punctures I have known”.
Yes my 2012 new motor has everything you could of dreamed of in the 70’s, there is just one thing missing, character !
I would willingly go back to a 70’s motor any day of the week, you might say I’d soon tire of it, no chance !
I’d love to hear the crackle of a big ■■■■■■■ pulling hard or the whine from a Fuller box over sitting in silence at 52mph or listening to mp3 trracks !
By far the biggest thing I miss from those days is camaraderie from fellow drivers, you spoke to drivers everywhere and had a good crack, if you struck up a conversation with some of the young hands they would regard you as a nutter ! many of our young guys can’t even manage a good morning with one and other.
I still remember the operators licence number in case I can ever go back to a log book
Trev_H:
Yes my 2012 new motor has everything you could of dreamed of in the 70’s, there is just one thing missing, character !
I would willingly go back to a 70’s motor any day of the week, you might say I’d soon tire of it, no chance !
I’d love to hear the crackle of a big ■■■■■■■ pulling hard or the whine from a Fuller box over sitting in silence at 52mph or listening to mp3 trracks !
By far the biggest thing I miss from those days is camaraderie from fellow drivers, you spoke to drivers everywhere and had a good crack, if you struck up a conversation with some of the young hands they would regard you as a nutter ! many of our young guys can’t even manage a good morning with one and other.
I still remember the operators licence number in case I can ever go back to a log book
yeah mate the driver was part of the wagon in those days,you rocked back n forth in time to the sound of the engine,you stared straight in front of you for miles n miles unblinking,you watched every mile go by,every sign post,every lorry on the opposite side of the road,then you hit the midlands at birmingham n couldnt see f— all cause there was so much smog lol,everybody,everything,everywhere had so much character back in those days i wish i had dr whos tardice cause id never come back.
SMOG ? Thats a blast from the past, we never hear that mentioned these days , I recall being stuck in Birmingham on Tyburn Rd, when smog had everything at a stanstill, that was Jan. 1964, even the buses were at a standstill, people were walking about with home made masks, such as a handkerchief or a scarf. mucky bloody stuff, if we had that to-day H/S wouldnt let us go out of the house Ha Ha. Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
SMOG ? Thats a blast from the past, we never hear that mentioned these days , I recall being stuck in Birmingham on Tyburn Rd, when smog had everything at a stanstill, that was Jan. 1964, even the buses were at a standstill, people were walking about with home made masks, such as a handkerchief or a scarf. mucky bloody stuff, if we had that to-day H/S wouldnt let us go out of the house Ha Ha. Regards Larry.
i find it unbelievable looking back even to the 70s especially the midlands,the smog was so thick that you had to do a triple take at the signs on the spagetti junction to make sure you dint go the wrong way lol,one time my old man ended up in aston instead of on the m5 lol,all he did all day was curse the immigrants working in the factories lol
Lawrence Dunbar:
SMOG ? Thats a blast from the past, we never hear that mentioned these days , I recall being stuck in Birmingham on Tyburn Rd, when smog had everything at a stanstill, that was Jan. 1964, even the buses were at a standstill, people were walking about with home made masks, such as a handkerchief or a scarf. mucky bloody stuff, if we had that to-day H/S wouldnt let us go out of the house Ha Ha. Regards Larry.
i find it unbelievable looking back even to the 70s especially the midlands,the smog was so thick that you had to do a triple take at the signs on the spagetti junction to make sure you dint go the wrong way lol,one time my old man ended up in aston instead of on the m5 lol,all he did all day was curse the immigrants working in the factories lol
It was probably made worse by all the parafin lamps they used to put out, remember them?
Lawrence Dunbar:
SMOG ? Thats a blast from the past, we never hear that mentioned these days , I recall being stuck in Birmingham on Tyburn Rd, when smog had everything at a stanstill, that was Jan. 1964, even the buses were at a standstill, people were walking about with home made masks, such as a handkerchief or a scarf. mucky bloody stuff, if we had that to-day H/S wouldnt let us go out of the house Ha Ha. Regards Larry.
i find it unbelievable looking back even to the 70s especially the midlands,the smog was so thick that you had to do a triple take at the signs on the spagetti junction to make sure you dint go the wrong way lol,one time my old man ended up in aston instead of on the m5 lol,all he did all day was curse the immigrants working in the factories lol
It was probably made worse by all the parafin lamps they used to put out, remember them?
You can’t blame me as I did not start on Pickfords while 67 I was still on the buses in 64
Cheers Johnnie
Dave the Renegade:
We usually worked in a 100 mile radius of the quarries this way.Never carried a spare on two firms I drove for to save weight.Have had a flat wheel 60 miles from base and then had to wait for a fitter to bring a spare wheel out.No ATS or tyre service network then.
We always carried a spare wheel Dave and I got a dab hand at changing wheels - god knows I did plenty of them in me time. And it always seemed to be the inside wheel that had a flat on trailers and 8-leggers.There was no torque-wrenching up nuts in those days,a piece of tube on the wheel brace bar,stand on it and two clicks was enough.The worst part was when the nuts were tight all the way to the end when undoing them,effin’ and blindin’.
Have changed wheels myself Chris same set up as yourself wheel brace and pipe with a bottle jack on a piece of board to stop it going through the tarmac.I had good training for that as a school leaver at 15 for the first six months all I did was tyre bashing on lorries and cars .
Cheers Dave.
I’ve changed a few myself over the years but hopefully I just take pictures of them now. The odd thing I find about these 3 is that the o/s 2nd axle has copped it every time, or do you put your worn tyres on there to run them off ?
