Ron ol mate …I notice in the last batch of pics that Cunard No 17 is there …so perhaps some body from the days will have the answer but as the years fly past they,ll need to be quick ■■?
Thanks Backsplice for leaving the D out of ol mate , I must admit that we are all on the conveyor belt. !!! I know about trying to slow it down ,it’s like coming down Taif loaded with the brakes on a ERF ? It’s no good using the foot brake all the time ■■ you will burn out and over the edge you will go , so I have got the next best thing to a Jake brake ? She is Gizachuck and knows all about using the ( dead man ) only in emergency need I say any more , Ron
Rons ,Scenario if that is the word !! To get a ERF decapitated under a trailer ? N/o one , you must be loaded heavy ! N/o 2 you should be coming down a mountain ! N/o 3 you must forget to have opened the Auxiliary brake tap on the Suzy line N/o 4 to have an emergency in front you coming round a bend!!! All this is possible in Saudi , this could result in a Jack knife of 180 , Ron
peggydeckboy:
Many thanks for a very informative interesting part of all your lives it seems never ending, very enjoyable reading.May i ask a question,around the 1980s+ wages were not that good for the uk driver, was the recruitment of uk drivers ever considered in stead of the 320 drivers [to be trained] drivers from Thailand .or was it thought that it would be to expensive, wages, etc.travel, accommodation .i do understand that the men all ready there with you,were from mostly the same area, and haulage company,however you may have been surprised, that a lot of men who were used to {roughing it] would have jumped at the chance . Just a observation pdb
Deckpeggyfella, thought you went AWOL. haven’t seen you on the buzzer and wrighty show lately.
This is I nice thred though, really enjoying it
Taseco TMS the camp was about 15 klicks down the Abqaig Rd ,open flat desert by this time the notorious Abqaig rd was made wide with good tarmac , we had road rollers with water tanks spraying the almost white sand while the rollers compacted the the desert that had been graded about 4 football fields square ,surprisingly this became a hard surface, the Porto cabins where arriving and plumed in the camp was walled with concrete blocks ,and it was busy busy ,ERFs all lined up very very impressive indeed ,fantastic every detail had been thought and planned out ,canteen cooks food the lot, all the drivers that Vic Turner and myself had recruited from Thailand arrived and settled in, I gave the drivers a crash corse on operating the ERF ,hitching up etc ,and finding how to Use the fuller gearbox The heat of Saudi in this camp was hot and it was no picnic for all who worked outside , no shade at all and no A/Cs the cess pit soon became full , we needed sludge tankers quick ? I found 2 bulk cement trailers which I had the workers to clean out And converted them with pumps they where brilliant, dumping the wast in the desert making blue toxic lakes in the sand ,reminding me of blue lagoon in Jeddah !! but that was how it was giving more food for the flies , Ron
Taseco TMS we where running day and night with oil pipes for ARAMCO it was full on from the start ,we had a installation in Jubail , Ship to shore with hundreds of pipes being off loaded on to the dock , and then onto our trucks ,day after day, we had a garage and service facilities in camp and another North of Jubail with a day and night shift , trained by myself , with a Porto cabin operation office just outside Darhran manned by Vic Turner GM Mirlin and John Hill with Philopeano staff, the walls where red with blood from flies killed by swatting, the drivers where good with very little mishaps , the ERF trucks where up to the job,although with ( A/Cs would have been better) it was red hot a little cooler at night ,considering the amount of trucks we had on the road , The suicide driving in this crazy country the Thai’s did good , our accidents where few and far between , Ron
Look after that young fella Ron !!!.. there were some nasty bumps out there during the late 70,s had a few close shaves myself …you got accustomed to conditions fast ■■?.. even Volvos bit the dust !!!
Just got back from Devon , the weather was brilliant clear blue sky with East Gail force winds blowing the tops off the Atlantic rollers crashing on the shore on Woolacombe beach it was bracing to say the least , perfect for surfing there where only 4 brave lads enjoying the incoming tide , Backsplice will be disappointed ?I had not got my speedo’s with me ■■ Thank goodness , the Imperial hotel in Barnstable was fab , it was good to get back to egg and chips !!! looking for a centre piece for our round dinning table I found just the bowl ? Circa 1930s in a Antique shop , so getting home and unwrapping this treasure I put it on the table , and was pleased it’s just the job ? Something to remember my 81s birthday ,Reading up on the eye pad I found the very same flower bowl in green glass ? It was then that I found out ■■ this bowl had in its make up URAINIUM !!! And may be giving off RADIATION ? Bloody hell Gizachuck shouted get it out of the house what a mistakka to makka , so for the moment it will live in my Shed unless any one can reassure me it’s safe !! Looking out down the garden at the Shed in pitch black it appears to have a green glow !! I wonder if MIRLIN would like it ? The trucks on the motorway where swaying from the slow lane to the centre we never had that in Saudi ! The weight kept us stable , Ron
ronhawk:
Latest news on Jona’s rebuild of his ■■■■■■■ 220 Ready to fit into the chassis ,it certainly looks the Bees Knees , Ron
Ron I’ve got some odd jake heads here that Don’t fit my 320 , I had a nearly new set off Doug instead ,if Jona needs any or bits post the jake model numbers .
Punchy Dan:
ronhawk:
Latest news on Jona’s rebuild of his ■■■■■■■ 220 Ready to fit into the chassis ,it certainly looks the Bees Knees , RonRon I’ve got some odd jake heads here that Don’t fit my 320 , I had a nearly new set off Doug instead ,if Jona needs any or bits post the jake model numbers .
Well thanks Punchy Dan I will ask Jona , and if need be we will be in touch thanks again for your interest Ron
TASECO , On that recovery down Abha we stopped high up in the mountains by 2 enormous stainless steel drums of water ! 100 miles from anywhere The pull in was perfect to stop for the night , after a strip down wash it was get the grub up time . The Thai drivers !! I found that they had outdoor cooking skills that amazed me, while me and the Philapeano where cooking with a frying pan with the gas bottle they found an old tin cleaned it out ? Made a bed of rocks putting a bracken stake in the middle so it stood up ? Impaled the chicken on the stake of wood , put the tin over the chicken , collected bracken and piled it all round the bottom and set Fire to it , the chicken was cooked perfect and tasted great , good to have these skills ? I will try this method just for the memories sometime this summer !! Ron
Hi Punchy Dan the number on my Jake is 47161E type 20 how many do you have? Jona
Seeing first hand at the distrucion of trucks in Saudi , it was evident that the majority was caused from overloading especerly on the mountain roads ,the trucks easerly got out of control the carnage was all round with the inexperienced Drivers with disaster-us consequences , the Temp was already red hot with braking the friction will make them useless ,with novice drivers , the Jake brake was the. Answer for control in these conditions , But to venture over the top of Taif with a road train of 95 tons i!! The application of the foot brake alone would exhaust the air tanks after 10 applications feeding18 air chambers , the buzzer would soon be on , this weight will over come any Jake brake ? ( So why print such rubbish )Trans Arabia learnt the hard way losing 3 brand new Mac trucks on mountain roads caused through loading heavy with compleat disregard in this mountainous country , and only the skill of our Brit drivers saved the inevitable loss of life , the Mechanics tried to keep on top of the brake relines before the fitting of the Jake Brake with Taif mountain to navigate almost every trip coming in from Dammam , The ERF was good together with our lads , I can not remember one failing , well nearly one that had double load of oil drums!! and the heat blew out his NS drive tyres ,our Youngest driver knows how that happened . Thank God he was saved ,in England fools in charge would be jailed for taking such risks and rightly so , I hope Jona will test his 220 ■■■■■■■ Jake on Roesdale Chimney ,when finished lighty loaded of caurse , Ron
Jona:
Hi Punchy Dan the number on my Jake is 47161E type 20 how many do you have? Jona
I have 2 of the 30e type ( ones with forks sticking down ) and one of type 401a which also has the number on 012731 ,if they are no good for you does any one know what they will fit ? Iam sure the 30e will fit a nte320 .
Jona !! You will find all the information on The Jake Brake on your computer I have tried for 1/2 an hr to photo all the info but the web keeps crashing , hope this will be of some help . We made 2 studs taller than the brake. With a slot across the top !!! So the could be removed with a screwdriver , Ron
A sorry sight !! Bringing home a dead horse , it was a exciting time I had in Saudi ,but let’s keep it real no need to dramatise it was dramatic enough , you could see the link in the sky ? from the desert floor , Taif was just brilliant, but there was always danger , Tonkas , 6wheel Mercs , suicide drivers Turks with there trucks loaded to the gunnels ,bringing every thing to Jedda and lorries full of Pilgrims going to there doom in some cases White painted rocks with names shouting out I was here ? How they did that is a mystery ? may be this is where the graffiti started , it was bloody Hot but Fantastic ,Ron
Ron your a hard man to keep up with …use the jake brake a bit will you ■■? here,s a few more mishaps !!!
S Jones the Red Arrows from Aldridge that’s what the cops called the fleet of ERFs that ran the M 1 to the smoke and back the Gardner’s 6 LX s with the triggers filed down letting the rack bar to travel just a little further giving extra fuel and this I turn gives more power , working on nights I must confess that I did this as a favour ? It may well have been Gordon Taylor !! But like all the lads at Jones they soon found out and they all wanted the same , I had been brought up on Gardner,s and new all the tricks , a driver call ( Collin Hunt ) can you believe that ■■? He kept pestering me to give him the same treatment so I did just that !! But I took more than I should have off the trigger and it was black smoking a bit on test , I though bloody hell I will have to put in another trigger ? I looked through the stores !! we had none !! The next night he came in with a big smile on his face he said there are flames coming out of the exhaust ? I said bloody hell there are no triggers left just back off a bit will yah ,he went on leave and another driver had his A Series !! he booked it in for black smoke and flames and said it was dangerous ? By this time I did have another trigger and was glad to rectify my mistake much to Colin’s disappointment , Ron
Thanks for your input Backsplice , I do appreciate your photos and tails, it passes the time over this side when the weathers a bit inclement !!! I do get on a roll sometimes , I’ve just started up the bike up and Gizachuck complained about the Smoke !! It has a dry sump and when it’s been standing in the winter it takes time to pump the oil it back to the Tank but its cleared now ready for a ride , looking forward to a nice summer ? I don’t think Jona’s Jake brake will fit so for now I will take it eeezzy Ron
