Bump! This thread’s been dormant for 9 years. Robert
Lovely motor.
Was that 88 not the roadtrain that Jimmy drove.somewhere on here is à photo of IT which i took after we had loaded in ordu With nuts for cadburys.
bestbooties:
Just been browsing through my pics,found this one of my Transcon on its first trip,destination Doha.This was crossing the desert,known as H4,between Jordan and Saudi.A few years later a new road was built to bypass this,but not half as much fun.I’ve probably dug up most of this sand at one time or another after getting bogged down.
The crossing was about 70 miles,if you found the most direct route,as there were countles numbers of tracks,it was a case of choosing the right tracks.
Got bogged down most times by listening to someone who says,“Follow me,I know the way!”
Did much better on my own using my army training and reading the ground.
that beets uk work eney day was ofered a job with a belper firm runing to turkey only 23 at the time to frit to leave derbyshire 
now 56 and regret it top photos best keep up the good work 
DEANB:
Ian,found this on the net looks like it was brand new and what a smart motor !0
I don’t see a registration number on that motor, but I can’t think that Brits had more than the one drawbar rig, and that’s what Jimmy Withers always drove.
There’s another pic on one of these m/e threads showing Jimmy with his motor.
Just checked the pic of Jimmy’s motor in my old album.Seems the same,same silly spotlights,mirrors and wipers upstairs.And a 3 axle rigid.
Reg no is FTU 568 K.
It is the same one,just seen the ‘‘5’’ on both photos.
DEANB:
Ian,found this on the net looks like it was brand new and what a smart motor !0
Evening all,
Funny how these odd threads bring back the memories.
At Hartshornes we supplied most, (if not all), of Ron Carmens Volvos. Now I remember there was a bit of an upset over a F88 Drawbar that had a problem with the steering, "becoming hard, and dead". It was one that my friend Rob Owens had supplied, and in due course said lorry, and Volvos engineer, Malcolm Rudge were united in sunny downtown Walsall.
Various tests were carried out involving reversing said lorry and trailer around the square workshop perimeter road, which amused us all no end…why?..because we acted as a maintenance and bunkering facility for the Dutch outfit, Fransen Transport, (long before Henk`s stewardship), when Nick Nicholls was in charge from Pineapple Place Hereford.
Now every month we used to have a F89 drawbar in for work, piloted by a most attractive young Blonde lady, who regularly shamed us all by reversing said outfit out of the totally improbable locations that we had parked it in…she was absolutely ace,…and we all knew that she knew, that we had tried to set her up…but she was well on top of the job…
So when we watched the shenanigens of dear old Malcolm, and the competent Carman lad we had something to compare the performances! Anyway, a satisfactory solution was reached, and I think that some sort of uprated pump was fitted, certainly the lorry never came back again…but I also recall a 4x2 F88 drawbar that had some problems…steering again, so out came Malcolm…
Cheerio for now.
Just been browsing through my pics,found this one of my Transcon on its first trip,destination Doha.This was crossing the desert,known as H4,between Jordan and Saudi.A few years later a new road was built to bypass this,but not half as much fun.I’ve probably dug up most of this sand at one time or another after getting bogged down.
The crossing was about 70 miles,if you found the most direct route,as there were countles numbers of tracks,it was a case of choosing the right tracks.
Got bogged down most times by listening to someone who says,“Follow me,I know the way!”
Did much better on my own using my army training and reading the ground.
This was the new road joining Jordan with Saudi.This is at Kaf oasis,you can just make out the mud brick police fort.
Brilliant photos, keem them coming.
Harry Monk:
Brilliant photos, keem them coming.
seconded!
Road building outside Baghdad.
Saudi truckstop.Sheeps head anyone??
Baghdad customs in the early days,at the side of the road at Abu Ghraib.
Saudi filling station on the Tapline.
Waiting for customs clearance in Saudi.
Oil rigs flaring off gas in the Persian Gulf.
euromat:
Harry Monk:
Brilliant photos, keem them coming.seconded!
Thirded.
Did you have air conditioning,back then? I changed planes in Saudi once.My one lasting impression was how hot it was,and this was at 1 o/c in the morning.Like a blast furnace. You guys must have cooked waiting for customs.
bestbooties:
Road building outside Baghdad.
i did a bit of bulk haulage for a while, my old boss would love an outfit like this for the harvest!!!
great pics, please post more, cant get enough!!
Longwayround:
Did you have air conditioning,back then? I changed planes in Saudi once.My one lasting impression was how hot it was,and this was at 1 o/c in the morning.Like a blast furnace. You guys must have cooked waiting for customs.
In the early days,very few firms had air con,the bosses considered it an expensive luxury.The same went for night heaters.I think Oryx Freight were the first I saw with air con as standard on their F89’s.Air con in those days of course was the add on job on the top of the cab.
When I started M/E for Carmans in '74,we were running F88 290’s,with no night heater or air con.At least the trucks were new,better than the heroes who did the job in Mk.1 Atki’s.On Carmans,it was soon realised how hard the job was on trucks as they were withdrawn from M/E after 1 year and put on European work.I think the penny dropped that it was as hard on drivers as trucks,and when my 290 was replaced after 12 months,I got the Transcon you can see in my pics.This had both air con and a night heater,but as an add on,the air con was always breaking down with chafing pipes and such.
With no night heater,the only was to stay warm was to leave the engine running of course,but keeping cool in the height of Summer with no air con was a different thing.The most common way to work was to park up during the day and sleep under the trailer,douse yourself with water and let it evaporate to keep cool,then do most of the driving at night.
When the Volvo F12’s and Scania 142’s came in,they had air con and night heaters built in and were much more reliable.Unfortunately,some drivers were not aware of how easy it was to spend too much time with the AC on.They would have it on day and night and were so used to working in an artificial envoirenment,if they had to get out of the cab during the day and so something exerting like change a wheel,they would keel over with heat stroke.In fact one or two guys died of this.
The secret was,only use the AC when you really need it.I found using it when driving during the hottest part of the day,then at night,an oscillating fan was enough to keep the air moving and the mozzies from landing and could sleep quite well.
In the Summer,it was not really sensible to drive during the hottest part of the day. I would make an early start,drive until mid day then park up until 7 or 8 at night then kick off again and do 4 or 6 hours.
Another thing you learned quickly was driving too fast in the heat led to a lot of tyres failing.If you stopped after a morning driving stint,the tyres would be too hot to touch.
Waiting for a friendly Arab driver to help out,they will never leave you stuck in the desert.They did not usually have a tow rope,but a large pipe which they would use to syphon diesel out of their fuel tank and chuck it on the sand around your wheels.This makes the sand go hard and you can drive out!
Firm area to stop for a brew.The roof top Air Con can be seen here.
Arab drivers make regular tea breaks,and they are very welcoming.
Just pulled out of Turaif customs here on entering Saudi,in front is the Tapline,over 1,000 miles in an almost straight line!
Coffeeholic:
euromat:
Harry Monk:
Brilliant photos, keem them coming.seconded!
Thirded.
Fourth’d ! 
Tagoat:
Coffeeholic:
euromat:
Harry Monk:
Brilliant photos, keem them coming.seconded!
Thirded.
Fourth’d !
Fifthd… er …fifd…er…fiftyd…[zb]
AGREED 