I would like to see where you live, you can e-mail me or direct me somewhere.
I am including a map of the part of Florida I live in, and next time I’ll make this a PM private mail so we don’t get off the Middle East Thread (and alert the moderator?) That little red star near the top, is where I live, which is near the highest point in Florida, about 100 meters above sea level. The highest point in South Florida, near Miami, is the Pompano Beach Landfill (garbage dump). On the top of the dump you can see for miles but the smell detracts from the experience.
I looked at the photos of your town on the website and it is so beautiful. During the war I used to hate all the destruction of so many pretty buildings in Croatia (and, of course, Sarajevo).
It does not say it on Wikipedia but the brewery in my town is the oldest one in Croatia.
Any brewery that old here in the USA would be lost to “developers” by now, Americans having no sense of history.
ATB,
Threads moving off at a tangent is quite normal, so the Moderator isn’t going to be censuring anyone for that. (note I said censure, not censor ).
Any brewery that old here in the USA would be lost to “developers” by now, Americans having no sense of history.
[Tongue into cheek] Is America old enough to have history yet ■■? [/Tongue out of cheek]
Your question about guns. There would be a problem with carrying a gun anywhere, particularly if you’re EU based.
Presumably you would be returning home on a fairly regular basis. So what would you do with it while in the EU?
Weapons are supposedly available to buy, but you can’t just drop into a gun shop and buy one anywhere you feel like it There are hoops to be jumped through everywhere. Whether that’s getting one legally or illegally.
Within the EU, we wouldn’t be stopped and checked for weapons specifically. But we may be stopped and checked for smuggled drugs, for example, or any number of other reasons. Having a weapon would find you straight in jail, before any questions were asked. Hopefully you would then be able to provide a suitable and verifiable reason for having it. With any luck you might be released the same day, but I think that’s very unlikely.
Carrying a firearm in Europe is simply just not normal. I don’t think I know, or have met anyone who does. However, even if they did, they would be extremely unlikely to say so.
P.S. That cheater which Cheater is holding looks just the sort of ‘tool of the trade’ I was referring to in that earlier post.
Simon:
Threads moving off at a tangent is quite normal, so the Moderator isn’t going to be censuring anyone for that. (note I said censure, not censor ).
Our president would not know the difference, but we do have truck drivers here who can spell.
Is America old enough to have history yet ■■? [/Tongue out of cheek]
Ha ha. But if it did have a history, maybe a knowledge of history should be required for legislators and presidential candidates.
P.S. That cheater which Cheater is holding looks just the sort of ‘tool of the trade’ I was referring to in that earlier post.
We were at a glass plant one day, all the cargo in place in crates on our flatbed.The old lady and I were on opposite sides tightening chain binders and when I was finished there was this silence on the loading dock. I scooted under the trailer to the other side and there she was, dangling on the end of her cheater bar, and when she got that last ratchet click the dock crew and all the other drivers who were watching started clapping. Priceless.
I hauled steel plate for a couple of years, using chains and ‘lever-over-tensioners’. We call them Dwangs in this bit of Scotland, I’ve heard them called Sylvesters as well, among other things.
On one particular occasion, a chain link caught on the corner of the load as I was trying to get the right tension. I tried back a link, but that was to loose, so tried again but the lever just wouldn’t go over. So I got really over the top of it and put my full weight onto my ‘cheater’ and bounced on it, then the link came over the corner.
You’ll know what comes next
I let go of my cheater with one hand, to stop my face hitting the steel, but there was enough tension left in the chain to spring my cheater back up hard into my ribs
John Aalborg:
I will never forget, however, the thrill I got years ago reading Robert Hutchinson’s book: “Danger, Heavy Goods” about a trip through Turkey, Saudi Arabia etc.
I have a copy in my cab at this very moment. it’s a fascinating read, but if anyone is interested in obtaining it, I’ll just point out that in the UK it was released as “Juggernaut”.
There was one page in that book I doubted, years ago when I read it, and that had to do with how the Saudis would drain fuel tanks and then use cutting torches to open them up to look for drugs, after which they would weld the tanks back up again. That seemed far-fetched. Why not drop a mirror down the filler hole, or poke around inside with a rod? Well, not too long ago I was watching BBC-America TV and saw a film clip of a truck crossing into Saudi Arabia and ■■■■ if several of the tractors parked there didn’t have fuel tanks all criss-crossed with welding scars.
Modern and up-to-date not! I suppose that’s the way you search for drugs if your book tells you the earth is flat.
John Aalborg:
Nothing in this forum about driving UK to the Middle East? I am an old ■■■■, American OTR driver and you can take my word for it that driving the contiguous 48 states can get boring fast. (Plus our pay-by-mile joke). I will never forget, however, the thrill I got years ago reading Robert Hutchinson’s book: “Danger, Heavy Goods” about a trip through Turkey, Saudi Arabia etc. You Brits have balls. That run would send a Yank jumping right our first lady’s lap. “Mommy! Mommy!” This is my first post here (burp!) after lurking a while, and I am looking fwd to being a member of the best trucking forum on the planet. (The webmaster knows sheheit’s stuff, too)! I drive artics only part-time now, and write about the boogers the rest of the time. Example: “Trucking India” jbaal.com/Cover_Story.aspx.htm
Not a plug. I don’t make more money if nobody reads the thing. But India, whew, didn’t you guys used to own this place? Leave it in a mess, did you? Heh.
Hello john,for more middle east pix and european and classic brit truck stuff,look at www.toprun.ch.
very good it is,you will even see my scammell crusader on there,thats a reason itself.
propa lorry:
[Hello john,for more middle east pix and european and classic brit truck stuff,look at www.toprun.ch.
very good it is,you will even see my scammell crusader on there,thats a reason itself.
Whew! (Being an old ■■■■, I am easily blown over)(I can still back, er, reverse an artic into a hole, however). So much stuff on that www.toprun.ch site! Thank you (and another mate who came up with this one). Now all I have to do is pretend I’m a Canadian (which many Americans find it necessary to do since Bush World was created–by God himself, according to him) and try to figure out what a “scammel crusader” is. I hope that does not sound too dumb. I’ll get back to you on this.
In the meantime my calls to the Saudis for recently sentencing a ■■■■ victim to 90 lashes are being unreturned. I am assuming she is not a truck driver since they haven’t issued her bicycle license yet. And this brings to mind that in the photos of the Middle East which I have found on TNUK, there are no female drivers!
propa lorry:
[Hello john,for more middle east pix and european and classic brit truck stuff,look at www.toprun.ch.
very good it is,you will even see my scammell crusader on there,thats a reason itself.
Whew! (Being an old ■■■■, I am easily blown over)(I can still back, er, reverse an artic into a hole, however). So much stuff on that www.toprun.ch site! Thank you (and another mate who came up with this one). Now all I have to do is pretend I’m a Canadian (which many Americans find it necessary to do since Bush World was created–by God himself, according to him) and try to figure out what a “scammel crusader” is. I hope that does not sound too dumb. I’ll get back to you on this.
In the meantime my calls to the Saudis for recently sentencing a ■■■■ victim to 90 lashes are being unreturned. I am assuming she is not a truck driver since they haven’t issued her bicycle license yet. And this brings to mind that in the photos of the Middle East which I have found on TNUK, there are no female drivers!
Hiya john,that dos’nt supprise of the ■■■■■■■■ one bit.
Anyway,scammell crusader,this was a very beautiful (to me) lorry built during the seventies by scammell,part of the british leyland group.
If you go back on toprun,go to 2006,scroll down you will see’UK TO SPAIN,THE 2006 VINTAGE TRUCK RUN,click on that,my crusader is the red n white lorry 4th pic down.
It is also on other ones,e.gGAYDON 2006,GAYDON 2007 AND ANOTHER ONE CALLED 2006 KENT FESTIVAL OF TRUCKS i think.
propa lorry:
… Anyway,scammell crusader,this was a very beautiful (to me) lorry built during the seventies by scammell,part of the british leyland group.
If you go back on toprun,go to 2006,scroll down you will see’UK TO SPAIN,THE 2006 VINTAGE TRUCK RUN,click on that,my crusader is the red n white lorry 4th pic down.
Ah, a vintage twin-stack Scammell “Crusader”! I learn something every day. Question: they don’t make you wear a proper shirt when crossing the border? And what about that name “Crusader”? Methinks that no longer flies in burqa-babe country, but if the doctor told me I had only one more month to live, what a hoot it would be to run that baby though the Middle East loaded with western toilet paper. They’d have the choice of blowing me up or scoring a few rolls.
I am told that Richard the Lion Hearted, when he was there, ran out of the good stuff early on.
I have a tendency to fall in love with a good vintage vehicle when I see one, but when it comes to artics, if it don’t have power steering and air-conditioning, the “Good Old Days” are here now. BTW, that divided windshield (uk: wind screen?) is cool and it looks like it has those independent wipers which will wake a tired driver up every time they happen to run in synch for a few seconds. Something the governmemt should bring back for safety reasons?
Simon:
There was another book, called Cola Cowboys, also about the boys doing the Middle East runs.
A copy comes up for sale on e-bay occasionally, they go for rather high prices though.
The cheapest I have seen to date is £200. The highest–and that’s with a damaged back cover–£335. It is a wonder North Korea hasn’t thought of counterfeiting these trucker books. The public loves them, too, and I mean the general public. They look up from their little roller-skate cars and wonder what is up in that cab (and is at least one participant human?)
klunk/■■■■■■■■
Welcome to trucknet John clic on my photo bucket theres a few middle east pictures on it s144.photobucket.com/albums/r182/klunk-■■■■■■■■
Clic on the above link then clic on Daysons that where the mid east pictures are John
Klunk
Amazing, and thank you! Have you thought about writing a book about your run to the Middle East? The two tomes which were mentioned here in the forum are out of print and the used copies are pulling in high prices. Methinks the public, aka the wal-polloi, is ■■■■■■■ for more. (Their boring lives pushing shopping carts, spending government money, and breeding ugly children needing something in their lives with more sass).
Regarding your photos: #15 “Wash middle east style” Does the water-jug tipper turn away to look at parked camels when you do the wedding vegetables? #16 “Swim Qatar ahh” You look awful happy there, for a dip without birds in attendance. Jap bathers get two babes per man! #18 “Haliburton base camp Turkey one pregnant rabbit was taken from GBin the hand lugage for a reliable meat supply” Too funny! Can I assume it’s OK in the Middle East that the female rabbits are ■■■■? #20 “Sheraton Qatar” Truck parking? (Looks like you guys are on the wrong side of the pond)! #31 and #41-43 Passports to die for. You can’t buy anything like that at Wal-Mart! #37 Cooking by the roadside? Looks like you pack a lot of gear (kit?) in that cabover. I am impressed. #47 Driver from Miami Florida, looks like. Eeeeeeeee! #50 I am getting the impression you are having way too much fun for such bizarre conditions. Are they paying you in Krugerrands! #57 Could you eat the food? Were the restrooms clean? Plenty of fresh towels? #58 Alcohol in the Middle East? Was that beer expensive? #59 The sand philosopher? #64 Back in the snow? Hardly seems fair, but you are still alive (I assume).
I write about trucking for magazines now that I am old, beat-up, and busted, but I do take an interstate (artic) flatbed (USA) run when they beg me. Nothing like the hairy stuff you Brits get into. ATB to you, Klunk!
propa lorry:
Hello john,for more middle east pix and european and classic brit truck stuff,look at www.toprun.ch.
very good it is,you will even see my scammell crusader on there,thats a reason itself.
Forgot to mention in my last reply my curiosity re how much altitude you think a Scammell “Crusader” would need to achieve over the Astran Saudi Arabia route with G Duh-bya Bush as turnboy.
I just finished reading Baghdad Trucker by Kevin Noble, a small book, illustrated, which I found at amazon.com.uk – published last year. Not available in the US and it cost me dwangly: (Subtotal: £6.97 Delivery Charge: £6.98 Total: £13.95) “ground shipping” not available, no doubt due to global warming and the expansion of the pond.
Report: The first half of the book deals with Noble’s early life, a kind of autobiography, and I think he included that partly to show his motivation and what he considered his good luck to get into Middle East hauling for two years–late 70s–and he considers that era ending for Brits roughly at the time Saddam Hussein invaded Iran. In his travel descriptions he mentions the names of many old hands who drove for Davies and Astran etc.(Noble himself is now 63). What was interesting to me in particular was his description of Iraq at the time being the safest place in the Middle East for foreign drivers. Quite a contrast to what Iraq is now after Bonzai Bush had his international ego tantrum.
Noble concludes his book by writing: “I can honestly say that driving to the Middle East was the most enjoyable and satisfying job of my entire career.” He goes on to explain that it was the excitement of it and all the stories he now has to tell.
Hi guys
They used to be called Chains and Toggles in the East End.
But they dissapeared mysteriously when Taughtliners became the fashion !!!
Funny how a curtain can hide a heavy load eh !!
GS
That little red star near the top, is where I live, which is near the highest point in Florida, about 100 meters above sea level. The highest point in South Florida, near Miami, is the Pompano Beach Landfill (garbage dump). On the top of the dump you can see for miles but the smell detracts from the experience.
).
[/Tongue out of cheek] 
