Where’s the list of lorries that you drove during your driving days Carrryfast ?
Carryfast:
Europe and Asia with a 2500.
Ex Iceland motor, I believe. I ran back with him from Hungary when he was alive. I don’t remember having to wait around for him much, unless there was a play on Radio 4 or the World Service
I take it you are talking about John Williams of destination Doha fame wheelnut?
I’m sure there’s a pic of a 2500 on the astran or one of the other threads.
kr79:
I take it you are talking about John Williams of destination Doha fame wheelnut?
I’m sure there’s a pic of a 2500 on the astran or one of the other threads.
I thought there was a picture too, there is certainly one of Violet, Victoria and Erfula. Was the DAF called Daisy in typical Willie humour?
Dave the Renegade:
Where’s the list of lorries that you drove during your driving days Carrryfast ?
Ford D Series 7.5 tonner
Bedfords from R type to V6/V8 Detroit TM
Merc V10
Patroller
Pathfinder
Protector1
Protector 2
Spearhead RIV’s
Leyland WF,Boxer,Clydesdale
AEC Matador
Six wheeler Atki,Foden,Maggie Deutz gritters
DAF 2300,2500,2800 and I think DAF 2000 ? ERF 180 Gardner yard shunters
Volvo F7
Merc 1617 on agency
Leyland Marathon and Volvo F10 on General haulage job for few months
DAF 2800 ATI’s etc as before.
Scania 112
Mercedes 1628
MAN don’t remember exact one but around 350 hp.
Leyland T45 (ex Carswells heap)
Renault G290.(Total heap of zb)
Scania 93
Volvo FL10
DAF 85
Mercedes 2534 Drawbar outfit
And probably a few others that I’ve forgotten about too. 
Wheel Nut:
Carryfast:
Ex Iceland motor, I believe. I ran back with him from Hungary when he was alive. I don’t remember having to wait around for him much, unless there was a play on Radio 4 or the World Service
But you were’nt doing night trunking job and finish. 
newmercman:
The only draught around here Carryfast is the one blowing unimpeded through your ears
Does that apply to the lot who’ve just finished that new 500 + hp Merc too 
because you would’nt want to use double standards in regard to one lot of power crazed loonys versus another.
Carryfast:
newmercman:
The only draught around here Carryfast is the one blowing unimpeded through your earsDoes that apply to the lot who’ve just finished that new 500 + hp Merc too because you would’nt want to be biased by using double standards against one lot of power crazed loonys versus another.
Yes and no, they’re only giving people what they want, which gets the no, they get the yes because some of the people who are getting what they want are the left wing vegan faggots who have mandated all the emission junk which strangles the engine, all this BS about climate change and greenhouse gases is like taking a butter knife to a gun fight, there’s a volcano in some part of the world (can’t remember where) that releases more crap into the atmosphere on a daily basis than every internal combustion engine in the world does, yet we have an engine that was designed not to be as efficient and productive as possible, but primarily to keep within the emission limits set by sandal wearing retards in San Fransisco or Brussels 
I swear that if I ever win the lotto, I’m going to buy a Toyota Prius and yank out the engine, swap it for one of your screaming two stroke Detroits with the wick turned right up to 11, blasting out of a set of straight through pipes and drive around California doing burnouts
newmercman:
Carryfast:
newmercman:
The only draught around here Carryfast is the one blowing unimpeded through your earsDoes that apply to the lot who’ve just finished that new 500 + hp Merc too because you would’nt want to be biased by using double standards against one lot of power crazed loonys versus another.
Yes and no, they’re only giving people what they want, which gets the no, they get the yes because some of the people who are getting what they want are the left wing vegan faggots who have mandated all the emission junk which strangles the engine, all this BS about climate change and greenhouse gases is like taking a butter knife to a gun fight, there’s a volcano in some part of the world (can’t remember where) that releases more crap into the atmosphere on a daily basis than every internal combustion engine in the world does, yet we have an engine that was designed not to be as efficient and productive as possible, but primarily to keep within the emission limits set by sandal wearing retards in San Fransisco or Brussels
I swear that if I ever win the lotto, I’m going to buy a Toyota Prius and yank out the engine, swap it for one of your screaming two stroke Detroits with the wick turned right up to 11, blasting out of a set of straight through pipes and drive around California doing burnouts
What a waste of a zb good truck engine.I’d spec it for that Merc instead if it was me and just use it in Columbia or some other place where they’ll let me use it
But are you sure that those vegan poofters,as the ozzies would call the zb’s,would’nt prefer to use something like a four cylinder Gardner in that Merc instead of that nasty noisy Detroit.
Oh zb that’s really going to upset Bewick. 
newmercman:
Carryfast:
My 550hp produces the same amount of torque as the same engine rated at 474hp or even the fleet spec 435hp version
Anyway another Saviem type war and peace story to reach the conclusion that the 2300 at 32 t or 38 t,or a Gardner 180 powered Atki,or a 7 Litre V6 TM , at 32 t,was just as good as,if not better than,a new state of the art 500 hp + Merc at 40-44 t,because in your universe less power always means less fuel consumption and less costs overall .
A 2300 Daf or anything with a 180 in it will be slow at 32t, fuel use will depend on how it’s driven, if you drive a 2300 like a 2300 then it will be fine, but if you put a leadfoot night trunker in it who dreams he’s in a two stroke KW belting up the Interstate and drives it trying to beat a 2800’s journey times, well need I say more…
But a few pages ago you said that everyone else is silly because Detroit powered wagons are in high demand worldwide.Would that be because they are downsizing power outputs to Gardner type levels or because they are,as always,ahead in the horsepower/torque race,and therefore can do the same,if not more,work for less fuel consumption
America is not worldwide
The Detroit engine I refer to is the 60 series, that’s a plodder, much like a Gardner, it has good reliability and low maintenance costs, at least it did prior to EGR, it also gave good fuel returns, just like the old Gardners
You are under the impression that the American firms all run around at 90mph in 500+hp trucks, not even close mate, most of them are running around in 400-450hp trucks and all the big fleets run at 65mph maximum, the manufacturers are aware of this, that’s why the D16 Volvo that you lot in the UK can get at 700hp is topped out at 500hp over here, the new Paccar (Daf) MX engine is a 475hp, the most common ■■■■■■■ ISX is the 455hp version and you can’t get a big yeller engine anymore
Having said all that that 2800 was a ‘lot’ further than just 10 minutes down the road at the end of a 400 + mile run to Dewsbury and back let alone 700 miles and used less fuel doing it which is why the guvnor replaced them with 2800 ATI’s not because they wanted to throw money away in fuel and wear and tear.
No… They bought 2800s for a couple of reasons, you are close, but for the wrong reasons, they may have been more reliable, but that’s because they were being driven like 2800s and a 2800 can cope with that, a 2300 needs to be driven like a 2300 to last the same time, fuel usage is the same, thrash the arse off a Smart Car and you could get worse mpg than a properly driven Range Rover V8
Are the Americans warming to the the European way yet Newmercman i.e synchro gearboxes and the comfortable cabs or are they sticking to their own ways.I watched an episode of Ice road truckers a few years back and remember a comment from 1 older driver laughing at a younger 1 with his fancy new motor.I think it was a White
Ramone, no they’re still stuck in the dark ages in the gearbox department, although Volvo do have I-Shift. There’s an autoshift Eaton Fuller too, I had the previous version in a KW, it was awful, hopefully the current updated version is better, much better.
Anything with a gearstick will be a constant mesh Eaton Fuller
You have to bear in mind that anything you see on IRT is hyped up to the nth degree, the trucks they use up there are also in their twilight years, up there they have a lot of unmade roads when it’s not snowing and ice when it is, you wouldn’t put a new $140,000 motor on work like that, so most of what you see are older trucks, they can still stand up to the terrain and workload, but they ain’t pretty
Comfort wise, in my opinion the yank tanks are far superior to anything in Europe, even my old classic style beast has far more room, the driving compartment may be narrow, but the living space behind is streets ahead of the biggest Euro cab and the ride quality is very good, the long wheelbase helps, but consider that my front axle is set way forward, so my springs are very short, in theory the front end should give a hard ride, it doesn’t and is very comfortable
newmercman:
Ramone, no they’re still stuck in the dark ages in the gearbox departmentAnything with a gearstick will be a constant mesh Eaton Fuller
Comfort wise, in my opinion the yank tanks are far superior to anything in Europe, even my old classic style beast has far more room, the driving compartment may be narrow, but the living space behind is streets ahead of the biggest Euro cab and the ride quality is very good, the long wheelbase helps, but consider that my front axle is set way forward, so my springs are very short, in theory the front end should give a hard ride, it doesn’t and is very comfortable
Not the dark ages that’s good old fashioned ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ yank engineering.The question is why would any one think that a heavy slow shifting euro synchro bag of bolts is better than a faster changing lighter to use fuller.
Done plenty of miles with fullers and synchros but I shift is the way forward had a fmx on demo a few weeks back and the I shift done great even on a wet landfill site I’m a total convert.
But sadly the firm bought a Renault kerax with a manual instead.
The Volvo was to dear.
kr79:
Done plenty of miles with fullers and synchros but I shift is the way forward had a fmx on demo a few weeks back and the I shift done great even on a wet landfill site I’m a total convert.
But sadly the firm bought a Renault kerax with a manual instead.
The Volvo was to dear.
Blimey what a name to give a truck but it looks like nothing changes in that Renault are still chasing sales based on cheapness .
It might be clever but what is the point of all the added complication of the I shift if a driver has both feet and both arms and knows how to drive .
If you look at it from the point of view of re sale later on,to an owner driver for example,using the different buying criterea of keep it simple for more reliability,when it’s all got more miles on the clock,and maintenance costs become more of an issue,the added complication of automation makes even less sense.
To be fair to the Renault they have improved a lot the last few years especially with the Volvo driveline. But they still ain’t a Volvo lol
The I shift has been around a few years now and has stood up well and to be fair you don’t see many really old trucks on the road now and even the export markets seem to be accepting things like automated gearboxes and electronic control now I suppose it’s progress.
It sure is a bonus driving round London all day not having to change gear but I suppose it shows how lazy we are becoming as it’s hardly back breaking work driving a truck 
kr79:
The I shift has been around a few years now and has stood up well and to be fair you don’t see many really old trucks on the road now and even the export markets seem to be accepting things like automated gearboxes and electronic control now I suppose it’s progress.
It sure is a bonus driving round London all day not having to change gear but I suppose it shows how lazy we are becoming as it’s hardly back breaking work driving a truck
Other than the scenario of working all day in London,with a heavy to use obstructive euro synchro job,the benefits of just managing with a light easy to shift proper fuller box would outweigh the drawbacks of all the added complication of automation if I was buying the thing for myself.
So it’s looking even more like it would be a case of importing something like an Ozzy KW if I was buying a wagon for myself which would be a bit ironic compared to the days when we exported trucks to them.
kr79:
To be fair to the Renault they have improved a lot the last few years especially with the Volvo driveline. But they still ain’t a Volvo lol
The I shift has been around a few years now and has stood up well and to be fair you don’t see many really old trucks on the road now and even the export markets seem to be accepting things like automated gearboxes and electronic control now I suppose it’s progress.
It sure is a bonus driving round London all day not having to change gear but I suppose it shows how lazy we are becoming as it’s hardly back breaking work driving a truck
I’ve noticed a lot more Renault Premiums on the road recently.As they have the same driveline as Volvo and cost a lot less I think we shall see more.
I think the kerax was around 15k cheaper than the fmx
The i shift is the best fully automatic box ive driven but i dont like any of the autos.They are slow to take off ,especially on roundabouts and they have a mind of their own.The worst ive driven is the Daf and going backwards into a tight spot is a joke.We had a Daf trainer come over to our place "to show us how to drive em" and went away red faced.I only asked him to reverse onto one of our bays which had a slight incline smoothly,he couldnt do it even in tortoise mode.I dont think the fly by wire accelerators help.I would prefer a manual any day
I reversed a PowerShift Actros up a hill start course at the Chobham test track, it was as smooth as silk, for a control we had a manual Actros and had to try and do the same with that, I did it, so I would say that more of the problems come from the driver than the gearbox 
I had the early EPS, both the conversion on the ZF box and the all Merc G8 box, almost never found myself in neutral if I used it properly and I used to run down to Italy in those motors, never had a problem in the mountains going up or down the box
I was road testing when the early versions of the current autoshifts came out, in my opinion they’re excellent pieces of kit, but the clue is in the name, they’re automated manual transmissions, you still need to think, the gearbox cannot see, it relies on messages from numerous sensors, if all indications are that you’re about to stop, such as when you approach a roundabout, then the transmission will have a programme in mind that involves downchanging, then all of a sudden you slam the right pedal down and want the thing to change up, well it will get a bit confused, but if you use the manual facility, THIS NEVER HAPPENS
I read about a super heavy haulage operation in Scandinavia who had gone from manuals with a torque converter to I-Shift and had no problems at all, perhaps Sammyopposite can enlighten us a bit more on that one, I’ve never used a manual with a torque converter, I understand the principle, but in practice I know they’re heavy and very expensive, if I-Shift is good enough to replace that, well it speaks for itself really
I also use a constant mesh Fuller 18spd when I’m not using this here keyboard, it has much lighter shift loads than any synchro box, but in traffic… it’s a pain in the arse, I hate crunching gears and I very seldom do, unless I’m in traffic 