Chris Webb:
Aye,I’d go back to the 60s and 70s.Never had a “Furriner” to drive early on,brought up on Albions,Leylands,AECs,Bedfords.But I really would like to go back and drive that AEC MK5 Mammoth Major 526 GYG tanker with the AV691 and rotary fuel pump and 6-speed box.I will seem old fashioned to some of you on here but that was one of my favourites of all time,never let me down and didn’t want to let it go,although I had to as I was one of the few with a class 1 licence,so was upgraded to a tilt cab Mandator.Changing wheels and injector pipes were an every day occurence as well as new valve washers on the tank outlet valves and footvalves,but you had all yer own gear to do that and there was always somebody would pull up and bail you out.It’s been said on here many a time but the best driving days are long gone; all I can say is I was privileged to be part of them.
Best of luck to the lads who are still at it though,some buggers got to do it,just glad it’s not me.
As an after thought,when I started with Glass Glover(MFS) in 1979 it was my introduction to synchro Scania 81 boxes and I made a rayt chuff of myself,trying to double-declutch,and also no spare wheels,no injector pipes swinging on yer coat hook in case of,a two-way radio or radio telephone in t’cab was the norm in case of night-time breakdowns.Sounds great but wasn’t the same after that.
So I went shunting…
hiya,
Chris my little runabout is a Corsa,( i have a two pedal diesel Citroen for weekends ) when i’m in the Corsa it’s a manual and i still double de-clutch and often drag the steering round the wrong way when going backroads on, old habits die hard.
thanks harry long retired.
I know what you mean Harry.Like you I was on "proper " drawbars for about 5 years and when I went back on artics made a chuff of mesen.I still double-declutch sometimes in me Mini-Cooper(wife’s car ),aye old habits…always using side mirrors,never look in rear view,am I the one of the few?
I’m not surprised that a lot of lads on here miss the older driving days,the old roads,cafes,and all the drivers who had time for a chat; but like I said,some poor buggers’ got to do it.
hiya,
and just so long as that poor b****r is’'nt me Chris i want nowt to do with the present day side of things.
thanks harry long retired.
I think its not so much that the motors have changed, its that the job has changed.
When we did it, the job needed men that could.
We were safe to be let loose out of the gaffers sight for more than 5 minutes to take a wagon and a load across Europe and to deal with anything that cropped up. And enjoy a certain amount of freedom.
And so the job attracted men of a certain calibre. Even then some of them didn’t stick around.
The fact that the job is now regulated and tracked with sat nav and mobile phone puts exactly those men (and women) off.
Would I go back to my Transcon and Spain or Italy every week?..YES
Would I accept a brand new FH12 and do the job today sitting in RDCs for hours every day?.. NO sod off.
Now then, also amongst m y list of motors was four ford transcons, all scrap heap challenge spec trucks, loved them when i was going to spain with the big ole beelly tanks, not at all very clever when i did poland, heating was non existant ! Wasnt very good on fuel but we didnt worry about mpg with a belly tank !Everybody complains about the brakes, but when ya knew how to sort them they were brilliant, drill out the hubs and drums, take the wheel off and adjust them from the outside, were so good they scared you !
well i started in 96 and the job was already knackered by then,but if i could go back it would be to the 80,s doing european in either a daf 3600 spacecab or f12 globetrotter,
Looking back,when I was promoted from an Atki Borderer,(With which I was more than happy),to a DAF 2600 I was like a dog with two sticks.
A couple of years later when I started M/E with a 290 F88, I thought that was also the best thing since sliced bread.
However,looking back now,I would have prefered going M/E in the DAF as I think the cab was superior to the F88,apart from the lack of a tilt cab.
After the F88 I went up to a Transcon and that was the DB’s.
Hiya…just love to go back to about 1968 maybe 65…i know we moaned about plateing but it did clean some
trucks up. (i always got the crap one,s)I.d put up with the rattles and draughts. Someone mentioned not
driving but been a plumber /electrican/or evan a teacher…I loved trucks/ driving/ freedom /we,ev all been there
and done it. Can a say somthing that say,s it all. TRUCK NET…Theres no Plumb net or Spark net not even Teacher net.
because although predictable and most likley profitable trades but without comaradary.
Did you ever hear to blokes talking about how to unblock a sewer in the cafe, never! other trades don,t comunicate.
The dream …a 3300 spacecab (extened bed) DAF in 1968 (with a adjustable steering wheel)a 45ft triaxle tilt with a
rolling roof/ a phone/air com.carring oilrig stores equipment for Shell (good pension) into europe.anything back
to Stoke area.possibly michelin.
John
Would I go back to the old days, proper cafs , no speed limiters, no speed cameras, everybody flashing you to slow down when there was a cop with a speed check, Vosca not needing to be self funding, no mobile phones, trucks that you needed a short stick to have “cruise control” drivers that were drivers and had pride and independence, drivers who would help you out for a quick brew, drivers who were mates on the road and not traffic controled, back stabbing, full their boots screw drivers. Trucks that you took pride in driving and getting the best out of, hitting the sweat spot to climb the next hill, proper gearboxes that you needed a stick to change gear,running in overdrive with the needle bouncing and passing everything (apart from a mate doing the same) and not worried about getting caught, flashing the indicater when you met a mate running the other direction at night, and not being mistaken for turning right !!!, running the engine all night just to keep warm. a wagon with two headlights ( maybe plus a couple of spots) and not the multitude of lights that drivers need these days just to do days !!! Trucks that looked like trucks and not the may fair on tour.Being able to stop when and if you needed to with log books that you used when you needed to, and not controled by the Digi tacho that you have to loose time to just to keep legal, and some person in traffic control that question your every move, usually someone who hasnt even driven a transit, let alone a artic outfit.
You bet your bottom dollar I would, When do I start…
Just thinking, would you go back, im still there! twentyone years in the game and i havent progressed at all,…i may put that on my truck, driving 21 years, and i still havent got there!
richmond:
Just thinking, would you go back, im still there! twentyone years in the game and i havent progressed at all,…i may put that on my truck, driving 21 years, and i still havent got there!
Progressed mate, just be glad you havnt gone backwards,everything else has.
andrew brick:
Would I go back to the old days, proper cafs , no speed limiters, no speed cameras, everybody flashing you to slow down when there was a cop with a speed check, Vosca not needing to be self funding, no mobile phones, trucks that you needed a short stick to have “cruise control” drivers that were drivers and had pride and independence, drivers who would help you out for a quick brew, drivers who were mates on the road and not traffic controled, back stabbing, full their boots screw drivers. Trucks that you took pride in driving and getting the best out of, hitting the sweat spot to clim the next hill, proper gearboxes that you needed a stick to change gear,running in overdrive with the needle bouncing and passing everything (apart from a mate doing the same) and not worried about getting caught, flashing the indicater when you met a mate running the other direction at night, and not being mistaken for turning right !!!, running the engine all night just to keep warm. a wagon with two headlights ( maybe plus a couple of spots) and not the multitude of lights that drivers need these days just to do days !!! Trucks that looked like trucks and not the may fair on tour. You bet your bottom dollar I would, When do I start…
Totally agree with all of the above apart from the"trucks " bit . . . it was lorries or wagons
And it was haulage contractors or transport back then . Kin Logistics now.
andrew brick:
Would I go back to the old days, proper cafs , no speed limiters, no speed cameras, everybody flashing you to slow down when there was a cop with a speed check, Vosca not needing to be self funding, no mobile phones, trucks that you needed a short stick to have “cruise control” drivers that were drivers and had pride and independence, drivers who would help you out for a quick brew, drivers who were mates on the road and not traffic controled, back stabbing, full their boots screw drivers. Trucks that you took pride in driving and getting the best out of, hitting the sweat spot to clim the next hill, proper gearboxes that you needed a stick to change gear,running in overdrive with the needle bouncing and passing everything (apart from a mate doing the same) and not worried about getting caught, flashing the indicater when you met a mate running the other direction at night, and not being mistaken for turning right !!!, running the engine all night just to keep warm. a wagon with two headlights ( maybe plus a couple of spots) and not the multitude of lights that drivers need these days just to do days !!! Trucks that looked like trucks and not the may fair on tour. You bet your bottom dollar I would, When do I start…
Totally agree with all of the above apart from the"trucks " bit . . . it was lorries or wagons
And it was haulage contractors or transport back then . Kin Logistics now.
sorry Suedehead, totally agree, lorries were lorries and not trucks, and yes there was a boss that had done the job long before you started, so it was no good saying that you couldnt do it as he could, and not some jumped up Uni kid, working in logistics,who is only doing the job due to his/her degree, usually in Art or Politics or some other fine sounding qualification.
regards Andrew LSEND ( left school early,no degree)
richmond:
Good points men,logistics, which actually means, transport, for tie wearers ! me, im in haulage !
Hi, thanks,not so sure about the tie mind you, my old Dad (RIP) always wore a tie, started in the 30s doing contract tractor work, then went in partnership with his brothers to start Brick Bros, mostly did livestock, had petrol lorries at first, including Rio Speedwaggons, and was known to drive all day, then rebuild the engine at night and continue to drive the next day, tough as leather in those days, and ill openly admit I cant hold a candle up to him, but he always wore a tie, now theres one in the eye for Steady Eddy and his wrecking crew .
one of the first artics I drove ( actually the first was an F86) and one I was driving last weekend.
Heres the question, which one would you drive ■■
regards Andrew.
richmond:
Good points men,logistics, which actually means, transport, for tie wearers ! me, im in haulage !
Hi, thanks,not so sure about the tie mind you, my old Dad (RIP) always wore a tie, started in the 30s doing contract tractor work, then went in partnership with his brothers to start Brick Bros, mostly did livestock, had petrol lorries at first, including Rio Speedwaggons, and was known to drive all day, then rebuild the engine at night and continue to drive the next day, tough as leather in those days, and ill openly admit I cant hold a candle up to him, but he always wore a tie, now theres one in the eye for Steady Eddy and his wrecking crew .
Look Andrew you are dead right about “Fast Eddie” what ever “bull manure” they spout about discovering a new way to operate you can be sure that the same thing has been done many years previously and probably better!!! Dennis.
cockney:
Funny you all say the same thing’s… I think we would all go back in a beat .the motors may have been cold in the winter and hot in the summer .break down when you really did not need it … but you learnt how to get them going again.How many times did we all run out on a Sunday to catch the boat or get up top Scotland ready for Monday morning tip. But then saying that how many of you would not have even come into the business if you could have looked into the future…I know there is no way i would have even looked at coming in top this business I would have been a plumber or anything where i could earn a living without starting at five in the morning and walking in at seven at night… Still saying all that when you are out on the road doing the job. Getting into a tight building site or loading a different machine you still feel as seance of pride… until that phone rings and the boss opens his mouth with some stupid comment about how long it has taken you to get the job done… I used to love roping and sheeting … yes it was hard work and with me being only 5.6ft tall lifting the sheets on top of a loads was a struggle but we did it…or climb a ladder with a chain in hand dragging it over a high machine…balancing on top of a load … you learnt quick how to do the job… I sometimes do a bit of agency work in and around Northampton… I i must say talking to some of the new drivers i meet …And i use the word driver !!! one said to me if sat nav dose not know it we don’t do it. Would i go back Bloody right i would … Stay safe out there lads
Well done Cockney,I think you may have summed it up for all of us,but my definitely my own sentiments
First truck I ever went in was a Volvo FL6. Decent motor for the time (1986). The only thing better about it compared to modern trucks was it’d do 85mph
Lonewolf Yorks:
Would I accept a brand new FH12 and do the job today sitting in RDCs for hours every day?.. NO sod off.
I would. As an engineer who’s used to having to work for every penny I earn, usually in a smelly, dirty factory operating knackered old machinery that noah used on the arc, driving round in an I-Shift Globby and playing on my laptop in an RDC waiting room sounds like heaven
Lonewolf Yorks:
Would I accept a brand new FH12 and do the job today sitting in RDCs for hours every day?.. NO sod off.
I would. As an engineer who’s used to having to work for every penny I earn, usually in a smelly, dirty factory operating knackered old machinery that noah used on the arc, driving round in an I-Shift Globby and playing on my laptop in an RDC waiting room sounds like heaven
HAVE TO AGREE THE WAITING USED TO DRIVE ME MAD BE BOOKED INTO SOME HUNTERS OR TESCO WHAREHOUSE BACK IN THE 80S THEY WERE NOT CALLED RDC SIT THERE SOMETIMES FOR 4 OR 5 HOURS AND AS I SPENT THE EARLY PART OF MY WORKING LIFE AS A BUTCHER DOING JOB AND KNOCK WORKING ALL OUTR BREAKS SO WE COULD GET INTO THE PUB IN THE AFTERNOON BEFORE THE 3 OCLOCK CLOSING TIME SITTING AROUND DROVE ME NUTS i SWITCHED IN THE END TO CLASS 2 WORK MUCK AWAY AND FINALLY EMPTYING BOTTLE BANKS NO HANGING AROUND LOVED IT THEN, i WOULD HATE ALL THE REGS NOW AND THE MINISTRY SOUND LIKE A NIGHTMARE PLUS THE BLOODY PARKING MAFIA BUT WOULD LOVE TO TAKE AN OLD GIRL OUT FOR A DAY AN OLD 88 OR SCANNY ANYTHING FOR A BIT OF NOSTALGIA. CHEERS ALL FRED
I had a new MAN in 1986, it was a lovely truck to work in. I never did nights out as we were on trunk with it day & night so I can’t comment on it as far as the bunk is concerned but I’d go back to that truck any day.
As an owner driver, I had a new DAF 85CF long wheelbase 8 wheeler in 1999, it had a sleeper on it along with a twin splitter box & I’d also go back to that truck tomorrow too. Of all the trucks I’ve driven in the last 30 odd years those are the 2 I miss.
boxes and I made a rayt chuff of myself,trying to double-declutch,and also no spare wheels,no injector pipes swinging on yer coat hook in case of,a two-way radio or radio telephone in t’cab was the norm in case of night-time breakdowns.Sounds great but wasn’t the same after that.
),aye old habits…always using side mirrors,never look in rear view,am I the one of the few?
