That’s the whole point of the business , making money.Any haulier who is out to make a good living isn’t looking for the biggest bhp rated motor but for a reliable economic vehicle that will get the job done every day and earn money , dare i say it just like the 180 Gardner .The old Mercs were bullet proof but a revelation cab wise compared with what we were churning out. They are a very different proposition now. It could be a German thing because MAN are the same , repetitive faults no parts available off road for weeks.
The 2800/3300 DAFs i drove had the knock over box ZF 16 speed but they had the Fuller option too. When the 95 was launched they had changed to a collar on the gear lever. I personally didn’t mind the ZF. Renault had a knock over arrangement on their own 18 speed box which again was ok but very rattley which never filled me with confidence. Their 340/365s that i drove had a fantastic cab , i would say probably the best around in the 80s but there was a reason they were cheap. Ivecos we ran were total opposite the cabs fell apart and were cramped but the 360s were very strong and coupled to the 13 speed Fuller performed well. So put the Iveco engine and box in the Renault of the time and you would have a decent machine if you could get the build quality right. I doubt Renault or Iveco would last too long down under
To a degree yes, but the trucks’ presentation is a billboard for the provider of the service.
Expectations have also changed exponentially. Forty or fifty years ago, when a truck left the east coast, Darwin bound, the expectation was that it would arrive eventually, the urgent freight going on the front trailer, because that always got there first. Nowadays arrival is guaranteed in three days.
Sydney, apparently
Yes that’s the same here everythings got to be there before it’s set off. When my dad started driving it took 11 to 12 hours down to London from Yorkshire but when i started i could do London and back within 10 hours. That was before limiters and the increase in traffic. The lorry is an advertisement as you say and also gives the notion of professionalism but it isn’t always the case certainly where i live .Spotless top of the range Swedes and Dafs and low wages go hand in hand with some local hauliers nearby
No reason to doubt that, it’s got a New South Wales numberplate.
Used to be common here too, in some smaller fleets, the saying being that the drivers were paying for the trucks.
Are automatics being used over there SDU?
Yes Ramone, its amazing the number of drivers who only have an automatic licence.
I did a trip to Melbourne out of Brisbane, a few months ago.
Heard the following exchange over the UHF.
Truck 1 “Copy in the Lindsays?”
Truck being called does not respond, despite half a dozen calls.
Truck 1 “Copy in the Lindsays?”
Truck 3 “Must be an Indian, mate.”
Truck 1 “Nah, I don’t think so, it’s a Kenworth.”
Truck 3 " They make them in automatic now."
I nearly drove off the road, with laughter. Funny as, but so probably true.
It’s like they’ve made the job as easy as anything to get more people into the industry .The job isn’t what it was and the driving standards over here are pretty bad to say the least.Our site at Stourton Leeds is busy and we get all sorts in, from all over Europe and from here , some haven’t a clue and can’t reverse to save their lives.While i’m writing this i’m watching a driver from a well known transport company trying to reverse up a slight incline loaded , onto a loading bay. A brand new Daf with a midlift and he’s spinning the tyres on the drive instead of lifting the midlift and using his diff locks. The standards are not what they were
I don’t think there are any 1987 European or Japanese trucks, of similar vintage, still surviving. It’s still a very optimistic asking price, in my opinion.
Someone is bidding 85$Aus ? About £45,000-ish.
Tyres on the limit, surface rust all over the chassis, broken windows on the sleeper, I would bet that driving it down a rough road every panel would creak and rattle. Well worn interior.
Looks like a well used old truck but with the asking price of a minter.
What state are the axles/diffs and gearbox in?
Too rough to be a show truck, and too expensive and old to be a good bet for a first truck? Whatever you want it for it’ll need some more spent on it.
On the other hand, it has got shiny wheels and a pretty colour scheme, plus a big cooler.
Do you have the emissions restrictions over there, we have the ridiculous clean air zones where i live and its £50 a day if you enter with an older non compliant lorry or bus or even vans and pick ups at a lower rate which aren’t registered in the local area which in many cases renders perfectly good vehicles useless. The puzzling thing is the bus companies based in the city are still using old buses with no charge but there fumes don’t matter!!!
@Frangers, yeah the basic architecture will be a bit tired, but I don’t think the surface rust is a big issue. That is a double rail chassis (one rail inside another), that’s where they get serious rust. It’s a major job to split the rails and rectify.
Tyres are a given on any second hand truck, regardless of tread depth. Everyone bungs on their run-outs and dodgy tyres on a truck, when they’re selling.
The engine, gearbox and rear suspension have been upgraded to modern standards.
I reckon it’s an ambitious price for that, even in show condition.
@ramone , at the present time we have no emission zones, but there is talk of it. Most of our big companies demand stubbies hav trucks newer than X years old, or meet various emission standards.
Maybe it would be a good base for a wrecker we have just sold a 2010 Daf xf 6x4 unit and they are converting it to a wrecker, i don’t think they realised the engine was using oil and one of our new breed’s done a synchro in top box.
My biggest concern is heavy rust between the chassis rails.
It has had a lot of money spent on it and it looks the part. Why is it up for auction? Its mechanical spec is modern, it’s GCM is up to the minute. If it was a viable truck, it would still be working, in my opinion.
Do you have age snobbery over there? Some drivers wont drive motors over here because they are over a certain age.They see the registration plate and condem them straight away picking faults before they get in them .I personally would prefer an older motor with a manual box but the new breed want new motors
I could never understand that mentality. Perhaps they had deprived childhoods and not enough shiny Dinkies or summat. On several occasions I actually opted for older lorries after being offered newer ones, simply because I preferred it to drive, or it had a more useful living space or was LHD. New doesn’t always mean better, as any Acking ■■■■ -tross driver will tell you 
I much preferred my 2006 DAF to the ones that replaced it.
The later ones had better MPG, were a little quieter, and better emissions and hence taxes.
But as a “driving machine” the earlier one was far nicer.
The clutch/g-box was letting go the later ones at under 1million kms, but the earlier ones were going along at well over 1m.
I do see that having an idiot in a manual truck will be expensive, but a good driver in a manual will outdo an auto.
I can see the economic reason for getting newer, but that doesn’t mean I like the trucks.
Agree on all points 
The thing now is that you don’t have to understand them you just get in and use one foot to stop and go.There’s alot of drivers here now who’s priority is a USB port or a coffee maker.Laughable how the industry’s moved forward in leaps and bounds but in reality it’s gone backwards. It would be interesting to know how the Australians are dealing with new drivers , what training they need and above all their attitude to their job