Wheel Nut:
Simon, for once Carryfast is correct. I didn’t mean an 18 speed twinsplitter, that was never an option.
The Eaton TSO failed the noise tests as did many other types of gearbox. Carry seems to think I am against the 9, 13, 15 and 18 speed Fuller boxes. I am not, they were a forerunner of the TSO and eventually the iShift
Most of the drivers who hated these boxes had only driven them for an hour or a couple of days at most, anyone who had driven one in anger will know how slick they were. Any constant mesh gearbox is faster than a synchromesh gearbox, it just takes a little more practice and the knack of pushing the stick through quicker.
Engines work differently now, they will pull a house down much more easily than 25 years ago although the Rockwell Fuller ■■■■■■■ is still a favourite power house, for me, and many others of our age
Although RobK will probably never get it my comments have got zb all to do with drivers not liking the things it’s just a case of can’t see the point if a driver has two legs and feet and two arms and knows how to drive. 
So assuming that RobK fits into that description what the zb is his problem 
.
I was very lucky really, as the first truck I drove when I started Agency work back in 1993 was an ERF E12 with a 325 ■■■■■■■ and ETS. Before that, I had just been used to 4 or 6 wheelers with 6 speed or 4/4 boxes. For all it’s foibles, the ETS was a very good gearbox imo. You felt like an ‘operator’ when using it as opposed to a ‘Driver’ (not meant negatively). I loved it, and had many trucks in the 90’s - Foden’s, Ford’s, Seddon’s, ERF’s - that were allied to it!
I recently bought a Ford Cargo 3828 (no laughing please!!) as restoration project with an Eaton/Fuller RT11609a box in it (Roadranger hybrid I suppose you miht say). Not quite the Twinsplit of course, but equally a constant mesh box and a joy to operate. 
Wheel Nut:
Engines work differently now, they will pull a house down much more easily than 25 years ago although the Rockwell Fuller ■■■■■■■ is still a favourite power house, for me, and many others of our age
Well I used to drive a Ford Louisville with a 350 ■■■■■■■■ Eaton gearbox and Rockwell axles in Australia. It had a straight up exhaust mounted about 2 feet from my right ear and almost deafened me.
Apart from being the most uncomfortable truck I’ve ever driven, it used to shake itself apart every week, and the Eaton gearbox was a pile of ■■■. in comparison to the gearboxes we use today. It was obstinate when cold, downright rebellious when you wanted reverse, and took it’s time to do anything else even when it was in a good mood.
It was bullet proof though! In contrast, the ■■■■■■■ was a beauty!
Times have changed guys. Engines and economy requires a different type of gearbox and driver, so it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the sort of agricultural engineering the Eaton twin splitter represented even then!
EastAnglianTrucker:
Wheel Nut:
Engines work differently now, they will pull a house down much more easily than 25 years ago although the Rockwell Fuller ■■■■■■■ is still a favourite power house, for me, and many others of our age
Well I used to drive a Ford Louisville with a 350 ■■■■■■■■ Eaton gearbox and Rockwell axles in Australia. It had a straight up exhaust mounted about 2 feet from my right ear and almost deafened me.
Apart from being the most uncomfortable truck I’ve ever driven, it used to shake itself apart every week, and the Eaton gearbox was a pile of ■■■. in comparison to the gearboxes we use today. It was obstinate when cold, downright rebellious when you wanted reverse, and took it’s time to do anything else even when it was in a good mood.
It was bullet proof though! In contrast, the ■■■■■■■ was a beauty!
Times have changed guys. Engines and economy requires a different type of gearbox and driver, so it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the sort of agricultural engineering the Eaton twin splitter represented even then!
I think it is unfair of you to blame a gearbox for the pile of crap it was fitted to, what has a straight pipe next to your ear got to do with it? You mention agricultural engineering, the Americans are very good at that, you only have to ride a Harley Davidson or drive a Dodge Viper 
And they are a Superpower?
What could be simpler?
A simple design that works. 
Early on in my class1 driving, I went to one agency who put me through a driving assesment in an ERF with an Eaton twin-splitter. The guy talked me through it and then off we went, I must say that in a very short while I gained quite a bit of confidence. That of course was with an empty trailer. A few days later they sent me out with 26 ton-bags of aggregate and that was a lot different, and it must have took me a good 2-3 hours to get the hang of it, and even then it would turn round and bite me if it thought I was’nt looking 
I had that motor for a couple of days and then learnt that it was actually the hardest one in the fleet to drive, and that none of the other drivers really liked it! So the other thing to expect with them is that every one is a one off with some little vagaries all of it’s own.
Still, very glad I got a chance to drive one, and would’nt be afraid to go out with one again. Still to experience the Fuller though 
Wheel Nut:
I think it is unfair of you to blame a gearbox for the pile of crap it was fitted to, what has a straight pipe next to your ear got to do with it? You mention agricultural engineering, the Americans are very good at that, you only have to ride a Harley Davidson or drive a Dodge Viper
Well I guess you’re right Wheel Nut! The point being that the Eaton was as agricultural as the rest of the truck. Everything was built to take pretty much anything this side of a nuclear explosion, except the Louisville chassis which simply couldn’t take the punishment Aussie roads dished out. That may have had something to do with the stone age cart springs keeping the back axles off the ground, but they were easy to keep running! Just damned uncomfortable. And the exhaust has nothing to do with the gearbox… but running between Dubbo and Narrabri in 35 degree heat with no aircon, you have to have the window open, which means the exhaust is making your teeth chatter… (and that’s with your mouth clenched shut!) 
… oh, and double de-clutching is the way to go!
kr79:
Modern trucks don’t need 16 18 gears I drive a 360 hp 8 wheeler and a 440 hp artic both with 16 speed boxes and only really split the top two gears.
To Richmond the fuller or twin split option should be easy enough to sort out as the Aussies done it along with a few uk heavy hauliers. I’m sure if you have a word at astrans some of there subbies fitted them to 141s and 142s over the years
Actually, info onhow to fit one is very hard to get, we think, same bellhousing, a 141 plate witha 143 cover and release bearing, make your own prop and gear stick, any more info would be nice, cant seem to get any real info from anywhere, i even e mailed scania and eaton.As an aside issue, i took my erf with a twin split out yesterday, if you rush them then ya do end up in neutral a lot, whereas with the 13 speed fller you will just crunch it and not get it in gear…Also, if you lose air in a twin split, you will get no gears and with a 13 it wont. makes it hard to line up the splines when fitting a clutch!
Best wagon I ever had was an erf ec14 500 with the eaton twin splitter in it, that box was worth 50 extra bhp on the hills in the right hands
billybigrig:
billybigrig:
Conor:
Once you’ve really got the hang of the box, other than setting off from standstill, you don’t need to use the clutch at all. I once was driving one where the clutch slave cylinder packed up as I approached Ferrybridge. I managed to get from Ferrybridge all the way to Newcastle, unload and drive all the way back to Hull. Had that been any other gearbox than an Eaton twin split, I’d not have been able to do that.
I beg to differ - Scania 112, 10 speed box, full load of oranges, master cylinder went around Teruel. Up shipped, tipped and home for a new one.
That said I do like the Twin Splitter or any other box that reduces the need for my input. Now back to my I-shift I go
youtube.com/watch?v=sxUuLG20P1Y
Not me but proves the point, eh
Not bad, part of the Native American tribe. The Blackfoots 
They’re alright going up the box, in sequence.
Not so easy to block change down!
I like the Twin Splitter, the 1st one I used was in a Hino, it was like stirring a bucket of bolts with a broom at first, then we took the rubber bushes out of the linkage and replaced them with poly ones and it transformed it.
I also had a 520 Eurostar with the electronic version, that was also diabolical at first, the fix for that was a little more extreme than changing the bushes, I yanked out the electrics and put a gearstick in it, that was when the real problems started, 1st was where 2nd should be and 3rd and 4th were back to front too Luckily sudden Accident had started using the Iveco cab, so I got the bits I needed from them and put it right, that motor was a complete animal, a big 17ltr V8 and a Twin Splitter, what a combination, that thing used to make mincemeat out of anything coming over the hills in Italy 
Talking of fitting an Eaton into a Scania, Birds had a 142 with a Twin Splitter
Anyone remember the ‘bunnyhopping’ technique
Eaton or fuller they were both about the same, you had to get the revs correct or it could go out of gear quite scary when you are not expecting it to happen. What fun though. 
Mrknowitall, did you know there are several active members here fitting this username?
Its ok though, as they sign in with a different one.
Edit: typo. 2 F’s in different.
No im not aware of anyone using my sign in name, but it would not supprise me if someone was setting me up.
Mrknowitall:
Eaton or fuller they were both about the same, you had to get the revs correct or it could go out of gear quite scary when you are not expecting it to happen. What fun though.
That statement is applicable to any transmission system ever built, from a threshing machine belt to a Simplex or Shimano derailleur.
Even a synchromesh gearbox has to match the engine speeds before they can mesh, the difference is that the disposable wear cones and rings do it for the driver. I cringe when I hear the synchros whining, at least with an Eaton Fuller, it is an audible warning that the driver is a ■■■
i think most of the older drivers on here have at some stage driven a truck with an eaton twin spilt…not that we had any choice…the last one i drove was in a Strato, which had the same cab as a daf 95.
At the time it was a pleisure to drive, as it took a lot of presure off of the gear changes, well less effort, and no clutch to play about with, except when pulling away. Back then there wasnt any speed limiters either, but times change and now we have a new breed of gear boxes, such as the auto, which is also the same as marmite…i prefer them, and anything that adds to a drivers easy way of life is better. The only problem i find is on hill starts, where you cant hold it on the clutch, so have to use the handbrake, just cant get used to the little button to hold it, but anyway, its a useful tool for large companies because they can hire any driver and not have to worry about whether he can handle the gearbox or not, with only a D or an R…why even a child can handle that surely !
The industry is moving in the right direction, its only the authoritys who are not, they keep allowing longer trailers ( to please the bosses )...so maybe they will favour the drivers next and allow ONLY longer units, so manufacturers can give the driver more comfort, showers, toilets, and a home from home feel, at least the recruitment crises could go a long way to being solved....but alas...not in my lifetime in this country..as was said in an earlier post...they cant even use the construction and use regulations to MAKE manufacturers fit sun blinds in all makes, that actually protect drivers eyes, its an easy solution...just follow the blind idea such as are in Dafs, Magnums etc.
newmercman:
I like the Twin Splitter, the 1st one I used was in a Hino,[ /color]it was like stirring a bucket of bolts with a broom at first, then we took the rubber bushes out of the linkage and replaced them with poly ones and it transformed it.
I also had a 520 Eurostar with the electronic version, that was also diabolical at first, the fix for that was a little more extreme than changing the bushes, I yanked out the electrics and put a gearstick in it, that was when the real problems started, 1st was where 2nd should be and 3rd and 4th were back to front too Luckily sudden Accident had started using the Iveco cab, so I got the bits I needed from them and put it right, that motor was a complete animal, a big 17ltr V8 and a Twin Splitter, what a combination, that thing used to make mincemeat out of anything coming over the hills in Italy
Talking of fitting an Eaton into a Scania, Birds had a 142 with a Twin Splitter
Anyone remember the ‘bunnyhopping’ technique
I thought you were cool,intelligent and sophisticated. Now I find out you’re a recycled tipper monkey! You’ve gone waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy down in my books!
Edit to add; Not familiar with the bunny-hop, do tell!
