Juddian:
It wasn’t the quality that caused the demise of ERF or British makers IMO, it was failure from the makers and dealers to take on the foreigners at their own game of offering 24 hour workshops, leasing etc and the whole package.
You hit the nail on the head there Juddian… British trucks had a good engineering background and served many a haulier well…a small bit of fighting fire with fire would have evened up the score a little.
I find it sad when I go to Gaydon every year and think of what could have/should have been…
On one of the other threads, an operator said that his E series ERFs were less reliable than the Continental makes in his fleet. How does that compare with other operators’ experiences?
Simply looking at the design of the vehicles, I would guess that the E series was possibly superior to the competition. Its cab was almost rot-proof (in the 1980s, the Swedish makes were still rust-prone) and, according to many, the parts were cheap to buy and easy to replace. If ERF had had a bit more cash to invest in its European dealer network, it might have generated enough sales to remain independent. Most drivers’ complaints seem to focus on the cheapo interior fittings.
ERFs seem to be a bit like Marmite! You either love them or hate them. I always thought that the overall package never quite matched ther sum of their parts. Excellent driveline and components, but ultimately let down by the detail finish, and yes, build quality was an issue in latter years. (We run about 300 ERFs at Turners, buying 100 new ones in one 12 months period alone).
I drove ERF B Series for over 6 years on nights and days for SoM,no problems all good,at the time,with the 240 Percy, they were regarded as a good reliable motor,and so they proved.
David 
I drove A- and B-series ERFs for some years with Gardner 180, ■■■■■■■ 220, 250, 350 and Rolls 265 power and found them as good as anything in their time. One important point was that the boss could entrust the driver to do his own servicing and minor repairs as they were so simple to maintain. As stated previously, the cab didn’t rot away to nothing and stayed looking reasonably decent for years. Personally, I liked the ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ driveline best, although how much of this was “British” is open to conjecture!
Nowt wrong with a plastic cab, at least an O/D running an ERF or Foden could repair any minor damage with a fibreglass kit from Halfords etc instead of paying a body shop mega money to fit new steel panels. They also stayed looking good when other cabs had rotted away to ferrous oxide!
Pete.
[zb]
anorak:
On one of the other threads, an operator said that his E series ERFs were less reliable than the Continental makes in his fleet. How does that compare with other operators’ experiences?
Simply looking at the design of the vehicles, I would guess that the E series was possibly superior to the competition. Its cab was almost rot-proof (in the 1980s, the Swedish makes were still rust-prone) and, according to many, the parts were cheap to buy and easy to replace. If ERF had had a bit more cash to invest in its European dealer network, it might have generated enough sales to remain independent. Most drivers’ complaints seem to focus on the cheapo interior fittings.
Dosent that depend on who’s engine ,box and axle he was using.
Dan Punchard:
[zb]
anorak:
On one of the other threads, an operator said that his E series ERFs were less reliable than the Continental makes in his fleet. How does that compare with other operators’ experiences?
Simply looking at the design of the vehicles, I would guess that the E series was possibly superior to the competition. Its cab was almost rot-proof (in the 1980s, the Swedish makes were still rust-prone) and, according to many, the parts were cheap to buy and easy to replace. If ERF had had a bit more cash to invest in its European dealer network, it might have generated enough sales to remain independent. Most drivers’ complaints seem to focus on the cheapo interior fittings.
Dosent that depend on who’s engine ,box and axle he was using.
The chances of my finding his post are small, so I will guess that, in the late 80s/early 90s, he would have the “usual” ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ combination. IIRC, he simply said that the ERFs spent more time in the workshop than the Euro makes he ran alongside them. I wondered if this was typical.
There are a lot of hauliers that I know that would still be running ERF’s and Foden’s if they were still being built.
None of the foreign manufacturers has come up with a better tipper chassis than either of those marques.
Cheers Dave.
Very true Dave the ■■■■■■■ eaton or fuller and rockwell or eaton combination would probably be just as popular today if a vehicle manufacturer was to offer them.
Thats right Dan. I know several tipper hauliers who are having a hard time trying to think of what make of vehicle to do as good a job as a Foden or ERF would have done. Also the tare weight and price is not as good as either of those two much missed British motors.
Cheers Dave.
This one owned by JAKEY ADAMS, Ran South Wales most of its working life & then on local work right up till 2003, Then it was the yard shunter after that, I believe it never had any major problems at all, Jimmy Ruff got it brand new, Regards Larry.
[zb]
anorak:
Dan Punchard:
[zb]
anorak:
On one of the other threads, an operator said that his E series ERFs were less reliable than the Continental makes in his fleet. How does that compare with other operators’ experiences?
Simply looking at the design of the vehicles, I would guess that the E series was possibly superior to the competition. Its cab was almost rot-proof (in the 1980s, the Swedish makes were still rust-prone) and, according to many, the parts were cheap to buy and easy to replace. If ERF had had a bit more cash to invest in its European dealer network, it might have generated enough sales to remain independent. Most drivers’ complaints seem to focus on the cheapo interior fittings.
Dosent that depend on who’s engine ,box and axle he was using.
The chances of my finding his post are small, so I will guess that, in the late 80s/early 90s, he would have the “usual” ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ combination. IIRC, he simply said that the ERFs spent more time in the workshop than the Euro makes he ran alongside them. I wondered if this was typical.
Yes, at Turners the ERFs were running alongside Volvos, Scanias, and DAFs. The ERFs definitely had a worse downtime record than the others. Many of the problems were niggling faults such as electrical problems, broken fuel and air tank straps etc. Nothing major wrong with the drivelines, and we rarely needed to do any work on ■■■■■■■ engines for the whole vehicle life of 7 years, and typically 800,000 Km.
A nice A series,seen on the Heart of Wales run.
A B series on the same Welsh run.
This one looks good up against the 111.
Further to my post on page one of this thread, I have to qualify my praise of the Sandbach product by admitting that, when working for the “yellow peril” operator in my area, the E-series vehicles were regularly beset by electronic problems. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve sat on a hard shoulder waiting for the local ERF dealer to send his motorcycle out with a fitter and a laptop.
■■■■■■■ engines? Superb.
■■■■■■■ electronics? Absolute cr*p.
Dont you mean EC s ROF ,you must have had a bad one we have 2 M11s they are 3rd hand and have been to the moon and back .
Hi, Dan. All the firm’s ECs were troubled by electronic failures to a greater or lesser degree. It may be significant that the ones hit most often with problems were the ones whose drivers kept them cleanest. Water getting where it shouldn’t, maybe?
