F Troop.........

[bullitt]

GS OVERLAND:
…Mike gave him a bottle of vinegar and told him to drink it for his sore throat!!! …

FPMSL…excellent

Sounds like you used to play the same games with them as we did with the Serb / Croat / Muslim “customs” bods in Bosnia.

We used to carry 15 ton of flour in 50 kg sacks, all loose loaded held in with greedy boards and sheeted…at some of the control points the idiots used to climb up on top of the load after we had pulled back the sheets then stick long metal rods / probes down into the sacks hopeing to find weapons, people etc. Used to give great amusment to us when, as every time the big brave soldier stabbed his probe down into the load, one of us would let out a blood curdling scream then as they awalked around ontop of the load stabbing and probing there were more screams then “ouch, ouch” in time with his footsteps .

Needless to say they had a bit of a sense of humour failure but it made us laugh

[carl]

2 pics scanned from the book f88 and f89 at work these pics belong to funstons
the text that accompanies this pic in the book says that this is noel walker and dave ketteridge standing in front of there new f89

it doesnt say who these guys are but a good pic anyway

[carl]

more funstons pics from f88 and f89 at work

[240_gardner]

Carl:
2 pics scanned from the book f88 and f89 at work these pics belong to funstons
it doesnt say who these guys are but a good pic anyway

I’m sure that both MVA 369 and 370R are still alive and well: 369 featured in the 25th anniversary issue of Truck magazine in 1999, pitted against a Scania, Foden, ERF and Atki.

[truckerash]

Nian: As a response to your post of Thurs July 26, White Trux did indeed run Volvo F88/89 tractors in the desert.
Heres a nice shot of a 4x2 F89 coming out of Dover looking “a bit heavy” as she rounds the bend to Jubilee Way… check out the bow in the trailer!

and heres a photo of the only 6x6 day cabbed Merc they had.
It was a 2632 model with V10 320hp engine and 8 speed box. It was specially built with 1400 x 20 sand tyres, oscillating fifth wheel, air-con and electric diff cross locks which could lock all 3 axles. The truck was engaged on traction work in the Abu Dhabi and Dubai areas, regularly pulling double trailers grossing the outfit at 120 tons!
Driver Gordon Pearce (yes…he of Asian Transport fame) said he used to “really enjoy” spending most nights sleeping “under the stars” in the desert, watched over by his Beduion tribesmen ■■■■■■ gaurds! “The desert was a big open place and you needed these people to see you across safely” he said.
Come to think of it…we could do with those gaurds in a few laybys over here nowadays!!!

[spardo]

Thought for a moment you’d snapped me Truckerash when the co-driver
(posing below with our 89) thought the driver bore a resemblance. Not so,
forehead too high , we never had a roof rack, and the number plate
doesn’t look familiar. If it was heavy he was probably carrying magazines from
Milan as more often than not we came back very light with tights or
shoes.

Mind you, it depends when that picture was taken, routes and loads change.
Our picture was taken at Aosta in 1983.