It’s now over 5 years since Paccar/Daf axed the kite badge. What are your opinions/experiences of them?
Personally I think the tipper game is worse off; Nothing quite fits the bill for low tare/power/traction combination. MANs seem capable but are obese when taring in. There isnt much on 8wheels that’ll outpull a 400bhp Cat or ■■■■■■■ when tipping on a landfill. I think the rot started when Leyland Daf were bought by Paccar, I know Fodens’ were bankrupt late 70s but they were a good workhorse until they shut the gates at Sandbach…
Well Im a Foden man & allways will be, This was my first Foden. 15.800. Payload, It would go anywhere,its a shame that they still dont make them, I long retired now , But still think a lot about the old days, when Fodens were the best tipper you could get , as far as Im concerened of course, not everyone would agree I know, But if you had a driver the could handle the 12 speed box, you had it made. Regards Larry
A shame that they stopped making Fodens.A great lorry in the quarry and construction industry.
good gaffers wagon were fodens , always got you where you were going (eventually). the early ones i drove with the 5 speed box were dire , but as larry has said , the 12 speed had a gear for everything . i had one with a 680 leyland in it and it was an absolute animal , went like (zb) off a shovel , but didn’t stop too well . in 1979 i got a new s10 which was great loads of power , warmth and lightweight . from then until they closed they were building good lorries , far better than leyland /daf could manage but the bean counters won in the end .
rigsby:
good gaffers wagon were fodens , always got you where you were going (eventually). the early ones i drove with the 5 speed box were dire , but as larry has said , the 12 speed had a gear for everything . i had one with a 680 leyland in it and it was an absolute animal , went like (zb) off a shovel , but didn’t stop too well . in 1979 i got a new s10 which was great loads of power , warmth and lightweight . from then until they closed they were building good lorries , far better than leyland /daf could manage but the bean counters won in the endHiya …A up rigsby i recon we should get a S39 foden twelve speed with a 2 stroke motor…no maybe a gardner 150 to take to shows so
folk can have a go at playing a tune or two. i bet everyone would like the experiance just to say they tried…£20 for 10 mins would pay for
diesel.we could get tommy babb in with us he could make go…I was telling a chap at Astle park how to drive a 12speed foden box
he just could’nt understand the movment of the sticks …his motor was a foden… he just used direct 1/2/3/4 then O/D
i never had a 8lxb with a 12 speed i bet they was fun I’ll have to get rocky to let me in his.
John
Id have my S reg 4000 series with 340 Cat back anyday over a new motor of any kind…
You can have this one Nathan 
the s39 was my favourite john . everything in easy reach , really comfy to drive . i drove a couple of s80s with the 8 potter a 240 and a 300 , they sounded great and went well , trouble is , i had an s10 with the 290 big cam , they couldn’t live with that . cheers , dave
One I used to drive on a part time basis - CAT powered
was blubberhouses anything to do with longcliffe quarries biker , the livery was identical , you are the man to ask having worked for them , cheers , dave
rigsby:
the s39 was my favourite john . everything in easy reach , really comfy to drive . i drove a couple of s80s with the 8 potter a 240 and a 300 , they sounded great and went well , trouble is , i had an s10 with the 290 big cam , they couldn’t live with that . cheers , dave
Smiths sent their S39s back; Went well but crap brakes and steering ( You turned left they went straight on) When loaded the front axle had a tendency to lift. They were last heard of in gloucestershire coverted to mixers. The Haulmaster (or Fleetmaster, the one with the split screen) was a nice lorry to drive apparently, but our 8ws were powered by a Gardner 202…gutless.
S 21, 150 LX, S36 Leyland 680 PP. I wish I still had all of them to take to the shows, even today the S36 as you see it 52mph, 22 Tonne Pay Load, Im sure would hold its own, loveley motor to drive, Happy Foden Days Larry.
At 68 years of age and from a similar background to Lawrence Dunbar I said the haulage industry in this country would come to rue the day it allowed the demise of , Foden , ERF , and SEDDON/ATKINSON etc . I remember haulage operators and other industries being conned !!! by Scania ,Volvo ,etc to buy or lease their product with a maintaiance package , a very expensive way to run trucks .
Foden Alpha 8 wheelers are a decent tipper, the rubber suspension models have a wide stable chassis for tipping. They have however inherited from Daf the high spares prices of the European makes and some of the other common Daf faults.
The demise of the uk manufacturers has definitley left a gap in the market for a straightforward 8 wheeler tipper chassis with good payload potential that can be operated and maintained ecconomically.
I took this photo a Greenfields, Aberagie, Perth, It belonged to a good friend of mine Brian Patterson . & Sons,
it’s comical isn’t it , 40 years ago foden were making gardner engined lorries with a top speed better than what they are allowed now , and no spy in the cab to tell them when you selected silent overdrive downhill , dave
