The last artic that Sharples ran with a payload of 26 ton at 38 ton gross,driven by John Williams who also drove their first artic many years before.
Dave i saw that trailer for sale on flea bay a while ago with a foden cab in the back, not sure if it was the cab off that unit or not,i think i posted on here at the time
Re-The sheeting systems, the front to back ones with the arms are better for muckaway work as the sheet is folded away up at the front. Downside is the springs are prone to breaking, meaning you need to wind out some sheet, then get out and push the arms over manually.
They’re impossible to keep loads dry, and lime dust will blow out the sides in a slight breeze. Infact, Altitude will attest to this; When we were both on Smiths, we dusted the verges between Burford and Thame and must’ve arrived half a ton lighter each!
Moose:
Dave i saw that trailer for sale on flea bay a while ago with a foden cab in the back, not sure if it was the cab off that unit or not,i think i posted on here at the time
I think the unit is still in a shed in their yard.It was for sale.
Cheers Dave.
This was the last new truck that I had. One of a pair that came from Charnwood Trucks at Shepshed, Leics, in October 1996. Fitted with the Rolls/Perkins 335 engine and Fuller 13 speed box it was downrated to 31 tonne gross which gave a payload around the 20 tonne mark. A bit of a mixed bag really, it drove nicely and pulled well but the driver’s air seat would not work in cold weather from new, I had to lift it up and lock it on cold mornings until the cab warmed through. The voltage dropper was one of a bad batch and the CB made all sorts of strange noises unless you turned the heated mirrors on to lower the voltage, both faults could have been corrected under warranty but the gaffer wasn’t interested! The easy sheet was operated by a long pole that you shoved up its arse end, this took all my strength to unfold it and as the the sheetpole got older it sagged which made it worse still, the tailgate would hit the rear arch and bend that if you were not careful when tipping, and tarmac would get trapped on top of the door so it wouldn’t close which made things awkward if you were returning tarmac to the quarry! 
I took it for test when it was a year old and handed my notice in when I got back, then started on a D reg six wheeler ex Smiths for another company. The pic was taken on my last day with it, I had been from Ashbourne to Birmingham with tarmac, Ashbourne to Newark with tarmac, a local load of stone and then to finish off a load of tar to Crystal Peaks at Sheffield which was a wheelbarrow job. Arrived back at the quarry around 7.30 pm and everyone had gone home so I put my keys and paperwork through the letterbox and that was the end of 22 years service. Later on, when the company folded, it went to a Tarmac o/d near Bristol.
Pete.
Lawrence Dunbar:
0I know ive posted this before, But Fodens were my fave motors, In fact as old as the ones I ran alongside some later models I was quite proud when running fish (Spratts) up to Frazerbrough & not being 5 mins behind the Scanies & the F86 Volvos, Plus I used less fuel too, this Leyland 680 PP, Motor could hold its own with a gear for every hill, Regards Larry.
Well put ,as my uncle says you havent run out of power until you cant go lower than crawler
Times have changed, crawler is only used to by myself to ease yourself through soft ground to save the transmission from high torque.
My first ever motor (F517 RBY, a Foden 4300 with steel Charrold body) had one of those "easy"sheets that you "shoved the pole up its’ arse; When the rear sheet arch wore they were a nightmare to get rolling, and when sheeting up why did the drag rope always land in crap when you threw it over from the other side? Or it’d simply catch the wind and end up in the back of the body. For muckshifting, stuff would get into the sheet and then it wouldn’t roll properly when you next used it.
Then there were overnight frosts and the sheet would be like a starched collar.
Four of C W Griffiths Foden’s,seen in their yard in the early 1990’s.
The first artic i drove on the road as a 21 year old fitter, Pete Spencer of Bonsall in Derbysire drove it.
Armstrong:
The first artic i drove on the road as a 21 year old fitter, Pete Spencer of Bonsall in Derbysire drove it.
Were you based at Cawdor then Nigel? That view has changed slightly nowadays, Patons Mill and chimney are long gone but ‘The Kremlin’ is still there Lording over us! 
Just a shame that the quarry is no longer operating.
Pete.
I went there as a 16yr old apprentice fitter and was lucky enough to learn from some great chaps with a wealth of experience Pete…i suppose that is where I got the Foden bug 
Muckaway:
0
Sister to Armstrongs’ motor. When it was a spare, I’d parked in M40 Oxford services one day during a VOSA walkaround. VOSA ignored it but went around the bling machine nextdoor. Encouraged no doubt by Mr Blings’ attitude towards them
This old girl survives and is working in the Great Malvern area.
Run by Prossers IIRC
windrush:
This was the last new truck that I had. One of a pair that came from Charnwood Trucks at Shepshed, Leics, in October 1996. Fitted with the Rolls/Perkins 335 engine and Fuller 13 speed box it was downrated to 31 tonne gross which gave a payload around the 20 tonne mark. A bit of a mixed bag really, it drove nicely and pulled well but the driver’s air seat would not work in cold weather from new, I had to lift it up and lock it on cold mornings until the cab warmed through. The voltage dropper was one of a bad batch and the CB made all sorts of strange noises unless you turned the heated mirrors on to lower the voltage, both faults could have been corrected under warranty but the gaffer wasn’t interested! The easy sheet was operated by a long pole that you shoved up its arse end, this took all my strength to unfold it and as the the sheetpole got older it sagged which made it worse still, the tailgate would hit the rear arch and bend that if you were not careful when tipping, and tarmac would get trapped on top of the door so it wouldn’t close which made things awkward if you were returning tarmac to the quarry!Evening all, Pete…
You know that tale really encapsulates what p… me off, about the average Hire and Reward haulier in the UK!!
First, he has no clue about his true costs…vehicle acquisition, running costs, depreciation, cost of finance, and the wages, (and benifits), for his drivers.
Second, he does not have a clue what he needs to earn!! Only that he can earn x£ per tonne for X loads per day! (but it sounds more than he needs)!!
Then, when it all goes “Pear shaped”, he runs his drivers ragged, expecting them to carry “him”!!
He should, (as all of his ilk, in many areas of transport), be shot! (or at least be barred from being involved in the industry)!!
In tipping work, one of the major problems being the Quarry Owners, owner driver schemes…let me explain…
Leyland Constructor, to Mr T,…supplied by a dealer at list less 17.5%, plus an overriding 2.5% “manufacturers loyalty bonus”, plus (up to an additional 2,5% on the quarry owner acquiring X vehicles for his "owner driver " scheme!And for real “rip off”, try the Mixer work!!
So we have Mr T, acquiring chassis at list, less 22.5% discount, oh , plus 90days credit!
Now, eager participants in the scheme, … buy the chassis at full list, …a promise of earnings…but no guarantee…no wonder O/Ds, and small hauliers are chasing the “Hamster in the Wheel”.
And the nett result…Pete`s tale above.
Frankly I hate it, good men exploited, and for no real gain.
Sad, and like the omnibus, there is another along in a minute, and that is even more sad!!!
Foden, (to get back on theme), for me personally a lorry I loved, S20, S21, S36, LK, LW, LX, all over the UK and Europe, always got me home, and never a doubt.
But the UK Hire and Reward Industry…in professional, “business terms”…far below Europe…perhaps that is why it is dead! And why I left these shores.
Sad thoughts, an industry with great people, I shall raise my glass of Bollinger to salute you all, Good luck health and happiness for 2013,…
Foden, perhaps Britains best lorry, …certainly to get the best from them you needed to be Britains best lorry drivers!!!.. And we were!!!
Salut, Cheerio for now.
.
Dave the Renegade:
Moose:
Dave the Renegade:
Moose:
it looks more like the one on the left in your middle pic as it had the proper type easy sheet, the type thats been around for years!
it was a quite short w/base 380 s/cabMost of the 03 reg Volvo’s would have been gone a few years,but Paul Griffiths looks at this thread and will bring me up to speed when I see him in a couple of days time.
Cheers Dave.i am sure the foden came first, it’s got to be 10+ years ago now, the chassis had just been painted in the pic, i was running the red fl7 in the background at the time
cheers moose
The FO7400 reg Foden which C W Griffiths are still running is an 06 plate.They did have an 07 reg,but it was written off in a accident about four years ago.
Cheers Dave.
Dave - has Paul still got this one?
Good health and happiness for the new year to you Saviem.
Armstrong:
The first artic i drove on the road as a 21 year old fitter, Pete Spencer of Bonsall in Derbysire drove it.
I Think i have the sales brochures and spec sheets for this foden nigel, peter gave me a large envelope with them in and others too in about 1989
I remember it having a 290 rolls and 9spd fuller Dan, it would be interesting to see those, Pete did a lot of miles in Fodens over the years didn’t he. I will ask my old foreman from back then if he still has some of the photos he took of the fleet.
To reply to Saviem, to be fair the chap running the trucks at the quarry had his hands tied with Tilcon/Tarmac. He took on some of the fleet when Tilcon sold it off, just the tipper side, but could only cart for them at the rates they fixed. A lot of the work was to concrete plants where the rate was that poor that contractors wouldn’t do it, or to various company depots where again the rate was absolutely rock bottom. We used to get laughed at by the O/D’s for doing the cr*p work that they wouldn’t! He had to keep so many lorries solely carting stone as we did a lot of work with clean white chippings into London and there could be no contamination, but again the rate was poor. Myself and a few others were on tarmac but a lot of the tarmac gangs didnt want eight wheelers and used only our O/D’s with four and six wheelers so our work was limited again, they wouldnt let him have a six wheeler of his own. We got prority loading but that was all really. I left for personal reasons and not through any problem with the firm as the money was decent enough, but a few years later as the lads came back to the yard on a friday he finished them there and then. Tarmac gave him a few hours to clear the place or I believe they would have claimed stuff as their own, some of the lads had 30 years service so it came as a shock to them! He was a decent gaffer to me, he knew the problems with my wifes health was the reason for me leaving. He had set me on as a fitter 22 years before when Tilcon owned it all and we never had any arguments at all in that time.
The truck in question had a Wilcox body and I was surprised how poorly designed it was for our work, would have been ok for stone I suppose but having an inset taildoor was hopeless with tarmac!
Pete.