lespullan:
0
Dunno if there’s stuff inside that extension. It looks more like an early Aussie attempt to build the most aerodynamic truck in the world. Even the front bumper has a fibreglass cover on it.
Richard J:
Not really a sleeper cab…more like a mobile hotel.Bit OTT really…
That looks like another fire brigade motor, possibly a turntable ladder, although I don’t know why it would have a hotel built on the front. It would make a good car recovery vehicle- the car’s occupants could live in it until their car was repaired.
Here’s another one:
I wonder why the cabs have high rooves on them? I could imagine the crew standing on the platform, possibly under cover, on this one, but the “hotel” one above? Maybe the roof bit was added after it had finished its fire service? Are there any firemen on the forum?
newmercman:
bet there drivers thought they were in heaven when they got the erf bseries.
I wonder why the cabs have high rooves on them? I could imagine the crew standing on the platform, possibly under cover, on this one, but the “hotel” one above? Maybe the roof bit was added after it had finished its fire service? Are there any firemen on the forum?
On the older machines where there wasn’t much cab space the higher roof would be used for kit storage and getting into fire kit while on the move, there always seems to be more gear than space to put it, even the modern appliances suffer from not enough space and because today they are simply chassis cabs with an extra cab fitted behind as opposed to a purpose built Fire Appliance room is still a problem. The high roof Bedford above would have had the extra storey added later, it does look like an ex Service vehicle but they wouldn’t have needed it like that. Franky.
ergomatic man:
newmercman:
bet there drivers thought they were in heaven when they got the erf bseries.
They never bought Marathons which I would have thought would be the obvious progression from the Mandator , but then again they were still using Mandators well after the Marathon production ceased. I have a copy of Truck magazine which as an article on Spiers I think its from 92 and they were saying they were moving up to 38 tons and had acquired some ERFs and SAs but they also had a stockpile of ex petrol company Mandators and Buffalos (presumably L12s) that just needed a sleeper pod fitting and then ready to go Gingerfold would have more accurate info on this company
Spiers were recycling long before recycling was fashionable. It’s the same with a lot of these add on sleepers, lorries on their second or third life, being used in a new role and modified to suit their new purpose.
ramone:
ergomatic man:
newmercman:
bet there drivers thought they were in heaven when they got the erf bseries.
They never bought Marathons which I would have thought would be the obvious progression from the Mandator , but then again they were still using Mandators well after the Marathon production ceased. I have a copy of Truck magazine which as an article on Spiers I think it
s from92 and they were saying they were moving up to 38 tons and had acquired some ERFs and SAs but they also had a stockpile of ex petrol company Mandators and Buffalos (presumably L12s) that just needed a sleeper pod fitting and then ready to go Gingerfold would have more accurate info on this company
Even though I say it myself, I recommend the book “Spiers of Melksham” that was written with the full co-operation of William Spiers and his sister Jean Still, along with Ray Spiers who ran the coach business based in Henley on Thames. As well as being an interesting company the Spiers family were thoroughly nice people. Incidentally those 20 to 25 year old Mandators were driven by men who had worked for Spiers most of their working lives, which again tells us plenty about the Spiers family.
Richard J:
Not really a sleeper cab…more like a mobile hotel.0[/quote
could this be a cut down horse box ■■?
Richard J:
Not a TK/KM, but here’s another real oddity I came across…a J, is it?0
Pal of mine had a Terrier with 2 cabs welded back to back. That gave him a huge back window to view his Stock car he carried on the beaver tail.
Wish I’d taken a photo of it, but we didn’t think then did we. Also at Fridged Freight our Mandators had after market sleepers similar to Spiers. They all leaked from people using the roof to check the Fridge. Jim.
gingerfold:
ramone:
ergomatic man:
newmercman:
bet there drivers thought they were in heaven when they got the erf bseries.
They never bought Marathons which I would have thought would be the obvious progression from the Mandator , but then again they were still using Mandators well after the Marathon production ceased. I have a copy of Truck magazine which as an article on Spiers I think it
s from92 and they were saying they were moving up to 38 tons and had acquired some ERFs and SAs but they also had a stockpile of ex petrol company Mandators and Buffalos (presumably L12s) that just needed a sleeper pod fitting and then ready to go Gingerfold would have more accurate info on this companyEven though I say it myself, I recommend the book “Spiers of Melksham” that was written with the full co-operation of William Spiers and his sister Jean Still, along with Ray Spiers who ran the coach business based in Henley on Thames. As well as being an interesting company the Spiers family were thoroughly nice people. Incidentally those 20 to 25 year old Mandators were driven by men who had worked for Spiers most of their working lives, which again tells us plenty about the Spiers family.
I will be buying it Graham
Richard J:
Not really a sleeper cab…more like a mobile hotel.0
It’s an ex Cornwall Fire Engine converted into a flat bed with conservatory on the roof. 
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smokinbarrels:
Richard J:
Not really a sleeper cab…more like a mobile hotel.0
It’s an ex Cornwall Fire Engine converted into a flat bed with conservatory on the roof.
Excellent detective work that man. The conservatory is quite a neat job. The car windscreen on the front may give it away, I guess 
.
This is the business.
newmercman:
This is the business.
Looks like a coffin stuck on the back.
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Now that’s a bit posh…I like that.
newmercman:
This is the business.
Black orange box on E type boot lid !
Ronny McNulty was pretty creative…anything to save money on a truck, but would drive them to Doha
when we were roundtripping… 
Checkout his F12, the one on the right. Look at the sleeper addition.
Nice one Shag…
The sleeper conversions carried out by W & J Riding in their own workshops, looked as neat as a factory job from the outside, complete with a new, full-length roof:
W & J Riding Atkinson Borderer Reg No MVD 432L by Paul Anderson, on Flickr
Riding had had a conversion done by Fowler of Leyland (a subsidiary of the bus operator, J Fishwick), but weren’t satisfied with it and reckoned they could do the job better themselves. Apart from converting dozens of their own, Riding also built some for other operators, and I believe that Pandoro’s Venturer was the last one built, in 1981:
LCK 480N Atkinson Venturer T4566C by Gardner 8LXB, on Flickr
This is the Fowler cab on the back of the trailer, leaving Killingbeck after the sale in 1999:
BVB 457H Atkinson Viewline T3046X by Gardner 8LXB, on Flickr
By way of comparison, here is the “official” Atkinson sleeper conversion - ordered through Atkinson Vehicles (London) Limited, the ‘Nightingale’ conversion was carried out by Ellis & Son of Five Oaks Green on a completed vehicle, and couldn’t be added at the factory.
YKE 445J Atkinson Leader TRS3666C by Chris Gardner, on Flickr