You wat to try driving a KW over here on the not so good roads.Bring on european trucks any day for comfort.
Saw this in Dover on many occassions. Even had a matching Yanky trailer////
That was a Gib. reg.
I wonder how many of you who say that KW’s were uncomfortable and couldn’t be driven in say Portugal actually drove one and if so what spec was it?
I have Iv’e been to Portugal and Romania/Bulgaria many times. I covered over a million miles (not K’s) and can honestly say that I have never had a bad back (something that I can’t claim while driving a Scania on agency work in the UK, 300 K a day on smooth roads) often driving more miles than one should. Yes it was impossible to drive solo in Portugal but so was any other 6x4 unit. It depends on the spec, mine had a set back front axle which meant that the front springs could be quite long.
Frederici’s had parabolic front springs, air suspension and cab air suspension, their drivers will tell you that they were just as comfortable as the European trucks he operated.
Roger Pearse’s KW (above) was imported second hand , it had no power steering, no Jake or exhaust brake and only a 9 speed box. He phoned the previous owner one day and during the conversation he queeried the spec, and was told that it used to run up and down the East Coast of the States on straight flat roads running light and didn’t need these extras, they were just something to go wrong.
It really depends on who specc’ed it what they were prepared to pay.
Hi I’ve not been able to log on for a couple of days the system would not take my password,
Pat I don’t thik Peter Gilder was able to type approve his imports, IIRC ■■■■■■■ in Avonmouth said a lot of ‘table thumping’ occured because he thought they should get his engines ’ type approved’ and they said that they couldn’t. I vaguely remember him telling me one day that he made one into a wrecker and sold the other one to Russia.
M&C Jamie I remember that KW in Czech I was in house when it happened and a Scotsman that i (red hair and beard used to run his own gobstopper and fridge-ring any bells?) knew rang me up to tell me that my KW was being stripped in Czech it took me a long time to convince him that mine was outside in my yard. I was told later that the driver was underneath it trying to unfreeze the brakes with the cab tilted when they came off it rolled away over him! I also heard some other stories about it but I can’t remember them now. I think it was the one in the truckfest 1990thread on here, the one the same colours as mine buy without the gold lines.
The pic showing the KW parked in front of a scrap yard is I of mine or the British Areospace / Bill Counsell parked in Dandos yard when new
harry:
Saw this in Dover on many occassions. Even had a matching Yanky trailer////
That was a Gib. reg.
Sorry to correct you Harry,buts its Guernsey registered, Gibraltar had a G in front of the numbers.
sinbin31:
Hi GavinJ Y P and another driver cant rember his name maybe u will know.
rgds Roger
Hi Roger I can remember his face but I can’t place him yet.
Gavin McArdle:
I think it was the one in the truckfest 1990thread on here, the one the same colours as mine buy without the gold lines. The pic showing the KW parked in front of a scrap yard is I of mine or the British Areospace / Bill Counsell parked in Dandos yard when new
Hi Gavin, I don’t think the truck in the scrapyard is the same truck as the one in the Truckfest 1990 thread as Q394JOD is a long Aerodyne, while the one in the scrapyard is a short Aerodyne like yours and mine.
Hello,a few more KW pics from me,the first in Dandos yard (with the scrapyard in the background) so Gavins is one, the Aerospace is probably the other but who’s is the one with the cab up.
Gavins mate
This pulled for Armoric in Plymouth
These last 2 are the same truck that Boyze posted on page 1 of the thread
i39.tinypic.com/oasls3.jpg
Anyone remember this old girl
Cheers Marc
Spotted these in a transport yard in lydney (harold read)
hi gavin, not sure how good your memory is, do you remember a couple of young guys coming up to you at the services by the severn bridge…■■
your kw was brand new at the time,it still said dandos in the roof…
you let us sit in it for a while,iirc you told us it had a 370 ■■■■■■■ in it,
just saying hi, and guess what, i now live in canada, worked for kw for 9 years,now working for ■■■■■■■■■■■■
so good to see your truck again,
Is there any particular reason why people dont import yank trucks to the uk to work anymore. Iknow you see the odd breakdown truck but never working on haulage anymore
Hi PHU I think you have mis-read my post I said that the KW in Czech was the Truckfest one and the one in front of the scrap yard was mine.
Hi bubbleman, I also remember seeing 3 aerodyne KW’s at Dandos, I am sure one had a Detroit and always assumed it was what was later PHU, it’s a pity you didn’t get all 3 because one should have a no. plate, or do you have a pic of the front of all3?
I have found another pic of mine that Dandos gave me showing it in the circus colours.
Lespaul I think that must have been before I bought it. There were no markings on when I bought it, it had a 350 ■■■■■■■■ sounds like the same truck though.
KR 79 the main reason that I think you can’t get American trucks now is good old British jobsworths. They tell you that the EU has banned them but you can buy one in France, Germany or Ireland obviously a different EU! As I said before the engines for mine and Bill Counsells were shipped out to the States so that they wouldn’t have any type approval problems. The engines were the problem with Peter Gilders KW (see my post on English Macks for the problems and costs) I know that you can’t get a v8 Mack engine type approved Toby Holland brought at least one in and they had to change the engine.
Bubbleman when was the pic of Bill Counsell’s KW taken at Harold Reads yard? up until maybe 18 months ago it was in Bedminster Transport yard at Bedminster I remember Wayne telling me that they told Bill that the yard had been sold and if he wanted to keep his KW he had better get it.He collected it after the demolition gang had started.
I believe one of the Read also bought Dandos ex wrecker, any sign of that there?
Keep the info coming!
Gavin
Gavin McArdle:
Hi PHU I think you have mis-read my post I said that the KW in Czech was the Truckfest one and the one in front of the scrap yard was mine.Gavin
Hi Gavin, sorry if I misunderstood something, you have to know my native language is flemish and my english was studied from school and then “kept in condition” by reading (truck and model magazines), talking to friends (when visiting model shows like Gaydon), looking television etc…
I really want to see the truck on the right in the scrapyard in full, as all photos of mine I have show it with a flat square bumper, while all the others shown here have that so called gullwing bumper like on yours. And I don’t see any reason why somebody would have changed this bumper for the older style square one.
Hi Gavin and hi all , just managed to get on here . Good to speak to you again the other day Gavin its been too long . Great thread , I have been looking out my old KW pics but quite a few of mine came from Gerdi in Belgium after I sold her but I have found a few new ones . This KW I believe was the first one imported by Dandos and the subject of the Truck road test . I understand it came in to the UK through Switzerland possibly through Fredericci who ran mainly all Kwhoppers . The registration was changed when I bought it off Norman Keedwell when he took his personal plate . He thought that PHU5 03R was the original reg but now we know that wasnt the case i552.photobucket.com/albums/jj33 … n00070.jpg
Keep up this great thread , Im looking forward to reading more
This one didnt load first time but Im getting better at it . The west coast mirrors looked good but not the most effective . The leather rad cover has gone missing now sadly
Regards
Steve
Hi Steve, I have started a thread where I want to find out about all the history of my KW, so you don’t mind if I copy these photos in that thread?
Hi Gerdi , no thats fine ,its good that you can use them . This is a great thread , Gavins done a good job and its raised a lot of really good info and the photos are excellent . I have a really nice photo framed that they bought for me when we sold the truckstop . It was PHU on the South West Truckers stand at Shepton Mallet in the mid 90 s . She was all polished up and in show condition and looking good .It has been enlarged so much that I cant scan it onto the PC .
Steve
kwhopper:
Hi Gerdi , no thats fine ,its good that you can use them . This is a great thread , Gavins done a good job and its raised a lot of really good info and the photos are excellent . I have a really nice photo framed that they bought for me when we sold the truckstop . It was PHU on the South West Truckers stand at Shepton Mallet in the mid 90 s . She was all polished up and in show condition and looking good .It has been enlarged so much that I cant scan it onto the PC .Steve
Hi may I suggest you try taking a digital photograph of it then download that
Regards Pat
P&O Normandy Ferries compound Southampton circa 1979. French import for a show.
In 1982 there was a 24hrs truckrace in LeMans in France and this truck was the “safety truck” as show these pictures from the book “24 Heures du Mans camions” by Michel Leblanc and Thierry de Seaulieu.
