Top-mounted wipers
OK here’s a new thread for you: what were the last lorries to have top-mounted windscreen wipers? I didn’t mind them. But I’m short. They were a nightmare for six-footers and taller.
I do remember driving the BMC LDM van
and a BMC FG dropside truck with them.
I also remember driving an early Volvo F88 with them;
and Leyland Titan double-deck buses with them.
Off the top of my head I think the last
ERF was the A-series;
Seddon was the late Motor Panels model;
AEC was Ergo;
Leyland was the Marathon;
Foden was the S41;
Atkinson was the Borderer.
That’s correct Ro the B series had 3 bottom mounted a real pain to get to the linkage had to take the dash out not a five minute job!!
Top or bottom I could live with either,as long as they were electric. Air operated used to send me daft!! Having said that my first motor,S21, had two separate motors,CAV?, with switches on them, I had a bamboo stick to switch the n,side on but stopped pretty ■■■■ quick using it cos it swept at a different speed to the other, that got to me as well 
I need locking up! Cheers coomsey
coomsey:
Top or bottom I could live with either,as long as they were electric. Air operated used to send me daft!! Having said that my first motor,S21, had two separate motors,CAV?, with switches on them, I had a bamboo stick to switch the n,side on but stopped pretty ■■■■ quick using it cos it swept at a different speed to the other, that got to me as well
The vacuum ones that got slower as the engine / vehicle got faster were the worst, I think!
ERF-NGC-European:
coomsey:
Top or bottom I could live with either,as long as they were electric. Air operated used to send me daft!! Having said that my first motor,S21, had two separate motors,CAV?, with switches on them, I had a bamboo stick to switch the n,side on but stopped pretty ■■■■ quick using it cos it swept at a different speed to the other, that got to me as wellThe vacuum ones that got slower as the engine / vehicle got faster were the worst, I think!
Am I imagining things or did the F88 have them?
On t’other side of things, the Leyland National (bus) had air-operated wipers. Why, I couldn’t say.
ParkRoyal2100:
ERF-NGC-European:
coomsey:
Top or bottom I could live with either,as long as they were electric. Air operated used to send me daft!! Having said that my first motor,S21, had two separate motors,CAV?, with switches on them, I had a bamboo stick to switch the n,side on but stopped pretty ■■■■ quick using it cos it swept at a different speed to the other, that got to me as wellThe vacuum ones that got slower as the engine / vehicle got faster were the worst, I think!
Am I imagining things or did the F88 have them?
On t’other side of things, the Leyland National (bus) had air-operated wipers. Why, I couldn’t say.
Inherited from the Leyland Panther and AEC Reliance.
Star down under.:
ParkRoyal2100:
ERF-NGC-European:
coomsey:
Top or bottom I could live with either,as long as they were electric. Air operated used to send me daft!! Having said that my first motor,S21, had two separate motors,CAV?, with switches on them, I had a bamboo stick to switch the n,side on but stopped pretty ■■■■ quick using it cos it swept at a different speed to the other, that got to me as wellThe vacuum ones that got slower as the engine / vehicle got faster were the worst, I think!
Am I imagining things or did the F88 have them?
On t’other side of things, the Leyland National (bus) had air-operated wipers. Why, I couldn’t say.
Inherited from the Leyland Panther and AEC Reliance.
Didn’t know that, ta.
ParkRoyal2100:
Star down under.:
ParkRoyal2100:
ERF-NGC-European:
The vacuum ones that got slower as the engine / vehicle got faster were the worst, I think!Am I imagining things or did the F88 have them?
On t’other side of things, the Leyland National (bus) had air-operated wipers. Why, I couldn’t say.
Inherited from the Leyland Panther and AEC Reliance.
Didn’t know that, ta.
The Leopard may have had air wipers too, but I never drove one so can’t be sure.
ParkRoyal2100:
ERF-NGC-European:
coomsey:
Top or bottom I could live with either,as long as they were electric. Air operated used to send me daft!! Having said that my first motor,S21, had two separate motors,CAV?, with switches on them, I had a bamboo stick to switch the n,side on but stopped pretty ■■■■ quick using it cos it swept at a different speed to the other, that got to me as wellThe vacuum ones that got slower as the engine / vehicle got faster were the worst, I think!
Am I imagining things or did the F88 have them?
On t’other side of things, the Leyland National (bus) had air-operated wipers. Why, I couldn’t say.
I think the earlier 240 F88, with the smaller chrome grill, had air wipers.
The later 290 F88 had electric wipers, but with two separate motors, for each side of the split screen.
They would get out of synch and you`d have one on the up stroke as one was on the down. For some reason I found that quite distracting.
On Atkis I always left the air wiper on the bottom of their sweep.
Didn`t bother to twist the knob and park them on top, because the last drops of water would always obey the laws of gravity and run down the screen in field of vision.
Franglais:
On Atkis I always left the air wiper on the bottom of their sweep.
Didn`t bother to twist the knob and park them on top, because the last drops of water would always obey the laws of gravity and run down the screen in field of vision.
that’d be drivers side down and passenger side somewhere near the toppish then, and the bowl of water that filled overnight in the the passenger side cubby hole.
tony
Franglais:
I think the earlier 240 F88, with the smaller chrome grill, had air wipers.
The later 290 F88 had electric wipers, but with two separate motors, for each side of the split screen.They would get out of synch and you`d have one on the up stroke as one was on the down. For some reason I found that quite distracting.
So I was only partly hallucinating - that’s comforting. I know what you mean about finding individual wipers doing their own thing disorientating; there’s this nagging feeling something’s not right somewhere…
tonyj105:
Franglais:
On Atkis I always left the air wiper on the bottom of their sweep.
Didn`t bother to twist the knob and park them on top, because the last drops of water would always obey the laws of gravity and run down the screen in field of vision.that’d be drivers side down and passenger side somewhere near the toppish then, and the bowl of water that filled overnight in the the passenger side cubby hole.
tony
Oh yes. 
That wee bowl was about the only part of an Atki that didn`t leak!
i know it defo wasn’t dads favourite bus , he hated this commer with a passion , and i would think the pathetic single barely seen top mounted windscreen wiper would have started him off,
TruckNetUK . Old Time Lorries . Last Of The Top-Mounted Wipers.1 Thursday,18th August,2022. VALKYRIE
Bedford/Burlingham Motorcoach.
TonyJ105:
hiOn my dads 2nd bus you had a choice one at the top one at the bottom
Bedford SB8,Leyland O.350 Diesel-Engined/Burlingham C41F Motorcoach,Chassis No.67920,Body No.6770,VHO 443,Southampton,February 1959.New to Finchley Motorcoaches,W.T.Trebilcock,London N12.TN,OTL,LastOTT-MWipers,P1.TonyJ.1#
VALKYRIE
VALKYRIE:
TruckNetUK . Old Time Lorries . Last Of The Top-Mounted Wipers.1 Thursday,18th August,2022. VALKYRIEBedford/Burlingham Motorcoach.
TonyJ105:
hiOn my dads 2nd bus you had a choice one at the top one at the bottom
Bedford SB8,Leyland O.350 Diesel-Engined/Burlingham C41F Motorcoach,Chassis No.67920,Body No.6770,VHO 443,Southampton,February 1959.New to Finchley Motorcoaches,W.T.Trebilcock,London N12.TN,OTL,LastOTT-MWipers,P1.TonyJ.1#
0and my dads very favourite bus , he loved it , even more than th e2 new bella vega’s he bought. and from then on , he always tried to get TK’s with leyland engines he even re engined a couple .
VALKYRIE
