Milk Tankers on Ice

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
21

C-Kay:

Henrys cat:
Don’t you slag those EC’s off C-kay, they were the best we had on the Bulk powders side, plus you could run fully loaded with the lift axle up :wink: :wink:

Not slagging it off. It pulls like anything and makes me appreciate how easy i have had it comparedto my dad and the other old gits :wink:

Plus i’m useless when it comes to change and i keep going for swtitches that aren’t there :laughing:

The best part for me was when I was training on the tank, the trainer had a year old ERF ECS and it was a pig when changing to 5th/4th just like the syncro had gone. He kept saying that I would have to get that right, and I thought sod off as that wasn’t going to be my truck so no need. Funny part was almost every truck I drove at Turners had the same problem :laughing: :laughing: even the P cab scanny I started on.

I agree with what you say about pulling, the EC I had would storm up Birdlip with 30t of cement on, I reckon it pulled better than the 460 volvo I had in a later job.

22

ooh memories …not all good , nice diary C-Kay, unlike your 14000ltr compartment i only had 6000 litre compartment over the 5th wheel that could be loaded first so the first load would calm the traction issue down a bit. i take it your air valves have been temprametal as well as the CIP valves with the freezing temperatures ?

i’ was having the same problems as you but the other way round , i deliver bulk feed so traction wasn’t an issue getting to & in but trying to get out was something else , so much so transport had to cherrypick the farms i could & couldn’t go to.

Come the end , it was a case of get it loaded & try it although we have had our casualties & the workshops have been busy with repairs from ditched bulkers.
Most of the time tractors have been a no go as unless they carry the weight & have traction , they’re pulling a dead weight , one of ours got all chained up to two 200hp + john deere’s ,took his foot off the brake & pulled them back down the hill, trailer got wedged in the bank & stopped , unfortunately , the deere in front kept coming & pushed the lift arms through the front of the unit straight through the radiator & the intercooler , bit of a mess really


23

Henrys cat:

C-Kay:

Henrys cat:
Don’t you slag those EC’s off C-kay, they were the best we had on the Bulk powders side, plus you could run fully loaded with the lift axle up :wink: :wink:

Not slagging it off. It pulls like anything and makes me appreciate how easy i have had it comparedto my dad and the other old gits :wink:

Plus i’m useless when it comes to change and i keep going for swtitches that aren’t there :laughing:

The best part for me was when I was training on the tank, the trainer had a year old ERF ECS and it was a pig when changing to 5th/4th just like the syncro had gone. He kept saying that I would have to get that right, and I thought sod off as that wasn’t going to be my truck so no need. Funny part was almost every truck I drove at Turners had the same problem :laughing: :laughing: even the P cab scanny I started on.

I agree with what you say about pulling, the EC I had would storm up Birdlip with 30t of cement on, I reckon it pulled better than the 460 volvo I had in a later job.

I bloody hate those P Cab Scanias. I keep kicking up a fuss about driving them in the hope they wont give me one :laughing: I cant reverse them for ■■■■, they come round so fast i end up in all sorts of trouble :blush:

and yes, most of the manuals i’ve driven here have some sort of problem going down the gears, but the milk side seem to get the rejects when other sides upgrade, so they come to us having been ragged to ■■■■ :laughing:

MolePower:
ooh memories …not all good , nice diary C-Kay, unlike your 14000ltr compartment i only had 6000 litre compartment over the 5th wheel that could be loaded first so the first load would calm the traction issue down a bit. i take it your air valves have been temprametal as well as the CIP valves with the freezing temperatures ?

I had no end of trouble with valves and pipes freezing up. I just love standing out in the freezing cold with a jug of hot water pouring it over every inch of pipe and every valve so i can find where it’s frozen :cry:

i’ was having the same problems as you but the other way round , i deliver bulk feed so traction wasn’t an issue getting to & in but trying to get out was something else , so much so transport had to cherrypick the farms i could & couldn’t go to.

Come the end , it was a case of get it loaded & try it although we have had our casualties & the workshops have been busy with repairs from ditched bulkers.
Most of the time tractors have been a no go as unless they carry the weight & have traction , they’re pulling a dead weight , one of ours got all chained up to two 200hp + john deere’s ,took his foot off the brake & pulled them back down the hill, trailer got wedged in the bank & stopped , unfortunately , the deere in front kept coming & pushed the lift arms through the front of the unit straight through the radiator & the intercooler , bit of a mess really

That sounds nasty :open_mouth: We didn’t have any bad damage. We had a couple of drivers go into ditches, but not much damage was done.



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Nice pics :sunglasses: Glad somene else was being rescued by tractors :wink:

24

C-Kay:
bloody hate those P Cab Scanias. I keep kicking up a fuss about driving them in the hope they wont give me one :laughing: I cant reverse them for [zb], they come round so fast i end up in all sorts of trouble :blush:

How do you think we went on? We were on 4/5 nights out a week in the bloody things, whilstthe National contract boys had EC and ECS on no nights out. Had to threaten to leave to get an EC (this was when a new driver started every week cos someone left so you had a bit of clout then)

25

Good diary mate. I know how you feel, i’ve been pulled in and out of farms more times than i care to think about lately. Thankfully all the snows away up here now!

26

The talk about freezing CIP and valves certainly brought back memories… The New Years Day delivery in Berlin with cream and everything had frozen. The tailpipe was solid ice cream, the CIP lines were solid, even the dairy steam hoses were completely solid.

I had 2 of my own road barrels. One was a 26000 litre single pot and the other was 34000 litre single pot. They were both great trailers but were much better suited for 4 wheel tractors. The small one was a 41 tonne max anyway. But even then, a 19000 litre load in either was always interesting in slippery weather. Anyone who has ever loaded out of Chard Dairy would probably know about the manhole cover halfway up the hill. That one made me really come unstuck one night when a car chose exactly that moment to be there and I spun out on the ironwork. That big barrel was a sod once you got into trouble.

I reckon I almost miss the tankers in a way though.

27

cracking read that buddy

28

Cheers guys :sunglasses:

29

C-Kay:
Bricked myself going down this hill :laughing: Fully loaded, i had a vision of me sliding straight out onto the road and something coming either side.

If downhill is very bad one option is to engage difflock (while stationary) and drive very close to the ditch where grip is likely better and come down almost solely with the braking power you get from exhaust brake or retarder (with very slow speed). That way you have, in some conditions, better change of getting safely down. As you got full load you don’t have to fear too much about locking the drive axle as you have enough weight on the it and difflock keeps both wheels turning despite other being on ice.

EDIT: And nice pictures, I liked them. More please? :smiley: