New member here my name is Glen hope i’m posting in the right place and that you’ll welcome me here.Born and lived in U.K. until '92 when i came to Australia.
Great forum seem like a top bunch of blokes brings back many found memories trucking in the U.K, i loved reading the articles on the ‘WHITE TRUCKS’ in the UK as i had one of them as well some of you might remember me from my trucks, the white i had was one of the right hand drive spec shorter sleeper (bugger) with 325 Cat 13 speed fuller and the big high speed eaton diff…man that thing would fly if you wanted it to it would sit on 80 mph up hill and down dale if thats what you wanted it to do…not me i used to take it easy i’d sit on 55 - 60 mph and get 7 - 9 mpg i just loved the power for hills ect.
Anyway i’m rattling on a bit we was based in sunny lol Birmingham the White started off Blue (we had her from brand new) but ended up being red why…well despite the thought that Aluminium doesn’t rust it certaintly does corrode and we had a hard time keeping paint on it. we carted mostly scrap in blue tippers also had Daf 2800’s and before the dafs and white we had Volvo’s 2 x 88 1 x 86 1 x f10 the latter being the most unreliable piece of [zb] we ever had the misfourtune to purchase / lay our hands on.
As i say we ran out of Brum to most of the docks - L’ Pool, Cardiff, Newport, Sharpness, Hull ect…most docks the last truck i had was a bright red Foden 350 Cat nice - 9 sd cable change…not so nice carrying a aluminium tipper plying up and down the M6 / M5 ect.
These trucks were nice after starting off on A.E.C’s, Guy’s, Atkinsons ect
Hope i havn’t gone on to much great to catch up on the ‘other’ life before here
Cheers
Glen
Well I’ll put this here since I don’t know where else to put it (where have I heard that before? )
Another one who upped stumps and moved from England to the arse end of the world. I’ve been here since 1988 and though I’m no longer a driver I’ve still got many memories (most of them good, some of them ummm… unforgettable) of 10 years on the road in Britain (and five or so Down Under). I did my “apprenticeship” as a youngster working in antiques removals, then got a job working for a local dairy produce supplier, mostly VW vans (LT28s, LT35) then got the odd drive in their TK. In the early 80s I moved to the Smoke and somehow convinced a removals & haulage mob in NW10 I knew what I was about - stuff me if they didn’t put me on the next day, driving an ancient luton TK on removals. For some unknown reason they never managed to get rid of me and I worked there till I left to come down here. Drove all sorts of odds and sods (some of the wagons were odd and many were sods) - all sorts of vans (Merc 307D, Transits) then Ford D-series, Bedford TKs & TLs, and later Merc 1617s, Volvo FL6s and DAF2100s (best of the lot IMO).
Some of the stories and photos posted on the Old Times board made me laugh so I thought i’d get on and contribute what I can and have a laugh along the way.
I’m surprised I haven’t bumped into this place before, it’s not like it’s hard to find so maybe my Better Half has been right all along
thanks for the welcome.
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