A couple of Crusaders from the Miitary Vehicle show at Duxford
Duxford MVS 2012 by plantters, on Flickr
Duxford MVS 2012 by plantters, on Flickr
Duxford MVS 2012 by plantters, on Flickr
BAIRDS MALT PIC 
Corona! How many of their bottles did I take back to the after-sales for 2p per bottle 
A few pics
There were a couple of Crusaders in Plymouth in the 70s. One belonged to a company based in Valley Road Plympton, unfortunately I cant remember their name. The other was run by Harold Gardner up at Efford Fort, I travelled in it on a run to Scotland in about 1974 with my dad. He didnt rate it, stating it was underpowered and preferred his usual wagon, a Scania 80. I always thought the Crusader was a cracking looking wagon though. 
rob63:
There were a couple of Crusaders in Plymouth in the 70s. One belonged to a company based in Valley Road Plympton, unfortunately I cant remember their name. The other was run by Harold Gardner up at Efford Fort, I travelled in it on a run to Scotland in about 1974 with my dad. He didnt rate it, stating it was underpowered and preferred his usual wagon, a Scania 80. I always thought the Crusader was a cracking looking wagon though.
hiya,
Scania 80 you must be joking, I’ve driven both and I know which was the better of the two and the 80 wasn’t the one.
thanks harry, long retired.
harry_gill:
rob63:
There were a couple of Crusaders in Plymouth in the 70s. One belonged to a company based in Valley Road Plympton, unfortunately I cant remember their name. The other was run by Harold Gardner up at Efford Fort, I travelled in it on a run to Scotland in about 1974 with my dad. He didnt rate it, stating it was underpowered and preferred his usual wagon, a Scania 80. I always thought the Crusader was a cracking looking wagon though.hiya,
Scania 80 you must be joking, I’ve driven both and I know which was the better of the two and the 80 wasn’t the one.
thanks harry, long retired.
Hi Harry, never drove either of them so cant really comment on performance. I do wonder if it was just a case of having to drive a wagon which wasnt his normal one, he was always attached to his wagons and looked after them meticulously, and was always slightly aggrieved if asked to swap.
It could be a family trait, I drove a DAF for 6 months for a company and was asked to swap to an Iveco. There was nothing wrong with the Iveco but I still preferred the DAF for some reason. I can remember wandering into the yard one day soon after and spotted my old wagon parked up, as it had become the ‘spare’ wagon. Nobody was looking after it as it didn`t have a regular driver and it looked a shambles. An odd feeling but I got annoyed over what is essentially just a lump of metal. 
rob63:
harry_gill:
rob63:
There were a couple of Crusaders in Plymouth in the 70s. One belonged to a company based in Valley Road Plympton, unfortunately I cant remember their name. The other was run by Harold Gardner up at Efford Fort, I travelled in it on a run to Scotland in about 1974 with my dad. He didnt rate it, stating it was underpowered and preferred his usual wagon, a Scania 80. I always thought the Crusader was a cracking looking wagon though.hiya,
Scania 80 you must be joking, I’ve driven both and I know which was the better of the two and the 80 wasn’t the one.
thanks harry, long retired.Hi Harry, never drove either of them so can
t really comment on performance. I do wonder if it was just a case of having to drive a wagon which wasnt his normal one, he was always attached to his wagons and looked after them meticulously, and was always slightly aggrieved if asked to swap.
It could be a family trait, I drove a DAF for 6 months for a company and was asked to swap to an Iveco. There was nothing wrong with the Iveco but I still preferred the DAF for some reason. I can remember wandering into the yard one day soon after and spotted my old wagon parked up, as it had become the ‘spare’ wagon. Nobody was looking after it as it didn`t have a regular driver and it looked a shambles. An odd feeling but I got annoyed over what is essentially just a lump of metal.
hiya,
I got a brand new Scania 80 in place of my elderly Atkinson with a biggish
■■■■■■■ engine after one trip I asked for the Atki back the 80 thing was
the biggest pile of junk I’ve ever driven, didn’t get the Atki so I chucked it.
thanks harry, long retired.
Had a mate at the same company who drove another Iveco, they stuck him in the DAF for a day and he came back fuming. Hated the thing and he kicked up such a fuss they gave him his old wagon back. All horses for courses I suppose.
Gardners’ Crusader was a 4x2 double bunk sleeper, apparently with some middle east runs under its belt with it`s previous owners. I never found out what engine it was running, other than it being a Rolls.
rob63:
Had a mate at the same company who drove another Iveco, they stuck him in the DAF for a day and he came back fuming. Hated the thing and he kicked up such a fuss they gave him his old wagon back. All horses for courses I suppose.
Gardners’ Crusader was a 4x2 double bunk sleeper, apparently with some middle east runs under its belt with it`s previous owners. I never found out what engine it was running, other than it being a Rolls.
hiya,
If it was an early Crusader it would most likely have the 220 Roller inboard.
thanks harry, long retired.
harry_gill:
rob63:
Had a mate at the same company who drove another Iveco, they stuck him in the DAF for a day and he came back fuming. Hated the thing and he kicked up such a fuss they gave him his old wagon back. All horses for courses I suppose.
Gardners’ Crusader was a 4x2 double bunk sleeper, apparently with some middle east runs under its belt with it`s previous owners. I never found out what engine it was running, other than it being a Rolls.hiya,
If it was an early Crusader it would most likely have the 220 Roller inboard.
thanks harry, long retired.
I never came across many that had the 220, I know they made them, we only had the 280’s at our place. Even the 220 roller would skin and eel a Scania 80 for pulling power at 32t but for comfort, warmth and even STEPS into the cab the Scania won hands down.
Still I know which one would get you home !
scarren:
Some great Crusaders on here, here are a few of mine:Driffield show a few years back:
Bloxham show, back in 1997:
Driffield last year:
Pickering 2009:
Spotted at services on M6 back in 1999:
And finally this one at Swanwick back in 1995:
I am currently bodging my way through a scratchbuild of the Crusader under tarp in the picture above.
cheers
the one at bloxham are my eyes playing tricks on me is that HBW88N
Trev_H:
harry_gill:
rob63:
Had a mate at the same company who drove another Iveco, they stuck him in the DAF for a day and he came back fuming. Hated the thing and he kicked up such a fuss they gave him his old wagon back. All horses for courses I suppose.
Gardners’ Crusader was a 4x2 double bunk sleeper, apparently with some middle east runs under its belt with it`s previous owners. I never found out what engine it was running, other than it being a Rolls.hiya,
If it was an early Crusader it would most likely have the 220 Roller inboard.
thanks harry, long retired.I never came across many that had the 220, I know they made them, we only had the 280’s at our place. Even the 220 roller would skin and eel a Scania 80 for pulling power at 32t but for comfort, warmth and even STEPS into the cab the Scania won hands down.
Still I know which one would get you home !
Trev the 220s at Sykes were nearly all “L” reg and a few “M” reg but all the rest were 280s and then 290s and a 110 would not live with a 280
cheers Johnnie 
I had an M reg 220 when I started at Sykes Bulk Liquids and on a decent length run the 280s couldn’t leave it far behind - maybe 5 mins on a run from Yorks to London!
Probably an odd question but does anyone have an inkling as to why they never designed the cab to tilt on the Crusader ? Considering that they came out in 1969 when there were already several makes with tilt cabs, I wouldve thought that the designers wouldve used that specific need in their build brief.
rob63:
Probably an odd question but does anyone have an inkling as to why they never designed the cab to tilt on the Crusader ? Considering that they came out in 1969 when there were already several makes with tilt cabs, I wouldve thought that the designers wouldve used that specific need in their build brief.
Build brief was down to BRS so probably cheapness , although to be fair they were fairly easy to work on with the radiator on hinges and there wasn’t a lot to taking the cab off for engine replacement, but you are right it should have tilted especially when you consider the very first version of that motor panels cab on the Guy big j was designed to tilt !
Trev_H:
rob63:
Probably an odd question but does anyone have an inkling as to why they never designed the cab to tilt on the Crusader ? Considering that they came out in 1969 when there were already several makes with tilt cabs, I wouldve thought that the designers wouldve used that specific need in their build brief.Build brief was down to BRS so probably cheapness
That’s right, they were fairly easy to work on (with the right equipment) - Sykes’ fitters could replace an engine on night shift and the motor would be back at work in the morning!
This one was / is in a dealer’s yard a couple of months ago:
