Mentioned this before but can remember an owner driver around the Norwich area around 1988 with an immaculate mainly white F7 plated at 38t with a tag lift axle fitted. Superb looking truck but at this weight with comparitively little power must have been hard work for the drivers especially on any motorway gradients…respect… 
Dukes Transport of Portadown in Northern Ireland ran quite a fleet of F7s .The volvo dealer for Nothern Ireland was in my home town, can remember as a kid going there with my camera and taking pics .There was a F7 six wheel rigid tipper there one time,but the bodywork was huge looked like an offroad quarry tipper.Montgomery Transport of Glengormley had one F7 if i remember correctly.
Dukes Transport of Portadown in Northern Ireland ran quite a fleet of F7s .The volvo dealer for Nothern Ireland was in my home town, can remember as a kid going there with my camera and taking pics .There was a F7 six wheel rigid tipper there one time,but the bodywork was huge looked like an offroad quarry tipper.Montgomery Transport of Glengormley had one F7 if i remember correctly.
AndrewG:
Mentioned this before but can remember an owner driver around the Norwich area around 1988 with an immaculate mainly white F7 plated at 38t with a tag lift axle fitted. Superb looking truck but at this weight with comparitively little power must have been hard work for the drivers especially on any motorway gradients…respect…
Not exactly hard work - they were nice and comfy and quiet, with easy steering, synchro boxes and light clutches.
Hard work is a 150 or 180 Gardner at 32 tons in the Peak District, and without power steering! Or worse (much worse!) a 220 ■■■■■■■ with a 6-speed David Brown 'box, off the motorway and taking to the hills!
KW:
truckerash:
KW:
Who was (is?) the firm from Snetterton that used to do weekly trips to Germany with F7’s,and before that,F86’s? Used to see them every Sunday night in Felixstowe shipping out.Do you mean FOULGERS Keith? Still going strong. Big new place on the same site. Running Renaults and FH Globetrotters nowadys. Have to find some old pics.
That’s the one Ash,blimey,they’re still going eh!
A little off-topic but this is one of their old F86’s - I found it in a scrapyard this week…
No hope of anymore European trips for this one!
HERES A HERON FREIGHT(formally GreenWoods Transport) F717 THE ONLY ONE TO RUN OUT OF ROWNHAMS DEPOT SOUTHAMPTON.I NEVER DROVE IT BUT WORKED ON IT AS A FITTER VERY RELIABLE LORRY.
HERES A P&O ROADWAYS F7 JUST ONE OF MANY THAT RAN OUT OF SOUTHAMPTON DEPOT(the man in the photo was my grandad)
HERES A COUPLE OF DART LINE F7s ON CONTRACT FROM P&O ROADWAYS SOUTHAMPTON DEPOT
this 1 is parked where i park my camper dont thinks its moved 4 a long time ya never no some of you may have had driving lessons in her ? 
Tankfreight were running about a hundred at one time, I can’t remember if they had any major faults, apart from the soft feel steering wheel falling apart…good motors in their day,
our little F7 mixing it with its bigger cousins.
It as a good little motor and used to pull fairly well, but have to admit that it did found 38t hard work, but there again Roberts Transport used to pull 38 t. bulkers with 2300 DAFs.
Has anybody got any pictures of Wells Drinks F7s, used to be a very smart fleet, but always got in the way of my 111 on Stockton bank !!.
8 Wheeler rigid tanker,carried nitric acid for ICI chemicals Heysham to Clitheroe.
cracking photos lads keep em coming i love the old F7 lets hope theres some at gaydon this weekend
What about this one and it was back doing its work the day after this happened apparently.
John
Stanfield:
What about this one and it was back doing its work the day after this happened apparently.
John
I can quite believe that, a modern truck would have to be stripped and the chassis re-alligned.
Something to do with the properties of the metal used, we had a Constructor 6 legger that did something similar, unfortunately it didnt spring back and was going to cost more to repair than the truck was worth!
it’s maybe just nostalgia, but they still look great and not particularly dated imo - nicer to look at than take to bremen loaded to 36tonne (ok maybe 40tonne 
) with wool anyway 
will try find a photo i have, taken at lokeren of it
Yon lads were spoiled with a 16 speed gearbox. I did a daily run up to Dumfries with an old 8 speed. It used to run out of steam climbing Boldron near the quarry, mind you it did fly down t’other side
MAGGIE D SHOULD BE ASKED TO PUT HIS F7,S ON .HE HAD A COUPLE THAT WERE 38 TONNERS FOR TANK WORK , EVERY THING WAS ALI AND USED TO POLISH UP LIKE A DREAM THEY WERE SLOW AT 38 AND A BIT ,BUT TIDY AS YOU LIKED. R.JACKO YOU MUST REMEMBER THEM EX ARMSTRONGS REGARDS AL
I worked for D C Jeakins Laindon Essex in the 80’s he was running a fleet mainly of Atki 400’s with ■■■■■■■ , RR Eagle & of course Gardener’s, He purchased 2 Volvo F7’s second hand and had them painted in his livery & hand sign written. Compared to the Atkis the F7’s were easier than driving your family saloon, lovely to have a syncomesh gearbox, the first units I drove with a light air assisted clutch, what a lovely sound that air pack make when depressing & releasing the clutch pedal!!! & light power steering you could put a 40 footer anywhere with. Lacked power compared with the ■■■■■■■ engined Atki’s but never the less done the job well, I loved driving them. They may not have had cruise control, auto gearboxes EBS, ABS, ACAS but they sure had more character than today’s modern units, that’s just my opinion
Carl:
what a lovely looking f7 this is and its nice to see a front bumper intact the corners always seemed to have a crease in them I know I caught a few on the corner and bent them back happy days ,I have to agree with a previous post they were very easy to drive I drove for a small outfit in the east end of london in the late 80s doing glass I.E. bottlebanks and ro ro bins of glass to a bottle factory in harlow we had 6 and 8 leggers and one artic no trouble with them at all although they were all ex cleanaways motors so were a bit knackered and under powered but as all our work was within the m25 and mainly in built up areas speed was not that important to us yea I liked those f7s better with the 16 speed although the old ones with the t bar splitter on the dashboard was a bit of a pain, nice to see so many in preservation keep the thread going and hopefully capello will keep the england team going this afternoon haha cheers lads and lasses fred