That’s a TVW from Warrington, they used Sentinel parts after the Sentinel factory stopped truck manufacture. I believe that one had a four cylinder engine to save weight?
Pete.
Coomsey, your comment about not being able to stop the paver by braking is very true. The tracked machines could push a loaded lorry with the brakes on, especially on tack coat. Had a few scares when the driver in front had nodded off and you were getting closer to his taildoor but couldn’t let the gang know! 
+
I remember when delivering to a R.M Douglas gang from Birmingham back in the eighties they were surfacing a new bus station at Brownhills and were doing the laybyes, I was on the paver and when I was getting close to the end of the laybye I started to drop the body and pull out. Plenty of shouting ensued then and I was told to keep in a straight line and go up the kerb and across the newly slabbed footpath just to save them filling in by hand! 
Across I went, with much cracking from broken slabs. They found a large sheet of plywood and layed it over the slabs to hide them (if they had done that beforehand they probably wouldn’t have broken any!) and left it at that. I’m guessing somebody got a rollicking for it but I cleared off out of the way rapidly? 
They were a gang who, occasionally when you arrived at a job, somebody would try to get into your cab and take you off elsewhere to do one of their ‘cash in hand’ private jobs. I always refused, with TILCON written all over the truck it just wasn’t worth the risk, but some of the hired hauliers obliged them.
Anyway Paul, I think by now we have finally convinced some of the doubters that tipperwork is really great and when this lockdown is over they will be rushing to sign up with their local hauliers! 
Pete.
Anyway Paul, I think by now we have finally convinced some of the doubters that tipperwork is really great and when this lockdown is over they will be rushing to sign up with their local hauliers!
I couldn’t agree more Pete, one or two downsides but you’d never go to general after a tipper
Having said all that
Putting the coal sides on for this crowd was a bit of a do, not helped by a gaffer who couldn’t make his mind up
coomsey:
Anyway Paul, I think by now we have finally convinced some of the doubters that tipperwork is really great and when this lockdown is over they will be rushing to sign up with their local hauliers!
I couldn’t agree more Pete, one or two downsides but you’d never go to general after a tipper
0
Having said all that
Putting the coal sides on for this crowd was a bit of a do, not helped by a gaffer who couldn’t make his mind up
Nowt wrong with tippers , it was mostly tippers up here in the 60s and 70s usually drop side for bag work when needed . Earned me a decent living , but I hated coated , running to awkward , idle gangs keeping you waiting until late then sending you home with a part load . I tended to stick to lime and coal mostly , easy work . Didn’t mind roadstone as long as there was no sticky stuff on it .
Anyway Paul, I think by now we have finally convinced some of the doubters that tipperwork is really great and when this lockdown is over they will be rushing to sign up with their local hauliers!
Pete.
[/quote]
tipper work can be great…it’s just some of the ‘local hauliers’ that aren’t! 
I was always wary of tipping across slopes, real ‘squeaky bum time’ and I never got used to it but often it was unavoidable. I hadn’t been driving full time for long and had a delivery of chatter at a site at Hammersmith near Ripley, Derbyshire. Only access was on a slope and we were tipping on a stockpile. I was very wary and stood outside the cab operating the control (it was between the seat and door) and watching the body raise on tickover. Of course once it cleared the fixed ‘ram’ the body lurched across and I wasn’t sure what to do then!! The Late Freddy Brownlee arrived with another load then and could see the problem and was killing himself laughing. “Out of the way lad, I will show you what to do” and he put it into ‘tip’ and pressed the throttle flat out. Well the body shot up so far and then started struggling for oil, the engine was screaming its head off, he dropped it again and repeated the process and it shot right to the top then with stone going everywhere and swaying from side to side. “Don’t pratt about with it, once the load starts moving it will never go over unless it sticks” he said. Well after that I did the same whenever required and it worked everytime, I always made sure there was plenty of oil in the tank though!
Fred had a habit of doing this whatever he tipped alas, I dreaded following him to a tarmac job as you usually found the gang trying to dig the paver out after Fred had buried it with tarmac! He did it to a little mini-paver on a pub carpark in Castle Bromwich and tarmac even blocked the radiator up!
For a while we had a tarmac job at Lower Brailes between Shipton and Banbury, they were replacing the old red phone boxes with modern ones and selling the old ones to the USA. They had 20tonne of tarmac most mornings, 5am loading for a 8am delivery and tipping in a temporary bay in a field made from old sleepers. We usually called in at Tilcons Meriden pit on the way back for sand back to our quarries asphalt plant which made a nice round trip. Well I did an early load somewhere, probably a Sheffield, and got back to the quarry around 9am and was told to load for Brailes: “They ordered an extra load about half an hour ago” I was told. When I got there the bay was almost empty and I said to the yardman that they had soon shifted 20tonne. “Shifted it” he exclaimed, “we can’t even get to most of it!” and what happened was Fred had dieseled the body and done his usual ‘straight to the top’ act and the load shot out so fast that a lot of it cleared the sleepers and ended up in the long grass in the field behind!! Fred lived well into his nineties so had around thirty years retirement bless him.
Life was rarely dull!
Pete.
Stanfield:
Tipping road salt at Biestys depot late 60s. Clydesdale with twin ram and nice level tip.
0
That’s reminded me of one yard we used to deliver to at Trafford Park John, Mather and Ellis! I wonder if they still exist? It was a very cramped yard with ornamental figures etc, sand/gravel/cement and tarmac etc for resale. I only went there once, although they had a four or six wheeler load of tarmac most mornings. Muggins here turns up with my Sed Ak 400 eight legger, it was an early tip (around 7-7.30am) so not much traffic around. I drove in and backed into the bay which was at right angles to the road, tipped/cleaned off and then went to reverse out onto the road again. I spotted a copper with a motorcycle parked opposite and the yardman warned me that he was waiting for me to reverse out and then book me! So I did about a 40 point turn in the yard with the yardman watching that I didn’t hit anything and, sweating profusely, drove out onto the road. The ■■■■■■■ copper stood up smiling and applauded me, then rode off. I hated him! It would have been far easier for the yardman to watch me while I reversed out but that wasn’t the done thing apparently?
Pete.
No nightmares on this tipper this week, I’ve been a key worker & along with Andrew Meer (Longpod on TNUK) we’ve been keeping the home fires burning.
Blimey Robert, you are one of the lads on the ‘front line’ that folk have been clapping!! In a few months time, or whenever this is over, they will be shaking their fists at you! Now don’t get too excited if you see a Blaw Knox paver parked up with no queue and then start tipping that lot in the pan. Keep up the good work, I assume it’s all voluntary? 
Pete.
At Tilcon’s Ballidon quarry (and others of course) a lot of tarmac and asphalt was loaded by the driver ‘guessing’ how much he had on then weighing it and either shovelling off into another truck or adding more from the bin. Dumping it was strictly forbidden! At one time this involved the driver hanging like a monkey from the girders with one hand while grabbing hold of the body side with the other and either working the air operated bin doors with your foot or, with a lower four wheeler, by hand. The doors opened and closed slowly when there was a lot of weigh on them so you could soon have a ton when you only wanted half! I hadn’t been driving for long and HRA was one material I never got right, it would come out like water steaming hot and land flat in the body absolutely level instead of heaping up like other materials. Anyway I had some to load and was very carefull not to overdo it so went steady at it, there was no check weighbridge in those days so you had to join a queue of wagons to see what weight you had on. Anyway I was about two tonnes light so back up to the plant again and put some more on, and during this time others had loaded and were now in front of me of course. Back to the 'bridge again and I was around 30.20 (we ran at 30.50 back then) so ■■■■ Bentley the TM signals that I need another 5 cwt. Well Tom, the dispatcher, was hopping up and down and shouting (he did a lot of that!) that I should have been loaded and gone by now and told me that he would follow me up in his Land Rover and put me some more on. So back under the plant I go, up onto the girders Tom goes (still shouting!) and grabbed hold of the top of my partly open passenger window. Unfortunately the window was partly open because I had my dog with me, Tom wasn’t aware of this of course, and my dog nipped his finger! Tom fell off, but he didn’t let go of the control and I ended up being a tonne over!! I then had to wait for another truck and then shovel a tonne of 180 degree asphalt into it, my feet were blistered for weeks. Tom was in an even worse temper when I finally got loaded, and the junior clerk in the weighbridge didn’t help matters when he casually mentioned that I should call at a vets on route as the dog was probably poisoned by now! I never did like loading that stuff!
Pete.
windrush:
Coomsey, your comment about not being able to stop the paver by braking is very true. The tracked machines could push a loaded lorry with the brakes on, especially on tack coat. Had a few scares when the driver in front had nodded off and you were getting closer to his taildoor but couldn’t let the gang know!I remember when delivering to a R.M Douglas gang from Birmingham back in the eighties they were surfacing a new bus station at Brownhills and were doing the laybyes, I was on the paver and when I was getting close to the end of the laybye I started to drop the body and pull out. Plenty of shouting ensued then and I was told to keep in a straight line and go up the kerb and across the newly slabbed footpath just to save them filling in by hand!
Anyway Paul, I think by now we have finally convinced some of the doubters that tipperwork is really great and when this lockdown is over they will be rushing to sign up with their local hauliers!
Pete.
I remember that gang very well and there was one haulier who was begging to deliver to them for the reason you outlined. Not naming any names but he was from your neck of the woods,in any case sadly he isn’t around
any more
I know the principal involved in having such a long draw-bar, but it must be a nightmare when you have impatient drivers getting between truck and trailer.
ChrisArbon:
0I know the principal involved in having such a long draw-bar, but it must be a nightmare when you have impatient drivers getting between truck and trailer.
I admit I don´t! It seems madness to me. Is this pic genuine?
malmic:
I remember that gang very well and there was one haulier who was begging to deliver to them for the reason you outlined. Not naming any names but he was from your neck of the woods,in any case sadly he isn’t around
any more
Hi Mick, you are still around then! 
I know who you mean, I used to park with him before we had to leave them at the quarry. We ran to some good gangs, and also some who were ‘not so good’ didn’t we! You knew pretty much in advance with some that your day would be buggered up, but we had some good laughs with others. I hate to say it but Tarmacs own gangs took some beating for workrate, those lads kept going all day and never seemed fazed by anything or how late they were going to be finishing, they must have had the Tarmac microchip implanted when they signed up!
Pete.
windrush:
malmic:
I used to like going to Charlie’s gang they weren’t quick but a grand bunch of lads. Best gang was definitely Flash.
I remember that gang very well and there was one haulier who was begging to deliver to them for the reason you outlined. Not naming any names but he was from your neck of the woods,in any case sadly he isn’t around
any moreHi Mick, you are still around then!
Pete.
I think that most tipper drivers involved in carting coke, iron or limestone etc must have horror stories of foundries? Some were the most evil places on God’s Earth at times! We delivered to several and some were better than others admittedly, Worthington Simpson at Balderton, Biwaters at Clay Cross, Johnson Matthey at Enfield, and a few around the Dudley Port/Great Bridge/West Brom area were ok and easy tips on clean and level ground. Parkray at Belper was a decent tip, apart from having to reverse all the way round the site as there was no turning space, but the weighbridge was a different matter! With an eight wheeler we had to double weigh and every time the operator complained that he was being short changed on material and you had to try and convince him that it wasn’t the case. I dreaded doing battle with him! Cradley Castings was ok once you realised that you had to do a blind reverse at a right angle with a tree blocking your offside mirror and cab door so you had to guess when you reached the tipping point as if you went too far there was a drop of around ten feet behind you! First time I went there it was dark and luckily I stopped just as the rear axle was on the point of no return!
The worst by far however was Smethwick foundry, Malmic will agree with me on this I think? It was horrendous, they had a load daily and it was a six wheeler only job as you couldn’t get anything larger into the bay. The place was always ankle deep in crap, you had no idea what you were driving over and there was very little room to get out of the cab as there were unmarked ‘lagoons’ there and you could easily fall into one. I kept a pair of Rigger Boots in the cab solely for this place as the ■■■■ would come over ordinary ones. Even when you tipped getting the ticket signed was ‘fun’ as you had a narrow walkway to negotiate with cauldrons of white hot metal coming past spilling stuff everywhere, a H & S nightmare really. Many od’s refused to go which meant the other lads went more often, as an employed driver I had little choice in the matter although I don’t think my gaffer went that often? Several lads attempted to get banned through causing damage on site but it seemed that nothing short of murdering somebody on site could get you a ban? I believe it has all long gone now though, many drivers must be very glad of that.
Pete.
windrush:
I think that most tipper drivers involved in carting coke, iron or limestone etc must have horror stories of foundries?The worst by far however was Smethwick foundry, Malmic will agree with me on this I think?
Pete.
I ended up in the medical room at that foundry after stepping into one of those lagoons you are talking about. Ruined a pair of jeans and a very nasty gash on the leg. To be fair the doctor there was very good (probably had plenty of practice) he applied somE black gungy stuff that he said would stop any infection bandaged me up and away I went.
Foundries ? Hell on earth!!
What I could never quite get my head round was, despite minimal contact with the load, I invariably ended up smelling or getting covered in it or mostly both