I’ve got to say IMHO the Trader but I’m probably a bit biased 
Cheers Bewick.
BMC FFK (5.7 in its various forms) generally pulled better and was easiest of the three to work on. The FHK with the underfloor engine and fixed cab was possibly the worst to work on, even more than the TK! However the 5.7 Longbridge built one was the more reliable engine I found as it had more space for coolant around the liners, the Bathgate built engines (slightly different) were crap though. TK’s tended to chuck con rods and take the compressor with them but otherwise were not bad, although the synchromesh gearbox was weak on them compared to BMC’s constant mesh one.
Pete.
Nice one Bewick… 
Can’t comment on the driving of these although I drove both trader & t.k. unofficially but not the B.M.C.
The Ford Dealership that I did my Apprenticeship at 41 moons ago had a Trader recovery unit and from the perspective of working on them the Trader I did a few job’s on some not so nice but the T.K. sticks in my mind as being horrible to work on from above ground compared with the D series THAT we had mainly in & out of w’shop by those days 
E.W. 
By heck Dennis this thread is going to ruffle a few feathers. Personally never had much dealings with TKs, the only one I drove left me completely underwhelmed. In my Mothers Pride years I had lots of experience with both Fords (a few Traders, but scores of D Series) and BMCs (FGs and Terriers); the Fords win hands down.
gingerfold:
By heck Dennis this thread is going to ruffle a few feathers. Personally never had much dealings with TKs, the only one I drove left me completely underwhelmed. In my Mothers Pride years I had lots of experience with both Fords (a few Traders, but scores of D Series) and BMCs (FGs and Terriers); the Fords win hands down.
I never drove the Trader but thought the TK was a piece of junk with dangerously under geared, but still heavy,steering ( especially with the added weight of a snow plough attachment let alone plough,bolted to the front ),evil nasty gear shift and weird braking 
.While,maybe with the exception of its gear shift,the R/S type wasn’t much if any better.While the FG was another flawed heap but at least had a better constant mesh box.My favourite of that sector was the WF which seems to have had the same engine and box as the FG but was a delight to drive by comparison with all the others.With the TJ being the best of the small Bedfords.But with a zb 4 cylinder diesel and synchro box compared with the WF’s decent 6 cylinder motor and constant mesh driveline.
While I also much preferred the Ford D series being better in every way than the TK or for that matter the later TL which was another piece of junk.
Is this not a bit like being given the choice of shot v hung v drowned?
being small was a help with the Bedford tks as it was short in the windscreen, and water pump changes were easy without removing the radiator, the gearbox was an easy removal light and plenty of room around it to pick it up and stuff it back in, I spent a lot of years in them and had no gripes really a good all round truck.
you’d have to out me down for the TK, dad had loads of TK’s , artics , rigids and drawbars, 300, 330 and Leyland engines,4,5 and 5 + 2 speed boxes. I learned on TK’s and overall I rather liked them , apart from when i was prised out of my beloved F86 artic to pilot a 8.5 tonne drawbar TK down to Frejus with a couple of mobile homes on, didn’t go down well that one, 30 mph all the way down , relief to throw it on the back of our 1114 d series to come home.
Well the unreliable BMC FJ came out after the Trader with the D Series Fords so not really relative to this topic, though a whole thread could be written about those!! 
The BMC models in production at the same time as the Trader would be the FFK 100 and 140 forward control for five to seven tons, later joined by the FHK 100, 140 and 160 for five, seven and eight tons and the WEK 60, 80 and 100 normal control series in the three to five ton range. Also the FGK 40, 60 and 80 and 100 models in the 2,3, 4 and five ton weight range. BMC used the weight in hundredweights to denote the tonnage, hence FGK 40 would be a two tonner and the 80 a four ton payload etc, but the WEK and FFK artic units (Prime Movers in BMC talk) had the weight listed in gross train weight.
Pete.
Well Pete here we go into Basil Ainsworth domain.He sold quite a few B.M.C. motors.Fred Harrison to name one and what a suprise when Fred Kent bought one as a six wheeler ( wish I’d got a picture of that)
I thought the cab looked quite modern but it seemed a bit of an optical illusion as if the driver was leaning forward.Perhaps it was to help him up Collycroft.
I did take a Laird in Part ex from a big Market gardeners from Melbourne called Jacksons but most of the gardeners were called Jacksons round there. managed to to sell it quite quickly to a coal merchant at Morley near Derby.Never came back but what an awful motor.They also bought a Ford ET 7 with a P.6 in it and overdrive box.Fastest coal cart in the East.
Tony
My old chap thought all his christmasses had come at once when he was awarded the firm’s first TK. He had been used to Thorneycroft Sturdies and Bedford petrol O, A, & S-types previously. Personally I loved the only BMC on the fleet, an FFK with 5-speed overdrive 'box and Eaton 2-speed axle. After the guv’nor sold the oddball I took over an S-type with 330 engine & 2-speed Bedford axle. The only experiences I had with Traders was in taking a load of Christmas trees to Birmingham Market (highly illegal, no tax, red diesel and 19 years old!) and a couple of years later when I almost bought an swb tipper.
I have to say that, although I really liked the S-type my favourite at the time was the BMC- decent amount of power, quite a good turn of speed and a nice driving position. Oh yes, and it sounded like a “proper” lorry, not like those wimpish TKs!
Retired Old ■■■■:
My old chap thought all his christmasses had come at once when he was awarded the firm’s first TK. He had been used to Thorneycroft Sturdies and Bedford petrol O, A, & S-types previously. Personally I loved the only BMC on the fleet, an FFK with 5-speed overdrive 'box and Eaton 2-speed axle. After the guv’nor sold the oddball I took over an S-type with 330 engine & 2-speed Bedford axle. The only experiences I had with Traders was in taking a load of Christmas trees to Birmingham Market (highly illegal, no tax, red diesel and 19 years old!) and a couple of years later when I almost bought an swb tipper.
I have to say that, although I really liked the S-type my favourite at the time was the BMC- decent amount of power, quite a good turn of speed and a nice driving position. Oh yes, and it sounded like a “proper” lorry, not like those wimpish TKs!
ROF You old devil Admiting after all these years to being a dodgey old geeza, No tax red diesel, How can you sleep at night in your retired years Knowing that like the rest of us you were a Law Breaker, , Regards Larry.
I joined the dodgy club before it was formed, Larry, but I didn’t start admitting to it until all the enforcement agents were well retired!
I was aiming this thread at the late 50’s very early 60’s and not at the D series and BMC Laird era etc. ! Cheers Dennis.
When I started work 1964, the Trader was the lorry of choice for the muck shift tipper boys the later versions with air/hydraulic brakes (instead of Hydrovac) Eaton 2 speed axle& ram assisted power steering were not a bad motor, the TK’s were pretty good’ used run them well overloaded on asphalt work the only downside they needed brake relines every service due to running overweight, never had much to do with BMC’s but in my part of the world not popular as a tipper the only thing I remember is helping the mechanic I worked under on “private job” and setting up the engine timing chain, three bright links lined up with dots on the sprockets IIRC
Dennis,
I may have steered this thread off topic with my D series comments!! 
Unintentionally of course!
E.W.
Well my late great Uncle Isaac Smiles sons ran a lot off the Thames Traders & had good service out of them plus the were had worked motors running fully loaded most of their runs, Regards Larry.
EW car truck & bus:
:oops:
I may have steered this thread off topic with my D series comments!!
Unintentionally of course!
E.W.
The written warning is in the post ! Cheers Dennis.
Bewick:
I was aiming this thread at the late 50’s very early 60’s and not at the D series and BMC Laird era etc. ! Cheers Dennis.
Bedford S Type and TJ and the BMC WE/F and FG would all fall into that timeline.In which case the WE/F and TJ were both better to drive and probably easier work on,than the TK at least.Nor was the TK much of a real advance over the S Type possibly arguably even retrograde.On that note I’d go for the WE/F or TJ,or even the S type at least,in preference over the TK,until the D series arrived.
Bearing in mind that both the WE/F and the TJ remained in production from 1955 - 1981 and 1958-early 1990’s respectively.