Thread bump 'cos I’m bored and my back’s giving me grief. 
I have suffered lower back probs and muscle spasm for about 10 yrs or so.
I had a left hand drive Scania and my back was OK when driving it. Later on in another job I had same spec but right hand drive, my back was bad, so that goes to prove what has been said about LHD designed motors being converted to rhd.
I have suffered lower back probs and muscle spasm for about 10 yrs or so.
I had a left hand drive Scania and my back was OK when driving it. Later on in another job I had same spec but right hand drive, my back was bad, so that goes to prove what has been said about LHD designed motors being converted to rhd.
My Dad drove lorries for over forty years delivering animal feeds and collecting them from Docks. He and his generation regularly carried 2 cwt + sacks up granary steps, he used to suffer from a slipped disc every so often.He would like many others the go to a bone setter ( osteopath nowadays ) and be back at work driving and lifting the next day. I have many times carried 2 cwt, but was lucky and didn’t suffer back trouble.
Cotswoldcrunch:
Thread bump 'cos I’m bored and my back’s giving me grief.
Its all them sacks of flower thaz umpin m8,its a bit different to pulling a leaver on a tipper 
I suffered bad back pain for a long time , so bad sometimes I couldn’t get up , had physio , MRI scan , nothing showing , was talking to somebody about it one day & he asked if I had an air suspended seat in the truck & if I had it set to the lowest setting of softness so it bounces , I said yes & he told me to try it on the firm setting so there’s no movement! 6 months later I’m pain free & as an experiment I set the seat the other way one day , had pain after an hour ,… I’m sure its been mentioned on here before about the seat setting & back pain , think under the heading “sciatica”
I have had a bad back for years now and I am waiting for my 3rd operation shortly. Tbh I think its nothing to do with design of cabs etc its all the handballing and stretching and jumping out of cabs and trailers over the years. We all thought nothing of jumping out of cabs years ago but now some of us are paying the price. I know I am 
I’ve got an appointment with a chiropractor later this week, getting “crunching” in the shoulders and upper back and I’m constantly adjusting my seat. When I drove plant “operators’ back” was mentioned a lot but have bad backs become less common with modern lorries? I suspect tipper driving’s not helping…
If i drive a scania or an Axor for a day, my back hurts like mad. some of it is the way that trucks have been designed for left hand drive, and the manufactorers think it is easy to just swap the steering and pedals over to the right, without redesigning the layout of the cab. the Axor is a particularly bad example of this, there is nowhere to put your left foot because the centre consule is from a left hand driv truck. Just look how much room there is on the passenger side! Quite a few trucks the seat is offset to the pedals and you are constantly twisted in your seat.
Bang on TJon; Why do Dafs have that stupid “block” beside the clutch which means one foot is higher than the other? I feel like I’m sitting askew, I thought my seat was knackered as nothing makes any difference. I’ve put a cushion behind my back and bent the rear of the seat away as I’m (zb) off with fiddling with the stupid thing. I’m going to see what chiro says and then ask about having a new seat or one of the spare ones rescued from a scrapped Foden 4000 fitted instead (never had a problem with those).
might seem silly but where do you keep your wallet 
if i leave mine in my back pocket i’ll get a bad back
sea frog:
might seem silly but where do you keep your wallet
I don’t take my wallet to work, no need 
Seriously, someone asked me if I carried phone in pocket etc which I dont. I just think Daf Cf/Foden cabs are designed by non-drivers. I’ve not had problems with any other lorry I’ve driven even the ancient 3 and 4000 Fodens, Merc demonstartors (Atego/Axor) and even the tiny cabbed Volvo FEs (which I really like and find comfortable)
I get back ache with Scania’s (although the 10 plates at Maritime didn’t seem to cause it, but I wasn’t in them that long so maybe just time) and Axor units - but not the rigids?
But, as others have said, it’s noticible that you seem to be twisted to the left
waynedl:
I get back ache with Scania’s (although the 10 plates at Maritime didn’t seem to cause it, but I wasn’t in them that long so maybe just time) and Axor units - but not the rigids?But, as others have said, it’s noticible that you seem to be twisted to the left
i too get really bad back ache driving a scania, i had a topline at viamaster and i was constantly altering my seating position, and i told maritime the problem and they gave me a volvo instead 
Muckaway:
sea frog:
might seem silly but where do you keep your walletI don’t take my wallet to work, no need
I find in the Foden Alpha and Daf’s that the back rest bends at the wrong place for me, therefore pushing my shoulders forward causing me to hunch over, I don’t know if its because I’m quite tall but after a week in one I’m happy to sit on the couch at home!
Most comfortable truck i’ve driven so far is an ERF EC with an Eaton twin split, feel fresh at the end of a day in one, its just effortless. I’ll put my tin hat now now.
Sitting down all day is never good for a spine.Comparing truck seats is b***cks,the only way to relieve back pain is to stop every hour or so and stretch the spinal cord.
8 legger:
I find in the Foden Alpha and Daf’s that the back rest bends at the wrong place for me, therefore pushing my shoulders forward causing me to hunch over, I don’t know if its because I’m quite tall but after a week in one I’m happy to sit on the couch at home!Most comfortable truck i’ve driven so far is an ERF EC with an Eaton twin split, feel fresh at the end of a day in one, its just effortless. I’ll put my tin hat now now.
Yep, Daf seats are crap, the ride height is a joke whichever setting you use and whats the tilt for? Who wants to be tipped back in their seat ffs?
Forgot the ERF EC, we had an EC11;brilliant lorry to drive and being thin I could use the rear shelf to sleep on at breaktime 
Only problem I’ve ever had is with a Merc Actros, bloody agony
Truck manufacturers do Brits no favours with respect to driving position as they’re all biased to a left-hand driving position now. Dash orientation/design, footwell space and seat position are all designed for left-hookers, no doubt. Offset steering wheels are common now and you don’t even notice at first! Ever get one arm a bit more tingly than the other later in the shift? Check how offset your wheel is (of course something else entirely could have bring on that feeling!).
weve got 2 scannys now the 57 plate that im now on,has the poor mans spec cab with vinyl and cloth seats and normal shock absorber suspension on the cab .I can do a full shift behind the wheel and my backs ok,
however the 53 plate which has the higher spec cloth seats and air suspended cab makes my back ache after an hour wierd that,
mind you i had the misfortune of having a hired axor on saturday morning the less said the better, the driving position and the way it bounced reminded me of the 4 tonner bedfords in the army except thebedfords were better specced