Lawrence Dunbar:
Why did Eaton stop making them. They were great, I drove several wagons that had them Atkis,ERF ,Dodge ,Commer. & if the TK I drove hadnt had one I would have refused to drive it. Look at what drivers have now Automatics of all things Regards Larry.
I drove several lorries with two speed axles Larry,but the TK I drove didn’t have one.I used to lose the will to live carrying 10 ton of slag back fro Margam to Mid Wales with it. Two speed axles were great in those days.
Cheers Dave.
Well the TK. I drove was an artic with a Scammell Coupling , 12.ton is what I carried on it, to Manchester across Standege it was usless . I had to use high 1st not much passed Motormans & that was it till I reached the summit,then I had to be very very carefull going down towards Diggle, why ? the brakes what brakes eh. Happy Days, we all learned the hard way to say the least,Proffesionals in our own right. Regards Larry
The regular TK that I drove was a four wheeler tipper pre plating days.It was 14 ton gross and could legally carry 9 ton 16 cwt.
Very often we carried 10 ton if possible.As you say Larry the brakes weren’t the best,being servo assisted.I was hauling stone down to South Wales from the Gore quarry and tipping anywhere between Bridgend and Llanelli,then going into Port Talbot to Margam and fetching bulk slag back to a tractor and spreader in the Llandrindod Wells area usually.It was a hard punch in that lorry with a 330 engine and a four speed gearbox with no two speed axle.I would have welcomed one of those.
At least the Commer Maxiload that I had after had one,a totally different lorry.
Cheers Dave.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Why did Eaton stop making them. They were great, I drove several wagons that had them Atkis,ERF ,Dodge ,Commer. & if the TK I drove hadnt had one I would have refused to drive it. Look at what drivers have now Automatics of all things Regards Larry.
I think the dreaded tacho probably started the demise as the drive for the tacho was taken from the gearbox and when you change the rear axle ratio you would change the true road speed but not the tacho speed
Spud1960:
I think the dreaded tacho probably started the demise as the drive for the tacho was taken from the gearbox and when you change the rear axle ratio you would change the true road speed but not the tacho speed
I’m not so sure.
Most two speed axles were behind 4,5 or 6 speed gearboxes.
I suspect that the multi speed range change gearbox with or without a splitter
was seen as the way forwards.
8,10,12 and 16 gears really don’t need to be doubled up.
As far as I can remember, when I changed the axle speed, the speedometer changed with it.
Surely the speedo wouldn’t have had a cable all the way to a live axle?
Maybe they did.
my father had a ford D1000 with a turner 5 speed box and a 2 speed axle and that had a special box in the speedo drive that changed ratio at the same time as the axle i think that the last make of waggon to be fitted with the 2 speed axle was the commer/dodge commando range
My first boss had a couple of D1000 units with ■■■■■■■ V8’s and Fuller gearbox’s in them. The one he drove wasn’t quite as sprightly as he would have liked so he fitted a two-speed axle in it as well…
When it stayed running, it made a lovely sound but, jeez, it was confusing to drive!!
I then went onto FG Bond’s and they had all Dodges with the two-speed axles. The electric ones were ok but I had a six wheeler with an air operated one which was lightening fast. Just a shame it was in an old K500 really…
I also had a D1000 four wheeler for a while. Two speed was fine, the rest of it was just crap but to be fair, it had had a hard life before I got hold of it…
I used to love the two-speeds. Brilliant when you had mastered them, and that didn’t take very long…
Lawrence Dunbar:
Why did Eaton stop making them. They were great, I drove several wagons that had them Atkis,ERF ,Dodge ,Commer. & if the TK I drove hadnt had one I would have refused to drive it. Look at what drivers have now Automatics of all things Regards Larry.
I think the dreaded tacho probably started the demise as the drive for the tacho was taken from the gearbox and when you change the rear axle ratio you would change the true road speed but not the tacho speed
There was a ratio change box fitted to the speedometer drive on the gearbox, this changed the speedo over at the same time. Usually the speedometer needle would go erratic when changing axle ratio until it settled down.
ianto:
my father had a ford D1000 with a turner 5 speed box and a 2 speed axle and that had a special box in the speedo drive that changed ratio at the same time as the axle i think that the last make of waggon to be fitted with the 2 speed axle was the commer/dodge commando range
I drove one of two Dodge tippers for Brisbane’s of Knighton with that same set up ianto.They called it the direct drive,you moved the stick and the button at the sae time.A couple of their drivers couldn’t get the hang of it.
I Got a new Dodge K series 1966, 6354Perkins E.N.V.5 speed g/box plus the 2 speed axle, Reg JTN222D. nice motor to drive , the gear box was termed as a short 4th, I think. when you were in low 4th the change was low 5th, then high 4th then high 5th. so in theory you chnging down with the g/stick to change up. Fodens did the same with there 12 speeds One was a Trunker box the other a Tipper box. odd set up but it worked perfectley, Regards Larry
Lawrence Dunbar:
I Got a new Dodge K series 1966, 6354Perkins E.N.V.5 speed g/box plus the 2 speed axle, Reg JTN222D. nice motor to drive , the gear box was termed as a short 4th, I think. when you were in low 4th the change was low 5th, then high 4th then high 5th. so in theory you chnging down with the g/stick to change up. Fodens did the same with there 12 speeds One was a Trunker box the other a Tipper box. odd set up but it worked perfectley, Regards Larry
Sounds exactly the same as the one I drove Larry.The one I drove was new in 1967. I preferred the normal two speed which I had on other regular lorries that I drove before and after the Dodge.
Cheers Dave.
Well ,it was the gearbox that was differant, I was told by a fitter at North Eastern Motors, Dodge Dealers, it was a differant spigot shaft, or primary shaft , it was called both, it would appear one had less teeth than the other, so hence the differant gear ratios, I dont think it lasted very long, because the range change g/box was coming in to force & the Z/Fs also. Regards Larry. PS. I had a Dodge of my own HTS952G. & that was the normal change with E2S.
Our BMC Mastiffs had the same box Larry, you changed from 4th low to 5th low then 4th high to 5th high, but the Perkins V8 power meant that you could miss a couple of changes out going up and it would still pull well.
I’m barely out of short trousers and I’ve had two motors with an Eaton two speed, a KM with a Turner? 5spd and a Sudden Accident 400 with a 180 Gardner and that back to front and round the houses 6sp DB box, in the Bedford the two speed axle was a good thing, in the SA it was a waste of time in anything but top gear and if there was a hill around it never got in top gear
ianto:
my father had a ford D1000 with a turner 5 speed box and a 2 speed axle and that had a special box in the speedo drive that changed ratio at the same time as the axle i think that the last make of waggon to be fitted with the 2 speed axle was the commer/dodge commando range
think you right uncle had one in a new commando 1982 x reg 2 speed axle was a good thing we got a daf lf 55 220 which goes well but always think a 2 speed axle behind the 6 speed box would be ideal
ianto:
my father had a ford D1000 with a turner 5 speed box and a 2 speed axle and that had a special box in the speedo drive that changed ratio at the same time as the axle i think that the last make of waggon to be fitted with the 2 speed axle was the commer/dodge commando range
think you right uncle had one in a new commando 1982 x reg 2 speed axle was a good thing we got a daf lf 55 220 which goes well but always think a 2 speed axle behind the 6 speed box would be ideal
The Commer Maxiload I drove had a five speed box plus overdrive,also a two speed axle.A cracking lorry.
Here’s a question for you,I have a restored k series dodge k2413t with 6 speed dodge box and eaton 2 speed axle.Should it do more than 50mph in 6th high or am I doing something wrong?
yanto36:
Here’s a question for you,I have a restored k series dodge k2413t with 6 speed dodge box and eaton 2 speed axle.Should it do more than 50mph in 6th high or am I doing something wrong?
I would have thought a lot more.What about the diff in it ?
yanto36:
Here’s a question for you,I have a restored k series dodge k2413t with 6 speed dodge box and eaton 2 speed axle.Should it do more than 50mph in 6th high or am I doing something wrong?
Hi yanto
If its the same model as I drove for a while then I should have thought it ought to do nearly 60mph. As Dave said, check the final drive ratio perhaps? Mine had a Perkins V8, 6 speed and two speed axle with Hendrickson (I think…) rear suspension. It was also a tipper so geared fairly low for soft ground. Lovely sound and I used to enjoy driving it, apart from the crick in my neck because the top of the windscreen was level with my nose…
