What was the first lorry you drove .

. . that had a factory /dealer radio fitted . Looking at some of the pics on here, there are some early motors with aerials but would have the driver supplied it him/herself ? Mine was a D reg FL6 and i recall the boss moaning about paying the extra to have one fitted. Basic mw/lw . . didnt even have a cassette :slight_smile:
Prior to that i had a transistor , couldnt hear it whilst driving but came in handy when parked up on a night out.
Sorry for the ramblings.

I drove for Tilcon where you were fortunate to get a basic seat, three pedals and a steering wheel in a new truck! :laughing: I fitted a radio myself, an aerial was fitted from new though. However the 1996 3000 series Foden I had new on STB Transport did have a radio/cassette player factory fitted, however it was one of several supplied with faulty voltage droppers and unless you had the heated mirrors on you couldn’t hear the radio or CB because of all the static noise. Despite it being under warranty the gaffer wasn’t bothered so it never did get fixed. :unamused: Then I left and went on a 1986 Foden (ex Smiths of Bletchingdon) and that had a factory fitted radio plus heated mirrors, cross locks and an air seat, things we only dreamed about with Tilcon! :open_mouth: I think it was Eaton Concrete where radios and CB’s were banned in their trucks, that might have been an urban myth though?

Pete.

As an 18yr old in 1977, Commer carrier 7.5 tonner tipper with 2.5ltr petrol engine, gear stick used to come off in hand when changing down. 1st hgv in 1980, 1976 AEC Mercury 4 wheeler, no radio so used walkman on night runs into Smithfield with hanging meat.

Mmm must have been the90s for a factory fitted radio . Just all basic motors , iirc it was
A lw/am
Radio in a Dennis dustcart ,at new job.I had a cassette player and speaker on a board for yrs before( small enough to fit in bag as bosses thought it wasn’t safe)

7.5t E reg cargo in 1997

Sent from my truck

Officially , 1950 something Bedford J type , one wiper (sometimes ) driving seat out of an old car , and the joy of a Perkins P6 . Unofficially , 1947 dg Foden round the quarry yard .

Maudsley 8 wheeler(unofficially). Albion Chieftain officially.

Unofficially a Kew Dodge.
Officially RAF Bedford RL and then Albion LAD Reiver.

In all my years on the road I never had a vehicle that had a radio fitted. :cry:
I spent a lot of time talking to myself. :frowning:

Deleted…double post. :blush:

Bedford TK
Then the RL

FORD A series from about 1974-ish i think , it had a radio but i don’t know whether it was standard or not and i only drove it a couple of times

first one with a factory fitted radio -1981 FIAT 170F26 , all the electrics worked ,well it was new motor , it was the driver seat that failed

tony

grumpy old man:
In all my years on the road I never had a vehicle that had a radio fitted. :cry:
I spent a lot of time talking to myself. :frowning:

But did you get the right answers? :wink: I didn’t bother with one for a few years but succumbed in the end, however in the Sed Ak I carried a portable tape player with me which was fine. The box of tapes is under my bed now, it’s been under there since December 19th 2002 which was the day I retired from driving!

Pete.

grumpy old man:
In all my years on the road I never had a vehicle that had a radio fitted. :cry:
I spent a lot of time talking to myself. :frowning:

No worries talking to yourself , we all did that . The problem is when you start answering .
The first radio I had was a transistor set hung beside my right ear wired to one of those big roadworks lamp batteries . I found it lying beside the road , honest .

First lorry was a s/h Mercedes 1617 fitted with a radio a W reg I did fit a radio in a 1975 Ford D series 1614 but did not work properly

Strictly speaking it was the first motor I was on but not as the Driver. It was the LAD Octopus at Bradys in the mid 60’s and started as Mate, well it had been fitted with a radio from new ( a Philips valve set IIRC) but the roof aerial had been snapped off by some careless ■■■■ ! and Eric Postlethwaite the Driver wasn’t fussed about a radio but he said if I could get it working well that was OK by him ! So one day I gets up onto the sheet rack and fixed a twisted copper welding rod to the little ■■■■ that was left of the aerial and bingo ! it worked great . I recall that Eric was quite partial to listening to " Sing something Simple" which was broadcast later on Sunday afternoon on The BBC Light Prog and also there was IIRC Alan Freeman who broadcast the top 10 or 20 I forget which ! I used to have it playing all the time and dependant on where we were running I could get some of the Pirates like Radio Caroline. Occasionally Eric would comment " Are you a Trailer Mate or a ■■■■■■■ Radio Operator" Happy Days.
Then the first motor I ran as an O/D was a Trader and I cobbled up a radio ( Transistor by this time in 1968) with the speaker fixed up in the corner above my right ear. Reception wasn’t the best around Kendal and up Tebay and Shap way but it was acceptable for the time I suppose !
But when I bought the new D1000 the Ford Dealer fitted me a top of the range push button job same as was fitted in those long bonneted Executive Granadas ! Absolutely perfect reception ! The radio reception in the Borderers were a bit Iffy but in the Volvos and Scanias there were no probs ! Bit boring Lads I know but an interesting topic all the same ! Cheers Bewick.

I remember a 1965 Dodge K500 with a Mopar
Wireless in it, the aerial was fitted on the front panel and looked original.

After a Leyland Terrier the first proper lorry was this 5LW powered Atkinson. The vehicle still exists in preservation somewhere in the North.

KKJ 290E in original condition file.jpg

Off road in a yard as a night yard shunter it was a Ford D series unit scammell coupling with a fifth wheel plate attached on top hitched up to a 40 foot trailer which had a single rear axle

Great fun to go anywhere in the National Carriers depot at Leicester which had pillars every so many feet

From memory it was a 1978 DAF 2800 but only radio no cassete tape player and was mounted below the dash by your knee.Speakers were in the sleeper interior trim.Wasn’t half bad for the day.

1982 - 2300/2500 had a radio and cassete in the overhead panel above the windscreen.