Hi all,and what about the Bedford TK lovely parcel shelf mad excellent bed, same as F86 Volvo as mentioned earlier in the thread. 
I thought the unions did not want them…not sure.I do know the TGW did not want CBs because I wrote and told the to mind their own bizzz.
gerbil sb152:
Hi all,and what about the Bedford TK lovely parcel shelf mad excellent bed, same as F86 Volvo as mentioned earlier in the thread.
Parcel shelf was fine…if you were 4 foot 6. 
I found myself sleeping with feet out of side window in summer, which was ok unless it rained.
I got a Fiat 190\30 replacing my TK, there was room for a small mattress behind the seats, kidded myself it was a proper ‘sleeper’.
Only thing was the cab back was not insulated, it was bare metal, so the condensation made your bed wet…sorted it by lining it out, and it was ok after that, a bit cramped but miles better than the TK.
When I started on distance work in the late 60s it was working for a small company (5 motors) doing regular runs so for 3 out of 4 nights away we were at ‘regular’ digs so could phone ahead and be sure to get a ‘better’ bed, often a single cubicle. Sleeping in the (non sleeper) cab was only about a once in two week experiance. The ‘Damascus’ moment came in '76 when I got a 2800 DAF with a NIGHT HEATER, after that I think my nights in digs could be counted on the thumbs of one hand, always tried to park in an area where essential services (pubs) were close bye though. Don’t remember having any Brit manufactured sleeper although a D series Ford with a bench seat and homemade cutains did the job OK in the early days.
As a teenaged Trailer mate in the mid /late 60’s I was “brought up” to accept that you stopped in Digs, always ! So when I did eventually start out as a 21 year old O/D I just continued the same way and I never “cabbed it” ever ! So as I built up the Bewick fleet in the early 70’s our drivers did follow the same pattern as I was absolutely dead against them kipping over the bonnets of our motors. However, from about the mid 70’s I could see that pressure was building within the industry that “cabbing it” was becoming the accepted norm, which went against the grain I can tell you. 
So I was forced to relent but there was no way I wished to see our drivers kipping across the bonnets on boards etc ! So at what was fairly considerable cost I had both rudimentary conversions carried out on firstly a couple of Atkis and then in numerous 111’s/81’s and Sed Atk day cabs I had them fitted with drop down beds and proper cushioned pads ( not lumps of foam rubber 
) In comparison to the later full sleeper cabs that joined the fleet the day cab conversions were not ideal because of space restrictions but once they had been set up they gave a good , comfortable, nights kip !! But I must say that kipping in the cab was never my preference but the weight of popular opinion within the industry dictated otherwise ! So that’s my 2 penarth on the matter and I will always stick to it ! Cheers Bewick.
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Bewick:
As a teenaged Trailer mate in the mid /late 60’s I was “brought up” to accept that you stopped in Digs, always ! So when I did eventually start out as a 21 year old O/D I just continued the same way and I never “cabbed it” ever ! So as I built up the Bewick fleet in the early 70’s our drivers did follow the same pattern as I was absolutely dead against them kipping over the bonnets of our motors. However, from about the mid 70’s I could see that pressure was building within the industry that “cabbing it” was becoming the accepted norm, which went against the grain I can tell you.
My dad would have agreed with that Dennis , Digs everytime unless home on a fiddle
Bewick:
As a teenaged Trailer mate in the mid /late 60’s I was “brought up” to accept that you stopped in Digs, always ! So when I did eventually start out as a 21 year old O/D I just continued the same way and I never “cabbed it” ever ! So as I built up the Bewick fleet in the early 70’s our drivers did follow the same pattern as I was absolutely dead against them kipping over the bonnets of our motors. However, from about the mid 70’s I could see that pressure was building within the industry that “cabbing it” was becoming the accepted norm, which went against the grain I can tell you.
At the risk of offending those contributors who have admitted to cabbing it on boards across the engine cover I recall that back in the pre-sleeper cab days such drivers were considered to be… shall we say diplomatically… a bit strange.
gingerfold:
At the risk of offending those contributors who have admitted to cabbing it on boards across the engine cover I recall that back in the pre-sleeper cab days such drivers were considered to be… shall we say diplomatically… a bit strange.
I know Dennis was on about 60s to mid 70s, but when I started in 79, and when I used to go off with a couple of mates a couple of years earlier, (with me kipping under the sheet on the back 
) I can’t remember that opinion or attitude towards cabbing it at all like that tbh 
…and by the time I started driving myself, it was the minority that used digs.
robroy:
gingerfold:
At the risk of offending those contributors who have admitted to cabbing it on boards across the engine cover I recall that back in the pre-sleeper cab days such drivers were considered to be… shall we say diplomatically… a bit strange.I know Dennis was on about 60s to mid 70s, but when I started in 79, and when I used to go off with a couple of mates a couple of years earlier, (with me kipping under the sheet on the back
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+1
same for me…
started round the same time,never cabbed it and there were also masses who didnt.
worlds apart in that respect.
mostly the older road commanders waffling on about living in preston and doing scratchwood in 1 hit… 
robroy:
gingerfold:
At the risk of offending those contributors who have admitted to cabbing it on boards across the engine cover I recall that back in the pre-sleeper cab days such drivers were considered to be… shall we say diplomatically… a bit strange.I know Dennis was on about 60s to mid 70s, but when I started in 79, and when I used to go off with a couple of mates a couple of years earlier, (with me kipping under the sheet on the back
Robroy I’m the same age as Dennis so the same perception. The job started to change dramatically, and quickly, from 1971 ish… coinciding with the introduction of Operator Licensing which replaced the old restrictive licence system. A lot of new start-ups came into the job and rapid expansion by others. I have often wondered if Operator Licensing which made entry into the business much easier hasn’t a lot to answer for.
windrush:
Well I will start the ten pages off then!!I was told (rightly or wrongly?) that legislation decreed that the driver had to spend his rest period away from either the steering wheel or the whole vehicle? None of the drivers from the fifties and sixties that I knew slept in their cabs, even into the 1970’s they lodged out and when I did my HGV training in 1976 the digs I stayed in at Pickering had many drivers staying there overnight instead of sleeping in their cabs to save the night out money. So no real call for factory built sleeper cabs back then, although some of our Foden eight legger tippers at Tilcon in the early eighties were fitted with drop down Jennings bunks for the lads doing distance work and a couple of Foden Haulmaster tankers on Y reg had factory built double cabs although the drivers didn’t actually night out!
Pete.
I’m interested Pete, where were the digs in Pickering??
The day cabs we carried out conversions on by adding fold down bunks also included the fitting of proper curtaining as well. The only item that we didn’t fit was night heaters but the first F10’s and 111 sleepers that joined the fleet had night heaters fitted as standard and later on I recall taking delivery of some new ERF C38 sleepers and the heaters on these units were useless to put it mildly ! So I had them fitted with Eberspatcher night heaters which the Drivers used during the day when it was cold !! Cheers Bewick.
Probably a simple answer to this but where did you park an 8 wheeler and trailer if you were staying in digs, i know its not like today where cops are looking to do anyone parked in the wrong place but i imagine it could have been tricky
Lonewolf Yorks:
windrush:
Well I will start the ten pages off then!!Pete.
I’m interested Pete, where were the digs in Pickering??
Mrs Mook’s, which was on the Scarborough Road just a little way along it from the island on the left. There were a few lads lodging there who were working on re-opening of the North Yorks Railway but for the first week I had a different ‘room mate’ each night who were mostly truckers nighting out. They were asleep when I came in from the pub and usually gone by the time I arose in the morning! The second week I had a lad from Bradford who was also training for his class 2 with Tilcon at the Slaters Transport depot, Tilcon payed for the lodgings plus some expenses as most of our drivers went there on refresher courses when Tilcon changed over from AEC and Bedford to Fodens.
Pete.
ramone:
Probably a simple answer to this but where did you park an 8 wheeler and trailer if you were staying in digs, i know its not like today where cops are looking to do anyone parked in the wrong place but i imagine it could have been tricky
I cannot recall us ever having a parking problem at the regular digs we used to stop at “ramone” and I can say that my mate Eric could reverse the waggon and trailer into 99:9 % of places if required no ■■■■■■■ about having to “put it on the nose”. One hilarious incident I recall at the regular digs we stayed in at Llansamlet was the dead piece of lane Eric used to reverse the outfit down near the Café. Well one night we were having our evening meal and these two plain clothes Detectives stormed in and demanded the Brady vehicle JEO 192 was moved to let them out with their car as they were on “obo” and were now going to be in “hot pursuit” !! My Mate says well you weren’t there when we parked up and I’m “booked off” now so I will be breaking the law if I got back behind the wheel. One of these Welsh 'Tecs went ■■■■■■■ ballistic and started shouting abuse !! The other Lads in the Café were in hysterics so finally Eric threw the keys across the table to me and told me to go and let them out !! So I went out to the Octopus and pulled it forward and they shot out from behind like a ■■■■■■■ cork out of a bottle ! I then just let it roll back nice and straight like , IIRC we were loaded with 20ton of tinplate for an MB factory probably Westhoughton or sometimes Aintree. Cheers Dennis.
ramone:
Probably a simple answer to this but where did you park an 8 wheeler and trailer if you were staying in digs, i know its not like today where cops are looking to do anyone parked in the wrong place but i imagine it could have been tricky
Most towns had car parks which were used as lorry parks at night, side roads laybys anywhere else you could fit the wagon was generally OK, the load being tampered with or your fuel stolen was rare, few lorries had lockable fuel caps, my first wagon had brass radiator and fuel caps which a few years later would have been nicked by our bestest mates in caravans, lot more laybys and pull ins on single carriageway roads of all descriptions, there weren’t that many lorries on the road then and nothing like the number of fridges in use as today, and dare i say it most people didn’t take themselves as seriously as people these days do, live and let live was normal.
Unless you took the ■■■■ generally the old bill left you alone, they like most of the country still had common sense then and were about preventing crime and nicking criminals not persecuting genuine working people just trying to get on with their jobs.
Some areas they got a bit shirty about unlit parking at night, anyone remember the Toleman transporters that would be parked all around Suffolk in laybys (the drivers in their own or someone elses beds), they were all fitted with single red/white lens parking lights which kept them a bit legal, most of us bodged up some sort of parking light on a long lead which we could clip to the batteries if in a place likely to get you nicked if unlit, most of the old rattle traps we drove would struggle to start at all on a cold morning let alone after several hours with the side lights on.
Robroy mentioned about why day cabs lasted so long, and yes i get the point about foreign motors leading the way here, though i never thought they were in any way superior to a properly specced (■■■■■■■ , Eaton , Rockwell) British motor, for driving purposes i preferred then and still do day cabs, for motorway plobbing and the typical on side easy reverses that most modern RDC’s allow you don’t need good all round visibility, but back on general work you were often taking 40ft trailers into places designed for small lorries or even horse and cart.
So day cabs with windows all round made maneuvering much easier, plus the trailer would be much further back from a day cabbed unit which again made blind siding a doddle looking through the back window, remember power steering was a rarity then so you didn’t want 12 shunts you wanted to get in there in one, plus a short wheelbase tractor unit turned on a sixpence.
My last proper British motor was an '84 sleeper cab Sed 401, it had been a Seddon demo for a few months before my gaffer bought it, it came with no back windows but he (sensible bloke, we did a lot of farm and old leather/skins works, so everywhere was tight) asked me if i wanted one or two fitting, i had both fitted which if you recall were huge back windows on that cab, that was the best sleeper cab i’ve ever had for maneuvering, despite being a twin steer had a remarkable turning circle.
I don’t do nights out any more (well unless stuck due to unforseen/weather) so apart from the storage offered by well designed sleepers for pure driving use involving going into tight places, which i still do, i’d still rather have a day cab.
Just reading all this about sleeper cabs, even today the sleeper cabs are a disgrace way to small, asking a man to really live in one of these is not right, I see the Dutch are now making a long line cab so much better. The law needs changing on sleepers.
Eco43:
Just reading all this about sleeper cabs, even today the sleeper cabs are a disgrace way to small, asking a man to really live in one of these is not right, I see the Dutch are now making a long line cab so much better. The law needs changing on sleepers.
Never happen. We’re not out on the wide prairies or the outback. Overall length has to be limited and the trailer platform length maximised for full load. Nothing wrong with current cabs: they’re better than they’ve ever been (which is probably more than you can say for the driveline!). Admittedly, the manufacturers did at one point pander to the greed of operators at the expense of driver comfort and safety by introducing those awful top-sleeper pods back in the '80s but they didn’t last long, mercifully. I’m retired now but if I had to go back on the road, the least of my worries would be the sleeper cab!
[EDIT to add: I’ve just noticed that this is your first post on here, so welcome aboard old mate! I hope you enjoy the forum. ] Ro
If you were tramping around Europe for weeks on end , and were over six feet tall , you would have to get dressed outside if driving a Wendy house Volvo FL 10 .
Actually the FL10 wasn’t a terrible motor that had plenty of torque and pulling power for a small engine .
Now it’s illegal to have a 45 hour weekly rest period in your cab , so you have to be in a hotel , but transport firms have missed a trick here by not installing converted shipping containers that can be used for driver accommodation or rent out Portakabins with sleeping facilities for £10 per night .
All a driver needs is a bog and sink to shave in .
