Did you run out of fm desborough?, we put a jennings on the atkinson i drove , had to move the 5th wheel back 1 hole,
It was nudging the sleeper on turns with the fm trailers, made it a bit heavy on the drive axle.
tony
You did bloody well to get a Borderer with pod in front of a Ferrymasters.
I wasn’t going on ferrymasters without a sleeper, so it had to work,which it did, just.onu489j was x fb atkins and had the longer wheelbase Dad was all for buying one of billy eales in wellingboro’s mickey mouse fodens, now that defo wasn’t a goer.
I recognise that number… did you know that it still exists? It still has the pod on too. You mention it having a longer wheelbase: was it one of the 6x2 tractors that Atkins cut down?
Did you run out of fm desborough?, we put a jennings on the atkinson i drove , had to move the 5th wheel back 1 hole,
It was nudging the sleeper on turns with the fm trailers, made it a bit heavy on the drive axle.
tony
You did bloody well to get a Borderer with pod in front of a Ferrymasters.
I recall Pandoro trying to couple a Seddon 300 Series to a FM tilt - I think the only motors on the fleet that would physically couple - but it was about 3" over length. You may have seen the Tr*ck magazine test feature where Seddon turned up at a group test in Europe with a tractor that wouldn’t couple to the local test trailer because the unit was far too short. At that time, we didn’t have long neck trailers here, and the mish-mash of equipment of different dimensions and ages was a constant hassle, albeit probably less rigorously policed than it now might be! Anyone who has grown up with the modern standardised dimensions, especially around a 1.6m king pin, probably wouldn’t realise how it used to be! There’s European standardisation for you
There’s still sometimes problems with old blower tankers, rear tag axle modern units have a hell of a problem with short tanks, i’ve seen some where the tank landing legs have been moved back a fair distance to accommodate, on a 25 year old tank that might be pushing it a bit
If onu489 was an ex twin steer they didn’t tell us, they just pointed at the yard and said choose any one you like except the foden,sa400 or the daf. Dad wouldn’t fork out for the 220/10speed road ranger atki,so we chose a 205/6 speed zf jobby with a rather loud train horn fitted. If somebody does still have it ,i’ve still got the specially bent spanner somewhere for re-attaching the gearbox,deep unending joy that little job was
Tony
tonyj105:
If onu489 was an ex twin steer they didn’t tell us, they just pointed at the yard and said choose any one you like except the foden,sa400 or the daf. Dad wouldn’t fork out for the 220/10speed road ranger atki,so we chose a 205/6 speed zf jobby with a rather loud train horn fitted. If somebody does still have it ,i’ve still got the specially bent spanner somewhere for re-attaching the gearbox,deep unending joy that little job was
Tony
Good grief i’ve just found it on flikr, and its still taxed. Getting all misty eyed now, my first lorry.
Swapped it for the f86 we had
Tony
Trucky Mc truckface:
Can you post a link to the Flickr photo please. I cant find it on there. Would love to see a proper Atkins motor again. Cheers.
I found it on flickr just by googling onu489 ,but i’ve attached a couple of photos of when i had her.sorry she’s not pristine they’d be from 1979/80.
Tony
tonyj105:
If onu489 was an ex twin steer they didn’t tell us, they just pointed at the yard and said choose any one you like except the foden,sa400 or the daf. Dad wouldn’t fork out for the 220/10speed road ranger atki,so we chose a 205/6 speed zf jobby with a rather loud train horn fitted. If somebody does still have it ,i’ve still got the specially bent spanner somewhere for re-attaching the gearbox,deep unending joy that little job was
Tony
Good grief i’ve just found it on flikr, and its still taxed. Getting all misty eyed now, my first lorry.
Swapped it for the f86 we had
Tony
That was in 2012 - it’s changed this year and there have been photos on Facebook - I think it’ll be having a new coat of paint
tonyj105:
If onu489 was an ex twin steer they didn’t tell us, they just pointed at the yard and said choose any one you like except the foden,sa400 or the daf. Dad wouldn’t fork out for the 220/10speed road ranger atki,so we chose a 205/6 speed zf jobby with a rather loud train horn fitted. If somebody does still have it ,i’ve still got the specially bent spanner somewhere for re-attaching the gearbox,deep unending joy that little job was
Tony
Good grief i’ve just found it on flikr, and its still taxed. Getting all misty eyed now, my first lorry.
Swapped it for the f86 we had
Tony
That was in 2012 - it’s changed this year and there have been photos on Facebook - I think it’ll be having a new coat of paint
Based on no evidence at all…
Wouldnt all drivers up to the early 1960s have been ex-servicemen? More used to barracks and dormitory type accommodation?
With the end of National Service, those newer drivers weren`t used to mucking in with others? More likely to want privacy? Even if it was cold and cramped.
Juddian:
Another late thought on this thread crossed my mind, allowed maximum vehicle lengths meaning short tractor wheelbases.
The existing designs of tractor units back then were based on very short wheelbases, a full sized sleeper on the back and you’d never turn a deep pin trailer even if you could get the thing to hitch up in the first place.
To confirm how short they were, another driver was on Ferrymasters work, he drove an S40 Foden day cab which could cope with the deep pin continental trailers, as could the S80 day cabs and Leyland Buffalos when the regular bloke was on holiday.
One day they sent me, i drove an S39 Foden day cab (obviously) at the time, even with that day cab i couldn’t even hitch the thing up without the trailer hitting the back of the cab, sliding fifth wheels didn’t exist then, at least not on that fleet.
That must have been something to do with why it took the UK makers so long to design longer wheelbase larger tractors, type approval, legislation and simply the cost of coming up with new designs, iot wasn’t until the foreign makes had gained such a foothold that the UK makers woke up, by then it was too late, even if the motors were as good if not better and yes in my humble the 80’s Brit motors were every bit as good as the foreign stuff and superior in many cases, especially with ■■■■■■■ engines.
The dealers and back up were woefully lacking, ie overnight servicing unheard of, the Brit wagon industry destroyed itself one way or another, complacency like the motorcyle and car makers of the time who didn’t take foreign competition seriously?
Still trying to get 20 pages before Christmas, wheelbase, gross weights and overall lengths were the main reasons. Fridged Freight had got over the length restriction by fitting the sleeper compartment to the trailer, many operatotors were running short pin 33 feet trailers and the weights had just risen from 28 to 32 ton
Juddian:
Another late thought on this thread crossed my mind, allowed maximum vehicle lengths meaning short tractor wheelbases.
The existing designs of tractor units back then were based on very short wheelbases, a full sized sleeper on the back and you’d never turn a deep pin trailer even if you could get the thing to hitch up in the first place.
To confirm how short they were, another driver was on Ferrymasters work, he drove an S40 Foden day cab which could cope with the deep pin continental trailers, as could the S80 day cabs and Leyland Buffalos when the regular bloke was on holiday.
One day they sent me, i drove an S39 Foden day cab (obviously) at the time, even with that day cab i couldn’t even hitch the thing up without the trailer hitting the back of the cab, sliding fifth wheels didn’t exist then, at least not on that fleet.
That must have been something to do with why it took the UK makers so long to design longer wheelbase larger tractors, type approval, legislation and simply the cost of coming up with new designs, iot wasn’t until the foreign makes had gained such a foothold that the UK makers woke up, by then it was too late, even if the motors were as good if not better and yes in my humble the 80’s Brit motors were every bit as good as the foreign stuff and superior in many cases, especially with ■■■■■■■ engines.
The dealers and back up were woefully lacking, ie overnight servicing unheard of, the Brit wagon industry destroyed itself one way or another, complacency like the motorcyle and car makers of the time who didn’t take foreign competition seriously?
Still trying to get 20 pages before Christmas, wheelbase, gross weights and overall lengths were the main reasons. Fridged Freight had got over the length restriction by fitting the sleeper compartment to the trailer, many operatotors were running short pin 33 feet trailers and the weights had just risen from 28 to 32 ton
Didn’t Italy had different rules too regarding total length? Firm were I started had several Scania’s in the late 80’s and early 90’s with a sleeping pod fitted (topsleepers), in that way they didn’t exceed the total length apparently?
Juddian:
Another late thought on this thread crossed my mind, allowed maximum vehicle lengths meaning short tractor wheelbases.
The existing designs of tractor units back then were based on very short wheelbases, a full sized sleeper on the back and you’d never turn a deep pin trailer even if you could get the thing to hitch up in the first place.
To confirm how short they were, another driver was on Ferrymasters work, he drove an S40 Foden day cab which could cope with the deep pin continental trailers, as could the S80 day cabs and Leyland Buffalos when the regular bloke was on holiday.
One day they sent me, i drove an S39 Foden day cab (obviously) at the time, even with that day cab i couldn’t even hitch the thing up without the trailer hitting the back of the cab, sliding fifth wheels didn’t exist then, at least not on that fleet.
That must have been something to do with why it took the UK makers so long to design longer wheelbase larger tractors, type approval, legislation and simply the cost of coming up with new designs, iot wasn’t until the foreign makes had gained such a foothold that the UK makers woke up, by then it was too late, even if the motors were as good if not better and yes in my humble the 80’s Brit motors were every bit as good as the foreign stuff and superior in many cases, especially with ■■■■■■■ engines.
The dealers and back up were woefully lacking, ie overnight servicing unheard of, the Brit wagon industry destroyed itself one way or another, complacency like the motorcyle and car makers of the time who didn’t take foreign competition seriously?
Still trying to get 20 pages before Christmas, wheelbase, gross weights and overall lengths were the main reasons. Fridged Freight had got over the length restriction by fitting the sleeper compartment to the trailer, many operatotors were running short pin 33 feet trailers and the weights had just risen from 28 to 32 ton
Didn’t Italy had different rules too regarding total length? Firm were I started had several Scania’s in the late 80’s and early 90’s with a sleeping pod fitted (topsleepers), in that way they didn’t exceed the total length apparently?
I remember having to move a tank trailer in a factory in Italy. I couldn’t even reach the deep pin to couple up with a eurospec 6x2
Talking to an old friend and neighbour, who is part of the Beckwith haulage family in Essex, he told me that drivers were not allowed to sleep in the cab before a certain date.
Although obviously not British st s j barricks I had a s reg m/b actros This had a drop down bed in a cab slightly bigger than a day cab It was fitted with proper curtains an trimmed in matching actros material though not fitted with a night heater it didn’t have rear windows either it was done to adr spec I never used it but it was well done Has anybody else come across one it’s the only one I’ve seen
Hargreaves:
Although obviously not British st s j barricks I had a s reg m/b actros This had a drop down bed in a cab slightly bigger than a day cab It was fitted with proper curtains an trimmed in matching actros material though not fitted with a night heater it didn’t have rear windows either it was done to adr spec I never used it but it was well done Has anybody else come across one it’s the only one I’ve seen
You say that as if it’s a conversion, it isn’t, it’s a factory option on the M cab, you can still order one today with or without a night heater, I don’t suppose many do though.
Back in the day sleeper cabs meant extra tare weight , the gaffer wanted the extra weight on the back earning money not wasted on driver comfort , especially on bulkers where every hundredweight counted . I’ve worked for gaffers who wanted top weight before fuelling up . Options were available but greed trumped comfort .
rigsby:
Back in the day sleeper cabs meant extra tare weight , the gaffer wanted the extra weight on the back earning money not wasted on driver comfort , especially on bulkers where every hundredweight counted . I’ve worked for gaffers who wanted top weight before fuelling up . Options were available but greed trumped comfort .
Haha, ■■■■ Bentley (the TM at Tilcon’s Ballidon Quarry) was like that Dave, when running at 30.50 tonnes gross if we dropped onto the plate at 30.30 we had to go back and put more on and then usually ended up chucking off by hand the extra few cwts that we were then overloaded by!
We had a few Haulmasters that did the Derbyshire-Kent-Newcastle-Manchester run retro fitted with the Jennings bunk that when not in use were stored vertically on the engine cover, the seat backs were lifted off and chucked in the footwells and the bunk then folded out across the seat bases. We also had three Sed Ak 400’s for distance work that had a bunk that folded flat horizontally against the rear of the cab, they came new already installed, I think there was a little more space behind the seats than the Haulmasters had.
