In my youth I was a huge fan of Neville Shute. One of his stories was ‘Requiem for a Wren.’ In it a girl who was a wren in the Second World War is so worried about meeting in Australia, someone she knew in the war, that she commits suicide. She left her diaries for her old friend to find.
No, really, it was a great but sad, story. She thought that war was necessary for mankind. In fact, she, like most of us on here, missed her youth!
I’ve driven 4 bars, 6 bars, big Motherfu****s that go ‘tschh’ when you hit the brakes. When you’re a gearjammer boy, there ain’t no easy runs…’
I guess, whatever we’ve driven, and now I just want automatic with cruise control (that’s in a car, don’t drive those big motherfu****s any more) it’s our youth we’re searching for, not the next gear?
gingerfold:
I was on the late shift at Turners one evening and an agency driver reported for duty. He was allocated an ERF with a twin-splitter and as it happened, unusually, it was coupled to a trailer ready to go. About 45 minutes later we got a telephone call off the cab phone and he was in a layby on the Cambridge bypass, and he was almost in tears, saying he was beaten by the gearbox and couldn’t go any further. I took the phone, calmed the driver down and offered to talk him through how to drive the ERF. I thought at the time “this won’t work, but I’ll give it a go”. So with my guidance he got in gear and set off and I talked him through every gear change for about 20 minutes, and I actually brought him off the dual carriageway and up a slip road, round a roundabout and back onto the main road so that he could change down the box. As he seemed to have got the hang of it I left him to it. Next evening he was back with us again, and fair does to him, he came and thanked me, shook my hand, and told me it was the best bit of instruction on driving he had been given. For that night’s shift he’d been allocated a Volvo, but he asked for an ERF twin-splitter, he was definitely a convert.
What a lovely tale, Graham. I really relate to that as I did something similar by CB communication many years ago! For the benifit (or whatever) of folk using this thread, I refer you to the TN’s own Eaton Twin-splitter thread, so here’s the link:
I got a new ERF in 1987. 290 ■■■■■■■■ twin splitter gearbox. I picked it up at Ackworth and set off back to Birtley depot. I did struggle a bit with the gearchange, so I called in at an ERF dealer for some info.
The guy that came out to see me was an old acquaintance from years past, after the usual banter about drivers and screwdrivers, and me reminding him of the major bollock he had dropped when repairing a previous motor of mine , he said to me, why don’t you put in the explanatory cassette tape? that should do the job!!
Now anyone who knows Onward Tranport will remember them as a great company with good wages and conditions, but!! Tight with the brass, although they were supposed to come with a radio cassette as standard, the fleet engineer had negotiated the deal for these without radios.
Anyway, Malcolm explained the procedure and we went out for a quick test drive, it was excellent. I loved that gearbox from that day on. It was so fast a change, no cluch needed after moving off and you could speed the split shifts up by pre-selecting then quickly stick out of cog and back in without even dropping the revs. Magic!!
Great memories, regards Kev.
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Hi Kev, Great story, I can relate to it well.
In & out quickly on the splits was not codoned by Eaton but they were happy to call it “Bunny Hopping” as indeed were we.
The inkage, in other truck makes that used the twin split could efect the way you used the box but geting the “hang of the box” took place between the ears, “attitude”, Harvey
HRS:
Good morning Robert,
Strange is’nt it, The twin split came to an end because it would not pass the new legislation for noise but its basic feature ( constant mesh ) is in all the new auto boxes as they cant get a quick change out of a synchro box with all the rings slowing it down. so, on the good side, we all still drive a “Crash box” eh !!! cheers Harvey
Do the big boys do a manual box anymore?
Hello Coomsey,
I think as manufacturers strive to eliminate the “Driver” element in the truck, ECU’s being king, they must all be going Auto but I am sure someone on here will have an answer for you.
I think most of us look back with rose tinted glasses but can you all remember how many vehicles were on the road at that time, screwing up the odd gearchange and having to stop and start again caused no one any problems. “BUTTONS” Harvey
Just a bit of pendantry here! With regard to the term ‘crash box’, they went out in the 'thirties. Post-war lorries with 'boxes that required the double-declutching technique were all constant-mesh (as opposed to synchromesh) 'boxes. TN member ‘Frankydobo’ has written many times about this on the forum. I’ll try and find one of his explanations and cut and paste it for this thread. Cheers, Robert
ERF-NGC-European:
Just a bit of pendantry here! With regard to the term ‘crash box’, they went out in the 'thirties. Post-war lorries with 'boxes that required the double-declutching technique were all constant-mesh (as opposed to synchromesh) 'boxes. TN member ‘Frankydobo’ has written many times about this on the forum. I’ll try and find one of his explanations and cut and paste it for this thread. Cheers, Robert
I stand corrected, I remember a lot of, “the then old boys”, often refered to constant mesh as crash boxes.
and there was me begining to like you. Harvey
ERF-NGC-European:
Just a bit of pendantry here! With regard to the term ‘crash box’, they went out in the 'thirties. Post-war lorries with 'boxes that required the double-declutching technique were all constant-mesh (as opposed to synchromesh) 'boxes. TN member ‘Frankydobo’ has written many times about this on the forum. I’ll try and find one of his explanations and cut and paste it for this thread. Cheers, Robert
I stand corrected, I remember a lot of, “the then old boys”, often refered to constant mesh as crash boxes.
and there was me begining to like you. Harvey
I know, it’s amazing how quickly you can go off people! Any old road up, I’ve found one of Frankydobo’s pieces on the crash box as follows:
Crash box? No it wasn’t! It was a Constant Mesh box, true some Constant Mesh boxes had crash gears on Crawler or Reverse (hence the crunch at times) but you would only be moving very slowly into or out of Crawler. The noises you made during changes up and down the box were due to poor changing techniques not the gearbox. It would be impossible to use a Crash Gearbox with Nine gears at the speeds vehicles ran at in the Sixties never mind later and with the weights they pulled. Basically if you drove an HGV after the Sixties (and mostly before this time) then you never drove a true Crash Box, they were all Constant Mesh until the Syncromesh types plus the Semi and Automatics you could also come across. if you want ot know the difference between Crash and Constant Mesh, its all in the way the gears are made and meshed. Crash boxes straight cut teeth (noisy) and separate gears moved into mesh when selecting the next gear (even noisier), now we are talking about motors that would be around during the 20mph speed limit 1800’s to 1920/30’s. Constant Mesh boxes have gears cut at an angle and as the name says are in constant mesh (much quieter) and they use dog clutches (smaller gears that slip into the centre of the bigger meshed gears when gear selecting (should be quiet too but poor changing meant tunes from the dog clutches) hence drivers presumed wrongly they were driving a crash box. Happily along came the Synchromesh and everything was even more quieter and easier to engage (unless of course you double de clutched as I’ve known some drivers to do, oh oh). Of course the Crash Box and the Constant Mesh needed the double de clutch technique but good CM boxes allowed silent changes without the clutch, as you were engaging the Dogs at the right engine and shaft speed, you couldn’t do that with a real Crash Box unless the clutch was depressed. Sorry to go on but I think this needed explaining, although very basically, as I’ve seen this written and said so many times. Sorry also if I’ve dented your pride now you realise you didn’t really drive a crash gearbox in your 38 tonne ERF built in 1980, all you did was beat the box up a bit! Cheers Franky.
I took my PSV Test in September 1968. (Northern Bus Co. South Shields) I’m trying to remember the instructor’s name, Bill Roberts I think??The Decker was an ancient Guy, I don’t know the vintage of it, but it was Gardner engined with a David Brown box. I do remember learning to ■■■■■■ change from first to second gear. After a hill start on the bank up from the coast road at Marsden you had to ■■■■■■ change to second gear, if you fluffed it you failed. I became the youngest driver in the company, six weeks after my 21st birthday. Regards Kev.
Lucy,
Pop your pen down and tell us how it is going for you ■■?
Lots of chat with, as yet, no feed back from your good self, have we scared you off all to-gether. Harvey
HRS:
Good morning Robert,
Strange is’nt it, The twin split came to an end because it would not pass the new legislation for noise but its basic feature ( constant mesh ) is in all the new auto boxes as they cant get a quick change out of a synchro box with all the rings slowing it down. so, on the good side, we all still drive a “Crash box” eh !!! cheers Harvey
Do the big boys do a manual box anymore?
MAN do. I asked for a manual box for my 18 plate and got it! I think DAF do but out of the others we wanted a quote from non of them would offer it [emoji17] sad times.
HRS:
Good morning Robert,
Strange is’nt it, The twin split came to an end because it would not pass the new legislation for noise but its basic feature ( constant mesh ) is in all the new auto boxes as they cant get a quick change out of a synchro box with all the rings slowing it down. so, on the good side, we all still drive a “Crash box” eh !!! cheers Harvey
Do the big boys do a manual box anymore?
MAN do. I asked for a manual box for my 18 plate and got it! I think DAF do but out of the others we wanted a quote from non of them would offer it [emoji17] sad times.
I’d be buying a MAN then nomiS36. Given an auto I’d be over the hard shoulder up the embankment, fast asleep on my way to la la land.
Dieseldog66:
Fuller Roadranger 9 & 13 speed, never liked the 10 speed, 18 speed ok, Spicer box in the Roadtrain rubbish, and nobody has given the ZF 16 speed (slapover) as it’s been called the correct name. it was iirc the ZF Eco Split
At the risk of exhuming a dusty old thread…
An experienced old hand and me have been having a chat on the side that came about as a result of this video on youtube:
It’s an old KW K100(?) with a CAT 3408 rated at ~600bhp grossing 80T. What’s unusual apart from the CAT V8 (rather than a ■■■■■■■ or a Detroit) is it’s got a 16-sp Spicer instead of the usual RoadRanger or Fuller.
I’m curious as to why the RR was (is) much more common than the Spicer, given that they’re both capable of fast shifts and have ratios matched to the engine’s characteristics. Is it because the Spicer is somewhat less intuitive to use (depending on application, fitment &c) than the RR/ Fuller? Is it less reliable? Is it something else?
I’ll leave to the expert panel here to decide.
BTW the bloke in the video is still working his old KW which I think is brilliant.
My personal favourite by a huge margin was an Eaton Twin Splitter, fitted in an ERF E series. Its speed and clutchless change was excellent, and very satisfying to use. Before that came along it would be a Fuller Roadranger, a great step up from a slow DB 6speed in a ■■■■■■■ powered motor. Regards Kev.
kevmac47:
My personal favourite by a huge margin was an Eaton Twin Splitter, fitted in an ERF E series. Its speed and clutchless change was excellent, and very satisfying to use. Before that came along it would be a Fuller Roadranger, a great step up from a slow DB 6speed in a ■■■■■■■ powered motor. Regards Kev.
I agree: the Twin-splitter was excellent in the E-series (better than in the later EC-series IMHO). It was also excellent in the Iveco Eurostar. In my experience it was probably at its best in the early F90 MAN units and at its worst in Seddon-Atkinson Stratos.
kevmac47:
My personal favourite by a huge margin was an Eaton Twin Splitter, fitted in an ERF E series. Its speed and clutchless change was excellent, and very satisfying to use. Before that came along it would be a Fuller Roadranger, a great step up from a slow DB 6speed in a ■■■■■■■ powered motor. Regards Kev.
I agree: the Twin-splitter was excellent in the E-series (better than in the later EC-series IMHO). It was also excellent in the Iveco Eurostar. In my experience it was probably at its best in the early F90 MAN units and at its worst in Seddon-Atkinson Stratos.
Thanks both. So why didn’t the Spicer succeed like the Eaton?
wasn’t the spicer fitted to early roadtrains and didn’t exactly win any popularity contests , i think the roadranger embedded itself with operators because it was such a good box in early 70’s lorries (when you could choose the drivetrain), and why change to something else which probably wasn’t as good ,
tonyj105:
wasn’t the spicer fitted to early roadtrains and didn’t exactly win any popularity contests , i think the roadranger embedded itself with operators because it was such a good box in early 70’s lorries (when you could choose the drivetrain), and why change to something else which probably wasn’t as good ,
From what I’ve read it was fitted to T45s - I’m just wondering why it was nowhere near as commonplace as an Eaton.
Harvey