Hard to remember but I think was more like a pre-select than an auto. I think there was a clutch pedal but you changed to next gear when you knew what you wanted and then, when you were ready, a quick dip on the clutch and it changed.
Possibly there were just 2 forward positions, up and down, but it is a very long time ago for an old brain to cope with.
I do know that they were often in the garage for adjustment or repair and we drivers believed that we may have been partly responsible doing racing changes by rapidly dabbing the clutch and the lever at the same time.
I also had a Magnum, but only for a short time, it was a hire motor while my XXL cabbed MAN was off the road.
At that time I was impressed with it, particularly liked the feature where passenger seat that turned right round on a night out.
Up to when I got my present Renault, it was probably the best truck I had.
Iâve seen a few of your references to âThe Castleâ but never seen it mentioned much anywhere else.
I do remember (Sorry, stereotype warning!) Skippy, and Flying Doctor, TV shows, but not much else, coming over here.
Also seen a few clips of Utopia, from the same company, Working Dog, but not easy to get in this region.
Yep, as you have mentioned before: VPN.
Yes, interesting to compare DAF with ERF. The Fuller installation in an ERF was infinitely better than in the DAF in the '70s / '80s. Oddly, when DAF installed ZF synchro boxes they did it better then anyone else IMHO. I reckon they missed a trick for people like me when DAF put an optional Cummins 500 in their Super Space Cab 95 but failed to match to a Fuller. Iâd have been happy enough with a Cummins 380, let alone a thirsty 500, in a Super Space as long as it had an RTX 14609 in it!
And/or, the back of the seat folded down to form a level table top. Apart from sitting on the bunk and using it to eat from, I put a washing bowl on it and had a full strip wash if I didnât make it to anywhere that had decent showers.
I never felt the need for a Fuller as opposed to the 16-speed ZF in the DAF Super Space Cab.
I drove a couple of DAFs at over 1million kms and would happily do so again tomorrow, my 2006 one was excellent. Probably the same for an FH12/16,maybe even an F12, (is my memory being kind to them?) but not an 88/89 for vary long.
An ERF? I might be OK wheeling it around for spell, but not for a long run.
Exactly where do you get the idea that the photos I posted was âpriorâ to my âstewardshipâ ?.Exactly whoâs âstewardshipâ would that be if not mine ?.
I agree that the 95 SSC and 95XF were great long-haulers - indeed I did regular North Africa work with both. And like you I didnât need a Fuller, but I desired one because Iâd have preferred one. And thatâs what this thread is about: prioritising a good âdriveâ above more mundane considerations, but where possible getting the two to meet in the middle.
As for ERFs on distance work, it is again entirely a matter of preference. I loved the old E-series on European work and would have chosen it over an F12 quite happily in the '80s and probably spent less diesel.
The goalposts are firmly where I planted them in the original post .
You are thinking like an O/D or operator. I am thinking like a driver / enthusiast who is attempting to bring my desires reasonably close to reality just for a bit of credibility âfor puddingâ. The diesel issue, though true if you read the lead up runs to ERFâs famous fuel duel, was just a throw-away remark. Iâd still have gone for the E-series if the fuel was worst! I very nearly operated an ERF myself, but a known and trusted Iveco fell in my lap.
Edit to PS: In fact, all my choices are so close to the opposition in terms of running and operating factors that all you need to do is observe my preferences and note that I hold a different viewpoint from yours. Plenty of O/Ds and big companies operated ERFs on the TIR-trail over the years and very successfully. Eric Vick was a shining example. ERFâs backup was far better abroad than is often reported on here, as I discovered when researching for the books. Cummins support was available from here to the Gulf. The real proof in the pud was the huge presence of ERF running âinternalsâ in the Gulf: 500 in Saudi alone by '83.
