Kersey Freight Friday – It’s Back!!

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin

Finally I hear you cry! Those big white DAF’s of Hadleigh, Suffolk based Kersey Freight are back on the blog, 4 months and 11 days after it’s first appearance. A lovely snow filled trip to Italy and back, provides a lovely back drop for photos and Kersey driver Geraint (Taffy) Richards, has taken a few crackers. I’ve been banging on to my good friend DC at Kersey Freight to send me more photos as his (and JM’s!) trucks go further and further from their Suffolk countryside base. Although Paris is a regular destination, the trucks are covering more and more ground, often finding themselves heading into deepest Germany and over the Alps into Italy. I was tempted to write this blog myself after getting the info from DC today, but his description is great, so I think I’ll use his words.

“We loaded a full load of Water Based Emulsion to be kept at +5′C ex Northampton to Caleppio Di Settala, Italy. Taffy took the easy road into Milan on the Ralpin piggy back train from Frieburg to Novara!!! Although due to being on the waiting list, Taffy had to wait 24 hours until finally getting the 11 hour train ride through Switzerland to its final destination in Novara.”

“Once off the train he proceeded to Milan to offload the paint and reload from one of our clients 5kms away from the tip. Once loaded in Milan with no return trains available he decided to head for Mont Blanc Tunnel and parked at Aosta. Saturday morning was ready to move but the Blanc was closed for 3 hours due to risk of avalanche. After finally getting the order to move, Taffy started the climb to the snowy Mont Blanc!!”

“On his decent he stopped near Chamonix (Check the spelling) and took a couple of nice pictures for you! Then Taffy made his way into France and rested in Troyes that evening.”

“Sure you will sex it up a bit” - Opps! that bit was meant for me, sorry DC!! Any way that is a great come back, lets just hope its not so long before the next episode of Kersey Freight Friday hits the blog. Not sure there will be quite as much snow on the next trip, but even so the Alps always make for good photos so keep them coming Kersey drivers and subbies. Email me; ben@truckblog.co.uk . Thanks to driver of K18 KFL Geraint Richards, for the photos.

SCOOP!! Cargo Undercover

Posted on January 25, 2012 by admin

Did you know this is a Ford Cargo? In an undercover guise obviously. The Ford Cargo is still produced by Ford in Turkey. This one was spotted in Portbury Docks on the back of an HC Wilson truck. Apparently it has come to the UK for crash testing. Judging by the undercover livery and disguised panels my detective skills hint towards this having been on road trials in Turkey or some where else. Looking how dirty it is, plenty of road dirt and covered panels mean it has been running about but without the public being able to see the finished truck. Now the road trials have finished this poor truck must have been short listed to come to the UK for crash testing R.I.P.

I have to admit that I have really struggled to find a great deal out about these Turkish built Ford’s. All I can tell you is what I have found on the Ford Media website. I’m guessing that this particular truck is a new version of the current range of Ford Cargo’s. It must be a new cab or at least a heavily face-lifted cab and likely to have a new engine or mechanical set up, as the last version was released back in 2004. I don’t know if the last version had adblue but this prototype has the tank, so perhaps this is a new engine to meet Euro emissions regulations. The Ford website says of the current range of Ford Cargo’s;

“Ford Cargo Tractors cover a range of 18 to 40 tons with different axle configurations, payloads, and chassis lengths. There are three different cab styles that enhance the versatility of Ford Cargo. These variants make it suitable for wide variety of customer needs. Ford’s heavy truck manufacturing experience dates back 40 years in history. The current Ford Cargo was launched in 2004 model year and was developed in 5 years.”

Then interestingly enough it goes on to say all about how much testing the 2004 released truck went through, including a trip to the UK for testing at the same place where this new version was being delivered too;

“The Ford Cargo Tractor was tested for 15 million kilometers (8 million kilometers road test, 4 million kilometers structural durability test, 3 million kilometers cab durability test) in total before it was launched. Besides the durability, noise, vibration, harshness and safety tests completed entirely in the virtual environment, actual field tests are also conducted. The durability tests were carried on Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium. The durability of the Ford Cargo cabs was tested in Istanbul Technical University. Ford Cargo Tractor proved its durability and reliability after this long period of stringent tests. Ford’s reputation in designing vehicles with superior driving dynamics and comfort is also valid for Ford Cargo trucks. Ride and handling performance evaluations were done in MIRA test track in England in comparison with the products of other European heavy truck competitors.”

I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for anymore undercover trucks. Thats 2 within a couple of weeks, as some of my Twitter and Facebook followers will know, I spotted an undercover new Volvo here in Colchester, Essex. These things come in 3′s so what will be my 3rd?? Can you tell or show me? then send me an email or leave a comment with your undercover spots; ben@truckblog.co.uk

Variations on a Theme

Posted on January 24, 2012 by admin

I couldn’t resist but have a look for a few more video’s of this gorgeous French Scania T-cab. In my opinion these beautiful show trucks always look better out on the open road working. I think it gives you a better indication of a good looking truck, if it still looks the nuts when its working then its better than those trucks look good when they have had 2 days cleaning and prepping in the build up to a show, at the end of the day trucks are built to work. Crikey! I got a bit deep there for an early morning!! Enjoy the videos.

Probably The Best Mini Artic in The World!!?

Posted on January 22, 2012 by admin

Probably the best title on the blog ever! Ok ok that’s enough, you can have enough of a good thing I know. Carlsberg have just taken delivery of 14 of these Volvo mini artics, or Volvo FL-290 Urban Artic tractors, to give them their proper names. There are also 2 Volvo FM-330, 3 axle, 26 ton rigids in the deal too. The 16 new trucks will be split between Carlsbergs Warrington and Croydon depot’s.

The 14 urban artics are all factory built, which is a bonus as far as National fleet manager Neil Davis is concerned;

“Knowing that we can specify exactly the vehicle we want and that it will be factory-built to our requirements and not converted from a rigid gives Volvo a distinct advantage in the Urban Artic sector. Having something that is factory-built provides peace of mind.”

I have to say I thought that other manufacturers now offered factory built small tractor units, but perhaps they are still converting rigid chassis into tractor units. The press release from Volvo goes on to say;

“The Urban Artics will operate with single axle semi-trailers at a gross weight of 26-tonnes and are expected to cover around 35,000 to 70,000 km annually. A two-man bench seat is installed to accommodate a three-man crew if required for training purposes. The two Volvo FM 6×2 day-cab rigids feature a hydraulically-steered rear axle to improve manoeuvrability and are fitted with a nine-metre long curtain-side body and 2.5-tonne cantilever-type tail-lift. Power is provided by the Volvo 11-litre engine rated at 330hp. Low-profile Michelin Energy tyres are installed in order to keep the deck height as low as possible and to optimise fuel use. These vehicles will cover around 70,000-km per annum. Both artics and rigids are equipped with telematics and will carry out between 10 and 18 deliveries daily.”

Come on Lottery Ticket………

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

Cracking Scania Longline. Only thing with such a cracking Black and Chrome theme, why is the trailer lettering in Gold?? Still I wouldn’t make my compliant public!

DAF XT is Born – NOT Photoshopped

Posted on January 18, 2012 by admin

We’ve all seen the photo-shopped versions of a bonneted DAF, mostly the white one pulling a fridge trailer. In all honesty it doesn’t look to silly, for a few days I think it did get people wondering whether it was real or not. But now Dutch transport company A. Jansen BV, who are clearly huge fan’s of their natively built DAF trucks, have produced a real life bonneted DAF and have named it the DAF XT. I’m sure over the next few months this truck will make it to your regular truck magazine. On Jansen’s own website, there is this small explanation in the News section;

“Recently, A. Jansen B.V. on the occasion of its 40 anniversary presented a new car: the XT. This special model in cooperation with DAF dealer de Burgh in Eindhoven developed and produced. The XT, such as this implementation in the market will go (FTT XF type 105.460), is the successor of the legendary NAT models of DAF. The two new DAF XT’s battery from the end of February 2012 will abandon the fleet of A. Jansen B.V. and so also appeared on the Dutch roads.”

You can work out from the slightly dodgy translation, that there are now 2 of these real life DAF XT’s. The trucks have been produced to celebrate Jansen BV’s 40th Anniversary, just imagine what could happen when they reach the big 50!! Keep your eye’s peeled on the press, as I say i’m sure it will be making a lot or appearances. What’s your first impression? Is it like mine; The grill is too chunky, then email me; ben@truckblog.co.uk or you can leave a comment, or these day’s you can even get me on Twitter, @truckbloguk amazing stuff! Not sure who’s photo’s these are but if you let me know I can credit you. I would also like to say a big thank you to Graham Wilson for informing me of the DAF’s existence.

Tatra Trucks and The Beast in The Bushes

Posted on January 17, 2012 by admin

These aren’t spy photos they are all legit! The photographer, Michael “Fingers” Bond, ok’d it with the Tatra staff first. I can’t really tell you a great deal about them, other than they had all been at Tatra’s factory / test track in Koprivnice, Czech Republic and also they all look like right old dog’s even though some are relatively new. Koprivnice, Czech Republic I hear you say, if you type it in to Google maps, to the East of the small town you will see the Tatra factory and the test track heading off into the forest.

The truck above looks to be a 6×6 troop carrier. The Tatra website says it could be a T 810-1R0R26 13 177 6×6.1R, so now you know. It comes with a Renault engine and clearly a Renault cab.

The 2 trucks above are both T 815-790R99 38 300 8×8.1R or if you like they are 8×8 military cargo trucks. The plain green one is a Universal Container Carrier. Where as the one with the digital camouflage is part of a potential order for the Polish army. This model happens to be the T 815-790R99 38 300 8×8.1R or in simple terms it’s an 8×8 High Mobility Heavy Duty Universal Cargo/Troop Carrier………….No I have no idea what i’m talking about either, although going through the Tatra website is strangely enjoyable and well worth a visit. The cab on the 2 above is apparently the new cab, although I don’t know quite how new, where as the old Beast in the Bushes below is the old cab.

If your going to try and break down the walls of Eastern Europe with your army then having this old thing as your back up was probably a good idea. This truck was parked at the test track and seemed to have been there for quite a while. Hence, the beast in the bushes title (not some smutty Essex related ref – GW!) To start your revolution, the truck has a dozer blade fitted to the front (or is it a snow plough?). Note the handy tow hitch on the blade. I guess that’s so you can pull who ever you have just pushed into the ditch, out again when they have handed over their lunch money. For the rest of the spec i’ll hand you over to Fingers Bond, seeing as he is the man who know’s his Tatra’s since his pre-Christmas visit;

“Full air suspension all round. Multi way diff’s on all axles. Total weight of 52 tons, plus a small payload. Full bullet proof cab with 5 inch thick window’s and windscreen. Full air cleaning system in case of a chemical attack on the crew. The whole country busting truck is powered by a massive Mercedes Benz V16 Twin Turbo engine connected to a fully automatic gear box and torque converter. The whole engine and gearbox is housed in one removable piece, so it can be lifted out / changed by a crane fitted to the body of the truck which has it’s own power source.”

It sounds perfect for Saturday night seafront cruising in Southend-on-Sea, it’d soon show those crappy boy racers in their Vauxhall Nova’s and Citroen Saxo’s who’s boss! Let’s go!!………..don’t mention the beast in the bushe’s in Southend or they’ll all want a go.

Have you got any thing to add about the beast’s from the East? Leave a comment or email me, ben@truckblog.co.uk

Lucky Little Trucker!

Posted on January 16, 2012 by admin

I think this foreign little trucker, could be the luckiest driver crossing the Fourth Bridge last year!! It looks to me a like a little 7.5 tonner with a 2 axle trailer, a slightly German look about it.

Mercedes Benz Atego For Sale

Posted on January 14, 2012 by admin

I’m not wanting to turn my blog into a 2nd hand truck market, we have Commercial Motor magazine for that. This little truck currently belongs to an old friend of mine. The old Atego has had a good Innings with Nigel Moss Transport of Retford, Notts. But now Nigel has joined the MAN TGL club, with a real belter (a future blog). In the mean time he need’s to part company with the Atego. The truck is an 05 reg, 900,000 km, MOT’d til May this year, 1 owner from new and I think it may have a tow hitch of some kind too. If you are seriously interested email me, ben@truckblog.co.uk and i’ll put you in touch, no bloomin’ annoying time wasting tyre kickers please! Thanks to Andy Blagg for the pics.

R.F. Interport Movements

Posted on January 10, 2012 by admin

Not a name i’m too familiar with i’m sorry to say. I have heard the name before but that’s about as far it goes. So this is where you come in. I have had a right good spring clean in the depths of the truckblog email inbox and I came across an email I flagged a while ago. The email was from a truckblog regular, Peter Metcalfe. In his email he informed me that he was involved with R.F. Interport Movements in the 1970′s. Peter’s email read as follows;

“I was involved with a company in the 70′s, based in Astley on the Outskirts of Manchester . The company was called “R.F.INTERPORT MOVEMENTS” whose main traffic was to the Middle East. They had a program made about them on the tractor units they where using on Tomorrows World (BBC) about all the cab fittings made in the cab i.e shower, cooker, sink. We also had a driver in prison for over 18 months for an aaccident he was involved in. So we would get drivers passing him to drop food off to him, as he was left alone. Do not get me wrong everybody seems to crave on the top firms and do not look Into the full running troubles drivers used to get into.The stories I could tell and write on your blog that would put a lot of drivers off driving. But I am sorry I have no pictures of the trucks.”

So that’s your home work bloggers, tell me more, search your archives, find the photo’s and get emailing them over to me, so we can enjoy them on here and also perhaps a few photo’s will encourage Peter Metcalfe to share a few stories of the good old days. I was emailed the photo I have used but I don’t know anything about it, aprt from it’s a DAF with a very nice spread axle tilt, the Middle East truckers trailer of choice! Get emailing; ben@truckblog.co.uk

Manton European Freight Part 8

Posted on January 8, 2012 by admin

Notice how I have deleted the Freezer part out of the title? That’s because this blog is(Part 8.) not just about Manton’s Freezer trucks. For those of you who don’t know or haven’t read the previous 7 parts. Manton’s were a family firm from Yorkshire who ran a very smart fleet of mainly Scania’s across Europe delivering all types of egg product’s, mainly in frozen powder form. If you search in the search bar to the right for Manton, you should bring up the previous blog’s. This particular part of the series is a bit of a bumper edition. Starting with the elusive and rather fetching Renault Magnum…….

One thing I have not asked Mr Manton is whether this Magnum was the one and only on the fleet? Can you help? I know there was a Magnum, but by the serious lack of photographic evidence, there can’t have been more than a few if that. From the photo we can see it is an “M” reg which means it was new in 1994, according to the DVLA it was first registered on 8th August 1994 and it has not been taxed since 31st November 2006. I have no idea what horse power it was although 385hp were popular I think a 4??hp of some sort would be more likely. The other interesting thing about this truck is it’s a Tag axle. This makes it really quite a rare beast, not just for Manton, but in general. If you know any more about this truck in Manton guise or in it’s afterlife if it had one, please email me or leave a comment. This photo was taken in Spain or Italy.

Another photo of the Magnum, pulling a tanker, a surprise to me too! I had no idea that there was a tanker fleet too. Mr Manton tell’s me; “The tankers were carrying liquid egg to North Italy, then we used to reload apple juice ex Gleisdorf in Austria to Bridgewater“. Below is another photo of one of the tanker fleet. This time a very tidy 20ft tank-tainer on a 30ft skelly trailer being pulled by a twin wheel tag axle flat top 3 series Scania. Brilliant.

The next photo is of a 143 and a 113 Scania loading fruit in Southern Spain for the UK.

Next up a classic trio of V8′s waiting to leave the UK for sunnier shores.

What a line up! How on earth would you pick which one of the 3 legendary V8′s you’d want to drive for a run to the sun?! Mr Manton said; “I found out where the 3 truck’s were….. Plymouth!! All waiting to ship out to Santander, loaded with seed potatoes from Scotland, for delivery to McCains factory in Burgos, Spain. We did a lot of these, and on arrival at the factory, you were then sent to 3 or 4 deliveries to farms around N.Spain.” The 143 Topline Scania in the middle, K414 KNW, is actually the truck that started this whole 8-Part-and-counting story. I spotted this truck in the 1990′s on my local Industrial Estate in Braintree, Essex. To read Part 1 of the story just click HERE.

Last in this mammoth Christmas Annual sized edition of the Manton story, is this photo of a Manton tilt. Another first for my Manton Knowledge book, along with the tankers. This photo was accompanied by this text; “I found this one, of one of our tilts. One of the first 13.6 metre tilts in the UK. We used to run plastic to rome and reload at the same place with plastic bags.”

Thanks to Dave Manton for his continued photo hunt for us all to enjoy. Hopefully the story will continue, so if you have anything to add please email me; ben@truckblog.co.uk or leave a comment. Also do you know of and ex Manton driver by the name of Graham “Walter” Lavington? I am reliably told he has a huge collection of Manton photo’s!!

Ice Cold Close Call

Posted on January 6, 2012 by admin

Thanks to Jay Laverick from www.truck-driver.co.uk for bringing this scary close call to my attention.

It’s Benz But Not As You Know It!

Posted on January 6, 2012 by admin

BharatBenz. That’s the name that all Indian truckers have on their lips…..perhaps.Yesterday a few Indian journalists were given a sneak preview of the BharatBenz. Daimler Truck’s subsidiary Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) revealed the new BharatBenz brand heavy-duty truck. This is the first-ever truck “Made in India”. BharatBenz will enter the ever growing Indian market for medium heavy-duty and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. This PR comes courtesy of Daimler. So you may well be able to see that the the truck has used the Mercedes Benz Atego/Axor cab and mirrors.

Andreas Renschler, the Daimler Board of Management Member responsible for Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses, said; “The trucks are based on existing Daimler commercial vehicle platforms. Indian specialists developed the trucks for the local market, where they are also built. This is the most effective way for us to participate in the growth of India’s volume segment. Our product range focuses on quality, reliability, and efficiency and particularly targets the modern domestic segment, which shows huge growth potential and reflects the growing demands of Indian customers.”

You’ll have to wait til the 2nd March before the complete BharatBenz lineup in the 6 to 49-ton range is unveiled. The Daimler PR says; The BharatBenz heavy-duty truck will be built on the Mercedes-Benz Axor platform, and the future light and medium-duty trucks will be based on the Fuso Canter and Fighter series. The new trucks will meet India’s BS III emissions standard this is a similar standard to our Euro 3 emissions.

The PR goes on to say; “The light, medium-duty, and heavy-duty range of BharatBenz commercial vehicles will be manufactured at the new plant in Oragadam near Chennai in Southern India. Construction of the plant on an area of 160 hectares is almost completed, and production trial runs for engines and transmissions have already begun. The production facility has a total dedicated investment of over 44 billion Indian rupees (approximately €700 million). The plant’s initial production capacity will be 36,000 units per year and can be ramped up to 70,000 units per year. By the end of the year, the company’s dealership network will encompass around 70 locations throughout India.”

I often think how resourceful trucks are when it comes to third world markets. We have a range of trucks released over here, then 10 or so years later the same cab / truck is still being released as a new truck some where else in the world. So the Mercedes Axor cab isn’t exactly old but it’s being used in a new guise, apply a new grill (considered to be the face of a vehicle by many!), stick on a new set of badges and Bingo! you have a new truck range. I just thought you might like to read a bit what else is going on in the world of trucks, sometimes to much European stuff need’s to be broken up by a little “World News” and also it gives you some thing new to tell the wife!

Did you know you can still buy a brand new Iveco Turbostar cab?? Now on a Russian built Ural truck.

Are you Sitting Comfortably Ask Scania

Posted on January 2, 2012 by admin

A new year a new you? Is one of your new year’s resolution health related? This usefull PR has been put out by Scania. I’m sure you can apply it to what ever your daily seating arrangment is, whether it’s in a big Swede or not!;

The driving position in a Scania cab can suit the tallest, smallest or heaviest driver. But what is the ideal position to reduce the load on the back, neck and shoulders? We have put together a driver’s guide to help you decide.

1. Raise the seat to a comfortable position. To sit correctly, you should have an upright seating position.

2. Tip the seat forward. This increases the chance of an upright position.

3.Tilt the backrest backward so that the hip angle is at 100 to 110 degrees. This means that the centre of gravity of the body is closer to the spine, which relieves the load on the discs and spinal joints and reduces the load on the hip joints.

4. Set the lumbar support so that it follows the shape of your back.

5. Adjust the seat to a fist’s width away from the back of your knees.

6. Move the entire seat to a position where you can press down the pedals fully without straining.

7. With the adjustable steering column position, adjust the steering wheel so it’s as close as possible to your body. This reduces the forward torsion on your body, relieving the load on your back and neck.

A MAN’s MAN

Posted on December 30, 2011 by admin

A few weeks back my bossman had to make a unexpected trip out to the continent in his car. Seeing as there was an overnight stay it would have been rude for him not to come back via the Dutch German border at Venlo to see what was lingering at the parking area. Among other things in the early morning light still yet to open it’s curtains was this flexible MAN. Wearing the colours of Gartner KG based in Lambach, Austria, this MAN was loaded with MEN or should that be MAN’s?!

I think what caught the boss’s eye was just how adjustable this truck is. Now seeing as I am writing this and we are not actually stood next to the truck, it’s very difficult to show you just how many parts of both the truck and trailer can be moved in order to accommodate what ever vehicles / load is required. The rear truck’s front axle is on a bed that extends in or out, it retracts back so the rear lights are almost flush with the red side skirt of the trailer, make sense? You can also see that all the wheel wells have small inserts to help raise or lower the vehicle. The rear axle of the front truck on the trailer is on a highly maneuverable ramp as you can see it can raise right up, sort of as it sits now or it will also fold right down and sit flat on the trailer. In turn the front axle of the front truck on the trailer is also sat on a hydraulic ramp that can be raised or lowered. Are you getting the all the raising and lowering!? Also not the slight spacing between the first and second axle, also for a wheel well. All in all with all that raising and lowering, I don’t think there will be many vehicles you can’t load.

You can see the front ramp on the trailer clearly in the above photo. Also note just for extra flexibility the wheel chocks that are secured into set of holes on the ramps depending on what is required. Now as for the rear of the truck, it looks like the rear section slides up and down to different heights and / or it tilts. There is also has retractable ramps either side of the marker board.

The truck and trailer have been expertly built by German company FVG Fahrzeugbau GmbH and you can actually see one of Gartners trucks in the gallery pages. I think it’s pretty damn clever how they manage to build a truck like this and fit everything in to such tight dimensions in order to maximise the load capability (that’s a bit technical for me – sorry!).

The other thing we were trying to work out is where he was taking his load of MEN. It looks like the truck is Polish registered and the trailer has Austria plates on so no real clues there. The trucks could have been made in Munich or Salzgitter in Germany, Krakow, Poland or a good guess would be Steyr in Austria as I think they make small trucks, such as the MAN TGL there, but I could be wrong. I can only think he would be taking them to a port such as Rotterdam or Zeebrugge to ship them to the UK as all 3 trucks on the load are Right Hand Drive. Any way that’s enough from me, smart truck, good photo’s and plenty to chat about amongst you techno-phobes!

All that is left to do is apologise on my bosses behalf to the driver for making him jump as he opened his curtains. The boss was busy taking photo’s and having a nose round thinking the driver was fast asleep, so when the driver drew his curtains he obviously thought, “I best be off!” so he hoped in his seat and buggered off down the road……..he must of stopped down the road to do his daily walkround checks!

Princess & The Giant

Posted on December 28, 2011 by admin

A Princess 32M and HC Wilsons European Giant that is! No delightful Christmas based fairy tale here, just a few Million GBP of top engineering. The Princess in our tale is The Princess 32M Luxury Cruising Yacht and the Giant is HC Wilson, European Giant, a V8 Scania 164 580hp. A good match perhaps, although the price difference between the 2 vehicles is fairly substantial. The fairy god mother marrying the two together is a monster Ainscough crane sat on the banks of the River Thames.

The Princess arrived at Excel London the last weekend before Christmas. The job was arranged by boat transportation specialist Abbey Transport from Norwich. Abbey and Wilson’s have always had a good working relationship, and as Abbey dont have a trailer large enough to carry the Princess, they use HC Wilson. Last year Wilson’s were only involved in removing the boat from the show hall back to the banks of the Thames, as the haulier who took the boat into the hall managed to have a little “incident” on the way in through the door. When the boat in question is 32m Long, 7.5m wide, 10.5m high and weighs in excess of 105 tons, a specialist truck and driver team are required; Que the Abbey and HC Wilson Transport combination.

The boat arrived in London in time to have the rest of it’s display built around it in time for the London Boat Show that starts at the Excel London on the 6th January 2012 and runs right through to the 15th January. First up, the 9 (I think) axle Ainscough crane lifts the Princess 32 clear out of the Thames and the then gently slews round to find the stillages that are already attached to HC Wilson 12 axle Scheuerle trailer. You can see the blue stillages clearly in the photo above. The boat is lowered into the stillages and thats where it will stay untill it is lifted back out into the Thames at the end of January. Once loaded onto the Wilson’s trailer it is only a short, although slow, drive across the Excel carparks to the the show hall. The total loaded drive is approx 200 yards.

The Princess 32 is a proper high class motor yacht, you just have to see the photo gallery on the Princess website to know what I mean. The boat will set you back some where between £6-£8 Million, depending on your spec of course. I think some one said at the 2011 show Princess sold 8 of these 32 metre super yachts, but don’t quote me! I am also informed by Mick Bond, the photographer and Wilson’s 2nd Man, that at full power the boat will use a 1000 litres of fuel an hour, that puts the big Scania V8 to shame! For now I will leave you with the rear view of the loaded truck, until the return leg back to the Thames at the end of January. The Scheuerle trailer is 2.75m wide so the full 7.5m width of the boat looks huge, in fact the whole boat looks huge, it really does look like a fish out of water doesn’t it. I have to say I think I prefer the blue paint scheme over the completely white boat we did in January.

Just so you don’t think i’m biased in any way, here is Abbey Tranport’s DAF being loaded with a slightly smaller boat.

Alcoa 17.5 Inch Rims

Posted on December 21, 2011 by admin

How on earth I have missed this I have no idea! It’s only thanks to my G’day Mate Julian from Australia sending me the Alcoa April 2011 Newsletter I found out. When I went to the IAA Show in Hanover at the end of 2010, I found (and fell in love with!!) a little white MAN TGL which had fitted a set of 17.5 Alcoa wheels. I hunted and hunted about and asked in my best German and could not get any answers. Please read the following short snippet from Alcoa’s April Newsletter;

From April 2011 onwards, the MAN TGL series can be ordered with Alcoa forged aluminium wheels. The 17.5” x 6.75” hub piloted 6 studs on 245 mm bolt circle wheel is available at MAN in two finishes: Brushed and Dura-Bright®. MAN is the first truck OEM offering this new Alcoa wheel for trucks of 6-12 tons GVW. The wheel can also be fitted on the MB Atego, but is not yet available at Mercedes-Benz. Retrofitting can be arranged via the Alcoa distributors. For mounting the wheel on 6-12 tons trucks from other brands, please seek the advice of the Alcoa Sales Managers or contact us on info.wheels@alcoa.com.

NEWS: Scania to Slow Production Rate

Posted on December 20, 2011 by admin

Is the current world climate begining to take a toll on truck buying? Seems that Scania think so. This is what todays’s press release has to say;

Scania foresees a continued slowdown in demand in various markets and, starting in January, will lower the production rate at its units in Europe and Latin America. This adjustment will be handled within the terms of existing flexibility agreements at the company. Economic worries in Europe and the world have made customers more hesitant about investing in new products. In November 2011, Scania cut back its production rate by about 15 percent at the global level, but since then demand has deteriorated further.

“The slowdown in Europe and the Middle East has continued. Meanwhile we are also seeing a lower rate of order bookings from other markets.” says Martin Lundstedt, Executive Vice President in charge of Scania’s sales and marketing.

In Brazil there is uncertainty about the market trend during the first half of 2012 in light of the transition to new Euro 5 emission legislation and the trend of global demand for agricultural products and other commodities. At the global level, Scania will lower its production rate by about 15 percent starting in January. The adjustment of production levels will occur at Scania’s production units in Europe and Latin America and will be handled within the terms of the existing flexibility agreements between the company and the respective trade unions.

“This implies that we must gradually adjust staffing, which unfortunately means that we will be unable to renew the contracts of more than 1,000 fixed term temporary employees in our global production network,” says Anders Nielsen, Executive Vice President in charge of Scania’s production and logistics.

As a result of the production cutback that Scania carried out in November, the contracts of 900 of a total of 1,400 fixed term temporary employees at European production units were not renewed. The adjustment that has now been decided will mean that most of the remaining number of fixed term temporary employees in Europe will be affected, along with a majority of the fixed term temporary employees in Latin America.
For nearly two years, Scania has been working with short and stable delivery times, approximately 8 weeks in Europe, with the aim of getting the right signals to the production network as early as possible when changes occur in order bookings. This minimises inventory build-up.

Thanks to Wilson Pra for the photo from Brazil’s Fenatran Show.

Axel Dubois Thermo Transit – Belgium

Posted on December 17, 2011 by admin

A few weeks back while I was traipsing through the undergrowth of the Internet at endless truck photo’s I came across what I can only describe as an almost perfect truck. you know how in your head you have a picture of what your perfect truck would be, the colours, the truck, the wheels and accessories, if you had your own truck you know how you make it look. Having had my own trucks before, I have a rough idea of what I like. Blues and whites for colours, with a few accessories but nothing over the top. I have owned an airbrushed truck before and in all honesty I don’t think I would do it again. I’d rather have a simple but affective paint job. I also like painted accessories rather than stainless steel ones, things such as light bars and I even tend to favour a painted wheel at the moment over a shiny set of Alcoa’s. Having said all this you will now have a better idea of why this truck seems to be almost my perfect truck.

As you can see it has everything I like. Even better that it’s on a V8 Scania! The truck belongs to a small Belgian haulier who goe’s by the name of Axel Dubois Thermo Transit. Where to start??! The simple but stunning paint job, the painted light bars, cab steps, grill and wheels, the few spot lights, grill lights, the light box on the headboard and the aftermarket sun-visor. All in all I don’t think I can say much more other than it is virtually perfect. Even coupled to it’s plain-ish white fridge trailer it still looks good. I guess some of you prefer a painted trailer rather than the white. I can’t say I disagree, but in some case’s such as this I think the plain trailer makes the tractor unit stand out more. On the other hand if you painted the trailer the same scheme as the cab it would look very very impressive, but would it be too much?? They do say you can have too much of a good thing! The truck runs all over Europe pulling it’s fridge trailer mainly, but I have seen photo’s of it pulling a Euro-liner as well.

The other thing I really like about the paint job is the big star on the side and the smaller stars dotted about on the midnight blue part of the cab. When I had my airbrushed Mercedes Atego I had stars and planets painted in the background and I think it looks good. It breaks up the big expanse of one colour. Also note the little Polar Bear and the painted A-frame holding the air lines. The painted wheels look great, although I do wonder if Mr Dubois had as much trouble making his white nut covers as I did when I was making white ones for my old Scania 141. At this point I would like to thank Patrick Pawluk from www.padborg-express.com for allowing me to use the above 2 photo’s. They are both Patrick’s own. To see more of his handy camera work go to Padborg-express.com when you have finished reading this. I don’t know who’s the next 3 photo’s are, so apologies for not crediting you if they are yours!

The trailer is also simple but effective. Lots of marker lights but not they are not over the top, the LED rear burger lights are great and oh so red when you see them in the dark. In these 2 photo’s the truck has a set of ally wheels, I wonder which came first the painted or the shiny? Did / does the trailer have painted wheels? One of you must know the answer? Leave a comment or email me: ben@truckblog.co.uk

All in all I think i’d be hard pressed to find a truck better suited to my requirements, unless of course I ever get round to owning my own truck again. I just hope Mr Dubois isn’t one to keep adding little bits to the truck. When you find drivers who keep adding bits to their truck, eventually it becomes to much and it starts to look too busy and over the top. If it stays like it is, then perfect! I best get pally with Axel Dubois so I can copy the paint job!! Would it suit my little 12 ton MAN TGL LX?? I’d be happy to try and find out that’s for sure………..As it goes I have sent Mr Dubois a friend request on Facebook, but had no acceptance yet, then again can you blame him??!!

Still No Activ Update!!

Posted on December 16, 2011 by admin

One of my drivers was told by the staff at Bremen based Activ Cars that they’d send soe photo’s to the blog soon………..nothing yet!

After a delivery not far from Activ Cars base in Bremen one of our drivers had 30 mins to spare so he called in at Activ HQ. After a lengthy conversation they decided that he’d be allowed to take some photo’s all the great blog cause, only for the decision to be overtuned by the boss as all the Mercedes trucks were all dirty and they would email over some new fleet photo’s once they had a few trucks back and they had been washed and brushed up. Now I suppose it could be true that at this time of year it can be difficult to get any fleet clean, so i’ll keep my fingers crossed for a Christmas holiday surprise! My driver did say there is an English man working in the office who seemed quite keen on the blog so hopefully one of these days he’ll make contact!!

For now i’ll just have to make do with the few photo’s they emailed a few years back, how hard done by am I!! If any of you have any contact with Activ Cars (they do come to all Airbus facilities in the UK each week) drivers or vehicles then email over your Activ Spots; ben@truckblog.co.uk