One often hears the claim that trucks produced 25 to 35 years ago were better to drive, while many on social media drool over pictures of British trucks from the ’60s and ’70s and claim they would rather drive one in place of a modern truck. Do they really mean it? I dare say some of these people are too young to have had first-hand experience of this generation of trucks; I drove a number of them back in the ’70s and they were hard work – they made you tired and deaf.
Recently we had the chance to time travel, not as far back as the 1970s but to 1993, when the kind folks at Volvo Trucks UK loaned us, for a week, their prized 2001 version 1 FH16 520 4x2 tractor unit. This beautifully-presented old truck was bought and restored by the manufacturer for the 25th anniversary of the introduction, in 1993, of the FH range. Regular readers will recall that T&D editor Dougie Rankine spent a day behind the wheel of this vehicle last year.
Soon we were coupling up the old truck to an empty fridge trailer on a sunny Saturday morning. We took it for a gentle run down the M4/M5 to Bridgwater in Somerset to load a trailer for France and then took it back to the yard. The truck flew up every hill in top gear, hardly losing any speed. The old truck went so well we were seriously tempted to set off in it with another trailer in the yard loaded for Sweden and Norway, first drop Gothenburg, taking her back to where she was built!
Denne historien er fra May 2020-utgaven av Truck & Driver.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 2020-utgaven av Truck & Driver.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Well forked Daf
Remember, we like to cover all sorts of different trucks here at T&D – like this impressive new CF rigid complete with Moffett Mounty forklift
King of the hill
Moving heavy equipment off road calls for a truck with plenty of power and traction, which is why M&J Plant chose a mighty 6x4 FH16 750
Time Machine 2015-2019
It’s the final part of our series on the history of UK haulage. Let’s look back at those innocent times before that pesky virus turned up
Original and best
There are few trucks which have been customised to the level of the Scania 143, but let’s not forget that the standard product was pretty awesome just as it left the factory, like this rare 420
GOING ALL THE WAY
Simon Rogers got behind the wheel as soon as he was able to, and nearly 30 years later, his company is going from strength to strength, with a striking all-black, top-spec Iveco S-Way 570 the latest addition to the fleet
Abnormal loads
In the distant past, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, truck drivers were a very different breed, made from sterner stuff than us mere mortals
Range change
After a gap of 13 years, Renault trucks have reappeared in the unique colours of MacRitchie Highland Distribution. T&D takes the high road to Inverness to meet owners, Donald and Catriona MacRitchie
Cutting a dash
Freshly showered and munching a healthy egg and cress sarnie in Gloucester North services, Chris has a Foden update
Air we go!
On Saturday 29 May at 6pm, 240 drivers gathered with their trucks at South Mimms Services for a parade to raise vital money for Essex & Hertfordshire Air Ambulance
A Cutt Above
From coal to turf to fencing and loads more, there’s not much the Calcutt fleet hasn’t transported over the years
