Category Archives: DAF

Transam Pre-Christmas Trucking by Mat Ireland

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It was one of those trips. I received a call from a good friend of mine asking if I would cover for him for a few days. He lives in the south of France, and his son’s 18th birthday was the day the tour was scheduled to finish. Originally his brother was going to cover for him, but he was so busy with his own work he could not take the time off, so I happily obliged. The schedule was easy enough. Take my friends car to the 02 in London, and take over the truck. Go to Dublin for two shows, ship back, tip off at Heathrow for the equipment to be air freighted to the States and go home, what could go wrong!

   Well we didn’t even leave London before it all changed! Just before I went to go and load out sunday evening I got told by our lead driver to go and wait at the coach parking as Dublin may well be off. Sure enough, due to illness we were not going to cross the Irish sea this time. Come the morning a desicion will be made what is happening. I was asked if I had my passport as there may be some equipment to go back to Holland, no problems, I would be happy to get back across the water one more time this year, where as everyone else had their sights set on home having been away for some time at this point. The first part of the new plan was to head north to near Wakefield, where several trucks would be tipped and the loads shuffled about depending on what would be going where. A few of us (myself included) were told to wait at Markham Moor truckstop initially as the loads we had would not be required initially. I decided to stop at Stibbington diner en route to eat as my culinary experience in the past of Markham Moor has left a lot to be desired, and sadly i think this is still the case, the place could do with a overhaul. We soon moved onto the Stockyard truckstop, which was closer to Wakefield and also Robin Hood airport, where the airfreight was planned to be going from instead now. Close to 5pm, I got the call from the lead driver. “I have just finished loading the trailer for you, you have Germany Belgium and Holland to tip, I will be with you soon to swap trailers” quite a change them, and as yet no details where exactly but they will follow tomorrow. So after swapping trailers I headed back to the yard to swap into my own truck for the trip, and made my way the following evening to Harwich for the night ferry out.


The Germany part was to just outside Stuttgart, over 8 hours drive from the Hoek of Holland. Upon disembarkation and with my split ferry rest finished I was off southbound. I decided to head across towards Nijmegen and then south towards Venlo as a couple of months previous one of the main motorway bridges to the north of Breda had been closed to anything over 3.5 tonnes, clearly some cracks had been found. It was a fast and uneventful route across, and with a 15 minute stop at the German border for a brew while my German OBU toll collect unit fired into life I was off again south. There is a choice of 2 routes south from here, either the 3, which is busy but generally 3 lanes, or the 61, which is a tow lane most of the way and a lot is no overtaking for trucks, not ideal. I plumped for the 3 because I did not want any hold ups. Luckily for me, the traffic flowed well, I think being so close to christmas helped. After contacting the company I was heading to I was going to get there just before they closed for christmas, but they would wait for me! Sure enough, 5:45 in the evening I arrived outside their gates, they had to unlock the back gates for me to get in as some builders had decided to park opposite their gate so I had no chance of getting in that way. Straight onto a bay, and within 5 minutes their equipment was off, probably one third of a trailer maximum. I decided I would be best putting in a 10 hour day with 3 drops still to do tomorrow I may need all the help I could get. I got back between Karlsruhe and Mannheim and managed to squeeze across the back of some parked trucks in an Autohof with about 15 minutes to spare on my time. Across the road I had noticed a 24 hour truck wash, that was plan one for the morning then as both the truck and trailer were dirtier than a tramps pocket!


After my 9 hours off, freshly showered and fed I rolled around to the truckwash at about 4am. two trucks stood in front of me, and before long a few behind, yet not much seemed to be happening. After a brew I wandered up to the front to see only one man working that i could see, I decided to give him a bit longer to see if things got moving, which they did of sorts, we all moved in front of one of the doors, but by now, with almost an hour lost nd still 3 trucks to wash i had to abandon my plans. After having a quick work, I drove straight into the wash, and straight out the other side and off north, sadly I didnt have the time to wait about and get the truck clean. Thankfully despite the lost hour i didn’t suffer with traffic issue. I had opted to return back via the 61 as I was heading to a small town called Tildonk just outside Brussels. I arrived here just before 12, and after backing in the man in charge said to me “Ah we were just about to go to lunch as the boys are hungry, but we will offload you first. Would you like a coffee?” English companies take note!! This is how to treat drivers, with a little respect, not disgust! With drop 2 prompty off, I now had the afternoon to get to Utrect and 2 deliveries fairly close to each other, but first I had to have a 30 minute break as I would not quite make it otherwise, so I opted for Meer truckstop. After a wander around the shop and in the rather empty parking area with my camera I was off again. The first drop was not easy to find as it was in a transport yard but the signs saying they were also in there were not too obvious. once again, straight onto a bay and with 5 people in the trailer I was almosty in the way trying to help!


With that done, one was left to do, so straight ‘around the corner’ (about 5kms roughly) to the last drop. A good friend of mine now works in the office here, and was shocked to see me appear at 4:30 on their last day before christmas! They had actually forgotten that any returns would be coming back. He made me a coffee and we chatted about work and also his newborn son, I dont think I have ever met a prouder dad! By the time the coffee had been downed, their warehouse staff had offloaded the trailer and I was empty and good to go. 


All that remained to was get to the hoek for the night ferry home. The traffic there was really quite busy, but I managed to make it in and park waiting with about 20 minutes driving left on my second 10 hour day, good job I decided to do one the day before too. 


Whilst on the boat I bumped into a friend of mine who works for a company I do casual work for, he was on his way back home for christmas after being away for the last 6 weeks. Once off the boat in the morning it was just a case of straight back to the yard, empty the truck and go home. That would have been it for christmas, but being very bah humbug and with a holiday looming I had volunteered to another company to work if need be, so christmas eve found me back down Harwich picking up a Visbeen fridge but loaded with post from holland for Hounslow and Slough and collecting mail to return, a nice easy run to round the week, and also the year off.

1966 World Cup Truck

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Every now and then I get a press release from some one other than a truck manufacturer that’s worth publishing. This just so happens to one of those press releases so here you go; 

Fifty years after the England World Cup winning squad held the magnificent trophy aloft, nostalgia for the glory days of football is still endemic.

To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary and capitalise on the nation’s continued affection for Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Bobby and Jack Charlton, Gordon Banks and the rest of the team, road haulage specialist to the construction industry Barry Proctor Services recently commissioned a 1966 World Cup show truck to tour the UK at shows such as Knutsford, Malvern and Peterborough as well as charity events, attended by thousands of enthusiasts. The DAF XF 106 Super Space Cab and catwalk feature all the players from the 1966 squad set against a backdrop of Wembley Way, which lights up at night. The images have been intricately airbrushed by independent artist Andy Scott and his son Tom.


Barry Proctor explains, “We’ve been delivering bricks and tiles to the construction industry for 31 years. Around 15 years ago, we decided to airbrush our trucks with different themes to stand out in the marketplace. The drivers appreciate the responsibility they have towards the trucks, which cost in the region of £105,000 each, because they are so special. They religiously maintain the high quality appearance and finish of the vehicles, keeping them in tiptop condition.” As well as the specialist airbrushing required, the trucks are prepared and clearcoated by expert bodyshop M&G Commercial Body Refinishing Limited in Stoke-on-Trent owned by Martin Carver. Martin’s team has been working on Barry Proctor’s trucks for over 10 years, producing around four a year to meet the exacting standards required.


Martin says, “An enormous amount of work goes into stripping down and preparing the cab and catwalk area ready for airbrushing. Once the truck comes back into the workshop, we move into the spraybooth where we use Glasurit 924-68 2K HS CV clearcoat, which provides excellent UV resistance, outstanding application characteristics and high gloss levels to enhance and protect the artwork. The gloss and usability of the product is fantastic. We low bake for just one hour and then fine sand it. Because of the depth of the airbrushing, we apply four coats, flatting between coats with superfine discs, and then finally polishing the vehicle to a super gloss. All the separate components like wings and black plastic are removed and painted and then refitted. In total, there’s about 150 hours work and plenty of arm ache, but the end result is stunning.”

With new truck designs in the pipeline, Barry Proctor is looking forward to more truck shows and charity events, helping to generate goodwill and funds for worthy causes. He comments, “Our aim is to keep innovating exciting new themes for our trucks so we can continue to make an impact in the industry.”

International Trucking is The Cure!

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Perhaps being away on tour for months on end can take its toll on ones marbles!! If your one of the few lucky drivers to be touring Europa with a huge international band then it can be all go go go, not a lot of sleep some nights, odd days off, time to mooch about all the cities you can mention, so be prepared for anything. So if your travelling between Hungary and Italy then why not stop off in Slovenia on your way through. Just because I was stuck in the office in Ipswich on an overcast morning last week, shouldn’t make me jealous, but I was. Mat Ireland sent through these photos of the lads from Transam Trucking on a stop off and fuel stop. 

If your a Facebook user then you can keep up with Mat and his truckspotting as he travels around all of Europe. Go onto FB and in the search box type “Mats Trucking Photo Page” – there you will be able to see everything that catchs Mats eye. Hopefully as the tour continues the photos will keep coming and we can all take our shirts off to celebrate!!

If you want to join the tour, you can buy tickets I’m sure and all the info and dates are here on The Cures website. 

Delightful Dutch DAF’s

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As you’ll be aware by now I had my  annual weekend away from the family and once again this year we went to the Truckstar Festival at the Assen TT circuit in the north of the Netherlands. On the drive up, the closer you get to Assen the more you convoy along with show goers and show going trucks. One of the first to come past was the above big white DAF. Like many of you I love a good sounding engine and I have to say that sadly DAF’s seem to get over shadowed quite regularly, but the sound of a straight through pipe on a DAF is a sound to be enjoyed. Much more of a purr than a thump like its Scandinavian competitor, but easily as enjoyable to the ear!

Firstly every truck should be painted and therefore every grill should be painted. All manufacturers love the use of horrible grey plastics these days but if you paint them they can look a treat. None more so the XF grill on the big Dutchman. I wasn’t a fan of the lower than previous DAF  badge but again bring paint into the equation and it becomes a different beast. Pick out the lines on or around the grill and add a couple of Dutch lights and its instantly transformed. The one accessory that all you DAF drivers need to get is the light up DAF badge. I love them! So simple but such a great idea, we had these years ago picked out in LED’s but these as you can see are back lit badges. I’ve got no more detail on them but I’m sure it wouldn’t take much effort to find them. This year is definately the year of “less is more” styling, so a painted grill with a back lit badge and Roberts your mothers brother. 



I’ve lived in DAF’s and I yes I do have a soft spot for them. They’ve not changed much in the 20 years of the Super Space Cab but they are still popular and still loved by both operator and driver and rightly so. A simple all one colour paint job makes it a very attractive truck in my book. There were a couple of plain coloured examples on show and each one stood out from what is was parked next too. The black one above is nothing special but again a couple of lights and that gorgeous deep sun visor and it instantly becomes a standout truck. Don’t forget folks, this year less is more. 

Mega Wilson Wednesday

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We haven’t done a WW yet this year, so bows a perfect week to start this year off. To start us off these first three photos of WIL 2580, a real workhorse of a truck. See here loaded with a 90 odd ton box loaded from the Midlands for delivery this week out to the Netherlands. To do this type of work week in week out year after year not only requires a great truck but and a great trailer and of course a great driver! Thanks John. 

  

 John Pryke out in WIL 2217, on locals and returning some empty flat racks back to Felixstowe docks early this morning. Followed on by office staff number 1, Graham Wilson out and about getting his hands dirty in Doris DAF. I say hands dirty I mean an urgent load that needed to be covered from Chelmsford to Ely. Still more of a load than I have done in the last 2 years!
  
  

First of today’s Wilson subbies are a brace of Hewicks Haulage tidy Scania’s both pulling flat racks from Felixstowe upto the North East. Is it true you can only be a Wilson Subbie if you drive a Scania?!? 

  

Above and below is office staff 2 also out on the road today. James Cartwright on a couple of locals. Above some loaded from the HCW  yard at Elmswell upto a building site somewhere west of Norwich. Then after lunch (photo below) reloading another flat rack from Felixstowe and back to the yard. 

 

  
Above is N5 HCW a 150 ton Scania 8×4 tractor unit driven by husband and wife team Dave and Sue Ramm. Loaded here near Liege, Belgium for delivery upto the English Scottish Borders. Again not an easy job when your loaded with a vehicle that measures 8.05ML x 3.00MW x 3.91MH and weighing 31t.   

 

Taking a little break from it all is the most relaxed Subbie you’ll ever meet. Mr Tasker is seen here today with his unique Scania parked at Zuzenhausen (20km SE of Heidelberg) in Germany waiting to reload tomorrow for the UK. 

  

Next up is N9 HCW and pilot Little Terry Alderton. Seen here at P&O Ferries in Liverpool docks this morning, waiting for the ferry to Dublin. You may notice Mr Taskers second truck, driven by none other  than Colin Waters. Clearly Colin wasn’t as keen to catch the ferry as Terry. 

   

Above and below is Gareth Rowlands in N6 HCW. Reloaded in Aberdeen with agricultural trailers for delivery back down the east coast of England. If only all tips could be dragged off by a monster tractor!

  

 
The only drawbar on the fleet at HCW is W100 HCW, an A frame drawbar that is. Driven by the man that is John Franks. Now I can happily reverse an artic trailer anywhere you tell me without much fuss but Franksy will do the same with an A frame drawbar trailer and still make it look easier.  Loaded with 2.80m wide buildings in the UK for delivery today in Denmark. 

  

Last in today is Daisy DAF and driver Geoff. Nice to see Geoff at work, I am told he was taking a break from his holiday schedule to keep his hand in at the driving thing. At no point do I remember Judith Chalmers driving a truck so you’ve got one up on her Geoffrey!!

Thanks to all drivers who got involved today, lots of good photos. I started this in good time this evening but as I am now finishing it’s almost Wilson Thursday! 

All About Me

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There’s been a lot of new recruits to the blog this year, on the www, Twitter and through the Facebook page so I thought I better tell you my credentials as I’m not just a wanna be trucker (although I do wanna be one again!), I have been there and done a bit. It goes something like this. Now this is a story all about how, my life got flipped-turned upside down, and I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there, and I’ll tell you how I became trucking nerd…… Oh no hang on that doesn’t rhyme!!

At the beginning of 1997 I was tasked on a college course to formulate a business plan that would or could work. It turns out the plan worked and the bank were keen so before I finished college I got a DAF 45 on order and started looking for work. In October ’97 I started as a Subbie for DFDS distribution in Coggeshall, Essex. I was soon covering….. 

 On a daily basis with anything between 15-20 deliveries and collections. What a way to learn my way about (no Sat-Navs then younger readers just a box of maps!) maps I hear you say?? Yep read THIS BLOG.  I still use some of the short cuts now! A year or so later and DFDS moved to Purfleet and I didn’t follow. Local business soon started giving me work and I was soon UK wide with loads of virtually everything and anything. The poor little DAF couldn’t keep up and 2-3 years after getting her I traded her in for possibly my favourite truck from the BJS fleet, an MAN 8.163 with a Hatcher Space cab.  

 This little German served me very very well and in our prime we were doing Braintree, Essex to Larkhall, Scotland 3 times a week even now and again with a reload of lead rolls from David Park Transport in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 3 pallets just over 3 ton. From day one I had done the odd run to the Continent but never enough. I was so busy running round the UK that I only ever got to wave as we passed to Steve Marsh as he was also the owner of a smart Hatcher canned MAN. A massive if only, but I believe if only we had stopped for a cuppa I could have still been doing the Continental with a little Tonka you. Along with, tail lifts, computers, baseball hats, Chinese menu’s, supermarket light fittings, industrial door fixings and 50-75kg sacks of hand loaded hessian sacks of malt to name but a few commodities I took on a driver and put the real show truck of the fleet on the road and passed the MAN onto my only ever employee Steve Shackle.  

 The Atego was awesome and again worked hard across the length and breadth of mainland UK. She was well recognised and got in quite a few magazines. This lead to the start of some Mercedes-Benz friendships that continue to this day. A very big customer went pop with no warning and I was literally in the proverbial dirty river with no oars. So goodbye to the MAN, the Atego and Steve. At the same time I was offered traction work although I didn’t have a class one license at the time. I ordered a Mercedes-Benz Actros of the same man that sold me the MAN and the Atego and two weeks before it went on the road I passed my class one with no minor faults.

  
I can safely say that living in this Actros (Claudia), turned me from boy to man. I lived in her virtually for the three years I had her and the long distance lorry driver life was what I hoped it always would be. Bloody hard work, great friends, some crazy trucking about and much to my delight a lot more continental. Nothing silly by most of your standards but, Belgium Holland and just into Germany on a very regular basis. Amazing the things you see and the situations you can find yourself in, some good some bad, some exciting and some ‘kin scary and eye opening but none the less it was awesome! I bought and restored a Scania 141 the same age as me and had agreed with the people I was working for that they’d give me trailer with no more than 15 ton on so for odd weeks I could run the 141 on the continent. Sadly it never happened. The 141 did, the work didn’t and not long after I had to make the hardest decision I’ve ever made and had to give up BJS International. 

  
The 141 got me going and the pinnacle was taking her to the Truckstar Festival in Holland. In the real world I got a job with a local firm driving an 8 wheeler around Essex for GB Finch. A fun job and I’m told I still hold plenty of fleet records. Drifting an 8 wheel tipper in wet mud is always good for morale.  

 I landed a job at HC Wilson Transport in the office and this was close to being what I wanted to do. Great people, great job and a great fleet. Routing trucks and securing loads all over Europe, Scandinavia and where ever the customer would pay, there’s a lot to learn in the world of international abnormal loads but it was rewarding. Oh the romance of international trucking! 

Moving on from Wilson’s having sold the 141 to raise a family, I went to Kersey Freight as fleet manager and holiday relief driver! Long days and on call 24 hours a day was rewarded with the odd spell back on the road doing two trips to Paris a week. Good times although I have to say back then crossing the channel was a breeze. 

 
Once again I got itchy feet and have now changed to the other side of the desk if you like and I have great job, spending my time talking about trucks to hauliers. Although not long after starting this dream job I did get offered the chance of being an owner driver again with a mini artic moving flash cars all over europa but age brings a certain amount thought and reality over what your spontaneous side wants to do. Funny old game, but I am a firm believer that once you get diesel in your veins you can’t get rid of it, hence the reason I’m trying to encourage my son to continue with his love of the local zoo and animals, but that’s the start of another hot topic in the press this week #lovethelorry. I now have friends across the UK and a couple else where in the world  through the blog and I find myself taking a big interest in driver friends daily trucking exploits to satisfy my never ending urge to go back on the road. I’ve not been a truck owner for a few years now and I feel like I have to say that in an AA meeting style! Hopefully in the next year or so I can get another retro show truck to help my marriage and stop me annoying Mrs Blog every weekend!! 
Anyway that’s me. Happy to talk trucks with anyone and I always question those who spend every day and night involved with trucks but still say that hate them.

“Ever see a duck that couldn’t swim?!”

Wilson Wednesday 

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  A little Wilson Wednesday just for a change. It was a bit of a last minute one but even so a few photos to keep you all on your toes. The bright red trucks of HC Wilson from Elmswell spend their weeks pounding the roads of the U.K. and Europe. For those who might be unfamiliar to WW, it’s a feature I’ve run since I once worked for said red trucked haulier. So starting us off is a photo from one of the Wilson brothers themselves. Simon Wilson is a secret truck spotter and I’m sure he has a vast collection of photos that he keeps to himself most of the time. This picture is of R60 HCW loaded in the yard with a chunky-spud of an excavator. This load looks like a UK job rather than an export/import.    First up on the road is driver Slim Godfrey and Doris DAF. Above is the export, an extendable load out to the Netherlands and then below is today’s reload and import from Germany back to the UK.

  
Next is top Wilson Subbie Mike Tasker and his delightful Scania R560. A true owner driver machine, all the bells, whistles and creature comforts and I would stake a claim that it is probably one of kind here in the UK. The spec list is huge and uses Scania’s vast experience of heavy transport to produce a truck that gives  Mr Tasker a truck capable of any job that HC Wilson give him. This is a fairly modest reload from the Middle East….sorry the Middle East of Germany!

It’s not all Germany UK work, although reading this blog you could begin to think so. Driver Geordie and his truck, European Charger, have been on UK work today, running about delivering new CAT machines from Purfleet to Cannock. Looks a treat!  

Thanks to all the drivers who took part, we mustn’t leave it as long next time!!

 

Oldest DAF in The UK??

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Finally something DAF on the blog! It’s been a while since the last DAF blog and I have to say that I don’t really have any excuses so I apologise.  It brought a wee small smile to my face when I received a request from DAF Trucks UK to help promote a search they are running, how could I refuse?! 

What DAF UK are trying to do is to find the the oldest DAF truck still on the road in the UK. It doesn’t matter if it’s working or not, but it does have to be road going, i.e. still as to move on the road under its own power. A simple request and I’m sure that some of you can respond and some of you will know some good old DAF trucks that are still turning a wheel. As it goes I’m quite keen to see the results myself so I hope, you my dear readers, will come up with some real gems. As I said it doesn’t matter if it’s a worker or not, DAF UK want to see your old girls please. 

You can tweet me @truckbloguk or @DAFTrucksUK and send your pics that way or you can post your pics up. Probably a good idea to put a manufacture or first reg date on if you can. Alternatively you can post your pics on DAF UK’s Facebook page or again you can post them on the Truckblog FB page. Which ever way you want to share you beloved old DAF please use the hash tags #DAF #Goingthedistance #truck

I look forward to seeing what turns up and as and when DAF UK have completed their search I hope to do a write up with the results.