Big Love for #littlebigcabclub

Lots of action this week on my favourite subject and Facebook group, the small but mighty #littlebigcabclub – the place for all the lightweight big sleeper cabs. Got to be a maximum of 15 tons GVW and have a sleeper cab, tick those twos boxes and you’re in the club. Ideally you want to be part of the “6 Stud Mafia” that earns you extra cool points in my book. Look at Steve Marsh in the above photo taken by Mat Ireland in Ipswich this week;

  • 12 Tonner
  • 6 Stud Wheels
  • MAN TGL with Hatcher Components Sky Cab

That’s all it needs, add to the mix that Marshy is proper international too and it really doesn’t get any better as a club member. That said it’s not just Marshy flying the international flag, I spotted this lovely little 715 Atego this week in the traffic jam on my morning commute. The little Dutchman has the Atego BigSpace cab and would have come off the Hoek boat in Harwich that morning. Working for the Hizkia art group in the Netherlands, I’d guess it carries a lot of fresh air and the odd piece of artwork all over Europe. It’s also got the best number plate letters!

Further to the above spots, I’ve also been gradually adding more and more members to the Facebook group for the #littlebigcabclub. As I sort of predict, when I add new members they nearly always have a photo to add of a little truck they have driven. These days the more modern versions seem to be 12 tonners, due to the weight of the trucks but from the past they were all 7.5 tonners (without speed limiters!!) although I’m not sure if 8 ton was the going weight in Europe?? Perhaps one of the Dutch can confirm please.

This little German frigo was spotted by Gavin Pearson recently, about to load onto the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone. Looking at the truck it ticks all the boxes, right wheels, right cab, right weight, it’s an 8.220 so has power too and looking at the livery it’s engaged on international courier work, may be pharmaceuticals or samples looking at how small the body is. There was or maybe there still is, a chap here in England that had a little frigo and he used to do European round trips on samples work. That is the ultimate job for me. A 12 ton fridge on European work and I’ll be happy than the proverbial pig in faeces.

When you start your driving career by buying this little DAF 45, is it any wonder why I think they are the bees knees! My fondness of the little lorries even got me a mention in the latest Truck & Driver Podcast, so if you fancy some retro 7.5 ton truck talk, along with all the other new truck chat, head over to your podcast download site and search for “Truck & Driver” or click HERE to go to the Apple Store to download it. Enough little truck chat, if you want to be in the club, then search for the group on Facebook and request to join; #littlebigcabclub – stickers are available!

The Italian Job

I may have still been in short trousers in the late 80’s and early 90’s but I was already dreaming of Amy from the A-Team, Kylie Minogue, Anneka Rice, sorry, long distance trucking to Europe. Italia has always been a favored destination for the long distance Clara’s among us (sadly not me…yet) and it’s fair to say that one of the big parts of any trip to Italy is getting over the Alps. Which ever route you chose, whether it be Frejus or the Blanc, it was a regular route for hauliers from all European countries, although looking at these videos it would seem that every 3rd truck is from the Northampton area!

Luckily for us, whether you were sleep deprived and heading back to the UK or if you were too busy looking at Mrs Edwards in art class, sorry learning your times tables, thanks to the genius that is Pasquale Caccavale, lots of the goings on over the mountains has been recorded on what could have only been a fairly large video camera. You can loose hours looking through Pasquale’s YouTube channel, so I thought I’d share a few crackers to entice you in to watch more in your own time. One thing that genuinely does surprise me is the amount of British trucks cresting the mountains. I know its always been a popular destination but it seems that Pasquale must have know when the brits were coming. I guess it was regular days depending on which way you were heading and what end of the week it was, but still. There are many more videos to watch on the YouTube channel, CLICK HERE to go and see what other gems you can find. You might even find yourself, you never know! I love the Carisio video, its the who’s who of UK international Transport, must have been a convention on, nothing to do with the beer and local “services”…. Grazie Pasquale….

Merry Christmas Bloggers!!

Re-Post: Centurion List – The Final 4

J727 TRO – 113M 360
J606 UOE – 113M 360
J5 LOS – 143M 500
J949 EDS – 113M 400

So what will come first 100 trucks on the list or a publisher??!

In the mean time we are now down to 4 confirmed Centurions we don’t have numbers for and amazing we have 4 empty spaces on the Centurion list. Is it a coincidence or have RP and myself (and all our informants) just about got 96 other trucks right?! Well there is a good chance as all the others are based on plenty of evidence, each number backed by at least 2-3 facts on the truck.

The above 4 trucks are all genuine Centurions, we know that for sure. Amazing we can’t get anyone with any concrete evidence on what number they were. I have even been having contact from Chris Kelly at Keltruck and even he can’t find any evidence of what number J606 UOE was and he drove it out to eastern Europa on an aid mission!

J727 TRO in Cambrian Pet food livery, but it does look a little tired in that photo.

J606 UOE. Well photographed and was a demo, but what happened to it after? Did it end up with a repaint and on the SEAS fleet after they parted company with #100? Just a thought.

J5 LOS. Perfect looking 143, we know a lot about it and have original photos from the owner before and after sign writing but no number!

J949 EDS. Had quite a few owners including Thomas Douglas Haulage from Glasgow. Still no one knows the number.

The remaining 4 numbers in the Centurion list we can’t allocate to a truck or a reg number are: #037 / #043 / #054 / #068.

No need to go over old ground but if you know anything on these 4 trucks or a Centurion number rings a bell as you’ve seen a certificate from Scania in a transport office, please, please let us know. Comment below or email me; ben@truckblog.co.uk

…..now where the yellow pages…. P for publisher….

The Trucks of Steve Jenkins

There’s nothing I like more than talking to good old boys about their memories of good old days of trucking. In this case my awesome colleague Mr Stephen Jenkins. Steve has been in transport for most of his working career and ever since I’ve known him (probably 4 or 5 years now), he’s been promising me some photos of his owner driver years. If my notes are right, the owner driver years were from 1971 through to 1986. Most of this was on European work, but I know Steve did make a few trips to the Middle East, although he wasn’t a regular.

The first photo he finally got round to sharing is the awesome Volvo F88 above. this was YBE 540K, an early F88 with a split screen and top mounted window wipers. Steve bought the truck and had it painted red, black and white chevrons on the bumper and 4 spotlights under said bumper. Interestingly Steve said that the 4 spots were mounted under the bumper to help with the fog on the Italian mountain passes such as Mont Cenis. The standard lights on the truck from Volvo just weren’t enough to help when the fog came down, put the spotlights under the bumper so they were down as close to the road as possible. Makes perfect sense when you think about it and there was me just thinking it was an early fashion statement! When Steve went to see Ian McKellar about some work, Ian agreed Steve could start working with him as he had a red truck that matched Ian’s colours. The only catch was, Ian insisted a white stripe be painted on the cab. Steve was quite happy with that but only if it didn’t cost him any money, so Ian agreed he’d pay for the stripe to be painted on. Can’t beat a little anecdote.

The list below is of all the trucks Steve owned as an owner driver. I’d very much like it if you could all try and find any photos of the other Volvo’s listed please. I’m sure there will be some somewhere and I’m not just talking about Steve’s loft!

YBE 540K – Volvo F88 240

SLL 62L – Volvo F88 240

OGS 49M – Volvo F88 240

NHL 618X – Volvo F89

KPU 13V – Mercedes-Benz

The Merc below is a 1632 that Steve bought 2nd hand. During his time owning the truck he managed to clock up enough KM, that by the time it was retired from his ownership it had around 1.6 Million KM on the clock. Regular trips to Italy accounted for a lot of the mileage. Even though the engine was a 320HP, V10 with an 8 speed ZF gearbox, Steve was able to get a decent 7mpg out of the big German.

TB Hits the Big Time

Sad times when one of Englands best known hauliers and most followed on social media, calls time and decides to close the gates for the for good. I am pleased to say that it’s due to retirement rather than anything else, although it could be a timely decision the way things are heading at the moment. Hopefully one way or another you have followed Pete White on his trip to Italy and back over the last 8 days, I think I have shared them all on the TB Facebook page. Much like many a transport manager, you might know all the routes, all the deliveries and collections and you might have even done trailer changes in France, but so often transport managers don’t get the opportunity to do a full round trip. Pete White wanted to not be one of those and took the opportunity to do one of the firms last runs to Italy. Great idea. Please read all of the daily updates on the TB Facebook page or the Whites Transport Services page as they are well worth the read. More importantly than all that, Jase who used to drive the red Scania that Pete took on his trip was a lucky recipient of a TB sticker and I was most chuffed to have featured in one of the daily updates this week. As you will see in Pete Whites photo above, the TB sticker has clearly been on the move with one of the best. It’s an honour to have served you Whites Transport and I wish you all well for the future and I wish Ray White a happy and long retirement.

Heinrichs Thermoliner

It’s a similar colour as the last one I got all gooey about, but look at it…. The Danish Soleen trucks and the VOWA truck from CH, all similar shades but boy does it look good on them. Just incase you think it’s just a Scania thing, then I can prove you it’s not. Take yourself off to the Heinrichs Thermoliner Instagram and you will see it’s suits the flat top DAF just as well. It’s a mega colour.

Once again this truck has it all in a Super subtle way. I almost want to say less is more, although it’s quite close the physically being more than less, know what I mean?! All the custom parts that are currently in fashion are present, not all to my taste, but I can appreciate them 100%. Bull bar, Speedline wheels on the front axle, full chassis infill and tank-look side skirts, Danish square rear lights on both tractor and trailer, 2 series Scania top side lights, double twin air horns, short air deflector kit to allow for a flat panel on the back of the cab and a smart set of exhaust stacks. To finish the complete rig off, the new fashion for your matching trailer – mudguards to match your tractor. Heinrichs Thermoliner have got it all spot on, apart from the spots on the roof. Seems the Europeans still like this fashion trend but I can see it fading out in favour of nothing or something smaller and smarter.

You can see the Scania mud guards on the trailer and they look awesome, this was noted by my truck show wingman James and once he mentioned it, we saw plenty more. Full infill round the trailer with skirts and toolboxes. Finally to finish off the back end, I’m guessing that is a cartoon of Germanys own version of Lisa Kelly, the one and only Frau Heinrichs. Much to James’ disappointment we weren’t able to find Frau while we were round the truck, but it’s her who missed out on him not the other way round!

Everything colour coded.

Another plush master piece from Special Interior, this time in my favourite, dark brown leather. When you stand and look in to these sumptuous cabs, you are greeted by two scents. First is what ever flavour of air fresher the driver has chosen, usually a Poppy type or similar. The second smell for most is the delightful scent of real leather, actually something most factory finished trucks don’t have much of these days. Browns and creams go very well together, complemented by traditional red lighting. The rear cab wall in this one is of course finished off with Frau Heinrichs cartoon embossed with a red back light surround. – think I need a job narrating Master Chef!

A Real Swiss Sweetie

For me the best in show and I’m glad to say that the people at Truckstar agreed. This Swiss beast was voted best in show by the judges and I couldn’t agree more. There are a good few reasons why I shouldn’t like it, as we all have little things with our taste in trucks that we aren’t that keen on. For example I’m not a fan of gold paint work, I’m also not so keen on additional spot lights or bull bars anymore, but just like Jerry Maguire, this truck had me at hello.

Despite my pet hates, I think I’d only need to remove the 7 spot lights on the roof, the rest just works. Nestled between Paul Cecil’s jaw dropping XF and matching Schmitz trailer and the crazy artwork on Ristina’s latest Scania offering, this Swiss gem appeared like an oasis in the desert.

Oh what’s this…. Ooooo it likes quite tidy this James….. Oh crikey, I think I like the look of this…. This could be my best in show…. And the interior…… And it’s an R cab…. This is my best in show.

That’s pretty well how things went when we came across it at Assen. When it comes to the new Scania, I’m an R cab man, you all know I love the smaller cabbed trucks, the R for me is far better looking than an S cab Scania. There were a few trucks with Speedline super singles on the front axle and I really like it, a trend started years ago by the Prince of Somerset Tim Rigby. I also absolutely appreciated the gear shift pattern being the focus for the LED lighting above the bunk and also on the pa em on the rear of the cab between the stacks. I feel this is a real ode to the demise of the manual gearbox. Those new to driving but are real drivers at heart, there is nothing more secretly satisfying than getting the gearbox working and making your way up through the box all of your own doing. This is pre-mortem tribute to the no doubt soon to be obsolete mechanical masterpiece that is a multi-geared gearbox.

This burgundy, antique red, colour touched me in more ways than a 1980’s TV presenter. The Heinrich’s frigo and the Dansk Soleen trucks all wearing g a similar shade, just suit the truck. I can’t say if it suits all trucks as sometimes paint colours only work on certain trucks but it c retail y works on Scania’s. The different shades of deep red, gold and black also used compliment each other and go with the theory of top paint jobs need 3 colours to really stand out from the crowd. even the red rear wheels on the twin tag fit in with the rest, big bumper, square lights, good size straight stacks, just enough lights, full flat metal chassis infill and side skirts, I can’t go on otherwise I’ll need a moment.

QJust when I’ve had a full walk around the outside and just about stopped dribbling, I get to the drivers door and boom, the pink, salmon pink, bubblegum pink, who knows what colour pink but I love it. James and I can fully appreciate trucks and lairy interiors, although often they would not be our personal choice. I love the deep brown leather interiors again like the Heinrich’s truck, but once again this just works for me. I’d not have chosen it myself but I love it. It’s just sumptuously gorgeous and one step to the left of the custom truck normal. Special Interior have just raised the bar another notch.

I genuinely can’t say any more about this truck, I just hope it has a well matched trailer doing what ever work it does. If I wanted to build a custom truck I think I could just be a carbon copy of this Swiss sweetie. As we all know the Swiss are the kings and queens of sweet treats and chocolate and this truck sits perfectly in that bracket……. I’m off to have a word with myself.

Truckstar Festival 2022 #2

..Night Time is The Right Time….. very rarely do I get my proper camera out, especially when my new mobile phone has such a good camera even for night shots now. The big Canon comes out for truck show use as I can take a few photos without the need for a tripod and without the need for a timer to make sure the camera is still. Please don’t think I claim to be any sort of photographer, but I do love a truck with its side lights on. For those who like to pick up on the finer points, if you look at some of my pics you’ll see they are only in focus in the middle and the rest of the photo is a little blurred. I reckon I haven’t got the manual focus set up right but perhaps someone can tell me more?!

It has become the norm at truck shows these days, but the Truckstar Festival was the first show I went to where all the trucks were running with lights on at night. There is a certain amount of trust in leaving your pride and joy open, running and free for all and sundry to look around. It’s become a thing to have a walk around Assen in the dark and I would think that the majority of those attending the show with a truck do the same of an evening as their are a lot of people walking around right up to midnight. To be fair this year I made of point of getting out on the Friday night to make the walk and I’m bloomin glad that I did. There was a lot of top, top quality motors on show and the lighting of a truck has almost become as big a part of the customising process as the paint, interior or anything else. I have to say I’m Holland you see very few trucks that are “over done”, you know, the ones that look like they have crashed into the lighting section at Halfords. All the trucks look well balanced and as if some proper thought has gone into the lights, not just bolted on and hope for the best. Everything is even and nicely spaced, as with everything the Dutch, the Danish, the English all have the right idea when it comes to lights.

The triad of Danish stunners from Christian Soleen‘s stable, made for many a pretty picture and to say they were my favourite trucks at the show and I will be doing a separate blog on them for you. Love the 3 lights under the bumper and also love the nice straight lines down the sides of the truck. Like our American friends I do love lines of orange down each side, just looks mega in my book.

The white line above the left side of the DAF isn’t some cool new aerial, it’s the big crane in the background all lit up.

Truckstar Festival 2022 – #1

Where do I start?! For me the best trip to Truckstar Festival in 8 visits. The hospitality shown by proper truck people to others who perhaps can’t offer the same hospitality through no fault of their own is genuinely humbling. The Dutch are in a league of their own, nothing is a problem, everything is about friends and all are included.

Thank you to everyone we saw, met and shared a beer with. We feel like honoury Dutchman! Good people, good food, good beer, good trucks and crazy music!! Heel erg bedankt, bedank ook alle andere Nederlandse vrienden op de weg and of course a big thank you to our English friends too🍻🍻

Kurt, Lianne’s Richard, Peter with the nose, Mrs Olga Brouwer and all the rest. Also my BM James and of course the wife for letting me go !