Category Archives: #littlebigcabclub

Big Love for #littlebigcabclub

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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!

Long Days Late Nights

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“The sun never sets on a long distance lorry driver” – This was a famous quote from a well known documentary. It applies to truckers of all size trucks. With the massive memory trip I’m on at the moment and with the response to the blog on Sunday, it made me think of the hours we’ve all put in in days gone by when we could get away with it. Far easier to click up mega mileages the further back in time we go. Less traffic even 10 years ago, higher speeds, lack of speed limiters, easier ways to bend the rules, we all did it and I’d be surprised at anyone who says they haven’t at least once.

Based in Braintree on the A120, at the time about 25 minutes from the M11, I was quite well connected to the motorway network which meant I could spend a fair percentage of my driving time at cruising speed. In fact the worst part of any trip was always the bit from the M11 back to Braintree on the old A120. Anyway an earlier start, beat the traffic to the M11 and I was off. I used to work a days work out at an average of 60mph, so in 4.5 hours driving I’d plan to do a max of 270 miles, make sense?? 270 miles from Braintree covers a fairly decent swathe of the UK. Proof in the pudding was the job I did to Carmarthen. Braintree to Carmarthen is 265ish miles or there about’s, so in my head possible to get there and back in a day. All I needed to do was average just over 60mph. Priced the job up as empty back and if I remember rightly I did it 3, 4 or 5 times I think. I dare say I did a 10 hour day or two but not having a speed limiter is what made it.

Thinking of other decent days out I can remember there were plenty and I’m not trumpet blowing in anyway, just remembering the love of driving!

Braintree – Exeter – Birmingham – Braintree. Quoted as empty back jobs to both destinations but they just about fitted on together. Saves a day in the week which meant another job could be done.

Braintree – Larkhall – Newcastle-Upon-Tyne – Barton Park Lorry Park. That was a busy day. Full load of sunbeds to Larkhall (Always priced empty back) then load lead rolls for home delivery from David Park Transport in Newcastle and then an hour back down the road to Barton Park truck park near the A1 A66 split at Scotch Corner.

I’m sure there were a few day trips to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, which again is a fair day out.

Come on, I want your genuine memories of long days behind the wheel. I am well aware of the days the international drivers put in during the 70’s and 80’s and I spent a very genuine afternoon with a couple of very well known Irishman who genuinely blew my mind with what they got done in a week to and from Belfast. If you can keep the anecdotes to your early days in the fleets little flyer, that’d be awesome, but big truck stories are always allowed. Just don’t turn them into a Fisherman’s Tale – “It was this big!!”. Leave your comments below or you can always email me with photos.

Why the title of this blog you ask? It’s a sticker I had made up and had on the inside of my drivers door in a few of my trucks.

Pages of Days Gone By

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Who didn’t start their driving career in a 7.5 tonner?? Not many I’d guess. We all have to start somewhere and for most they were happy days, especially pre-speed limiter days. Up and down the country we went, pedal to the metal, usually doing a days work you’d struggle to do half of these days. After my little request to see your own #littlebigcabclub members and your 814’s, an old pal Darren sent me these photos and the anecdote below;

“Hi Ben, G180 SEW was the reg and we brought it brand new, believe it or not I actually drove this on a car licence at 18, I managed to convince my Dad it was legal as it was only a 3,500kg trailer !!
I used to go to London a couple of times a week and drop the trailer at a delivery point in Enfield on the way in and then go into the city with 15+ drops around the railway stations delivering polystyrene cups and lids to the platform coffee shops and then collected it on my way back out. I also went to Cornwall or Scotland weekly. It used to go like a train and was limited to 70mph with the throttle jumping in and out when you hit the limiter! I used to think I was the king of the road at 18 believe me.”

I had a dog and called him BINGO!! That is exactly the little tales I want to hear more of please. We all did it and we all just got on with it as we were green and keen, you could even say keen as mustard. If you get that reference then you are a big fan of the blog! Loving the photos of Darren’s 814. Great to see the before when it was new and then the after, once Darren had added his first pay packet purchases. All 7.5 tonners need an air horn or two and the of course the obligatory, pre-VOSA windscreen flags. I wanted a trailer for mine but never got round to it. How I’d go back and do it all again.

If you’ve got a tale to tell and a photo to share then please please please send me a message or an email. I’ll share what you send and we can all have a little reminisce.

Catch The Pigeon…. Well Nearly!

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So after my last plea last year, I got a lovely email from Adrian English at the weekend with the above photo attached and a few words of explanation. I don’t actually know how or why but I’m guessing Adrian may be involved with pigeons or the pigeon fraternity but how ever I am so pleased to see my old girl and see that she is indeed still keeping herself busy even though she is something like 21 years old.

Adrian says the chap who is the current owner works for Border Amalgamation in Manchester. Border Amal appear to be organisers of pigeon races so makes sense the cure my owner works for them. We are t Tom sure how recent the photo is but if the owner of said blue beauty reads this can you make contact please. I’ve tried to find you on Facebook but there are a lot of people with the same name! Anyway I’d be good to catch up with the truck if I can this year, no idea why but that’s what up truck nuts do I guess.

Missing The Old Days…

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I spend two days out on the road, and I end up reminiscing and missing the good old days. I haven’t been far by trucker standards. I left Essex yesterday morning, went to Wellingborough for a meeting, then onward yesterday afternoon to Tankersley, just between Sheffield and Barnsley. Spent the day on a training course then left Tankersley for Essex about half 4 this afternoon. Now parked in an old lay-by I used to stop in near Duxford having a well deserved McDonalds. All the way up yesterday and on the way down today I can’t stop thinking about being back in the #littlebigcabclub doing a bit and perhaps even heading off to Europa like the good old early days. Why doesn’t the love of driving and the open road leave you?? I miss it, even with the traffic jams today, seeing the sunset heading down the A1 through all of its stages made up for the jams. Day in day out the traffic these days does do your heads in I know that, but you should try spending most days within the same 4 walls…

This little beauty below is for sale in Germany. The newer version of my MAN above. Just need the cream job running up and down to the south of France, Spain or where ever and I’d be set! If your on the road and you enjoy, my advice is don’t give it up. It’s a lifestyle kids and it doesn’t leave no matter what you end up doing. I live my current job and it gives a great work life balance and I get to see the kids grow up, but still, Mrs Truck Blog wouldn’t miss me and the kids will both be teenagers soon enough and then they wont notice their own shadows let alone who else is in the house. Just the small matter of the dog and some work to sort then! Can anyone add my old livery to the blank canvas below, I’m not skilled enough on the photoshops.

Rose tinted glasses are great and the romance of the road is a bigger pull than Titanic was to that iceberg, but still the open road is the open road. Diesel in your chains and all that!

Merry Christmas Bloggers!!

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The Gr814 Passed Again

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That’s two in a row he’s passed! Today was MOT day and all the prep required was a bulb check and add a concrete block to the 5th wheel. The annual MOT comes to them all and each year I wonder how much it’s going to cost me, so very pleased with todays result. Having covered a massive 667km in the last 12 months, although not in a one hitter like my mate Brian from Gt Yarmouth. I did wonder if anything may have cropped up that I hadn’t realised but as one of the very experienced Techs said, they are fairly bullet proof so if there was something wrong you’d know about it.

You have to laugh though. The DVSA tester said I was looking at a fail as i have no VTG6 plate. I said I haven’t been sent any? He says well whoever did your first MOT last year should have arranged them and they would have been sent out following the test. I then produced last years test certificate for the him to see, I laughed on the inside when he realised it was him who did the test last year!! Other that everything else mechanical was fine, the only thing comment was that there wasn’t quite enough weight over the drive axle. With a mix of pallets and concrete blocks to chose from it is difficult to impose a load on the back end our MOT tests trailer loaded up would probably kill the little Gr814 in its tracks. I’ve taken a photo for reference for next year, so using a bigger block I’ll try and put it further back on the chassis to give more load in the back brakes. I still want to put some weight on the back end, but don’t want it to visible. I do like the idea of a “heavy” spare wheel under the rear of the chassis.

If all goes to plan and I can get him painted up in the spring time, I might just be able to break the 1000km mark for next years MOT. Hopefully a trip to NL will come along with a couple more shows in the UK. Might need a fuel sponsor though, what with the current price of fuel!… also need to think about what to put on the headboard.

Well done Gr814, not missed a beat this year and genuinely a thoroughly enjoyable drive.

Retro Show ‘22 – The Roundtrip

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The Retro Show ‘22. I thought I’d give you a break from how good it was and you clearly aren’t in the club if you didn’t go. As you will know by now this was the Gr814’s first UK show outing and we made the trip there and back in good company. 1st leg was from Ipswich to Elmswell to meet up with James with EGV and Mat with Jim Cammacks 143. We decided that Elmswell would be a good meeting point as I had an early finish and James couldn’t finish until 1730hrs at the earliest. I also had a couple of jobs to finish so needed a few tools and a couple of nuts, bolts and screws.

First job was to fit the CB in the Gr814, fairly simple ax there is already an aerial and a cable, so I just needed to connect up the power (also already there once I’d looked) and mount the bracket up on the sunroof surround, so it was well out the way. Much to my delight, once it was all in, it worked a dream, good range and clear sound with no effort. Just how I like it! Second all important job, although a temporary fix until he’s painted, was to replace the broken Mercedes-Benz badge on the back. I couldn’t turn up at the show with a broken badge.

Once my jobs were done, Mat had had a good wipe around to try and degrease and JC had finished the day job, we just had time for a roll call photo before hitting the road. The 4th member of the convoy was already flying along to the sound of Karen Carpenter and her siblings, so we decided to meet up at Rothwell Truckstop on the A14, just west of Kettering. After a pasty and a bottle of Coke, we left Rothwell with Brian Potter leading the way in his drop dead gorgeous Swedish beauty. Sadly MDF soon realised why I was in front on the way up. Sadly unlike my hero the Duck, I did have everyone following me, I wasn’t just in front as the Gr814 is somewhat relaxed about speed. I think a sound investment maybe a new diff to give me a little more than 50mph. Although it wouldn’t have been to much of a problem if JC had driven EGV rather than trailered. Anyway a steady 50 is good for the fuel gauge

Once on the way to Gaydon, we planned on A14, M6, A46 and M40. Sadly as already of a Friday evening the authorities had better ideas and we were diverted off the A46 into Coventry. Amazing although a royal pain in the ass, it did provide some awesome memories of perhaps a time when dual carriageways were few and far between and we would have regularly been followed through towns by gorgeous old Scania and Volvos. It provided some great photos of the mind of nothing else. Once back on the A46 it was a simple run down to Gaydon. As the time was getting on we were a little unsure if we could get in the gate or not. But we didn’t need to worry as Lee Herbert and his team were more than accommodating and let us all in, unload the 141 and park up ready for the morning. Perfecto.

As for the run home, a real lovely run back in the sunny Sunday afternoon sun. Although I did manage to leave the show and drive up the little hill past all the photographers with my fuel cap dangling on its chain. Bugger. A change of route to go home, down the M40, A43, A421 to Buckingham, Milton Keynes and onto Bedford. We then picked up the A428 back to Cambridge. A nice run and chosen as we all potentially needed fuel on the way home. Once nearly back at Cambridge we headed our separate ways as JC wanted to get back to Elmswell and get EGV unloaded. I then headed down the M11, across the A505 and then down the A1307 to Haverhill and the back roads back just bear Colchester where I live. May was going to follow me but day dreamed on to Bury St Edmunds and then back down to Sudbury and Halstead.

The little Gr814 didn’t miss and beat and to be honest is a real pleasure to drive. It’s actually not any where near as bouncy as you’d think and by the time I got home, I’d proper settle in and it looked like I’d been away for a week towel hanging up to dry, bags on the top bunk, bedding on the bottom one, music on and CB there incase I needed a road report Roger. 300 plus miles covered and I’d happily do it all again, perhaps a little more speed and few less revs would be nice but you can’t have everything! Hopefully way before the Retro Show ‘23 I’ll have the paint done and the other bits and bobs and he’ll be finished. Top round trip, top show and top mates.

Italia Man’s MAN

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I might as well write about it again otherwise the photos will keep stacking up. Once again Mr Neil Jarrold spotted #littlebigcabclub member, Biondo, from Italy, a few weeks back sitting in Dover. Yes I have blogged him before and probably with a few of the same photos as below, but as long as Neil keeps sending me the photos, I’ll keep posting them. We have quite a collection now, from probably the last 4ish years. Can anyone tag the driver? The company perhaps? Would be good for him to see he’s regularly papped while in the UK. I’d even send him a #littlebigcabclub sticker if I could get a few messages to him.

I am sure that when I last posted about this little Italian MAN, one or two of you said that he brings in furniture and tips in South London somewhere, somewhere like Croydon perhaps. Let me know what you know and let’s see if we can get hold of the driver. Great looking truck, love the wriggly tin sides, the old school Italian look right there.

Please tag the driver, the company or someone linked to either.

Greek Express by Mat Ireland

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Ah Greece. Greek salad, sunshine, Mythos beer, and of course, classic trucks! So many reasons to love the place! My girlfriend and myself have a once yearly job where we take two dogs down to Athens to go onwards to their owners residence on Mykonos island. Being a transport historian and enthusiast (I much prefer this to anorak!) means that I always arm myself with my camera before the trip, as you never know what you will find, but you will always find something old!


For this blog, I have decided to stick to the #littlebigcabclub stuff so beloved of Ben and myself. My first ever ‘truck’ was a Mercedes 814, followed by a rocket of a 817, so seeing these brings back many good memories. An awful lot of petrol stations seem to have one stationed there, even in the bigger towns, so I guess they are used for bulk deliveries to customers locally, I will have to try and find out.
Anyway, I present to you, some of my findings from our Greek trip, enjoy!