MAN Hunt

Posted on June 27, 2013 by truckbloguk

Seeing as you are all so good at this detective lark, here’s you next assignment. Many moons ago I had a delightful and bloody hardworking MAN 8.163 which you may have heard me talk about once or twice before. It was such a good truck I rely didn’t want to let her go but needs must and all that. So when we parted company I sold her to dealer, Paul Binns Commercials. From there she ended up being cut down to a flatbed and was then used by a subbie delivering wooden sheds and things for Waltons Garden Products.

What I wanted to do was trace her life after her days on the sheds. I have checked the DVLA vehicle search and she hasn’t been taxed since 2008 and it says the truck has been exported. I’d love to track it down to where it was exported too, if its an island some where there’s a chance of finding it but if its Russia or something then there is no chance.

First things first, I need to speak with the Walton Garden Buildings subbie. I am told his name was Simon Wainwright and came from Nottinghamshire some where. If you know anything about the truck or Simons whereabouts please can you email me or leave a comment, I’d love to find her, even better I’d love to see her now. I have one man on the search but he is man that’s in the category of ex Walton drivers so I’m quite hopeful. If you can add something positive then please do, surely one of you knows some thing. Truck reg was V413 KPU and was fitted with a Hatcher sky cab.

Ultimate Customised Ger-MAN!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by truckbloguk

Ages ago I found a photo of this little MAN and I just had to find out more. Its taken 2-3 years of searching without much luck, except repeatedly finding the same photo! Then on March 29th came a message on the TB Facebook page, from none other than Florian Zeltwanger…….yes the driver of said Custom MAN TGL LX of course.

Considering its 6.5 years old and has over 650,000km on the clock it is still in great shape. After a few messages this is what Herr Zeltwanger had to say about the MAN in his life:

“Beuchtung Lichtleisten und Innenausbau hab ich alles Selber gemacht. Der Rammbügel ist noch vom Vorgängerauto ein Atego und der Dachbügel von Jumbo-Fischer. Das Steinschlagschtzgitter hab ich selber gebaut. Im Innenraum ist alles selber Lackiert und bezogen, nur die Sitzbezüge und das Lenkrad hat ein bekannter von mir mit Leder bezogen. Das Airbrush machte ein Lackierer aus unserer nachbarschaft. gruß”

And if your like me and your English is still far better than your German then this is the straight up translation:

“I did everything myself Beuchtung Strip lights and interior design. The front bar is an Atego and the roof Temple of Jumbo-Fischer from the previous car. I myself built the Steinschlagschtzgitter (Stone guard?). Inside, everything is itself painted and covered, only a well known by me with leather has taken the seat covers and the steering wheel. A student from our neighborhood made the Airbrush.”

Like it or loath it, you have to agree the customisation is pretty awesome. The interior is great, all colour coded, although the green paintwork isn’t my colour but still the whole job is einfach toll! Is there another TGL like it any where else?? I did see an all red inside and out TGL LX tilt which I think was from Czech Republic. If you have seen it or you’ve seen Herr Zeltwangers wunderbare Deutsche deichsel any where then please email me photos, i’d love to see them. Vielen Dank to Florian and I hope you will show me more photos of your little truck. All photos are HERE.

Email me: ben@truckblog.co.uk

Camiones Espanoles – Entonces Y Ahora

Posted on March 12, 2013 by truckbloguk

Recently at work we have been loading quite a few Spaniards back to Spain or back to Paris so they load from the french markets and then head back to Spain. Also recently I have scanned the next batch of 750ish photos from the David Scarff collection. What is the link I hear you ask?? The answer is that some of the haulage companies that Scarffy used to photograph back in the 1980’s are still the same firms that I am loading back to the continent. How many Spanish truck spotters can say the same for the British firms still running to the sun and back. Two Spanish firms that are still doing the run and providing our super markets with year round goodies such as Strawberries, Broccoli and of course those gorgeous Spanish oranges, are the names of Campillo Palmera and of course Transportes Caudete. I’ll start with Palmera.

The livery on the original Pegaso above has developed into the livery on the trailer behind the Magnum below. I think you can see how its developed. The Magnum has the trailer livery that I know and recognise as being Palmera, with the Palm Tree logo on the back doors. Where did the Palm tree come from?? Was it on the back doors of the Pegaso? I’m not sure.

But you can see the livery on the Magnum has moved on a bit and as an outfit the truck and trailer show the earlier livery and the newer livery. These days the new Campillo Palmera trucks still have the Palm tree on the side but the overall livery is much more of a European logistics company rather than a classic Spanish haulier. This doesn’t mean they don’t still look good! The new black cabs are smart and I guess these days with air conditioning, climate control and roof top coolers, the cabs no longer need to be white to reflect the sun and keep the heat down in the cab. Even so it’s still good to see the company are still going and are still coming to the UK for our enjoyment in all respects!

Now as for Transportes Caudete, they still have a fairly traditional livery that is very close to how its always been. Red tractor units and white Spanish looking frigo trailers. Much the same as British hauliers the Spanish used to favour using their own trucks, like the Pegaso, the Spanish Seddon Atkinson. But now due to the demise of these small manufacturers, the Spanish, like the rest of Europe, use the same as everyone else. Although Renault and Iveco seem to be the favourites for these 2 hauliers, we have had a couple of new Volvos come in for Palmera.

Most of the Caudete fleet nowadays are Iveco with a few MAN. This Iveco was only a week or 2 old as the tyres were still immaculate and had that look of brand new tyre about them (good description huh!). The driver was quite happy with it.

As you can see the Caudete trailers have remained very much the same. Old and new just having what they need to have on them, the company name and what they do. The older trailers do look more continental but again this is down to the improvements in modern trucks I think. There is no longer a great need to keep water and food on the side of the trailers as a modern truck cab has plenty of room for storage inside. I do still like the idea of a water tank on the truck some where, there’s nothing like a cold wash to cool you down or wake you up!

The one thing that is missing on the modern trucks is the 2 light up sign boards on the top of the cab. The yellow square one and the yellow triangle with the blue background. As I understand it these used to be some thing to do with the ferries, but I need one of you lot to tell me more please? Email me, ben@truckblog.co.uk or leave a message below.

Hopefully more Then & Nows to come, thanks to David Scarff’s collection of photos. It’s possible to find photos of everything, so a big thank you to Mr Scarff and I look forward to the next batch to be scanned (the wife’s not so keen on the idea!). For those whho didn’t get it, the blog title is “Spanish Trucking – Then & Now.”

Barbers Shop MAN

Posted on November 27, 2012 by truckbloguk

As many of you will know, this was my 2nd truck in the BJS empire and if i’m honest I think it was also my favourite. Don’t get me wrong I loved the airbrushed Mercedes Atego I had, but with the little MAN 8.163 I did so much work and spent far more time away in it than the Atego (nights away), so I think that’s what made the bond stronger. The other thing I liked about the MAN was that I customised gently and very gradually. and really made her my own, whether you like the style or not, i’m not to fussed, it would appear that certain things didn’t go unnoticed by all.

After the a while hard working trucks tend to loose there new look and shine, especially bodywork built by a bunch of blind hedgehogs in a bag. So it got to a point that the rear bumper was fairly rusty as the very thin paint had be eaten by the road salt and weather. It so happened that the factory paint on the prop shaft had gone the same way, so one weekend me and my Dad thought enough was enough and I reached for the sander, primer and tape. The rear bumper was a no brainer I thought i’d try the chevron look, please see above. But what to do with the prop shaft?? Well I thought i’d do something a little different…a barbers pole if you will. So as I drove along it would spiral down to the back…….I cannot tell you how hard it was to get the masking tape to stay evenly apart as I wound it round the pole (oo er Vicar!). If I remember correctly it was even nearly all the way down apart from one little 6 inch stretch.

Back in the day I could list on both hands the number of people who commented and noticed on the barbers pole, so these days I just see it as a bit of fun and also what made the truck individually mine, but today I had a comment on the blog that made it all come flooding back and made it seem all worth while.

Comment Author: Matthew Morris
Company: www.morristransport.co.uk
Comment: “I was always a fan of your 7.5 tonners, especially the MAN L2000. I remember it having an interesting “stripey” prop shaft! We still own a P reg L2000 with the 224 hp engine. Still a pleasure to drive and sounds awesome with a straight through drag pipe!”

You see I did have a fan! If I’d started a BJS fan club, I think it’s fair to say Matt could probably have been member 001. How I wish I could have my own Tonka Toy again, but times change as does the haulage industry. Perhaps one day. Any way in the mean time i’ll leave you with a photo of the smart back end I ended up with. The chevroned rear bumper didn’t last as the paint soon rusted up again. About the same time the cheap nasty rear door handles had virtually fallen off. The truck was sent to the best body builder in the country, Colliers Truck Builders, and new rear doors, new ally shiny handles and poles and I also got Colliers to rub the bumper back to the metal and paint it back in chassis grey. Boring but smart. The barbers pole stayed.

IAA Commercial Vehicle Show 2012

Posted on October 2, 2012 by truckbloguk

Just over a week ago on a wet and windy evening I landed back at Stansted Airport, complete with 5 blisters and a Bratwurst in my pocket. Last Monday I spent the whole day at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover, well it should have been 9-5 but the German bus driver side swiped a car on the Autobahn on the way, so we were a whole 45 minutes later than planned! This therefore put me onto the Volvo stand 45 minutes after everyone else, so by the time I found it the Swedish stand was already heaving with people gathering to see the ugly but intriguing new Volvo FH. I for one sat and watched the launch of said new FH on the Internet the other week and have to say I was part of the large amount of you who think it is as ugly as the front end of a bus. But when the new Mercedes Actros arrived I was also very sceptical until I saw it in the flesh.

Having sat up high overlooking the Volvo stand for quite a while I did come to the very simple conclusion that the reason it is “ugly” is only due to the grill, the actual shape is very tidy. We are so used to the badges of trucks being on the grill, is it just the case that it’s different, that is the cause of the visual unlikenment! I’m sure you have seen the photo shopped pictures of the new FH with the Volvo badge mounted on the grill and I think it looks so much better. I think there will soon be an after market pack to change the front of your new Volvo if you so wish.

Other than the grill issue, the shape of the new Volvo on the outside is rather nice and it seems different. Amazing how designers can make a shed on wheels constantly seem so different from manufacturer to manufacturer! As for the interior, well it is rather comfy. Gone is that old FH feeling of the front of the truck closing in on you. It feels huge inside (a whole extra cubic metre of space), with big lockers above the windscreen along with a rather nice sunroof panel (actually a real escape hatch!), a swivel passenger seat, a table, the list goes on and what ever I write on here won’t really do it justice. It is a Volvo and the quality is Volvo. Designed with you in mind, its super practical but also can be super comfortable if required. My overall opinion of the New FH has been changed. I like it….a lot. Ugly or not, it’s a Volvo, it’s practical, it will earn you money and keep your drivers happy.

On with the show… The Iveco stand with it’s new crown of Truck of The Year, was amazing orange. The crazy Italians have gone a little colour crazy, but I will say zis once, the Iveco stable gets more appealing!! There you go SW I really did say it, the new Hi-Way Stralis is ok.

DAF also went with orange, but it kind of suits the new childlike, cartoon front end of the XF, only problem being is that it’s not a kids toy. The DAF XF is one of the most popular trucks in Europe but i’m afraid DAF haven’t impressed many people with the new look, I for one am not keen. Are they old Mercedes Actros headlights?! Perhaps some slightly older adolescence should be offered the sweet bag when the next update is due.

The Renault stand gave me the feeling that they were trying to divert your attention away from the fact their centre piece was a 22 year old French piece of art. Although the Magnum is still different to the rest, the fact that Renault had the most beautiful girls to attract you in, the trucks were the same as when I went to Hanover in 2010. I’m not sure how they can or will replace the Magnum, but I think a breath of fresh air is required in Renault land.

Hide it, talk it down, do what you like, what ever you do the R730 Scania is still a beautiful thing in my eyes. On show in a nearly white, silver it is still an awesome piece of kit. If you have not driven the current generation of Scania trucks, then before you slate them, take one for a drive. I still feel there is no truck with a better, more confident ride, backed up with the legendary V8, all its needs is a little something on the inside, but i’m not sure what.

The Daimler hall was so impressive it was untrue. The size of a couple of football pitches. From the small vans right up to the new Actros, buses and Unimogs, all models were available for you to get your sticky paws on.

The new Actros in all it’s guises is highly impressive and I have to say that it is still in my top 3. Lovely looking truck. They had a nice little Atego on the stand, but it has to be said that it does need it’s new cab, which will bring it in line with the new range and the new look. More to come on my thoughts of the Atego replacement.

This just leaves the MAN hall. There was tons of other stuff to tell you about at the show and I will get round to it, but I thought you’d be happy with a general sum up of all the major players. MAN, like their German rivals had a large display, with loads of trucks and lots of buses, as well as the South American Volkswagen trucks. The normal trucks on the stand were popular and each truck has a couple of MAN employees to help guide you round each truck and answer your questions. There was a big special TGS 40.540 tractor unit designed for off road heavy haul use, and I wish i’d taken a few more snaps of the chassis and springs as it was a monster.

Also, much to my delight and also my annoyance, the gorgeous little TGL 12.250 was one of the most popular trucks on the stand. For my older readers you know I love a TGL and in Germany they are super popular. This particular one is the new Euro 6 model that will be available from January 2013. A new interior along with the new look grill and bumper, will surely mean that this little Tonka continues to be a huge hit. I just wish I could buy one to join the club! …….Dear Father Christmas………

The whole show was knackering. There is so much to see, but despite the bus drivers best efforts I just about had enough time to see it all and go back and see my favourite bits a second time. Probably a good year to go too, what with the new Merc’s, the new Iveco, new look DAF and of course the completely new Volvo, it was a good day out despite the blisters. I have loads more pics, yes I do, click HERE to see them. Also I will put more stuff I saw at the show on the blog over the next few months. As well as the normal trucks, there are stands of trailers, vans, parts, etc etc etc. In 2014, treat yourself and go. You might even see a full size Lego truck!

MAN Parts Hunt

Posted on August 27, 2012 by truckbloguk

Mon Bon Homme and regular blog contributor Steve Marsh needs your detective skills. As you can see by the arrows I have attached to the photo above, this MAN TGL has some extra parts attached to the bumper, which have had LED’s fitted. Now Mr Marsh has tried to track down these parts from MAN and it turns out they are a TGM part rather than a TGL part. Marshy ordered said TGM part but they don’t fit! Can anyone help with more info?? I wondered if they are sold by an aftermarket accessory company or something. There is a German accessory supplier who are an official supplier to MAN as their brochure used to be in the MAN dealer in Colchester. MAN UK have offered much help, so Marshy will probably end up having to visit an MAN dealer next time he is in Germany. The other option is find the truck, but that will be just a touch more difficult! It’s a German MAN TGL sleeper, that makes it like a knitting needle in a hay stack. Any additional info will be much appreciated by Mr Marsh.

New MAN in The Blogs Life

Posted on July 18, 2012 by truckbloguk

I received a nice surprise on the Blog Facebook Page last week. James Kinnard posted a couple of photos of his MAN TGL flatbed that he pilots for JJ Transport from ooop Manchester way. It looks like this little MAN is another busy TGL. Buzzing here there and every where, including regular trips across the water to France and Ireland. The bonus of the flatbed is the possibility of oversize loads, i’ve seen a few pics of a cabin or 2. Hopefully the load James has on in these pics is one load of a few as it’s a propeller. Looks like 1 blade to me, so i guess it needs at least 2 others to help it propell what ever its propelling. Hopefully James will send a few more pics of his travels and I have sent him a sticker so that should appear on the truck & blog soon enough. I think we need some DAF LF and Mercedes Atego representation on the blog!! Can you help??

Cruising the E65 Towards Brno, CZ

Posted on July 15, 2012 by truckbloguk

This is another one for the mini artic and drawbar lovers among you. I’ve been meaning to put it on for a while now, but one evening while bored I was using the Google Street View and heading down the motorway towards Brno in the Czech repulic and I couldn’t help but notice just how many mini artics or mini drawbars there were. I know the Eastern Europeans are big fans of these mini combo’s, but there seemed to be one every few miles!

I also came across this slight Street View anomaly. I’m 99.9% sure that this is the same truck on the same day, but it is pictured at 2 different places on the motorway. Strange but true!……I can’t believe your falling asleep on me…

Quick Pick of Channel Spotting

Posted on July 9, 2012 by truckbloguk

Although I run this little website for like minded truck types, I honesty still feel self concious (if that’s the right wording) about taking photos of trucks…yes really. I’m not like the Neil Jarrolds or Ferdy De Martins of the world, who happily take photos willy and indeed nilly. For what ever reason i’m still not a confident wagon snapper. Anyway I thought it’d be a let down to my loyal readers if I didn’t take a few photos while sitting in Calais waiting for my boat. The dock wasn’t busy and I was only snapping out the truck window through a handy sized gap in the car transorter next to me, so the photos are not that great, they are a bit dark. The wagon above arrived in Calais, followed closely by a slightly smaller version. Both Scanias are Austrian registered and are used on the F1 Grand Prix circuit. They are used to build the hospitality units that we all see on the TV. I did have a tip off they are just for the Red Bull team, but i’m not sure how true it is, as it seems a little odd for a racing team based in Milton Keynes, UK to exclusively use a truck mounted crane company from Austria. Leave your comments please.

Speaking of F1, parked next to me was the above Mercedes Benz Actros car transporter (you can just the KFL logo behind). This one was parked behind two others and there was also one at the front of my lane. As you can see they are all loaded up with the F1 support vehicles. Each silver Mercedes Benz car or Vito was marked up with its purpose, such as; Media, Medical, Race Support (the 6.3 litre AMG estate!), Extraction (??) etc etc. Very smart.

Being in Calais you’d expect to see a Norbert, but these days you don’t see French registered ones. Just like everyone else ND now uses Eastern European registered trucks. Plenty of other Eastern Europeans about including this odd liveried Bulgarian Scania. Apparently it is supporting the Aston Villa captain who has Cancer or Leukaemia, but is a Bulgarian national hero (I don’t know much about soccer anymore), but Mr Lloydswell Dodsworth filled me in.

Much to my delight there were also a host of little Tonka trucks of all nationalities coming and going. First a very old and over worked Red Atego. I think the number plate looked Hungarian, but what ever it was, it did look like it should be on it’s last return journey to its home land.

This little MAN drawbar was obviously not sure which boat, lane or line he was supposed to be shipping to the UK on as he was already in a lane when I arrived, but over the next 45 minutes, manged to change lines and line a further 3 times. I wonder if he ever got to the UK, or even if he wanted to get to the UK in the first place?! Remember 4 axles, means a GVW of 26,000 kg, according to my some what sketchy, previous research!

An English truck, heading off into France on a Friday morning. It would have to be some thing special and it was. A 7.5 ton Iveco Eurocargo Pigeon Carrier! The truck was a 54 plate and had a sleeper pod on the roof, so it must go a fair distance. Although it would be quite cosy with the 2 drivers in the cab.

Driving on the boat, there were a few more Angleterre trucks heading home. Armoric Freight Volvo and another big cabbed Mercedes Atego, that I want to say was Dods & Brown, but i’m sure that’s wrong. Please correct me.

I saved the best til last. This could be my current perfect truck, apart from, as another well know MAN TGL driver agreed with me, they should have put those fake side panels either side of the fridge unit!

If I was offered this truck with Euro work or a big artic with Euro work, I would honestly choose this. An MAN TGL LX, 12.250 with a Lamberet fridge body. Spare wheel, long range tanks and still with tyre shine on, this must be its maiden voyage to the UK and hopefully not its last. I think it needs a sun visor though. If I was Neil Jarrold, I would have walked off to find it and take some more pics and I wish I had. I think it was parked behind the Armoric Freight Volvo, unfortunately not on my boat. For any one rich out there who wants an investment, buy me one of these in blue and I will make your money back two fold!

There it goes…..Proof I was taking my pics through the body of that F1 transporter above. I do wish I had the time to spend a Friday or Monday sitting in Calais proper spotting……One day.

Mediterranean MAN (It’s Photo Heavy!)

Posted on June 24, 2012 by truckbloguk

A very leading photo, Marshy and TB on the move heading towards Athens. Where could they be off too?? With Marshy’s track record the answer really is; Anywhere!

How about that? I think that narrows it down some what. Mr Marsh sat in Lavrio Port, Greece waiting for the Salamis Lines ferry to??….you guessed it Cyprus. The job loaded in North Shields, GB and delivered to the vessel “Lewek Falcon” in Larnaca Port. The cargo was a 5 ton winch. The MAN for the job was Steve Marsh! Our top blogger and owner driver of Steve Marsh Express. Just while i’m hovering over the S.M.E. sales desk, there is really only one man worth trusting with such a job, when it’s crucial to get to a far away destination on time to meet a vessel that’s in Port for a few hours, call THE MARSH!

Now although we all love a photo Marshy didn’t start snapping until the sun started to shine, so first up on the way was the Port of Ancona in Italy. This place must be awesome. From what I can tell it is always rammo wall to wall with trucks, ships and any thing that will fit on a boat to the Islands of the Mediterranean. Luckily for our little MAN there was just room for him on the end of the row, while waiting for the Minoan Lines boat to Patras (I finally got a Minoan Lines sticker!). There was also a chance for the classic shot of truck next to ferry.

After arriving in Greece it was across to Lavrio in Greece for the Salamis Lines ferry to Cyprus. Having reached Lavrio, it was time for a weekend break before getting the Cyprus tub. Marshy wasn’t the only one weekended in Lavrio. Also in Lavrio port were 2 Jordanian’s who were putting 4 trucks on the boat to Israel to sell back in Jordan. Then they were flying back to Germany to pick up 2 more trucks. For those of you who aren’t too familiar with ferries to Cyprus, most tend to be multi-drop. By this I mean they tend to do a bit of a round trip rather than straight back and fourth. This ship was also bound for Haifa, Israel as well as Limassol. I know its out of focus, but Marshy spoke to this Dutch DAF driver, who was empty on his way to Israel, with what looks like a container trailer.

Dear Mr Marsh, I’m sorry to say I can’t remember which boat scene was the outgoing and which was the return. The on board boat shots are always good, as you can see who else is busy doing similar trips. I remember one leg out or back was quite busy from what Marshy said. Have a good look at both pics as I have no idea which is which, but the Greek Scania horse box is in both!

On arrival in Limassol, you are always greeted with some ex-pat trucks and of course every driver who goes has to get a pic of the Salamis Lines Scania 111 shunter. See if you can guess which well known UK haulier’s Volvo has a new life in the sun, leave your comments below.

…Too easy for all you spotters! As you can see on arrival it was straight off the boat in Limassol and on the road to Larnaca. About 70 km down the road is the Port of Larnaca where the ships winch was safely delivered to the Vessel.

All that’s left after tipping is a wander back to Limassol, a wait for the boat back to Greece and then a long empty run back to Neuwied near Koblenz in Germany for a prearranged load back to the UK. Marshy has now been to more Mediterranean Islands than any gang of pesky Mosquito’s that we are all plagued with on our holidays. Saying that a week after his return from Cyprus the little MAN was right up North in Finland and then last trip, last week he was back at yet another Mediterranean island, but a lot, lot smaller, still a top class story to be told….another blog for another day. Now it’s time for the little MAN to have a rest under a palm tree and wait for his ferry back to Greece. Nice one Steve!

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