“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.
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!
With social media of all types these days, it means two things. Either you can get your own channels out to the rest of world for all to see. Then the other side of the coin means that, what ever your into you can find a channel somewhere so you can watch, look at or read about what ever you fancy. I come and go through phases of American trucks and at the moment I am firmly in a deep trough of American metal. I know, I know, terrible build quality, awful ride, blah, blah, blah. But looks wise, well……
In the last couple of years, I’ve come to know about Fleenor Brothers from Missouri. A number of their drivers are on Instagram as well as a Fleenor Brothers company profile, and once you follow one of them, it makes it easier to find more. For those not on Instagram, I have to say I would recommend it. It’s photos, without the drama and sob stories of Facebook! Anyhoo, Fleenor Brothers are a small firm, running a handful of customs trucks on all types of work and seem to cover all 48 states but I may be wrong. The trucks are all named and are all drop dead gorgeous. Just look at “Ron Burgundy” in the picture below. So much is my love of this little fleet, that I have tried to buy their calendar for the last couple of Decembers. I have asked a couple of times if they will ship to the UK without much luck, so imagine my delight when this time around, the answer was yes. Calendar ordered along with a T-shirt (Mrs Blog is over the moon about the T-shirt!), then the wait and daily tracking to see where my package was. I have to say, today the package arrived and the calendar shots are just awesome, February will be a very enjoyable month, shame it’s the shortest month of the year.
Thank you to Fleenor Brothers for shipping the calendar to the UK and I look forward to seeing where your rigs get to this year. Keep the photos coming drivers!!
Tracking a quarter-of-a-century of progress in truck technology, F1 team McLaren takes a trip down Mercedes-Benz ‘memory lane’
McLaren truck driver Ian Hodges has been reunited with the 25-year-old Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor unit he once piloted to race circuits throughout Europe, thanks to the stunning efforts of ace restorer Dominic Newby. Ian joined the Formula One outfit in 1997, the year in which the very first examples of the truck range that set previously unseen standards for efficiency and innovation hit UK roads. Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines was McLaren’s works partner at the time, and Dominic’s 6×2 Actros 2557 MegaSpace was one of three identical trucks used to support the illustrious team’s pursuit of more Grand Prix victories. They pulled the race team transporter that carried the MP4/12 cars of Mika Häkkinen – winner of the Drivers’ World Championship for Mercedes-McLaren in each of the following two years – and David Coulthard, as well as the race engineer & communications trailer, and a hospitality unit.
Fast forward a quarter of a century and after a brief interlude in which McLaren ran Swedish-built trucks, Ian is once again driving a Mercedes-Benz. This time, though, it’s a strikingly-finished 4×2 unit from the fifth-generation Actros range, one of a dozen supplied by Sparshatt Truck & Van. When Newhaven-based Dominic made a VIP visit in his restored Actros to the impressive McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, Ian and his colleagues jumped at the opportunity to compare and contrast the two trucks, and remind themselves how much the technology has moved on. An enthusiastic contributor to Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ Roadstars platform for drivers, Dominic had already won awards for his restoration of a Mercedes-Benz 1622 tractor unit from 1976, and was keen to take on another project. He explained: “I’d been looking for a suitable Actros for a long time, because I used to drive one back in the day. So when I learned this particular vehicle was available, my wife and I went to see it. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that not only was it a top-of-the-range model, with features like electric seats, but it also had all the books and, considering its age, was in great condition.” That was back in the summer of 2020. Dominic bought the Actros and, thanks in part to the truck’s highly distinctive aerodynamic features, quickly divined its McLaren provenance. “There are hardly any first-generation Actros left and as this one is so unique I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give it a new lease of life,” he said.The comprehensive, restoration on which he then embarked entailed stripping the truck completely, and entailed the replacement of some electrical wiring harnesses and repairs to a cab suspension airbag. Dominic laboured for nine months in his spare time to return the unit to its former glory.
The first-generation truck’s 425 kW (570 hp) V8 engine and visually arresting, multi-coloured upholstery are very much ‘of their time’. By contrast, the interior of Ian’s new Actros, with its aluminium-effect and chrome StyleLine trim and leather upholstery, is a masterclass in understated comfort and quality. Powered by a 390 kW (530 hp), 12.8-litre in-line ‘straight-six’, his 1853 GigaSpace boasts an exhaustive list of advanced Mercedes-Benz technology, including MirrorCam, the ground-breaking, camera-based replacement for conventional mirrors, and the upgraded, interactive version of the radical, twin-screen Multimedia Cockpit dashboard. On safety, meanwhile, as well as the standard-fit Active Brake Assist 5 system, with its market-leading pedestrian-recognition capability, and the Lane Keeping Assist and Proximity Control Assist driver aids, the truck is equipped with an optional, secondary water retarder. “It’s a lovely truck, with a beautiful interior,” enthused Ian, who still supports the race team, driving to and Continental race venues at which Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo are competing in this year’s F1 World Championship with their Mercedes-Benz-engined McLaren MCL36 cars.
After finding himself back behind the wheel of the 1997 Actros, Ian said: “I’ve been working with Mercedes-Benz trucks for most of my career here at McLaren, and have particularly fond memories of the first, which was a real trail-blazer with its Telligent vehicle management systems and all-disc braking system. “I have to confess, though, that I’d forgotten the lurid colour scheme on the seats! Dominic’s Actros looks every bit as good now as it did the day we took delivery. He’s done a marvellous job and it’s a great testament to his attention to detail and workmanship.” McLaren’s latest Actros are all left-hand drive 4×2 1853s. Eight are LsnR variants with low-height frames and assigned to freight duties, their Krone Mega Liner trailers carrying everything needed to build and equip the team’s garage at each venue. The remaining four standard units, including Ian’s, pull the specialised engineering trailers that sit in the paddock throughout the Grand Prix weekends. Responsibility for operation of the McLaren truck fleet rests with long-serving Transport Manager Ian ‘Barney’ Barnard, and his two Transport Specialists Martin Boyes and Giles Matteson. Martin, who joined the team in 2000, commented: “It was a real treat to see such a bespoke truck stood alongside a vehicle from our generic fleet. His Actros is an absolute credit to Dominic, and certainly reflects all of the time, effort and passion he has expended on the restoration.” Martin continued: “Ours is a technology-led business, while the Actros has always been a platform for truck innovation. We have many friends at Mercedes-Benz and enjoy a long-established relationship with the manufacturer that we value very highly. “The same is true of our association with Sparshatt Truck and Van. Not only does the Dealer inspect and maintain the fleet at our base in Woking, but if necessary its technicians also provide support at race circuits. The Actros is a premium-quality product and when it comes to aftersales back-up, Sparshatt provides a premium level of service.”
J727 TRO – 113M 360J606 UOE – 113M 360J5 LOS – 143M 500J949 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
It’s a truck, albeit a steam one, but a truck none the less. Love it when you send me photos of things you think I’d like. This photo was taken by a supplier of mine, Steve Bowdidge. Steve is in on the steam scene and has his own mini traction engines that he attends the various steam fairs around the south west of England and beyond. This beautiful Foden, in my favourite colour of the year, was spotted at a show sporting the right surname and two of my Dads initials. I have double checked, but my old man confirms that he doesn’t have a secret collection of steam vehicles for me to inherit. What a great photo though, thanks Steve.
If you have anything to share or that you think I need to see, please tag me in anything you can or send me an email: ben@truckblog.co.uk
Man-O-Man, where do I start?? Shall I save you all the pain of reading a new blog and just republish last years?? If I did then I wouldn’t have the chance to get all gooey, reminiscing about yet another awesome weekend at Gaydon or as I like to call it, the Retro Truckstop Weekender! The show it’s self had 401 trucks on Sunday mornings count up. That includes everything inside the main gate. Now one quick note for the organisers, quite a few commented that there were a few too many “new” trucks, make of that what you will and perhaps it’s a discussion point or comment below? Then again without enough trucks the show wouldn’t be what it is….. awesome.
No one can disagree that there were more trucks than ever and more trucks that I’d not seen before. Being a Merc fan, we even had a Merc corner which was a first, the Stuttgart Stars. The standard of restoration, preservation or any other ‘ation, was incredible. We have to remember than not everyone has the budget to restore from the chassis rails up, so for all of you, like me who can just about afford to keep your pride and retro-joy road worthy and MOT’d, you’re doing just as important a job. We have to keep as many old trucks on the road as possible, other wise they will end up at the mercy of the nearest gas axe. I think another point that was very noticeable was the increase in manufacturers. Some years it seems that there are only newly restored Scania’s and Volvo’s coming on the scene (no bad thing), but this year their were Fords, Scammells, Magirus Deutz, ERF’s, an amazing Scottish DAF that had had the full piggy bank thrown at it and it looked better than new, simply delightful. One thing that is very apparent about the Retro Show, is that it is the show for the fans and the lovers of your own favourite manufacturer. Even if you aren’t a fan, then everyone present can appreciate each and every truck on show for what they are. I’m sitting here writing this wondering how on Earth I’m going to choose which photos to include!
I know I’ve said it each year and again now but one of the most enjoyable parts of the show is the people that attend. You genuinely can’t walk more than 50 metres without seeing or meeting someone else to chat too or catch up with. I think the best I heard, was someone who’d been at the show for 3 hours and had barely made it to the end of the first row of trucks! Whether it’s chatting about a truck on show, seeing old friends, making new ones or just joining in a conversation as us drivers like to do, it is by far the most sociable show with the least amount of ego’s you’ll find in the UK. I think most are gently surprised when someone likes their old truck, much how I felt when people kept coming over to the 814 and saying how much they loved it as it bought back many memories of peoples first truck. Made me smile anyway.
Zoom in on the line up!
The social element and banter is present all week and their were countless “moments” where everyone gets a ribbing from their counterparts. Then their are the serial collectors and proper encyclopaedia types who know their trucks better than The manufacturers who built them. Peoples knowledge is genuinely amazing. If you need to know something there will be someone at the show who can tell you who you need to talk too. Then there are just the trucking VIP’s who everyone knows and has a chat and a laugh with. To name a few; the King and Queen, or Trevor and Jody Rowell, Keith Storey, Fred Parker, Mark Farrow, Richard Payne, Nick Bull, Karl Skilton, Nick Pelosi, Uel McCullough, Miss Hopton and Master Hopton and the list goes on. Sharing a beer is one thing, having a good chat and a joke is another, so when you can do both together surrounded by some mates and the trucks of the golden years of UK haulage, what more could you possibly want?!?….. oh yea delicious home cooked food and a delicious cooked breakfast from a team who have to put up with same old drivers jokes with each new punter! It is truly a great weekend and for me the best show in the UK currently. Appreciated it’s not for everyone but the social side and the trucks from my childhood make it so.
A final few more mentions, the amazing MAN Roadhaus from Wexford, the living 79 year old legend and still driving international Mike Dunston, nice to see a few Magnums on the scene, Nick Pelosi’s face when he heard some 80’s hits banging out my 814’s stereo, the sound of a Transcon with a Detroit engine, Carl Jones for pointing out my fuel cap was off as I drove out the show, yep in front of all the cameras, check your pictures, what a twit! Other than that just a big thank you to Lee Herbert and his team who make the show a complete joy in all respects. I can’t wait for next year, the Gr814 and I will be back.
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.
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!
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