Wilson Wednesday – European Volvolution

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I could have titled this blog many things, but I had to get another Wilson Wednesday on the blog for all the regular fans. Thanks to Volvo Trucks UK we can have a WW with a slight difference. Buying a Volvo will have been a big decision for HCW, especially as they haven’t ever bought a new one before. The last two they had in my early years at HCW we’re both acquired 2nd hand I do believe. I low height 6×2 and a low height 4×2. When I heard Simon (Wilson) had decided to order a new Volvo I have to say was a little surprised. Saying that all operators need to keep manufacturers on their toes and if one can supply a truck better suited to the operators specific requirements then their isn’t a lot that can be done. Over to Volvo;

Well-known industrial and plant fabrication carriers, H.C. Wilson Transport Ltd. of Suffolk has ordered its first new Volvo truck; a high specification FH-540 8×4 Tridem tractor unit, supplied by Ian Reed, Area Sales Manager at Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia.

The Globetrotter XL 3,900mm wheelbase Tridem Pusher Axle tractor unit is powered by Volvo’s D13K engine, producing a maximum of 540hp. The FH was ordered with an I-Shift Crawler gearbox containing a direct top ratio of 19:1 and a deep multi speed reverse gear with a ratio of 37:1. A gearbox-mounted retarder also provides a substantial secondary braking system. The final drive tandem single reduction axles carry a ratio of 2.83:1.

The vehicle is rated for maximum 90-tonne operations, but will predominately work in the 55 to 60-tonne weight brackets. Both the front and pusher axles are nine-tonne air suspension units, the latter contributing to a rear bogie capacity of 32-tonnes.

“We’d previously bought our four axle tractor units from Holland, but this requirement is now better served through a dealer local to our business,” states Simon Wilson, Managing Director at H.C. Wilson Transport Ltd. “Volvo were genuinely interested to quote for such a vehicle and having a factory built four axle tractor unit was also a bonus, saving on purchase cost and delivery times.”

A Jost cast fixed fifth wheel, steel front bumper and Dura-Bright EVO alloy wheels are also included the specification.

Simon explains, “European work makes up two thirds of our total business and the regulations around German axle weights drive our choice of four-axle tractor units. I’m not a big fan of really big engines, but we have to balance power outputs and fuel consumption levels with terrain traversed and higher operating weights. We operated some early Volvo FHs that were sourced as used in the mid-1990s, but this is our first Volvo ordered new. We’re feeling our way with the vehicle at present and it’s early days. However, there’s been no complaints from the driver,” he adds.

TB Roving Reporter – New Zealand

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I do get asked now and again if I’d like to hear or see photos and tales of others more fortunate than myself who have managed to get a job overseas doing something a little different to the UK norm. YES! I want to hear from you all and when you say “I’m not sure what to write” – trust me write what comes and most blog readers will love it. Next up is TB’s new roving reporter in New Zealand, Mr Ed Nolloth.

Firstly a bit about me. I’m 28 and originally from a sleepy village in Suffolk but now find myself trucking on the other side of the world. I started working in transport at the age of 20 and spent the next eight years working in the office of two well known Norfolk hauliers, starting out as a trainee traffic planner quickly working my way up the ranks. During this time I also acquired my C, C+E and Transport Managers CPC as well as other qualifications. 


Two years ago I found myself at a crossroads in life where I had spent seven years in an office and I felt a change was needed. It was time to try something new. I applied for a visa in New Zealand and before you knew it I was there, staying with distant relatives who I’d met once before in the UK and looking for work. I had been told work was in abundance in NZ and a week later I found myself working for a large agricultural contractor in the South Island and the rest is history as they say. I just finished two ‘seasons’ in New Zealand with a summer working for Transam Trucking sandwiched in between, something my good friend Mat Ireland got me involved with a few years back as his double driver. 

Working in NZ has positively changed my life and given me a different outlook on how to live. When comparing the UK to NZ I often list the followings differences; NZ has less people which is turn means less traffic. The weather is much better which in turn makes the people happier and in general friendlier but from a truck driving point of view there is far less legislation which in turn makes it far more enjoyable. The kiwi idea of a traffic jam is four cars waiting at a one lane bridge, a far cry from a thirteen mile queue on the M25. 

After nearly two years in NZ it’s starting to feel like a normal way of life but at first it was like an adventure, something a lot of truck drivers in the UK only dream about and for me this dream has become a reality. 
I worked for an agricultural contractor based on the Canterbury plains in the South Island of NZ with a fleet of mainly Volvo and Mercedes trucks. I was lucky enough to be rewarded with a brand new truck at the beginning of my second season and became rather attached to it. The hours and shift pattern was varied as to be expected for the type of work. During silage season it would be a mid morning start but this meant working into the early hours of the following morning. In my first year this didn’t faze me but the second year my situation changed as it often does and I met a young lady who was also a truck driver. 

When I first went over I had every intention of just spending six months out there and settling back into life as I knew it in the UK but I enjoyed it so much I was itching to go back. The job itself was awesome and everyday was different, spending most of time driving around paddocks and on challenging terrain. For me truck driving has always been about getting up before everyone else and getting ahead in your day, this turned out to be quite the opposite so it took me a little time to adapt. 
For those who don’t know the driving hours rules in NZ are very different. Firstly they still use paper log books, a far cry from digital tacograph cards. You are allowed to work up to fourteen hours a day every day with a ten hour break after each shift. During this fourteen hour shift you are permitted to take a thirty minute break after five and a half hours work. This means two breaks are required a day giving you a total of thirteen hours work a day. You are allowed to work up to seventy hours a week before a twenty four hour break is required and your week resets. On a drivers log book you only have a ‘work’ and ‘rest’ column which makes the whole process a lot easier than changing mode switches. As a British citizen with my C+E licence I am able to drive in NZ without sitting any practical or theory exams and there is no such thing as a CPC. I have recently acquired my NZ licence as I have plans to stay and this only involved a theory test to gain my class 5.
NZ has lots of different heavy vehicle combinations with the most common being a ‘truck & trailer’ which in UK terms would be an eight by four rigid followed by a two axle dolly attached to a three axle forty foot trailer giving you a maximum total length of twenty three meters. Another popular combination is a ‘B train’ where a tractor unit pulls two trailers. On my first day I was shown the truck & trailers in the yard and remember thinking there is no way I will ever be able to reverse this but it’s now like second nature. It’s safe to say my first attempt practicing between some road cones in the yard wasn’t pretty. 
The purpose of this blog was to prove it’s not as hard as people think to follow your dreams, anything is possible with a bit of hard work and determination. I have recently been back to the UK to visit family and upon my return I will be changing jobs for a new challenge having felt like I have achieved everything I wanted to from my previous one. I’m not one for changing jobs regularly but my new one will give me more time off with the chance of bigger trips around the country for more money. I’m even shopping my golf clubs out to NZ in the view of enjoying a round or two on my days off. 
Until next time…

Truck Detective: Scania 1?0

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MTW 262J – Who knows it??

This photo has done the rounds on social media over the last few weeks. Usually this means all sorts of people comment about who’s it was, where it went, when they met the driver in Belgrade, or what ever the story may be. This truck whoever has returned with not a bloomin lot. In my book she has been well worked and looks to be taking a rare day off. I’m not sure if it’s a 110 or a 140 but I bet she sounded a treat. David Scarff took the photo in Bob Stewards yard and there is a comment on FB that the truck at that time was owned by a Greek. All I can tell is that she has an Essex registration plate and that’s all we have to go Inspector Clueso!! Come on you lot always have answers and more info.

Pop Quiz: Rock n Rollers

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Pop quiz for a Saturday, well there is a small quiz and a few photos of trucks! As the summer season is upon us for music gigs and of course the seemingly endless festivals that go on all across Europe every weekend, I thought you may like a little delve into pop history. I do always wonder whether the artists that UK trucking companies support are aware of what goes into their nightly shows across the continent. I mean do a gig, sing a few songs, have a few beers, sign a few autographs, wreck the odd hotel room, then on to the next town or city. Meanwhile the truckies are busy doing the same all the hard work. I’m sure dismantling a stage, boxing it up, loading it in the right order and getting off to the next city with enough time to do the reverse and get everything set up again is some what of a logistical headache.

How many of the musical lot are aware that there is a team of hard working men and women making these gigs happen and helping them earn there millions. Well I can happily say that at least three legendary artists are clearly aware as they have been photoed with the rigs that keep them touring. So here’s the pop quiz; Who are the three artist in the three photos?

  1. Not crocodile Dundee pictured with trucks loaned by the manufacturer as they sponsored the tour.
  2. His majesty the 2nd photoed with one of the greats. Just look at the stickers in that windscreen.
  3. Proper hardcore, full on rock n roll royalty. No modern artist could imagine the lifestyle this lot had. I know the band unsure of the artist!

Please give all answers either in the comments box below, or leave a comment on the FB page. If you have any photos of the rich and famous with your truck then please send it to me via PM or email. Then we can have another round of Pop Quiz, I have seen a photo of a certain neighbourly Australian next to one of her tour trucks but couldn’t find it for this blog. 5 points on offer for Artist and/or band. Answers on a postcard!

Still the Best Big Rig Video

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If you’ve never been to www.bigrigvideos.com or not found the YouTube channel then I’m close to banning you from TB! Everyone loves American trucks for one reason or another and in the land of 70mph+, no speed limiters and manual log books, we’d all love a few trips across the wide open spaces of the USA. To give you an idea on what you could be doing instead of sitting on the UK’s M6 through Birmingham or the Bruxelles ring road, please go and watch some of the Rolling CB interviews. Awesome trucks, great CB voices (All you Americans sound good on a CB speaker!) and great videos. Of them all I think this one is the best, a blue Peterbilt, with 8 inch exhausts that just sound as good as Foo Fighters at a hometown gig…… Frickin Awesome!!

TURN THE VOLUME UP!!!!

Job #1 – Actros5 1851LS Rolls off Production Line Today

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So production of MB’s long awaited Actros5 has started today. The first Actros5 in Sapphire Blue has rolled off the production line and I for one cannot wait to see these out and about on the road. Here’s the press release from Mercedes-Benz Trucks;

  • With the sapphire-blue Actros 1851 LS 4×2, series production starts in the largest Mercedes-Benz truck assembly plant
  • Stefan Buchner, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “For the new Mercedes-Benz Actros we have developed solutions with the clear goal of making it the safest, most efficient and most connected truck ever. Thanks to our expertise in the global production network of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, we are now putting it on the road. The Actros is now ready for its customers.”

Dr Matthias Jurytko, Head of Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant: “In more than half a century the Wörth team has built up outstanding know-how: They know exactly how trucks are produced to the highest quality standards. And they have once again demonstrated this impressively with the start of production of our new flagship.”

Wörth am Rhein – At the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant, the sapphire-blue Actros 1851 LS 4×2 was the first customer vehicle to roll off the production line. Stefan Buchner, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Gerald Jank, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Operations, and Dr Matthias Jurytko, Head of Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant, accompanied the series production start of the Mercedes-Benz flagship truck together with the production team in the Palatinate town of Wörth.

If you want to know more about the Actros5 including technology, spec, pricing and further details then please call me: 07971 139016.

Short truck, Short trip, Short blog

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Morning All, it’s been a little quiet on the blog front for a couple of weeks due to one thing and another. The Long Distance Diaries of late have proved very popular with you lot and I still maintain it’s due to the good old LDD’s that used to appear in various magazines 10-15 years ago. One of the blogs contributors is Luke from Tudor Services in Bristol. When look offered a mini artic blog this week I of course said yes please!…..

Monday 15/04/19
Leaving the yard at 0500 to head to Heysham to get the 1415 crossing to Douglas on the Isle of Man hooked up to a 33ft urban trailer loaded with the kitchen for a new premier inn hotel being built on the island.

I arrive in Heysham at 1200 to the devastating news that the boat has been cancelled as they are carrying out repairs on the backdoors which are not closing properly. So it’s off the truckheaven in Canforth to park up and wait until tomorrow’s 1415 boat!

Tuesday 16/04/19
Head to the port for 1200 again and thankfully the boat is now running so board at 1330 and arrive in Douglas at 1800 and park outside the port and go off into town for a little walk around.

Wednesday 17/04/19
Up at 0600 to drive all of 0.8 miles to my delivery. Once I’ve tipped I decide that it’s an absolute must that I drive a lap of the TT track as it’s pretty much the only thing that’s going on here so I check the tyres lower the suspension and head for the start line!

I have to say after a drive around the circuit I really do take my hat off to the maniacs doing 130 miles an hour it’s not like your nice smooth race track with good visibility it’s truly deadly from what I made of it. Once I complete my lap it’s back to the port to let my tyres cool off while I wait for my boat back to the mainland.

My lap time was 69 minutes and 55 seconds so there’s definitely room for improvement if I’m gonna take the record but it’s not a bad first attempt I don’t think! – Luke, sadly you can only up the speed limiter on an Actros to 130kph. Although it will help with your lap time I’m not sure the Police will be willing to write you an exemption letter!! TB.