One Mans Scania is Another Man’s Dream

Posted on July 23, 2012 by truckbloguk

Not so long ago I was the owner of a very nice Scania 141, but all good things have to come to an end. So the time came and she was sold. The problem was before I made the decision to sell her I was thinking of selling and buying a 143 and having some change. This didn’t quite go to plan due to starting a family, so the 143 plan is hold for now. The thing that made it so hard was that I found this truck for sale in Holland. Looks lovely although in need of a wash! Anyway this idea had to be put on hold.

A few months went by and this black beauty had disappeared from the various used truck websites I keep tabs on. Then one day it appeared back, at a new dealers and for sale for quite a bit more, but at least it had had a wash! It was still very appealing but I had to stay strong! The chance came and went and to this day I still live in hope of finding a lovely old 143 that needs a home when I have the time and the money. Then by one of these increasingly weird coinsedances on Facebook it appeared once again, well it looked like it and how can you really mistake it. It’s now been touched up, shown a bit of love and had a good polish as well another wash or 2!

The truck now belongs to Sam Nelis from Belgium and I have to say he has done a good job on the truck. Keeping the lovely black paint and just adding a few simple stripes and accessories, she looks stunning. How about the painted wheels?? I said on the blog recently how painted wheels are the current fashion, and looking at the pics above, it makes a massive difference to the truck. Looks great.

Fingers crossed the lottery numbers come up this Friday, then I think I may have to have a nice chat with Mr Nelis. After lots of hard graft restoring the 141 to show condition I think the next truck will have to already be in show condition so all I have to do is wash polish it ready for days out. I think this 143 is yet anoher example of how simple / subtle is the way forward. Nice one Sam!

Taskers ‘tatoes

Posted on July 19, 2012 by truckbloguk

Full time HC Wilson subbie MW Tasker has always been a quietly proud man of his small but smart V8 fleet. He has never been the real king of bling, he is often called it in mid-Suffolk, but a coat of black paint and some ally wheels hardly makes him king of bling really does it. Tasker has never really been into in your face customising and if you had been witness to the many chats we had about his new pride and joy Scania R560, you’d realise that he is in fact a big fan of subtlety. The new R560 is in a Scania grey that is virtually the same colour as the plastics on the truck, it also has some of those tribal type stickers on each side. You may struggle to see them as they are in black instead of the silver that Scania give as the other option, why? because it’s less in your face. The truck has all the gadgets and gizmo’s you can think of, but on the outside…….Even the wheels on the new V8 were a talking point. The wheels are still the standard steel ones, i’m guessing the reason for this is because Mr T can’t decide whether to stick his trade mark shiny allys on or to have a set of allys painted in black and grey. In my opinion on this particular truck I think either would suit well. The general fashion in Europe does seem to be for the painted option. The one thing Tasker has always encouraged with his trucks is the grummmble of the V8, the new one being no different. One exhaust each side at the bottom of the side skirts, one through the standard exhaust system which does have a good note to it, the other side is nothing short of a roaring lion! Flick the dash mounted switch and you hear the butterfly valve clang across and then its just a straight exit from the engine out to the ovalish exit. They do say the sound of a Scania V8 varies all down to the shape of the exit of the pipe…?? You know what I always thought would be worth trying is having a bowl type thingy at the bottom of a stack. So based on a normal shape of a set of stacks, you have the pipe come out from the engine, then when it turns up the back of the cab, rather than just bend the pipe and have it all the same diameter, how bout on the bend, put a ball / bowl shape? I think this would add to the deep burbling sound as it will have a chamber to resignate around before heading up the exit pipe. Well that’s just my idea, you probably have no idea what i’m trying to describe!

As you can see below Tasker still has his original 4 Series Scania that he has also had from new. She may be ageing nicely but she is still working as hard as she ever has. Now with her long time pilot, the one and only Colin Waters. Although both trucks are pictured here with 3 axle Nooteboom lowloaders, the loads they are carrying are no cause for panic with the big V8’s. The potatoe harvesters are more abnormal due to their over width and height, the weight is less than the trailers they are are riding on. These photos were taken by Mike Tasker in Holland on their way to Rotterdam from Germany for a ferry to the UK. Hence the need for the low loaders to keep the height down to allow for easier transit through Europe. Which ever you prefer you can’t deny that subtle is smart and can be just as effective as all the lights and whistles you can find in your nearest truck accessories dealer!…My final question is will the new Scania last as well as its senior? I mean the older has far less sensors and computer stuff on, will the younger make it through 12 (or more) hard years labour pulling abnormal loads all over the Continent?? Your views will be appreciated so leave your comments below. I’m sure MWT is hoping his subtle R560 lasts him just as well as the old 144, perhaps even seeing him to his retirement….. 😉

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…

Comedy Classics Now Flipping Burgers

Posted on July 15, 2012 by truckbloguk

We all remember the airbrushed fleet of Roy Gill. Firstly some beautiful Scania’s then he moved on to the DAF’s. The Lady Diana Truck, Comedy Classics and A Question of Sport to name but a few. All good trucks come to a sad end?? True or not a lot of well know trucks disappear never to be seen again, even with a snazzy paint job. This ex Roy Gill DAF tractor unit has been chopped and stretched to accommodate a fridge body to supply its accompanying burger van. A sad end you think for a DAF show stand truck, well may be so but recently I did see the DAF 85 stable mate, “Question of Sport” up for sale in Truck Trader or something in an advert placed by one of the hundreds of truck exporters. Now to me that’s a little sad as it just means no one cares about a once loved truck that was a bit special. Once it arrives in the exporters yard it just becomes another set of wheels heading off into the sunset, no longer a celebrity of the UK trucking world.

Hey Ho, this truck was spotted by eagle eyed HC Wilson driver Gareth Rowlands at the World Hotrod Championships held in Ipswich recently. Probably the best looking fast food support truck you will ever see!

Swains Super 141

Posted on July 15, 2012 by truckbloguk

This rather tasty Scania 141 was spotted by various people last weekend heading up and down between Church Stretton, Shropshire and Ayr, Scotland. Last weekend was the annual Ayr Road Run. These pics were taken by Tim Cotton in a very damp Lymm Truckstop as the truck was making it’s way North. A few years back I remember talking with Steve Swain and one of his drivers, Mick, about the whole 141 thing. At the time Steve Swain (son of Swains of Stretton) was buying a double bed cabbed 141 that had been stored on Norfolk Scania man, Geoff Warrens farm. As we were talking about his purchase my 141 was nearing completion and Steve told me about the project for a Swains of Stretton 141 drawbar. I also seem to remember talking about getting the drawbar trailer back from Germany. My memory is all a little sketchy, but if you can add any thing or fill in any gaps then please leave comments below or send me an email with your pics.
You can’t deny that this could be one of the most authentic looking 141’s I think I have seen in the last few years, it really looks the biz. Be good to hear a bit more about it….over to you….

TB on the move with Johnson Transport

Posted on July 11, 2012 by truckbloguk

Back in February of this year the UK trucking world on Facebook nearly went into melt down, when Matthew Johnson of Johnson Transport put a photo up of his well known, well loved Scania R560 4×2 For Sale! But never fear it turns out that the 4×2 was to be replaced by a newer version of the same R560 V8 but on a 6×2 chassis, something many operators have decided to do with the ever increasing presence of VOSA and the need for 44,000kg trucks in the UK. In the photo you can see the old V8 sat just behind the new. The new one is up to Matt’s usual standard of plain & simple = smart and understated, he’s even kept the number plate; V8 SGO (V8 560). Mr Johnson is a man after my own heart as he is an Owner Driver, but has ran a couple of trucks and pulls his own trailers as well as pulling other peoples. Now as a top Owner Driver he wants to be part of the best cult club in the country, yes you’ve guessed it, he’s now part of the Truck Blog on the move gang!!

I just hope Matthew pulls his own trailer more than other peoples now he has the sticker in place. I did send 2 stickers to Matt as I wasn’t sure how many trucks he was currently running. As well as the sticker on the trailer, he also has one in the windscreen. As the eagle eyed among you can see, theses pics were taken in Dover, so the TB stickers hit the continent once again!! Good work Mr Johnson, keep the blog rolling!!

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.

Spy Cams

Posted on July 6, 2012 by truckbloguk

Have you ever wondered what your truck looks like when you drive through a camera check in booth. You know the ones you have to drive slowly through when you take a trailer to the docks. You have to drive slowly so the cameras can produce images like these, so it can show the whole vehicle in quite a bit of detail.

As you can see in these pics, you do get slightly funny angles of the front and rear as it puts all the pics together to create one image. The rear of the truck is one normalish photo and then the roof is also taken in a similar way, so you get the full length in one shot. There isn’t many places to hide any damage you’ve done!!

SCOOP!! Mercedes Benz Antos – First Release

Posted on July 4, 2012 by truckbloguk

After the recent launch of the New Actros range, we all knew it would be long before the other new models came along. First up is the Antos. This is the first few paragraphs from the press release. There is lots more waffle but all you need to know for now is as follows;

“At the beginning of the week Daimler presented the new Mercedes-Benz Antos, the first specialist vehicle model series designed for heavy-duty short-radius distribution transportation use. The vehicle will celebrate its public premiere at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hannover in September (I’m already booked to go – Ed). Whether put to use for food, heating oil, building materials or municipal transportation applications, with a permissible gross vehicle weight of between 18 and 26 tonnes the Antos is totally at home in the regional transportation sector. Even though its exterior unmistakably reflects its relationship with the new Actros, the Antos boasts a number of special highlights in terms of its design. In line with its often urban area of application, on the one hand the Antos sports a very friendly look. At the same time, the relatively flat design for short-radius distribution creates an extremely robust and sturdy appearance. The continuous 2.30 metre-wide cab of the new Mercedes-Benz Antos is available in the ClassicSpace design in short (S) and medium (M) lengths. The medium-length variant is also available as the super-flat CompactSpace cab, for trucks with cooling units fitted to the body, for example. The premium cockpit area provides the driver with an ergonomic place of work: the vehicle instruments are clearly arranged and easy to use from an ergonomic point of view. In addition, the modern multifunction steering wheel as well as the generous seat adjustment options help to make the day-to-day work of the driver easier.”

Engine sizes are from 7.7 litre to 12.8 litre and power ranges from 238hp all the way to 510hp if required. One of the most impressive claims of the Antos is that, supposedly you can buy a 40 ton tractor unit with a Euro VI, 428hp engine that weighs in at approx 6,400kg. If you go for the Antos Loader you can achieve an unladen weight of less than 6,000kg. You have to admit that’s pretty impressive. Would the drive axle weights be up to it?? My only thought with such a huge range of variants, will the Antos not contradict the Actros range? I’m sure there’s some one at Mercedes Benz who can explain the differences between the 2 ranges other than the cab type availability. I look forward to the new Construction range which I think will be next year and then the new Atego after that.

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One Mans Scania is Another Man’s Dream

Taskers ‘tatoes

New MAN in The Blogs Life

Cruising the E65 Towards Brno, CZ

Comedy Classics Now Flipping Burgers

Swains Super 141

TB on the move with Johnson Transport

Quick Pick of Channel Spotting

Spy Cams

SCOOP!! Mercedes Benz Antos – First Release