Questions for truckers...

Questions for truckers...

Author
Discussion

StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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I remember p and r reg 4 series scania's, driving on the limiter switch the ignition on and off and no limiter.
They fixed that on the s reg.

Grumpy remember putting the tacho to sleep.

zip929

670 posts

176 months

Friday 26th September 2014
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StuntmanMike said:
I remember p and r reg 4 series scania's, driving on the limiter switch the ignition on and off and no limiter.
They fixed that on the s reg.

Grumpy remember putting the tacho to sleep.
The old Renault Magnum and Premiums (early 90's) were the same. Switching the ignition on and off temporarily removed the limiter. A pain in the arse to keep on switching the key on and off but was handy to get that little oomph to get past someone quickly.

ChemicalChaos

10,360 posts

159 months

Thursday 14th January 2016
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Bit of a thread revival...

I've seen a few trucks recently where the trailer is about 10ft longer than normal, and has an extra axle right at the back. Have the laws on maximum right length changed recently, suddenly allowing people previously limited by bulk not weight to take advantage?
On a related note, does this now mean that one could (if you were mad) use the extra allowed length to run a big ol' bonneted truck and normal length trailer instead?

Geekman

2,863 posts

145 months

Thursday 14th January 2016
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Also, on a similar subject, I've seen a few ancient fairground lorries pulling a full size trailer, plus a large caravan attached to the back of the trailer. Is this legal? It makes it much longer than a standard artic, and they seem to be unable to do more than 20/30MPH on the steep parts of the m25.

I assume it is legal or they'd be getting pulled over all the time but I'm surprised it's allowed.

ChemicalChaos

10,360 posts

159 months

Thursday 14th January 2016
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Geekman said:
Also, on a similar subject, I've seen a few ancient fairground lorries pulling a full size trailer, plus a large caravan attached to the back of the trailer. Is this legal? It makes it much longer than a standard artic, and they seem to be unable to do more than 20/30MPH on the steep parts of the m25.

I assume it is legal or they'd be getting pulled over all the time but I'm surprised it's allowed.
I can answer that one as a friend of mine drives one for a living.

It's something to do with the classification - because they pull said trailers with a drawbar not with a 5th wheel, they classify as a special locomotive. I quote, from a conversation with him when I asked the very same question about his rig:

"The Foden [his truck, below] is classed as a locomotive, special vehicle, and can draw -note DRAW - up to three trailers up to 85 feet in total length. In an articulated vehicle load is imposed directly over the axle of the vehicle... and it can only TOW one trailer"



Its a hangover from the old days of Showman's traction engines trundling along with a whole road train of packed-up rides hooked to the back of them, and can still be seen today in the usual Traction Engine + Living Van + vintage Land Rover combo made popular by the late F Dinah Esq.

Iva Barchetta

44,044 posts

162 months

Thursday 14th January 2016
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This doesn't answer your question CC but this is what is common in Europe.


berlintaxi

8,535 posts

172 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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ChemicalChaos said:
I've seen a few trucks recently where the trailer is about 10ft longer than normal, and has an extra axle right at the back. Have the laws on maximum right length changed recently, suddenly allowing people previously limited by bulk not weight to take advantage?
On a related note, does this now mean that one could (if you were mad) use the extra allowed length to run a big ol' bonneted truck and normal length trailer instead?
Trials of 15.6m trailers have been going on for a few years, the Govt issued licences for a couple of thousand if I recall correctly, it doesn't mean you could pull a "regular" trailer with a bonneted yank style truck and be legal.

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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Ive seen enough Scanias tippers to realise that operators seldom get stopped and measured.

Geekman

2,863 posts

145 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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ChemicalChaos said:
I can answer that one as a friend of mine drives one for a living.

It's something to do with the classification - because they pull said trailers with a drawbar not with a 5th wheel, they classify as a special locomotive. I quote, from a conversation with him when I asked the very same question about his rig:

"The Foden [his truck, below] is classed as a locomotive, special vehicle, and can draw -note DRAW - up to three trailers up to 85 feet in total length. In an articulated vehicle load is imposed directly over the axle of the vehicle... and it can only TOW one trailer"

Its a hangover from the old days of Showman's traction engines trundling along with a whole road train of packed-up rides hooked to the back of them, and can still be seen today in the usual Traction Engine + Living Van + vintage Land Rover combo made popular by the late F Dinah Esq.
Interesting! I suppose as there's so few of them it's not enough of a problem for it to be worth legislating against.

Super Slo Mo

5,368 posts

197 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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They, the showman's trailers, are covered by legislation.
There are a number of specific rules they have to abide by, not least, by being severely speed limited (I'm going to say around 30 mph top speed, but that's off the top of my head).

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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Hence them all having generators fitted to their tractor units.

mph1977

12,467 posts

167 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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GC8 said:
Hence them all having generators fitted to their tractor units.
not tractor units 'road locomotives' although that seems to have slipped slightly with some of the newer 'anchor' rides

leggly

1,780 posts

210 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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Getragdogleg said:
The MPG thing makes me chuckle, Our Artic is an old T reg Seddon Atkinson, whenever the subject of mpg comes up among drivers it seems to beat all the modern stuff hands down. I guess its because it is primitive and not choked up by loads of DPF/pig piss systems.

It does however have the "thousand neutral" gearbox...
You have no idea how much I'd like a twin splitter rather than the auto boxes of today. smile

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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The problem is: finding the 12 forward gears that are supposed to be in there!

leggly

1,780 posts

210 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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GC8 said:
The problem is: finding the 12 forward gears that are supposed to be in there!
Once I'd stopped playing tunes, I never had a problem finding the gears biggrin

chilistrucker

4,541 posts

150 months

Friday 15th January 2016
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berlintaxi said:
ChemicalChaos said:
I've seen a few trucks recently where the trailer is about 10ft longer than normal, and has an extra axle right at the back. Have the laws on maximum right length changed recently, suddenly allowing people previously limited by bulk not weight to take advantage?
On a related note, does this now mean that one could (if you were mad) use the extra allowed length to run a big ol' bonneted truck and normal length trailer instead?
Trials of 15.6m trailers have been going on for a few years, the Govt issued licences for a couple of thousand if I recall correctly, it doesn't mean you could pull a "regular" trailer with a bonneted yank style truck and be legal.
^^^ This smile
The company i did the tours for have a couple that are on the trial. Always seemed a bit daft to me as most of the tours they do go all over the UK, Europe and a bit beyond, so the trial trailers are only currently any good in the UK. Thats ok i suppose, but of no use what so ever if we loaded out after a show at the o2 in London and the next gig is at the forum in Milan, Madrid, etc, etc as most of Europe from memory still run articulated type trailers at 13.9m max.

The set-up as in Iva's pic are common on the roads in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland but thats about it at the mo if memory serves me right. Although 2 years ago when i still, (just) had my licence i vaguely remember seeing them being trialled on some of the roads in Holland. Sadly though not been on the roads of Europe for quite a while now frown so don't know if its still ongoing or what became of it.

If memory serves me right, i think the Scandinavian setups run at about 25m overall length and 60 tonnes gvw.

imagineifyeswill

1,224 posts

165 months

Saturday 16th January 2016
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Hi Chillis, have DVLA still not given you your licence back.

chilistrucker

4,541 posts

150 months

Sunday 17th January 2016
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imagineifyeswill said:
Hi Chillis, have DVLA still not given you your licence back.
Hello wavey
Right, here goes smile

Sadly not, the farce with the DVLA medical board just continues to slowly roll on, as they continue to move the goal posts as and when it suits them rolleyes It has been on going for a year and a half nearly now and is at times truly farcical, if you heard the full story you'd probably laugh in disbelief.
Its back in the hands of my MP again now, and he is having another go at this on my behalf as even he thinks it is ridiculous. I appreciate his effort but if i'm honest I just imagine the normal dicking around for a few weeks from the medical board, and another point blank no from them on some lame excuse that they will come up with.
For a long time they point blank insisted that until they had further medical proof from my GP of my fitness to tick their boxes, they wouldn't look into my case. So i had another attempt with my GP during October/November. TBH my GP isn't that bothered as he keeps telling me he is a very busy man, and this takes up a lot of his very valuable time. Now I'm not one for wanting to waste his time, but i did have to point out to him that this was my lively hood we were talking about, and the big impact on my life this whole ridiculous saga has had.
Luckily it worked, he contacted them, (as i'm still not allowed to) and he was told by them that they had no case file for me on record, and so they could and would do nothing. furiousragebanghead

I then wasted a few days trying to sort that mess out, and was finally given a reference number from the DVLA that i was told to give to my GP, (who is a very busy man) and i was told by the DVLA to get my GP to ring the DVLA medical board and quote my reference number to get up my case file up . nuts

Guess what, i phone the GP surgery, and go through the normal procedure of trying to convince the receptionist that she is not my GP, and that my call is important, (well it bloody is to me) and i'd like to speak to the doctor. She said sorry he has finished early today, (busy man) i'll get him to get back to you. He did, so I went through the latest with him, and he agreed to try again 1 last time, as he was a very busy man.
Now bear in mind that for ages now the medical board have rammed down my throat the whole 'further evidence from my GP' thing. My GP phoned them AGAIN and was told by them, (you'll love this) that they wouldn't act on my case with evidence presented by him, but they would only look at and act on evidence from a professional neuro specialist. jesterjesterjester

IMHO, they truly are a bunch of fking clowns. They now want something, that was presented to them TWICE by my neuro consultant at the end of 2014. You just couldn't make the last 16 months up. At times it has been soul destroying, it has ruined me financially and put a huge strain on my life, my relationship with the mrs, as well as family and friends. I've been very, very close at times to throwing the towel in, or jumping off a very tall building thats how bad it got.
I'm over that now. Infact I may not actually really need the LGV licence in the future, as thanks to another PHer my career could be heading in a very, very different direction. Its not full time at the mo, but I have hope and every reason to believe that eventually it will be. Fingers crossed.

Right now though, the licence would be very bloody handy, as until the other thing picks up and takes off I could really, really do with some work to get me by. I've struggled for long enough and If I had the LGV licence at least i could sign up with a couple of agencies and get work that way whilst the other thing gets up and running. Plenty of agency work for LGV drivers round here, but next to nothing if you are currently limited to only being able to drive vans. Obviously though none of this is of any concern what so ever to the imbeciles at the DVLA medical board. I'd loved them to have lived my life though for the last 16 months.

Sorry for the long reply, but thats how daft the whole thing has been.



Iva Barchetta

44,044 posts

162 months

Sunday 17th January 2016
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I've followed your problems with this since day 1.

My sympathy trying to sort the farce out...yes

chilistrucker

4,541 posts

150 months

Sunday 17th January 2016
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Iva Barchetta said:
I've followed your problems with this since day 1.

My sympathy trying to sort the farce out...yes
Cheers
Its just about trying to get some justice now, I won't hold my breath although I am interested to see what the MP comes back with this time?