Big Lorry Blog

Attention all Biglorryblog's beloved anorak army! Your favourite road transport blog is on the move! Check out the details below.

Biglorryblog is on the move! Yes the nation's favourite road transport blog (well my Mum likes it) is shortly going to move from its current location here at bizbuzzmedia to a brand new slot at Roadtransport.com, the official Reed Road Transport Group site for Commercial Motor, Motor Transport and Truck & Driver. Yes I know it's been a long time coming but what with this and that I've only just got around to doing it. Still, I can be a renegade no more.

However, I shall be joining such illustrious fellow bloggers as Ollie Dixon and his worldtruckblog as well as Will Shiers's rapidly growing truck&van blog. By the end of today I should have posted my first blogs on roadtransport.com so I heartily recommend you check out the roadtransport.com blogs pages tomorrrow using the above link. And with a bit of luck and a fair wind you'll find the usual weird and wonderful world of Biglorryblog--and more!

Meanwhile, you can still re-visit all my previous blogs on this site -- so your favourite achive blogs will not be lost, at least not for the moment. Why move? The new site is easier for me to post material on, so I can do it quicker, and that means more blogs from BLB. Sounds good? Tiz. See you tomorrow on www. roadtransport.com

For the latest industry news straight from the journalists of Motor Transport and Commercial Motor, check out roadtransport.com - it’s the road transport website. Get Commercial Motor delivered direct to your desk and save 20% – simply click here: www.onlinesubs.co.uk/CM. You can also get Truck & Driver for just £25: www.onlinesubs.co.uk/T&D. Alternatively remember you can pick up your copy of Commercial Motor and Truck & Driver from any Moto, Welcome Break & Roadchef outlet and all good newsagents.

Evening all! Biglorryblog has an excellent reading recommendation on British Police Cars from Nostalgia Road

Now here's the ideal stocking filler if you're lost for what to buy the wife for Christmas, or indeed her forthcoming birthday. Imagine the delight on her face when she upwraps 'British Police Cars of the 1950s & 60s' published by Nostalgia Road at a snip at just £8.95. Boy will she be happy! And why not? This little beauty has been keeping Biglorryblog perfectly happy whilst tucked up in his little wooden bed at night. Along with such gems as this front cover shot of a magnficent 1960s Ford Zephyr Six run by Lancashire Constabulary, the 56-page softback book is jam-packed full of fantasic shots of Police cars from the 50s and 60s including most unlikely models like the Daimler Dart, Ford Lotus Cortina and Triumph GT6. And here's something I bet you didn't know either. Back in 1958 serious consideration was being given to creating a separate Motorway Police force (within the British Transport Police) which would be equipped with Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 big American V8 saloons. And not a lot of people know that.

I strongly suggest you check-out the Nostalgia Road Publications by calling them on 01539 738832 or Trans Pennine Publishing on 017682 51053. Mind how you go!

First there was Strator...then there was 'All Blacks' Strator...Biglorryblog has the story and picture on Iveco's (unofficial) bonneted beast

Regular Biglorryblog readers will no doubt recall that thanks to my favourite Cloggie Iep Van der Meer, I was able to bring you the story of Iveco's 'unofficial' bonneted beast the 'Strator' (we featured it heavily in Truck & Driver May 2007). And for those of you who like the short version of things the Strator is basically a bonneted 6x4 tractor based on an Iveco chassis and Stralis AS cab but with a home-grown nose around a Cursor 13-litre lump. It's been developed by an Iveco dealer in Holland, along with a local Dutch operator who was taken with the Aussie-built bonneted Iveco PowerStar. But when he was told he couldn't have a PowerStar in Europe he set out to make his own bonneted beast with the help of the aforementioned Iveco dealer. And thus was born 'Strator'. Since its debut earlier this year its been creating a lot of interest (no doubt much to Iveco's chagrin).

However, thanks to that blogging reprobate Ollie Dixon and scourge of the world's truck makers (you really should check out his blog on www.roadtransport.com/blogs/world-trucks-blog/) I can reveal that someone (I know not who) has given Strator further legitimacy by painting one (in this case it's a 4x2) in the current Iveco 'All Blacks' Stralis colour scheme as you can see from the pictures below which I have half-inched from Ollie's blog site. And I believe I have to thank a mutual 'industry spy' for them as clearly these pictures have been taken during the daylight and as OD is like Count Dracula and only really blossoms at night I can't see him taking them. But enough waffle, behold, here is the 'All Blacks' Strator

And jolly nice it looks too. Indeed one wonders whether Iveco might eventually adopt Strator as its 'official' bonneted behemoth for Europe. Judging from these pictures it could do a lot worse and considering that Scania has dropped the T-cab and Volvo no longer offers a 'nose-job' either, this could be a niche market just waiting to be exploited by the folks from Turin and their Dutch cousins....

Daf to hold fire on a 'bigger banger' MX...possibly. Biglorryblog has the story along with advance word on RAI show 'reveals' for CF

Well they promised that we'd see it early this year, and then it was going to be officially revealed at the RAI Truck Show in October....but since then it's all gone rather quiet. What is Biglorryblog talking about? Well Daf's long-awaited 560hp MX 13-litre lump that's what. It seems that it's by no means certain that we will in fact see the twin-turbo version of the Cloggies latest Euro-4/5 in-line six (pictured above) at Amsterdam. How so I hear you ask? Well my spies tell me the Dutch are so busy selling XF and CF trucks with the 510 and in particular 460hp versions of the single turbo MX that apparently someone in Paccar has been asking apposite questions along the lines of : 'Do we really need a 560hp engine right now?'

And it's a good question. After all, despite BLB truly raving on about the current power race between the Swedes and the Germans, in fact the 550hp+ tractor market is still a minority interest in the UK. So perhaps the Dutch are about to pull another of their famous flankers by refusing to follow trends, and instead following what the market actually wants---as they did would disc brakes and electronics. Meanwhile, pre-production versions of the double blown MX have certainly been running around Europe for a while including a couple in the UK. But will Daf finally debut the bigger banger '560' at the RAI...we'll have to wait and see.

However, true to form Biglorryblog can one again reveal exclusively that there WILL be some interesting things to see on the Daf stand at Amsterdam with further emphasis on 'green' technology and also the CF is going to get a few of the exterior tweaks that have already appeared on its big brother the XF105. And amongst them will be a revised version of the high-roof Space Cab option offered on the CF which will include those rather smart 'Sky Lights' corner roof lights (see below) originally developed for XF105. I can't wait to see it.

Further evidence of inter-dimensional time-travelling Ford Transits...Biglorryblog has the exclusive story...

If ever there was proof that some van drivers have access to a secret time-travellers' portal in the back of an ordinary looking semi-trailer then this exclusive picture from Biglorryblog proves it. There I was, following this artic around the M25 in Essex, minding my own business, when suddenly with a strange shimmering light this Transit appeared in the back of the trailer. You can clearly see the driver leaning out of the window desparately trying to turn the transmogrifier device back on whilst atempting to look as if it's perfectly normal for a Ford Transit to be in the back of a trailer...yehh right. Trust me, the Goverment doesn't want you to know about these things---but BLB can spot a conspiracy a mile off. Oh yes. A short while later the van, and the truck with it both disappeared...(well alright, the driver turned off onto the A127 towards Basildon---but that's as good as disappearing in my book, especially in Essex). It's just as well the driver of the van didn't start it up as he'd have been right on top of BLB's mighty Multipla. Meanwhile, it's time someone exposed this high-level cover-up. We should be told about these things, just like we should be told about what they found at Roswell, and what happened to the bloke who invented an engine that runs on water. The truth is out there Dixon!

It's Marathon...not Snickers. Biglorryblog on Leyland's long-lost long-haul lorry

In case you're wondering why Biglorryblog has had a sudden flurry of activity, the answer is simple. I'm going to the Motor Transport awards on Wednesday night so I thought I'd better do a batch of blogs while I'm still sober. And to start with here's a real blast from the past. This double page spread advert from Commercial motor in 1978 is what good old Leyland was offering as its ultimate flagship motor. The Marathon 2 (not Snickers) complete with a Cummins, Rolls Royce or Leyland's very own TL12 engine at a heart-stopping 275hp. Considering this was the very best that the UK could offer for European and Middle East Transport (not withstanding the mighty Ford Transcontinental) it does make you wonder what the aspirations of UK drivers were--probably a damn sight higher than those of their employers I should imagine. Still, they only had to wait a bit longer and they would have got the Leyland Roadtrain...another winner from the people that brought you the fixed head 500 series engine.

I have received this rather amusing posting back from a BLB 'regular' :"The 'Marathon' 2 with the TL12 got its name because it just about managed to cover 26 miles and 385 yards between breakdowns!" You know, you can be very cruel at times...

A classic Scania T-cab roadtrain down-under. Biglorryblog has the picture to prove it too!

How's this for two iconic images for the price of one. Biglorryblog proudly presents this classic Scania T142 bonneted-behemoth---but running as a roadtrain in Australia circa 1984. Considering that they probably didn't sell too many T-cabs in Oz this 6x4 tractor is a rare beast indeed. And dig those crazy air intakes! Anyway, BLB's thanks as ever goes to the excellent Scania image bank for the historical shots. I've got to hand it to the Swedes they certainly believe in preserving their history--unlike us on Commercial Motor who tend to chuck everything out!

More fabulous Fodens from New Zealand. Biglorryblog has a welling-up moment with his red wine..

Look, it's not my fault. Rod Simmonds in New Zealand keeps sending me this splendid pictures of Kiwi Fodens so what's Biglorryblog to do? But then this rather smart Alpha eight-legger waggon and drag tanker outfit is worthy of a blog don't you think? It's just a pity that while the Kiwis were happy to buy Fodens it seems far fewer UK operators were ready to follow suit...something to ponder perhaps? Meanwhile, Rod tells me these are two 'tidy' examples of the famous kit marque.

I wonder if Paccar has had any regrets about 'retiring' the brand.....

Meanwhile, I've just had this fascinating post back from a BLB reader: "I don't know if it is of interest to you Foden fans but the Glendinning Group in South Devon is still putting new Foden Alphas on the road, I have seen a 07 reg double-drive tractor unit on the road and last week I saw a new 8x4 chassis going up the M5 to be bodied. From what I understand they bought quite a few and stockpiled them before Foden closed." And what do BLB fans think of that news?

I have had this posting back: "Fantastic! Put a reward out for the first person to send in the photos? How about a Marathon? I mean...Snickers."

No that ISN'T Biglorryblog in his car.And I always wear a smart Tilley hat when I'm driving the Multipla.

They say it's a sign of being relaxed in someone's company if you can be rude to them. Obviously 'The Boss' has taken that maxim to heart with regard to Biglorryblog as he has sent me this picture with the following comment: "Now confess, this was you protecting your 'follicly-challenged' bonce while you moved house with all your possessions!" To which I must reply "Flipping cheek! I wouldn't be seen dead in a convertible!" Meanwhile, my Nemesis has thrown down the following challenge (for a BLB pie obviously). "What was the car...? And even better what was the make of the truck from which the picture was taken?"

Well BLB will have a stab by saying a Peugeot and an Actros (cos' that's what The Boss normally drives). No doubt he'll put us out of our misery soon. And in the meantime, rather than a knotted hankie I can recommend the excellent 'Tilley' Hat from www.tilley.com which is 100% UV proof for those of us with 'fly-away' hair whose hair, in fact, flew away..

Biglorryblog readers DO like yellow trucks...it's official. Don't ask me..I'm colour blind

That old curmudgeon 'The Boss' has started something here. No sooner does he say he wouldn't have gone for a Daf XF105 in yellow and silver (see previous but two blogs) than I get this picture and message from another Biglorryblog 'regular' Martin Phippard who insists: "I have to disagree with your correspondent [that's no 'correspondent', that's 'The Boss'-BLB] who says he wouldn't have chosen yellow and silver for his French-registered Daf XF105. Au contraire! Les camions jaunes sont magnfiques!' (Hmmm...You know I'm sure I've met him, Les Camions, nice bloke..but I digress.)

And just to prove that Martin likes yellow lorries (as opposed to red lorries..although he might like those too) he adds: "I am enclosing a picture of an Israeli 8x4 Volvo tipper working near Tiberius It's 63-tonnes GTW and capable of some serious hard graft. Oh, and the Daf 95XF 6x4s and twin trailer outfits that work between the Dead Sea and the Port of Eilat are yellow too. Shalom!"

Forty years of under-run testing from Scania and Biglorryblog. They build 'em safe in Sweden you know....

Now we all know those plucky Swedes in Sodertalje take road safety seriously. Biglorryblog can personally vouch for that having attended several Scania safety seminars. And here's a good example of the kind of test work Scania has done in terms of developing proper front under-run protection on trucks---as witnessed by this actual crash test. But what you might not know is how long they've been treating safety as a No 1 priority. For example, browsing through the excellent Scania image bank the other day, hidden within the 'history' section, I stumbled across this little gem.

Shot in grainy black & white way back in 1964 it shows a crash test between a bonneted L55 and an original mark 1 Volkswagen. No prizes for guessing which one came off worst although under-run protection was still in its infancy in those days. What makes this interesting is that almost 50 years ago Scania was then looking at the problems of frontal impact between cars and HGVs. Note the lighting bar and time-clock for the high speed camera in the foreground.

The world's largest articulated dump truck...naturally the story comes from Biglorryblog who has never heard of Moxy--until now.

It's amazing what you can learn from e-mails and the internet. For example, I didn't know there was a dump truck manufacturer called Moxy, based in Norway, but owned by the Thomson group over here. I've clearly been missing something for take a look at THIS baby. What you see here is the mighty 6x6 MT51 from Moxy, which also just happens to be world's largest articulated dumper truck. It comes with a stonking 510hp Cummins QSX15 lump and Allison six-speed auto and for the record it can haul a 'mere' payload of 42,270kg (sorry I can be more precise than that) within its all-steel body. And that's not all I've learnt about Moxy either. Indeed I didn't know either that they acquired the intellectual property rights of Aveling Barford last year and have a range of their own rigid dump trucks including this one, the AB46, the 'baby' of the Moxy rigid dump truck range but still with an impressive payload of 42,108kg.

Meanwhile, prepare to be jealous as Biglorryblog has blagged a drive in a 100-tonne Cat dumper which I'll be doing for the Truck & Driver Christmas special...44-tonnes? Huh..peanuts! So stay tuned as naturally I'll cover it in BLB. Ooohhh I can't wait, or as my old mate Ash says: 'The hairs on me arms are standing up already!' Actually I think Moxy is rather a nice name for a dumper....and not to be confused with Moxie, the Scouser pyromaniac, who was in 'Auf Wiedersehen Pet'.

How to keep your Daf XF105 squeaky clean in France. Biglorryblog gets some helpful tips from 'The Boss'

I thought I hadn't heard from my arch-nemesis 'The Boss' for a while---but I'm delighted to say that the old boy has been in touch with Biglorryblog with a nice selection of somewhat surprising shots on how to keep you XF105 clean and dandy in France at what looks like a very efficient truckwash. I say 'surprising' as he usually is far more interested in Yankee Clippers and he once told me that the Daf XF105 was the most boring truck he'd ever driven---how exciting do you want your life to be eh?

Any road up he tells me: "Some photos to brighten the blog, literally, and an opportunity to welcome driver Sandrine and her patron from Brittany to the BLB." (Newcomers always welcome says I). He then goes on to say: "Not my best shots----she wouldn't stop moving the truck as she came out the wash and I got soaked! In June! However, she did park alongside a 510, silver and yellow, wouldn't be my choice...." You see what I mean about The Boss being difficult to please?

Actually BLB was struck by the fact that both these wagons look like Daf demo units, not least as they have matching yellow trailers but apparently not. I'll have to pick the brains of 'Mr Grumpy' in Thame to see what he can tell me!

Meanwhile, when I enquire of The Boss as to 'who' Sandrine is? He replies: "Sandrine just a driver, this last 15-years, honest girl who, in almost perfect English, politely told The Boss he must be speaking a long forgotten, ancient French dialect as she didn't understand a word he said! So that's 30 years of Euro communication down the pan.! The Daf's are just everyday bright working trucks, surprising really, the dreary French do like bright things." Hmmm it makes me wonder what Sandrine would make of my all-but-non-existent French. Not alot probably.

And how come The Boss got wet? He answers: "I got soaked because these stupid digi cameras had me concentrating on the screen, and I'd far prefer a digi with an eyepiece." In short he got too close to the spray....and naturally he's now turned to BLB for expert camera advice (and why not?) . "Please recommend one, money no object but sensible price for my fun!" Advice on the way Boss. Finally, he tells me: "Having a day off, trying to arrange a Scania demo unit,which I loved up until the 4 Series. I did start off with Scania's finest the mighty 141, then a 142, then had two x 143s----but the 144 sucked! However, I'm told it is better now and I want power and prestige....!" Well, well the old Actros has finally had its day, hard to believe. More news from The Boss soon.

Biglorryblog has had this posting back: "Am I mistaken or is this Daf being used on a ad for 50.50 bread at the moment in the UK? " To which BLB responds, search me but do other readers know?

Foden Fleetmasters. Biglorryblog has a chunter about classic truck ads and the steel-cabbed 70s wondertruck

As mentioned Biglorryblog has been having a bit of a clear out in the office and has stumbled across a nice little cache of late 70s treasure including these two ads for the then "super, smashing, lovely" Foden Fleetmaster, road ready for an unheard of top-weight artic operations as gasp...38-tonnes GCW. Yours with either a Cummins or Roller engine in it and rated up to a terrifying 290hp.

And comfortable? Why you flipping drivers don't know yer born! Now gerrout and do some work...yer idle bunch of loafers! Talk about lap of luxury. And back in the late 70s all drivers looked like Jason King. There is one thing that BLB is wondering about--namely do the two trucks pictured here have an all-steel cab? Or is the cabin an aluminium and GRP composite? The ads are from late 1978/9 and so far all my reference books have beeen no help whatsoever. So hopefully my loyal army of anoraks can help..Roy? Bob? What I do seem to remember is that the cab was design by Motor Panels. And according to some of my reference tomes the Fleetmaster was developed for export...(errr..that'll be Scotland then)

Hey I love you guys. No sooner does BLB ask for answers than these posts arrive: "Of all your correspondents I am almost certainly the least qualified to talk about Foden vehicles. So I trust that the dedicated Foden fanatics will excuse my incursion on to their hallowed ground. However,in answer to your question I am almost certain that the S10 doors were "bonded aluminium" whatever that is and I imagine (unsure - and am guessing)that the front panels were GRP rather than steel. Fodens were, after all, always known for their low tare weight. And a few were exported. I have seen them working in Israel."

And these one is from Roy Larkin; "Brian, Getting a bit modern for my taste and a bit modern for most books. My books tell me that the Fleetmaster had a steel cab by Motor Panels, as you say, but the bonnet was plastic and built by Foden. GVW was 38 tons with a 290 Rolls engine, which might be where the export idea comes from as the UK was still at 32 tons. Or maybe Foden were anticipating the rise to 38 tons as Ford did with the Transcon? Cummins and Gardner engines were also available. It was introduced in 1977 with the S90/93 cab and the S10 cab was introduced in 1979. For some strange reason the S10 cab appears to have been available with either a single of twin piece windscreen. That strikes me as a peculiar option to make available. Maybe the driver could simply replace a broken driver's side screen with the passenger side one to continue working without delay - I wonder if the driver would be so keen if the passenger window broke? Not much but hope it's of some interest. Best wishes, Roy."

A couple of Volvo heavies from Biglorryblog....when you need something substantial shifting..get an FH16!

It's a well-known fact that Biglorryblog is partial to the odd 'heavy-hitter' and they don't come much heavier than Volvo's mighty FH16.660, except perhaps when the new MAN TGX 680 makes its appearance later this year. Any way that's some time in the future. Right now BLB is delighted to show these to FH STGO tractors in action and my thanks go to David Weston for the pictures which show (in no particularly order) Gary Formby's new 8x4 waggon carrying a brand new Hitachi demolition rig to its first job in Liverpool.

While above we have a shot from the recent Hillhead show of an H.C.Wilson Scania carrying an 85-tonne excavator which David tells me was receiving a little help from Lomas Distribution's Volvo wrecker. There now, two Swedish trucking icons working together in perfect harmony...how nice.

I have since had this rather mischieveous post back: "It's nice to see a picture of a Volvo where it should be---up in front of a Scania giving it a tow! Do we get a blog on the news of a new volvo FH is on the way? Now as I understand it from the article theres a new FH in 2009 but it actually gets a new cab two years later." OK I'll get cracking on it--BLB