Print

[Peter Holden]

Although I had driven minibuses before when I moved to a school in Lancshire in 1980 I had to take a County minibus test which inclded a hill start with a matchbox behind the wheel to check that I didnt roll back and bring the vehicle to a controlled stop without using the footbrake plus various forms of reverse manouvre.  The interior mirror was covered up during the whole of the test.  Fortunately I have always driven on wing mirrors having lkearned to drive in a land rover and a VW split screen camper.

Peter

[w3526602]

Fortunately I have always driven on wing mirrors having lkearned to drive in a land rover and a VW split screen camper.

Hi Peter,

Wing mirrors?I learned to drive in a pre-war Austin 10. The interior mirrtor was about 2.5" x 1.5".

I drove a 5 ton Coles crane (10 litre) engine between RAF Sharjah and Dubai. The engine was started, and the truck driven slowly forward, while my mate disconnected the battery and handed it back to Shiek ... who had to fit it back into his Yank tank.

Only three controls ... hand throttle, hand brake, and steering wheel. Exilerating driving flat out across the desert ... huge petrol engine, and only the stub of a 3" dia exhaust pipe.

The fun started when I had to manouvre around the building site, including reversing, with no clutch, and no way of restarting if the engine stalled. Brutal gearbox crunching to get it moving.

602

[martinthefirst]

:

[w3526602]

Hi Martin I,

Yep, that looks like the crane that I thundered across the desert ... down to the roofless crane operators seat. Only mine was RAF blue.

I probably didn't have a licence to drive it ... but the Sheik told me to. They still strapped naughty people to the cannon in front of his palace and lopped bits off ... hands .... heads ...

One naughty man was given a 20 minute start .. then they gave the husband a rifle, told him to help himself. Circa 1960.

602

[oilstain]

There was also a trailer that was fixed hard against the tow-car, but free to "pitch and yaw". The single wheel was mounted in the middle of the back of the trailer, in a pair of swivelling forks. It steered like you holding a bicycle by the saddle, and pulling it backwards.

602

For younger readers, a picture

[w3526602]

Hi,

One of our Leyland Hippos broke down while on convoy. Not a problem ... just connect them together with a solid draw-bar.

Not a problem until the towed truck was over taken by a small saloon car ....that pulled into the gap between the two trucks.

602

[w3526602]

Hi,

I lied. The crane I drove between RAF Sharjah and Dubai was "sand" ... or whatever it's called.

602