Thread: Got my Heavy Rigid (HR) License yesterday, in a HUGE Hino

Originally Posted by UncleHo

G'day Ausfree.

Aah! it is easier with Primaries than H/schoolers, teenage boys can be a little hard to control,only had one try it on for a blue,told him outside, I didn't want blood on the floor as it is hard to cleanup,out he went bag and all, I shut the door and drove off,if he was big enough to challenge the driver, he was big enough to walk home dropped in after work and had a quiet word with dad,the son was made to appolgise!


But it makes me feel old when I see some of my bus kids with their high school aged children and they still me "Mr"


cheers

Must have been a while ago, try doing that now and you would lose your job, you can't even raise your voice to the little bar stewards.... sorry ..err little darlings. Nowadays the father of a miscreant child would believe the child's convoluted version of events and be down at the bus depot yelling merry hell!! We are constantly told "No child is to be left behind". I guess the bus company is worried about being sued...........isn't it sad.....no discipline at all, nowadays!! Sorry for highjacking your Thread Spudsy.

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Hey Hodgo.
If you are ever in downtown Williams WA I bet my 12M Cat grader will beat you first time around.No steering wheel or levers,just 2 joysticks
Andrew

Hi Andrew I would love to take you up on your offer if I am down your way.

I laugh about this these days but just after the 1974 floods in Brisbane I was posted to Canungra , We had several pieces of enginers plant TD15 dozer, P& H crane, 966C Cat, Chamberlain Front end loader/ backhoe an Westinghouse scraper and a D4, strait after the floods a section of planties from the school of many errors came up to assist in the rapid rebuild of the training area but time was against them and as we only had one plant operator on strength it was left up to him and a couple of senior drivers to finish of the work I manily operated the dozers and the 966 and the Chamberlain One day I was asked to go and get the 12E from the other side of the camp and on the way back I tried to grade the road I was only making about a one inch cut on the crown of the track when next thing the grader went left and I went right, right out on to the ground, after recovering my scenes I had to chase it then get back up in the cab. A few days later I tried to take a right hand corner too fast with out laying the wheel and ended up going scrub. The most boring job was pushing the scraper with the TD15

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Spicer seven speed?

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If you want to drive a challenging gearbox try a spicer 4 speed as was fitted to the PD4 106 coaches back in the early 1950's these old buses were fitted with an 8v71 GM mounted east west in the left hand rear corner of the veh. The gearbox was mounted in the right hand rear corner on a very obscure angle, the tail shaft also was mounted on an obscure angle to the diff with a junction box in front of the diff. What with the linkage system and the Spicer box it was very unforgiving .
Another interesting feather of this box was unless you were told or shown how to engage reverse you would never get it.
You would engage second gear, press and hold a button on the dash board then when/ if the red light came on you engaged 1st gear.
I had the pleasure of driving two of these vehicles in my working years.
Another feather was they had the ability to be able to disconnect the Hyd's to the front wheels for driving in snow again by the use of a switch on the dash

Originally Posted by hodgo

\

If you want to drive a challenging gearbox try a spicer 4 speed as was fitted to the PD4 106 coaches back in the early 1950's these old buses were fitted with an 8v71 GM mounted east west in the left hand rear corner of the veh. The gearbox was mounted in the right hand rear corner on a very obscure angle, the tail shaft also was mounted on an obscure angle to the diff with a junction box in front of the diff. What with the linkage system and the Spicer box it was very unforgiving .
Another interesting feather of this box was unless you were told or shown how to engage reverse you would never get it.
You would engage second gear, press and hold a button on the dash board then when/ if the red light came on you engaged 1st gear.
I had the pleasure of driving two of these vehicles in my working years.
Another feather was they had the ability to be able to disconnect the Hyd's to the front wheels for driving in snow again by the use of a switch on the dash

I had to google PD4 106 coaches, it was before my time; before Google's time too, it offered no enlightment. Are you sure about it being a '71? That was a big engine in that era, particularly for a bus, could it have been a '53? I've experienced some 'interesting' 'boxes in my time too; a rear engined Bedford (ex Kirklands) that had 1st in the centre of the gate, 2nd and 3rd toward the driver with 4th and 5th back past 1st on the left. Also a 5x2 Scammel that had the electric splitter wired A about F, up for low, down for high.
A lot of Yank trucks had a switch to isolate the air to the front brakes in slippery conditions.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

I had to google PD4 106 coaches, it was before my time; before Google's time too, it offered no enlightment. Are you sure about it being a '71? That was a big engine in that era, particularly for a bus, could it have been a '53? I've experienced some 'interesting' 'boxes in my time too; a rear engined Bedford (ex Kirklands) that had 1st in the centre of the gate, 2nd and 3rd toward the driver with 4th and 5th back past 1st on the left. Also a 5x2 Scammel that had the electric splitter wired A about F, up for low, down for high.
A lot of Yank trucks had a switch to isolate the air to the front brakes in slippery conditions.

It was myfault, the old memory bank is getting a little slack on the finer details this link will take you to the PD4106 site
Australian Transport Discussion Board • View topic - The Pioneer PD4106

The PD4107 wa the same vehicle with a raised roof line a bus company in Canberra had several 107 years ago

Was impressed to see Tony Abbott drive off in a big truck, on the news last night.

I thought it was some sort of stunt for the cameras, but apparently he has a heavy vehicle license from working with his local CFS brigade, so he really can drive one!

G'day Ausfree

Yup! would have been either late 80's or early 90's and with a dedicated school bus operator,kilometer per child type run,and the driver did have a certain amount of respect and obedience from the kids


cheers

Originally Posted by spudboy

Was impressed to see Tony Abbott drive off in a big truck, on the news last night.

I thought it was some sort of stunt for the cameras, but apparently he has a heavy vehicle license from working with his local CFS brigade, so he really can drive one!

Odds on it's an auto, aim and go.