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You're absolutely right Rick, allow a whole day if you're genuinely interested.
Jim, the issue with the Fuso was the V8 engine, it was gutless, loved a drink, short-lived and expensive to rebuild. The sixes were a different story but not up to the task of long distance - full weight prime mover.
G,Day mate, I have lived in the area for fourty years and I can't say that I remember it. Guess you don't have any photo's, do you??Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuck
I have been racking my memory, Ian, after all it was a long time ago, the company I worked for bought the Fuso's brand new to replace an older fleet of Commers and Bedfords. The Fuso I drove for three years never missed a beat but I do remember one having problems with the engine and repaired under warranty. Fuso lent us another one to replace it.Quote:
Originally Posted by V8Ian
I guess part of the reason is they were seemed trouble free is they were only used for short haul and did not carry a load bigger than about 25 tons. In other words we were doing live haul carrying chooks from the farm to the factory for slaughtering. The furtherest we went was Newcastle to Sydney and that was only occasionally. Most of the broiler farms were close in, so the trucks were never tested with heavy loads and long hauls.
I left in 1979 to spend 20 years involved with various phases of photography, which is another story.:) What happened after that, I don't know but I am aware of the slurs "that's not a real truck" and the bad reputation they had but having said that I have fond memories of old FQR 177:)
Things have changed in the chicken industry since 1979. The company ( Inghams) don't have their own fleet anymore the subby out to a truck firm called Joe Sepos ( have you heard of them up your way) they use Mack trucks ( a REAL truck) and the trucks are loaded at the farm by fork lift. We used to manually catch the chooks and load the truck, bloody hard work running up and down a ramp for two or three hours, let me tell you, I use to come home stinking of chook **** and rip my clothes off in the laundry out the back and run inside for a shower. Wifey wouldn't let me near her until I freshened up.
We used to run ten row table tops and 15 row trailors, now they are running 15 row trailors and B-doubles with ten rows on the front trailor and 15 on the back. The factory (in my day) used to only run a day shift, now it is going 24/7.
p.s. Better explain what I mean by "rows". This refers to crates that the chooks are put into on a truck so in a 15 row trailor the crates are stacked 8 high and 4 wide by 15 rows long. = 480 crates on the trailor. So if you catch 8 chooks per crate the trailor is bringing back to the factory 3840 chooks!!!!!!
pps. Hope my maths are right!! I used to do this for a living.
Actually Tom Kruse was the Birdsville Track mail run from Maree in South Oz to Birdsville in Western Qld. The Birdsville Track departes from the route of the old Ghan at Maree, so Tom only touched on the Ghan at one end of his trip.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sitec
In relation to the old Leyland Badger, that vehicle is quite modified from the original truck to the extent that it wouldn't be eligible for rego under SA historic registration. It is probably in better condition today than it ever was when Tom did his mail run. :D