Thread: Sorting Out Vehicle Capacity and Types of Driver's Licence

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

G'day Ian,

I chased up about Telecom vans. As it turns out my father and one of my brother-in-law's father were both PMG, Telecom and Telstra long term career people.

The brother in law's father was a Mechanic - now retired. When asked the immediate response back to me was that in Telecom anything over 3 tonnes had dual wheel axles fitted as standard from the factory as part of their manufacturing contract specifications.

Oh yes - there are some things that the BIL-Father goes straight between the eyes and straight down the line - any Telecom specifications for fleet vehicles. Hmmm somehow the words ...."the Gospel according to" ... spring to mind. Or how about, "in no uncertain terms".

Prior to joining the PMG he was a Mechanic in the Australia Army.

Kind regards
Lionel

Lionel, I believe if IH fitted the rear axle as a dual (entirely possible for a large contract) they would have changed the front hub to accept the same wheel as the rear axle.
Quite possibly your BiFL's father was referring to the carrying capacity, worth confirming.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

You're saying the GVM is 3.8t which is well under the 4.5t max for a C licence.

GCM I didn't see as being specified in the licence link.

Hello Slunnie,

Including a GCM in the licence link.... now that would make things just too damn easy! Australia has also been a Federation since 1901 why should there be any uniformity between states and territories now!

Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Lionel, I believe if IH fitted the rear axle as a dual (entirely possible for a large contract) they would have changed the front hub to accept the same wheel as the rear axle.
Quite possibly your BiFL's father was referring to the carrying capacity, worth confirming.

Hello Ian,

I think I have used up 30 plus years of accumulated latitude just by asking about the dual axle. I would have to accumulate another 30 more years to seek further clarification.

Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Lionel, I believe if IH fitted the rear axle as a dual (entirely possible for a large contract) they would have changed the front hub to accept the same wheel as the rear axle.
Quite possibly your BiFL's father was referring to the carrying capacity, worth confirming.

Hello Ian,

I will jack up Bluey's front and take off one wheel. Then I will see if the spare fits the front hub.

As mentioned previously in another thread... from appearances the front rims were once upon a time chrome dress rims.

They are now well and truly past it. The chrome has been long overtaken by rust.

Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello Ian,

I think I have used up 30 plus years of accumulated latitude just by asking about the dual axle. I would have to accumulate another 30 more years to seek further clarification.

Kind regards
Lionel

Would you like me to make enquiries on the HCVC forum. The knowledge base there is like here, but about trucks.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Would you like me to make enquiries on the HCVC forum. The knowledge base there is like here, but about trucks.

Hello Ian,

Thank you for the offer Ian. However, I am about to contact a International guru at the Historic Commercial Vehicle Association Queensland (HCVAQ). I am also going to contact Telstra to see if they have a history unit. There is also a section within the newspaper archive "Trove" which has a gallery of PMG - Telecom vehicles including vans.

Another option - one that may cause my eldest sibling to question my sanity - is that dad's off-sider is still around and he may remember the layout. Hopefully, he retains strong memories of the internal layout of what went where within the overhead consoles in the cabin.

I do remember dad's earlier service vans years before the D-Series. These were ones with double headlights at an angle on either side of the radiator. They had single wheels in each corner and they always looked thin and unstable. I have memories of how squat and rigid the D-Series version looked - there are traces of dual wheel rear axles in my mind.

Kind regards
Lionel