Ex-Volvo man Robert Dickie has kindly sent Biglorryblog this shot of a very unusual 8x6 Volvo F12 that ran with the MoD years ago. Robert tells me: "The vehicle was most definitely a 'one off'' and my photograph bears a remarkable similarity to the one of the same vehicle in Doug Jack's book about Irvine."
"The badge on the truck says F12, but for type approval purposes it was designated an F7 (with amendments) as there was no such thing as an F12 8x6 anywhere in the Volvo system! It had an F7 8x4 chassis, but with a 12-litre engine. The second axle was driven and came from ZF and the rear bogie was F7 8x4...hence the 8x6. Although it's pictured in Royal Navy colours, it actually worked at a weapons testing establishment at Millom in Cumbria which was run on behalf of the MOD by a company owned by the Rank organisation.
Now click through here to read about a bit of 'practical problem solving' from days gone by,...'
Robert advises me that his involvement with the truck came when the operator encountered teething problems with it and he went to visit with the service manager from Carlisle.
"The reported problem was that the winch (which was located behind the cab) had been incorrectly fitted and the civilian transport manager showed us how difficult it was to reach past the vertical exhaust to operate the winch handle. To illustrate the point, he showed us a painful looking burn on the inside of his right arm which had happened when he'd tried to do it himself----and to further emphasize his point he rolled up his sleeve to show us a matching burn on the other arm, caused when he tried to reach in from the opposite side of the exhaust! I found it necessary to point out that the truck had been specified with the winch controls fitted inside the cab so that the operator would not be exposed to unnecessary hazards...!"
Meanwhile Robert says: "For the first couple of years of its life the truck covered very little mileage, until the outbreak of hostilities in the Falklands. It then ran 24-hours a day between the MOD stores depot at Longtown, Carlsle and Southampton, ferrying whatever was held there and did a lot of miles in a relatively short time."
However it wasn't all plain sailing as Robert describes:"The only problem of real note it experienced was that the engine sump, which had been specially fabricated to allow clearance for the second axle, had started to leak and the cost of the replacement from Sweden was going to be astronomical and take months to source. After a quick conference with the service manager, we decided to fit a standard steel sump and let it run to see if there was any likelyhood of contact. There wasn't and if it still exists today it probably has the same steel sump."
So the question to all BLB readers is: does Robert's 8x6 F12 still exist?
hi brian regarding the rigid f12, the last i heard it was owned by danter,s ammusements near gloucester as a mobile generator for their travelling fairground rides.i have a photo of it somewhere sprayed all over in silver with a massive generator on the back.
regards andrew
There was a article about this vehicle in one of the supertruck magazines.
there was 3 of these made.
the one danters had was certainly not an F7 chassis, but something more substantial.
The winch controls was in the cab, but did look like a bit of an after fitment.
Danters one spent most of its life on the south coast, mainly moving large lead "targets" about.
The vehicle was sold to another showman who has taken it to China and back and still it exists working for a living.
It now carrys a large palfinger hi-ab on its back, a 70 ton/metre model.