Armed with his new camera, Biglorryblog's 'Good Man in Afica' Jerry Burley has sent me this picture of another 'retired' British waggon....and he says: "What is it, that when I go to bend the elbow of a Friday (or a Saturday even) lunchtime, when I stagger back somewhere around too-thirsty, I come across another abandoned "Englishtruck" needing recognition? I've never heard of Ken Thomas from the flatbadlands of Wisbech,"
What Jerry? never heard of Guyhirn's finest? What on earth have you been doing with yourself? Anyroadup Jerry goes on to say: "One of his abandoned lovechildren has pitched up in Kampala, albeit treacherously sporting a pair of number plates from neighbouring Kenya. A still pretty-good-looking tag axle Actros with, I am almost certain, a Bachu Industries (from Nairobi) manufactured tri-axle twist lock flatbed slung behind, resplendent with mid-morning-blue hued, 40ft high cube container. God, the glamour of it all! Wisbech to the wilds of Africa.........where is Peter O'Toole on a camel to take the lead role?"
Jerry continues: "Unfortunately, it's actually not quite that glamorous any more....certainly not in the Kampala industrial area anyway." Now this is all very interesting but what strikes me Jerry is why would anyone want to buy an Actros, with all its electronic foibles, when you can have an ERF EC with a mechnically fuelled Cummins engine? Isn't an Actros a touch 'over-engineered' for Africa? And feel free to blow my prejudice/preconceptions etc, etc, out of the water. And I wonder if Ken Thomas transport knows that's where one of their trucks ended up...only BLB can provide this kind of service! Now click through here for a truly ugly truck and a BLB pie quiz...
Jerry adds: "Parked just next to it, I have to offer up a candidate for 'Ugliest Truck of the Year Oscar'. I say that with confidence because it has been static for a fortnight, very unusual here where the 'if it works, use it' mentality normally applies. Why - because it is so bloody ugly. Just take a few moments to view the desperately unhappy marriage of mis-aligned cab, sleeper box (or toilet maybe) and rear box, that was clearly made under a tree somewhere using meccano and flattened Coke cans - the various, mis-matched components were then thrown over a wall by a meths-drinking tramp and this is where and how they ended up. This particular unfortunate was definitely at the back of the queue when the blind Lobotomy Fairy handed out the Pretty Pills. I'm sorry, even a couple of lunchtime pints cant soften my stance...... the owner is equally so ashamed that, to disguise it, he has removed the badge off the grille," So for a pie all you BLB african truck spotters...what on earth is it?
I guess its a Mack and the cab lines are from a Renault or Volvo.
SAMIL (IVECO) military specification vehicle seen by the cab mounting built in SA or Renault with a home made bonnet. Although the windscreen size if too big for a Renault. I still believe a SAMIL.
Mack, w/Renault Cab. A few built here in the States, mostly 4x2 mediums.