Recently in Exotic vehicles Category

Tony Miller has e-mail me this commercial vehicle curiosity and to say: "I thoroughly enjoy your well put together and informative blog on big and unusual trucks. Here are a couple strange ones my company, Fabco Automotive Corp, built in the 1960's.  The 'two headed' vehicle was built by Fabco to clean tunnels in the San Francisco Bay Area."

 
And how about that MP? All of which begs the question what truck chassis was it based on Tony?  Meanwhile he says: "I have hundreds of photos, brochures and article about unusual or extreme vehicles we built of have been involved with since 1917.  I'll see about gathering up some for your site if you like. Best regards, Tony." Well naturally I LIKE very much Tony, Please fire them over as they sound perfect Biglorryblog fodder..and to prove it click through here for another of Tony's odd-ball trucks which you can see by clicking through here.... 

You know, I just love you guys..as soon as ask a simple question 'BLAMMO!' You start piling in with fantastic stuff! (Stop in BLB you're gushing...) Anyroadup I'm most grateful to Ed Burrows who has sent me these pictures: "Hi Brian, thought you'd appreciate a few more LeTourneau images. And by the way, Eric Orlemann has just had new book out - although it's mostly on heavy plant/earthmovers, which of course is fair dos: LeT load carrying vehicles were few and far between. That said, the biggest was the best and the biggest wheeled vehicle cable of free movement there has ever been, or ever will be. Bold statement, but unchallengeable." 

Ed continues: "I mean, would you want to argue with the US Army's 13-unit electric hub motor all-wheel-drive Overland Train MkII, built for the US Army Transportation Research and Development Command? A 'mere' 382 tonnes GCW and 'small' 137 tonnes payload! Okay, ALE - and indeed the lumbering South African Pacifics you are so obsessed with - could probably beat that, most days of the week. But the 382 tonnes of the Overland Train MII moved off-road, at up to 20 mph. And we're talking 1962, which was a very happening year indeed, on many fronts. So it was not at all untoward for LeT engineers - who thought under a big Texas sky - to decide to power their behemoth by four 873 kW gas turbine generator sets!" And click through here for more... 

Now here's something you don't see everyday on Biglorryblog....got a big engine (you can tell that just by the traditor covers) and a very low slung cab...but what exactly does it do? Well click through here and you'll find out...

And what a fine sentiment for a waste disposal company says Biglorryblog...and click through here and you'll see the kind of impressive kit the Norwegians have to call upon...and boy does it 'suck'!

Last one for today. Andrzej Lazar from Gdynia in Poland (BLB readers may remember him for his immaculate restoration of an F10 Eurotrotter) has kindly sent me this selection of shots of a Scheuerle super shifter and says :"This is an interesing truck from one firm near the container port in Gdynia." Interesting it certainly is Andrzej as it's one of those modular moving platforms (usually powered by a Duetz enguine) for shifting around heavy loads like half-completed sections of ships!  

The driving compartment could do with a bit more bling though--- and it's obviously a 'bring your own cushion' cabin too!  Now shift through here for more of this weird and wonderful machine....

Browsing through the excellent website of German heavy haulage trailer and truck specialists http://www.scheuerle.com/home.html Scheuerle I blundered unwittingly onto their photo competition pages--what a great idea. But this shot in particular struck me as most impressive.(And that's the driver perched up there on the right cabin) But what on earth is it? Can anyone provide more information on the truck, trailer, load, location? Now click through here for more and a quick pie quiz...

Jeroen-angelique has sent me this shot and says: "A new GINAF". As far as I can see there are two things to say:The picture appears to be credited to Vastgereden.NL and it looks like a 12x12 or posibly 12X10...anyone's guess! What it is it has a lot fo axles...

Tim Cotton is back on Bigloryblog with more wrird waggons. He tells me; "Earlier this year, I was in France. These are both MAN 'porte fer' vehicles with single cabs to allow lengths of steel to run the whole length of the truck - although they weren't being used like that on this occasion. A power company were replacing overhead cables and they were being used to carry equipment to site from the compound which was a short walk from our hotel.Tim."

Certainly looks strange... I wonder who did the cab conversion... Anyone with any ideas? Now click through here for one more...

Tim Cotton is back with some more weird waggons from Sweden. "Brian, the Volvo with the boom arm and following Scania was apparently repairing cracks in the road. It went up and down very slowly just south of Brunflo, near Ostersund." Now click through here for more...

Biglorryblog's favourite Cloggie Iep van der Meer is back on Biglorryblog after being away for far too long. He says: "Hello Brian, what you see on this picture is an 8x4 MAN with front wheel-drive. [Yes you heard him Iep said FRONT wheel drive].

Iep continues: "The MAN was born as an 8x8 but the rear axles were removed. The new rear axles have independant suspension and are produced by Tridec. This way there was enough space for the special 'cell-concrete' installation. The truck was produced by MAN dealer Wierda in Joure and the installation and the design was by Staring BV from Creil in the Netherlands. Nice for the blog?" You betcha Iep and you crazshee Dutch guys!

Ron Johl has just sent me this says: "Hello Brian, I got back from Dorset last night with lots of pics to put on BLB but first just a 'quicky' and, I think, a rarity in this country -- a showman's Scania . I couldn't get any details on the vehicle but it had a massive hydraulic crane on it used to build the roller-coaster. All the best, Ron.".

Wel Ron this rings a bell with me as I'm sure we've run this particular truck on BLB before..so anorak army, please let me know what it is and who it belongs to!

As the Duke of Wellington said: I don't know what they'll do to the enemy but by God they frighten me..." I thought it about time that Biglorryblog featured one of the wonderful waggons from Oshkosh, the specialist truck maker in the US so behold here's the TerraMax. I have no idea what it does except that it's described as an unmanned ground vehicle... And that it comes with all sorts of hi-tech cemera goodies on the front. So if you can tell me kkmore I'm all ears... Oh yes, can I have one too. Ideal for chasing next door's tomcat off the lawn..

Smile you're on candid camera... Now click through here to find out how you can download some awesome Oshkosh truck desktop wallpaper images!

This may not look like it, but what you're seeing here is a very special Mitsubishi Fuso Canter. How so Oh Great One? I hear you say. Well because it's one of three Canters who carry special kit to measure the wear and tear on road surfaces in city centres and throughout Britain's B, C and unclassified road networks. Armed with an array of high-tech (isn't it always?) electrical equipment to measure the skid resistance of highways the Canter triplets are helping road engineers plan when the carriageway need resurfacings.

They're run by Bristol-based W.D.M. www.wdm.co.uk which builds and supplies specialist road survey vehicles, as well as providing surveying services to public sector and large civil engineering contractors. Their arrivals follow the successful introduction of an identical Canter, which entered service last year.

Now pay attention as here's the 'science bit'. On each vehicle there's a device called a SCRIM - which as you all know stands for Sideway-force Coefficient Routine Investigation Machine which features all sorts of complex electronic monitoring doodads linked to a free-rotating wheel, which is aligned at 20 degrees to the direction of travel. Got that so far? Now water from a 2,000-litre tank is sprayed onto the road in the path of this wheel, and the wet road skidding resistance generated by the surface can then be accurately assessed. Easy eh? Meanwhile the Canter's Double crewcab handily houses all the computer gubbins used by the two-man team of driver and operator to carry out surveys. Now click through here for more...

It seems Biglorryblog's recent post on the futuristic Routemaster 2020, with its front and rear steering modules, developed by Carl Henderson at Silvertip design has created a bit of a stir in terms of feedback and comments...Carl says: "Brian, the Routemaster page looks well. In answer to Russ's initial comment on the Routemaster please find attached are a couple of additional images"

"One showing the body mounted mirrors more clearly and the other a view through the off-side mirror. On your main blog page at one point the comment count on the RM article went to ten but there is only eight shown on the web page. I appreciate you will likely be busy but is there a problem with the automated link updating process. If possible/appropriate I would like to continue the discussion with Russ and Peter on your blog. Carl." Well Russ and Peter carry on commenting!

No it's not a dreadful mistake at the bodybuilders! Or a truck that's just run into the back of a coach... In fact it's a very clever way to combine a passenger carrying vehicle and a load carrier at the same time. Just after I dropped off the FH16.660 XXL this morning (see my earlier blog) at a Volvo Truck Centre near Oslo airport I spied this rather splendid beast. in the dealership's car park. Torstein Magelssen PR and market communication manager for Norway tells me it's actually used by a travelling theatre group as it can carry both the cast and support team plus all their gear and props in the back. It works for me! Now click through here for an old-timer...

What's caught this horses attention asks Biglorryblog's 'Man North 'o' the Border' John Henderson? Well click through here now... And the clue is... That thing in the foreground may have something to do with it!

'Shut it you Slag!' Yells Biglorryblog whilst skidding to a halt in his err... KAMAG 'Slag Pot Carrier' and what a fine beast it is. With a 90-tonne tare weight and 100-tonne payload this is obviously no lightweight (as you can see from this picture of it here being craned onto its transport ready to be shipped to a steel mill in Seoul in Korea. (Sdorty of a Korea progression you might say...?) Anyroad up, it will be used for the disposal of liquid slag which as we all know is a by-product within a steel producing plant. Unfortunately, the slag is rather 'warm' (i.e. up to 1,300°C) and very aggressive. 'Oii! Are you looking at my bird?' Therefore, the slag pot transporter must (in the words of KAMAG) 'Be extremely reliable in order to manage the challenging mission of carrying the liquid slag in special slag pots to the dumpsite.'

Now click through here for more mighty KAMAG machines on their way to Korea!