Hi
Some Lorries at large companys do 100,000 a year or more but are religuosly serviced so a H Reg could well have done 1 million miles or more but i havent seen a H reg 38 tonner for years
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(iam not a mechanic)
Martin Winters
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The only old lorries I can ever remember seeing is the coal delivery lorry, and the ones at fairgrounds.
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Theres plenty of rebodied old coaches flying up and down the country and you will see plenty of old trucks when you go into the ex commie block.Most trucks these days are leased so I suppose after a few years they have earned their money and achieved all available tax breaks.
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I think the North/South East/West divide might be coming in here. If you only observe lorries, and cars for that matter too, in the prosperous SE then you can easily get the impression that there is nothing over 5 years old.
Here in west Wales there are far more older lorries and cars. There is a thriving lorry reconditioning business a few miles from me, in the country. All kinds of lorries are dismantled, canibalised, re-bodied, re-sprayed. There is obviously a big demand for them. Possibly some are exported too.
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I think the North/South East/West divide might be coming in here. If you only observe lorries, and cars for that matter too, in the prosperous SE then you can easily get the impression that there is nothing over 5 years old.
Yes, we all drive golden chariots and have our grapes peeled by straying northerners down here in the south.
What a bunch of bull!
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Ah! That explains it then. I was wondering why the speed of the traffic seems to get faster as you approach London on any of the motorways. It's because we've all got more money and don't worry about fuel costs.
You learn something new everyday.
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As demonstrated by yesterdays report which indicated that the North / South divide has increased further.
Not that I believe anything that I hear anywhere these days.
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As an HGV driver,I may be able to shed some light on this.
As was previously stated,a lot of old trucks, (Or new ones written off in accidents.) are simply broken up and sold for spares,usually abroad.Things that are mostly salvageable,are the engines,boxes,back axles.Most other stuff is simply scrapped.Common makes for export are Mercedes and Daf,and in years gone by,Leylands.
However,vehicles that are kinda half decent,are simply exported to countries where the likes of emissions aren't important,but are in this country.But,I see a future problem with the supply lines to foreign parts,because like cars,emission regulations are getting stricter in Europe for trucks,as we are already up to Euro 4 status.Nearly all engines fitted in trucks are like their car engined counterparts,insofar as they are controlled by electronics,unlike the old days when everything was mechanical,meaning emissions were worse.In fact,take a look at a new truck next time your out on the road,and see how much less smoke comes out of it,compared to,say,a 10 year old one.
So unless the countries that buy our old stuff,train their guys in the art of modern technology,then they will struggle in the future.
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Our horsebox has an F-reg Leyland Runner cab with new coachwork behind. Hasn't failed the emissions tests yet either.
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The tax regime for LGVs encourage the use of modern vehicles with lower emissions,improved fuel economy.Also,the vast majority of trucks on the road are operated by large logistics companies with policies of renewal every 3-4 years and this has the effewct of driving down second hand values so much that really old trucks are value-less
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There is, or was until recently, a red and grey Bedford TK 2-axle tipper working around here carting soil etc, with the old-type B-suffix registration, which would date it at 1964. Not only is it 40 years old, but it must be one of the earliest TK's. I Remember when the roads were full of TK's at the time when every other car seemed to be one variant or another of the BMC 1100/1300.
Some artic tractor units end up as yard shunters, local shuttle vehicles on industrial estates or spare units that don't get used much. So these oldies wouldn't be seen so much on the main routes as they operate behind the scenes, sort of. But that only accounts for a proportion of oldies.
Trailers tend to last longer than units and they also get rebuilt. Changes in weight limits and suspension requirements must have seen off quite a few old trailers that are not worth updating. Quite a few tipper lorries, especially 6-wheelers, used to get cut down and made into farm trailers. The front end was simply cut off and replaced with an A-frame and towing eye. The give away is the redundant diff housings on the trailer axles!
Cheers, Sofa Spud
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Also, when I was a lorry driver, many transport companies including reputable ones would have several of their old vehicles parked in some hidden corner of the yard as a 'quarry' for spare parts to keep the remaining vehicles of a similar type on the road - cannibalisation, as it's called.
Cheersm SS
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I know I'm 2 weeks late in joining this discussion (!) but I know where old lorries go.... they end up as horseboxes!!! There are literally hundreds of old Bedfords lumbering up and down our roads, I know because I've got one.... a 1969 TK which reached the giddy heights of 40mph on the M25 recently.
There's a huge scrapyard near Hitchin which is a lorry graveyard, quite sad really to see their remains full of nettles and brambles.
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There is a lorry graveyard next to the level crossing in Silk Mills Road Taunton.
ndbw
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Ndbw
Obviously you have not been pass the Silk Mills crossing for 4 months or so as the HGV breaker had his site purchased by Taunton Deane Borough Council for the Silk Mills flyover which has been promised for the last 5 years. And if it gets built in the next 5 years we will hang out the bunting and watch the conjestion build up 2 miles down the road at Norton Fitzwaren. Well done TDBC good move just like the 30 Mph imit at Henlade traffic calming measure that has calmed the traffic to stationary.
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It's actually very common for haulage companies to keep the older lorries for spares etc.
I suspect that, unlike cars, the trailers would be fairly worthy as scrap as they have very few non metallic components (by weight) - no trim or plastic bumpers to strip out etc.
Behind the scenes work - I have seen so many of these! A company I used to work for had one for transporting work in pogress from one side of the site to the other. The problem is that the lorry had to cross a main road to take stuff from the press shop to the assembly lines. Now I know this thing didn't have an MOT, so what were the legalities here?
I have also seen some vehicles on abandoned quarries. A 30 tonne tipper with virtually nothing left of any value on a quarry near Princetown in Devon.
As Growler says, therw will still be a thriving 3rd world market for some of these, where labour rates are cheaper and hence maintenace is much more cost effective. I suspect there is a similar untapped market out there for cars.
Hugo
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