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Wot no diff lock? K9 shamed


Kloud Nine

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Well my K9 is in the dog house today after getting stuck in the sodden clay of Northamptonshire. (Not thick mud but grass with wet ground beneath)

 

She let me down, the team down but worst of all, herself down!

 

To add to her humiliation she had to be pulled, no dragged out by a Defenders winch!

 

So, why would the British army procure a 4x4 without diff locks?? What's the point in a 4x4 without them??

 

C.

Edited by Kloud Nine
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Well my K9 is in the dog house today after getting stuck in the sodden clay of Northamptonshire. (Not thick mud but grass with wet ground beneath)

 

She let me down, the team down but worst of all, herself down!

 

To add to her humiliation she had to be pulled, no dragged out by a Defenders winch!

 

So, why would the British army procure a 4x4 without diff locks?? What's the point in a 4x4 without them??

 

C.

 

Diff locks were not common when the Austin K9 was built, the old Bedford 4x4 lorries, QL, RL, MK would get through and they are no different to a K9. It is down to technique quite often. A little trick is to nip the hand brake on a tadge, this will stop one rear wheel spinning and you will get drive on both wheels, I have done it many times on all kinds of vehicles and it works.

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Diff locks were not common when the Austin K9 was built, the old Bedford 4x4 lorries, QL, RL, MK would get through and they are no different to a K9. It is down to technique quite often. A little trick is to nip the hand brake on a tadge, this will stop one rear wheel spinning and you will get drive on both wheels, I have done it many times on all kinds of vehicles and it works.

 

Hand brake for a heavy but with a transmission brake ? Possibly that rally driving technique where you use your left foot for braking whilst keeping your right foot on the accelerator , forget the name - not cadance braking , just a quick dab on the brake pedal ,,

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Hand brake for a heavy but with a transmission brake ? Possibly that rally driving technique where you use your left foot for braking whilst keeping your right foot on the accelerator , forget the name - not cadance braking , just a quick dab on the brake pedal ,,

 

Of course you cannot use this technique with a transmission brake but it does work with a vehicle with hand brake working on both wheels. No fancy footwork required, used it in mud and snow. Did once get out of a muddy car park with a Rover 216 by dragging the footbrake slightly and other car drivers looked in amazement as I passed them :-D

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Oh dear. If your K9 looked like this one below in the rugged landscapes, deserts and seas of sand in Libya, you'd perhaps have avoided the ignominy that befell you (not the truck!). Users in those days, trained to drive the K9, had no problems with locomotion in all terrains. That bit of metal with the holes in it proved invaluable though only the REME-crewed trucks carried them in 6RTR. The other trucks, RLs in particular, driven by the other members of the regiment and in 2RTR as well, including my Pop, the ASM REME with the TQMS as a co-driver in a Binner (when he wasn't in his Ferret) didn't carry sand channels. On a Saladin-proving exercise from Homs to Toummo, the only vehicle out of 30 or so to get stuck in a salt marsh and needed a tow out from a long distance by a Scammell was a ....... Saladin! The sand channels didn't work!

Perhaps the Army School of Transport still has the driver training course material and a space available?

I'm just teasing you. I hope your lovely truck didn't get too muddy and that your pride has since recovered.

Photo by Ronald Gill REME

 

Edited by BlueBelle
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Don't worry about it.

I once made a big blunder...

Got the jeep stuck in mud and couldn't get out even with 4X4 engaged, rocking it back and forth accelerating at the correct time didn't do much.

 

In the end I noticed I forgot to put it low gear ratio. :red:

 

But to be honest mud can be very tricky, as stated it makes slicks out of tyres. And what fun is it to never get stuck, those are the best storys aren't they?

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Grass is funny stuff when just damp - does not have to be long or wet, like the wrong type of leaves on rail lines. I once got stuck with a VW Beetle on a level camping site , a 240 Volvo came to my rescue and he got bogged - the site owner rescued us with his grey Fergie.

On another site with a slight side slope I got stuck with a Lightweight , the grass was abt. 4" long but broad leaf - I only managed to keep going in 4x4 by weaving the steering and over-revving. The wheelarches were like a Atco grass collection box - the Goodyear Hi-Miler Extragrip's just sheared the grass ,,

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Many years ago I went to collect a Cat D8 from a quarry during the winter. I had to get from where it was parked along then uphill around the side of the quarry to get to the Low Loader. As I walked to the machine the mud sticking to my boots was making me taller. All I can say is the antics to get up the hill must have looked hilarious, sliding back down with the tracks going forward going around in a circle ending up pointing the wrong way. When I eventualy made it digging the tracks out before loading. Of coarse there was an audience in the crusher house. Some days!

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I once had some Wellington boots that were heavily ribbed on the outside (extra protection for underground working) , the problem was they were nfu in deep mud because the ribs prevented you from pulling your boot out. I learned this the hard way when I jumped from the tracks of a Lima drag-line on a O.C.C.S. - a few had a good laugh because I had to walk off site in my stocking feet. The next morning the mud was frozen solid - so I a borrowed a pick & shovel , 6 months later it had been dry for a few days - the same stuff was then very fine powder dust - like baking powder 9" deep.

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A good dragline operator is an artist with rhythm

 

And my words of introduction were - and I bet you belong Esh Winning , and for some strange reason they nearly always did. One actually had a B. of T deep-sea 1st Class mate's ticket.

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I worked with a driver years ago called Dougie Dean when he drove a Cat977, which I disliked as the crowd worked back to front. when I last heard of him he was driving a Lima 2400, He was quick and smooth. I only moved 19RB and 22RBs They always seemed to want to fall backwards with just a short jib for transporting.

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I always liked the engine note of the Lima 2400 when they were revving up , IIRC they had a Vee Detroit . 22-RB face-shovel is probably the only rope digger I have operated for a short time , the others were hydraulic - IIRC a Poclain 2000ckb and a Demag (H some number) a bit bigger - they didn't come much bigger in early 1980's - I think Liebherr were soon bigger but cracking swan necks were their let down , I got the impression O&K were the best . Drag-lines - had a go at a few, first was a 54-RB , the others were the huge ones. Actually , operating plant bored me , once I examined (played with) a huge Komatsu dozer - the driver handed me the key & went for lunch , I was actually pleased when he returned..

 

The RB-22's with a Dorman engine , did a few claims investigations over the years - wrecked crankcases - piston through the side.

Edited by ruxy
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You know what O&K stands for. (Oil leaks and Kracks) I claim artistic licence for spelling. I was called out to a Cat D6 once when the supervisor had decided to take it off coal and put it on a fly ash pond. On the job the other machines were wide track LGP machines. When I got there if you wanted to fuel it up you would have had to bend down. It was after midnight when it was back on solid ground. GMs always sound in a hurry except these class 66 locomotives. Dormans have a soft note, Cummins especially the big cam just bark. That RR K60 sounds like it should be in something that takes off. Those V16s Cats just sound as if they are enjoying the day. On one site the forman decided to clean out the slurry pond with the Cat D10 it was ok untill the slurry went over the bonnet ond down the air intake. That was expensive to fix after it had been retrieved. I always classed Dorman with Gardner and Meadows, Quietly getting on with the job. Getting Back to Austin K9s I have wondered for a long time If it was a K2 up axled in Ice Cold in Alex. Or a K9 in K2 clothes. As you know the likelehood of reversing a 4x2 up a sandy escarpment is a very long ods game.

Edited by john1950
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