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trapper

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Everything posted by trapper

  1. It doesn't seem to be bothered by road conditions ie pot holes and cats eyes don't even notice if you drive over them so I don't think it's suspension. The cab bounces off road but I say vibration as it seems a bit high frequency for bouncing but too low frequency for engine. It isn't felt through the steering and as Paulob1 says once the cab starts bouncing it is definitely an effort to stop your foot bouncing on the accelerator. If I take my foot off the accelerator and put my foot on the brake and slow down then it does kill it for a while which is why I say 'vibration' but it does set up a harmonic which ends up as 'bouncing' but it is constant on the motorway at 45mph. When pulling away hard or accelerating up a hill then it is more noticeable which is why I thought 'drive train' Are they prone to axle tramp? I would be surprised if they were as they are so heavily built but it is also that sort of feeling sometime? I was looking for other drivers experiences to know whether I should spend a lot of time and effort pulling it apart or if this was the norm. If it is the norm then I'm very disappointed with the beast but I was hoping that there might be a 'known' problem that I could go straight to without all the fault diagnosis. Being human I'll always look for advice and a short cut first She is very low mileage and has been restored and well looked after by her previous owner so I'd be surprised if it was any major service item that was awry but it is driving me nuts. I guess I'll have to start stripping the drive train and do it the old fashioned way.
  2. I bought a Leyland DAF MMLC a few weeks ago and it is not a pleasant beast to drive! It constantly judders and vibrates, this gets worse under hard acceleration and when applying power up hills. It also seems to be worse when lightly loaded, it settles down a bit when carrying a heavy load. Is this normal? If it were any other vehicle I'd be changing the UJ's in case they were seized or if I was travelling over 45MPH I might think the wheels were well out of balance but the previous owner seems to think this is situation normal for the Drops. It's now making my back ache from tensing up against the bouncing. Please tell me this is not normal.
  3. I have all (as far as I know) of the AESP's for both MMLC and IMLC and I've done a fair bit of reading but the AESP's refer to the design operation and function, the rumour of a 7th gear was just for delivery and not part of the normal operation of the truck and therefore wouldn't be in the AESPs but would be a manufacturer setting that would have been disabled once the vehicles had completed there long European drive and were delivered to the Army.
  4. The six gears are all there (2nd to 6th in D and 1st in manual) but the rumour about another gear when they were delivered reached me and I just couldn't resist the thought get getting up to 60 on the motorway The idea of a 7th gear for the long road trips and then disabled for it's military service did kind of make sense, it didn't seem so mad but if the experts say it doesn't exist then it must be so....... but that's what they'd say isn't it? It could be a conspiracy!
  5. Oh well, it was a nice thought at the time The six speed box is great for all the tasks required of the drops and I guess long distance motorway work was not in the original design brief but living in Scotland and driving 400 miles South for every event will always leaving clutching at these kind of straws..... Here she is arriving at my place last week.
  6. I've recently bought a 1993 Leyland Daf MMLC and she's a beautiful beast, quite a step up from my Bedford MJ however I was expecting a little better motorway speed. I've heard a rumour that when the drops fleet was first delivered to Germany that there was a 7th gear to enable reasonable delivery times/speed and that once at depots the top gear was immobilised to leave the current performance limited to 45MPH. Does anyone have any positive knowledge as the whether this is just a rumour/urban myth or whether there is a 'hidden' 7th gear on these trucks?
  7. Thanks Paul. I'll give you a call. Most of my gear's cold war anyway but I'm not fussy, it's for practical use not a historical project
  8. It goes by many names but does anyone have any idea where I can acquire four lengths of PSP/ marsden plate? My google fu has completely failed me and I can only find it in Australia and USA. Surely there must be someone in the UK who has old pieces for sale?
  9. Having now taken it out for longer and longer trips with regular stops and checking it all over it would appear that none of the gauges can be trusted but the MJ runs perfectly well. I feel a whole range of modifications to the engine telemetrics coming on!
  10. Just a quick question but my MJ is just on the road (at last) and she shows the top of the temperature gauge once she's warmed up. Nothing feels wrong, nothing smells hot, she drives fine and the heater works fine and doesn't seem to be excessively hot. Does anyone have any experience either if the MJ running hot or would I be safe to assume that the temperature gauge or sender unit might be gubbed? Is there any double check I can make to confirm the coolant temperature?
  11. Thanks for the advice. I'll fill in what I can. I'm just surprised that such a popular and numerous vehicle doesn't have a C of C that can be viewed online somewhere especially since it's so closely related to a popular road vehicle.
  12. How do I get hold of a copy of the certificate of conformity for my MJ? I've filled in my VTG1 after receiving confirmation of the correct Chassis number, under run bars have been fitted, VOSA test has been booked and I'm currently filling out the V55/5 but there are several questions relating to the cert. of conformity. I'm guessing that the Bedford should have one as it's a pretty standard vehicle and thousands were produced but how do I actually get hold of a copy or view a copy? Web searches are coming up with lots of questions but no answers :embarrassed: Thanks for any help you can give me.
  13. Well that wasn't as hard as I thought it might be...so far A phone call to Withams reveals that this a common problem and the solution cost £25 for a 'date in service letter' from the MOD that confirms all the vehicle details and overrides the F654. Hopefully this should arrive in a few days and solve the problem.
  14. Here's an interesting problem; I'm just filling out a VTG1 to get my Bedford MJ tested before I register it but the chassis number does not match the paperwork I have! The army disposal form 654 has the correct mileage and the correct army registration number but the chassis number does not match the plate on the vehicle! What do I do now?
  15. I'm assuming that this is a suitable size for a Landrover to tow? I acquired this with a bunch of stuff including my truck, it was supposed to be big enough for the truck but it looks ridiculous behind an MJ. I want to sell it on and put the money towards a bigger bogied drawbar trailer but before I put up a classified ad can anyone give me an idea of its value? I don't want to be greedy but I could do with a return on it and the funds can go towards my project
  16. Thanks for the pictures of the rails, that's just what I needed as examples of what to do. I'm lucky in that I have a large fully equipped workshop with 3 phase MIG gear and plasma cutter etc so I can make them from scratch if I have to however over the past few days whilst searching the web for photos of MJs with side rails I've found more examples without them than I have found with them so I think I'll chance a test without them and try and convince them that I don't need them and then fit them for a re-test if I have to. As for licence I think I'm going to stick to the C+E licence route and have all bases covered just in case.
  17. I've not looked at a showmans licence for many years, it's bad enough with an MJ that only achieves 45 MPH, a showman's licence used to restrict you to 25 MPH, although it's probably been updated by now
  18. Yes, I'm working on it, further up the thread I did mentioned I was going for my C+E. I'm just trying to find the funds as It's not a cheap option! I've been using an extended wheelbase Sprinter with a big trailer which is about a 15Metre combination which is getting into 'grey' areas of the law which was part of the reason I thought of buying the MJ. Those double garage tents are heavy blighters :cool2:
  19. Thanks guys, I had a chat with a very nice Tech man from VOSA today (he phoned me within about 30 minutes of submitting an email query, very impressed!) The question of 4WD did crop up but he still thinks that it would have to have side rails and rear protection rails. I'll have a trawl around and try and find some photos of other peoples solutions. The spare wheel seems to be a bit of an issue as it's high enough to need rails but needs to be kept clear, the VOSA guy was quite reassuring in that the vehicle would be tested for its age rather than as a brand new vehicle and he also agreed that there was a fair margin for interpretation on some aspects. It can apparently be legally driven to and from the test even though it won't have any reg plates (although I don't have a C licence myself......yet) I've also read all 212pages of the HGV Inspectors manual today, very dull read, I won't be looking for the sequel! Many fears have been answered and it looks as though it is going to be good and I should have my MJ on the road in a month or two :-D Now to try and find a replacement tilt canvas and possibly a trailer for it. I'm have no military vehicle experience and have no idea what I should be looking for as a trailer other than it should have a bogie and air brakes. I was sold a trailer for it but when it came up with the truck it turned out to be more suitable for a landrover! I'm still open to any advice that will help with getting it road legal just in case I've still missed something obvious.
  20. Hi everyone, I'm looking for some help and advice as I'm being given conflicting advice and information, my questions may be answered somewhere in the archives of this forum but I've trawled around for a while now and can't see what I want so here goes; I've recently bought a 1986 Bedford MJ that I want to use as a private vehicle to take to shows and LARP events, I have an array of paperwork to fill out and some work to do. VOSA tell me a just have to fill out a VTG1 and a Tacho exemption form then wait for two weeks for a test appointment. Is it really as simple as that? My test centre is an hours drive away; does this still count as driving to a pre-booked MOT and can I drive home if the vehicle fails? My local Garage tells me it's not as simple as that and that the vehicle must meet all the specs of a brand new vehicle being registered as if it's an up to date HGV. I doubt that an '86 MJ will come anywhere close to meeting current spec especially when it comes to emissions and probably a few safety aspects as well! A local truck company tells me that it will be probably be fine as it is as its age will be taken into account and that fact that it will be registered as a private vehicle will make all the difference and that I won't need to make any modifications but I will need trade plates or a low loader to take it to a test. Can anyone help with any advice? Are there any 'standard' mods that have to be made in order to get it through a test? Is this going to be a relatively simple test and registration or have I just bought a massive white elephant? I'm also not sure whether to downplate the truck to 7.5 ton so that I can drive it on my grandfather rights C1 licence or whether I should take my C+E and keep it at it full plated weight, will this make any difference to tests, tax class or usage? Please hep me hive mind!
  21. Is that a separate group or a subset of this forum? I'd love to have some local contacts for help and advice.
  22. Anything and everything from foam and latex swords to 8ft Orc costumes, from Nuclear reactor doors to Red mercury bombs. I've built Stargates and triumphal arches and even Medieval toilet blocks with 'A' frames to be moved by drops wagons. I have a lot of tents that I use for events both medieval and military events and a ton of cammo net. All sorts of stuff. I'm thinking about making a browning 30 cal in steel for next season
  23. Hi I'm Seán, an ex RAF NCO Aero engineer (ex Halton brat 130E if that means anything to any of you :-) ) I'm a prop maker based in Muirkirk in Ayrshire and I make props and special effects and help set up Live Roleplay events. I've recently bought a 1986 Bedford MJ which I hope to put on the road and take to some WW2 and post apocalypse events so I'll probably be asking for a fair bit of help and advice about making it road legal and where to get various bits from. I hope you'll all be a friendly and helpful bunch :-D serious questions to follow......
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