robin craig

What prices were Withams saying these would go for? What has happened to the masts? Do you think they have all got their generators with them? What are the weakest points on these diesel engines? Robin

As this is an object that seems to be in short supply I am considering having some reproductions made. Can I just get a show of hands as to who might be interested? Robin

sending you a pm, welcome to the world of ferret ownership. Robin

Just to chime in about Bardic Lamps. They were darned brilliant and worth their weight in gold if you ask me, Many RMP members had them in their vehicles as they were brill for doing traffic control at night as you could single handedly act as a set of traffic lights at the scene of an RTA as there are 3 coloured lenses that rotate over the bulb plus a gap for white light. There is a handy drop in converter pack for the bardics available from the uk that allows usage of normal civvy batteries instead of the hard to find special ones. I love my bardic and wont ever give it up. it has many functions that the average Gucci kit mag lite etc wont do that have nothing to do with illumination. Its just a bit old and clunky but so can be said about most of the vehicles we like rgds robin

Dear Broken TL Lady, I would have used your name but your post was devoid of one. How about a good picture of the offending item for the good chaps to have a better chance of helping you? Robin

As we are in Canada, and the Health and Safety wombles that you endure in the uk are not here we dont have to wear an insipid yellow vest as soon as we get out of bed in the morning. Yes there is a mudflap missing, the gerry can rack was there when we bought it. The white wheel nuts were a "fluff fluff" detailing. The head board for the load deck is normal height for that variant. The crane controls are in the normal position. The cab roof protector was what I was wondering if anyone would notice. We bought that as a spare and modified it with a scallop around the crane controls. We were finding the cab roof very easily dented. I have looked but not seen another crane variant of this type with that protector mounted. Robin

Yes, boom extension is our own fabrication, no new holes nothing welded on as per our policy. Notice anything else non standard about the truck? R

So, let us hear from fellow MJ owners. One of 3 in the collection, two runners and a spares truck that was a stupid price and really local so we bought it and drove it back. Here is a picture of our MJ CALM earning its keep hoisting roof parts for a barn we were building earlier this year and another in the shop. Of note is the "no new holes nothing welded on" boom extension that has been pivotal in erecting a few buildings since we have owned it, plus a really good tool for doing Ferret power pack removals. Lets see if the keen eyed ones can spot any anomalies! Lets hope this kicks off a good thread Robin

Did someone say Canada? Yes, the IVECO 40.10 turbo daily made into a military vehicle. Here in Canada they replaced the 5/4 ton Chev trucks. There was quite a hullabaloo over selecting these things. The troops are not fond of them, the name of the vehicle in service is the LSVW or Light Support Vehicle Wheeled. Due to their squeeky brakes which are horribly non tactical their nickname is Little Squeeky Vehicle Wheeled. They have suffered a lot as they were the lowest compliant bidder, just, in the procurement process allegedly. Robin

Attached is a picture I grabbed from the web somewhere. We have two of the drop tailgate wide track trailers but no duck boards. Can anyone dimension this picture or send me a sketch with dimensions and a note as to what material the boards are made of please? Robin

Here is a poor quality snap taken today after we moved our excavator from one property to another. The trailer is a tilt using rams with a small bypass that allows weight to tilt the bed. Robin

I guess I may be a bit older than you chaps, what i was on about would have i guess been the first versions of the rigid raiders. I will try to find a picture. Robin

Barry, i presume thats your name. Frankly I think that you have given the cause of the mechanical failure in your posting. The vehicles are being thrashed to death by untrained drivers and lacking in diligent maintenance. That is the begining and end of it all. The delaminating drive sprockets is partially a design flaw and part usage. The road wheels are greasable, but only if they are removed from the shafts. We took all of our roadwheels off, removed the beaings and the seal and sent them all out to be re-rubbered a few years ago. There is a smal sacrificial sleeve upon which the seal runs and we had to replace a few of those. Use in water or in water and dirt will grind those seals fairly quickly. Knowing the site you operate on i'm sure that is part of the problem. Side loading of the tracks and the roadswheels by driving in rutted trackes also doesnt help. Our BV is maintained to a very high standard and it is something that we do to preserve the lives of those who count on the machine and to preserve the value of the machine and reduce operating costs. What more can I say? If the kit is not looked after then it all goes downhile from there. I am sure that engine fires are as a result of being pounded around off road and periodic maintenance would have revealed weeping fittings or worn hoses etc. that brings me to another topic, I hate petrol powered equipment because of the risk of fire, diesel is so much safer. If you want help on maintenance please ask and I will help. Funny how I was doing a google satellite peek at the Tanks a lot site last night. Robin

Seems like the wings over the wheels were either optional or an unloved part of the kit for the vehicle from all the photos posted so far. Robin

Oh Al, would you ever be able to find your way back to that location or be able to find out if it is still there? Would be very interested to know more. Robin

It is a policy with the collection that we follow the credo of "no new holes nothing welded on" which i have expounded on in another thread to a greater degree. You will see from one of the other pictures the vehicle is not wearing its civvy plate as it was in a parade. We remove civvy plates for parades as a matter of policy. A number of the collection vehicles earn their keep as well as being 'toys" and being used for displays / parades. The registration is pukka and over time I will show you more shots as I take them. Robin

I dont think you guys have recognised as to how rare in a running condition a Canadian Ferret is in Canada, there were only 124 of them and I know of only about 10 or less that can crawl under their own power let alone look tidy and presentable. With time and money at least one of these and maybe both will be very sharp examples of the marque and kept in good running order with all the correct kit per the time and the unit I do them to. This is a big deal to us over here Robin

We nearly bought one of these a few years ago. I think it would have been superb for our requirements but regretably the money was way too high for management to get into it. It eneded up out west in the oil fields with a reworked body / deck on the back. We found cheap flat racks in the US that would have worked fine. A brute of a truck and its a shame we didnt buy it. They are all out of the system now. Would have prefered a Brit bit of kit. Robin

Just thought you might like this picture, taken this year during a freedom of a city parade by a local unit who invited the attendance of the vehicle shown that I was asked to operate. The captions for one of the pictures could get us all into trouble with the forum management im sure, as the options are limitless. The carrier is a June 1944 build and has had the benefit of electronic ignition which has made a world of difference to its usage. Its outside my interest area but im sure other will enjoy it. Enjoy Robin

As I have been out of the UK for a few decades im out of touch, so humour me. What happened to the iconic Royal Marine rigid raiding craft? While im at it what about the assault boats with the removeable transomes that could be turned back to back and joined? Pics and info anyone? Robin

Far from it my friend! It starts down at minus 30 degrees celsius on its own batteries no problems. I have and will again in January be trusting my life and the lives of others with it in real winter conditions. It is a superbly designed and executed piece of kit. Its only limitations are the knowledge of the operator of the terrain they are using it on. Snow makes everything look very benign, including tree stumps and rocks which you can get high centered on, and open water or thin ice that one can sink through. Even though they float getting it out of an ice hole is a Chinook recovery for best option. We were very lucky to buy this one when we did as the price was a steal from Withams at that time and was in great shape. I have operated it beside a V6 petrol and it leaves it behind in every performance capability which is the reason the machine was upgraded. Operation in winter is a deadly serious event and not just arsing around in a wet playpen ten minutes from a workshop and recovery. We operate ours miles from any recovery kit or a workshop. I do all the prep before deploying it, all the road haulage, and the operation. I am into I think the fourth winter using it now with about 40 hours seat time per winter season. We have casevaced people from the bush out to the black top roads to meet ambulances in sub zero weather when time would have been an issue. The Golden Hour in trauma medicine is to be well regarded. the Bv206 gives us that capability with absolute confidence. I had a cab heater fail last year but as we are dressed for cold it was a minor irritant. Hope you enjoy the picture next question? Robin

the turret was an "upsexyfying" item by then owner two owners ago. As for Canadian Ferrets do a google.ca search I dont have any links myself Robin

Well, Its finally time for me to burst the cone of silence I have placed over this project. It was inspired partly by the sentiment someone posted on this forum about dying in debt. I have inked a deal to bring two of only 124 Canadian Ferret Mk1s back from the USA to Ontario. When they were sold off in the 1970s most of them ended up south of the border and while some remain in Canada, notably the Ontario Regiment, most still in the country ended up as hard targets on the ranges or as sad looking monuments / gate guardians. Right now they are still in the US and will hopefully be back before Christmas. Attached are some old pics of them, and I do know that the ersatz turet will have to go! I will post more info and pics as things develop. Regards Robin

Okay, it is time for me and my alter ego Mr Angry to get some things off our chests. Those here in Canada have already heard the rant so the rest of you might as well hear it. My credo for MVs is all based around the presumption that we are all temporary custodians of the kit we own operate or look after. So, that being said, we try to use and care for our vehicles in the collection by following the basic credo of "no new holes and nothing welded on". By satisfying that we modify or alter the vehicles as required, say for example to fit civvy licence plates, in such a way that anything can be reversed to the vehicles original condition. Now Mr Angry will chime in. Why do people take all that time and effort and money to restore and rebuild their vehicles and display them and ont do anything to remove the civvy plates when on display? That one really gets me. Finally, me again, the vehicles you own are yours and that means you are free to anything you like to them so dont take this personally and start a flame war, just accept that some of us can be rivett counting persnickety people at times ahhhh that feels better Robin

Our vehicle has an interesting background as it was originally a V6 petrol and was converted by Hagglunds (or a sub contractor for them) at a later date to the 6 cylinder Mercedes diesel. It bears an official MOD plate to that effect. Fom what I understand it was re engined around the time that MOD bought D6 types as new on a later buy and Hagglunds convinced MOD to upgrade the older ones to the newer spec. Robin