Stone

Yeah, it was good to see all the effort that had gone into getting stuff ready for the show. Saw a few people with HMVF stickers in the windscreen too Bit heavy on the Landies, never seen so many 101s in one place! Not sure if Neil has sorted Maud's steering out yet either, was looking forward to seeing her trundle around, but maybe another time. So yeah, top day out Thanks for putting it on. Stone

2.75m is technically too wide for road use but 432s are wider than that :argh:

What's on the back other than the crane, a flatbed? (most I've seen have a box body...) What are you intending to use it for? Have a look at the V112G and see if any of the exemptions fit you - remembering that to claim exemption as an agricultural vehicle or mobile project vehicle it must be registered as that type of vehicle on the V5C! Using the age-related exemption (pre-1960) only allows you to use it unladen - and it's way too heavy to replate as <7.5t. To be honest it doesn't sound enough of a borderline case to (legally) get away with - and do we really want 20t of Russian steel charging around with no way of knowing if it's roadworthy? (I know I don't in my Lupo! :rofl:) All the best sorting it though. Stone

Saw that, they had a load of errors from when people sent in their licenses to change their address, ranging from a bike license being 'lost', to a car license mysteriously turning into a bike license, to someone gaining category H at random! If only they knew how much effort we went to to get these in the first place :argh: Stone

It's not ten years from the licence issue, it's ten years from them issuing a license with a new photo. If you sent off the form D2 for a replacement licence with a new photo and £20 attached (on top of the replacement fee) you would have added 10 years onto your validity. I just sent mine off to add a provisional category and they reprinted my photocard - so it's valid from about a week ago but still has the same photo expiry date. The D2 is a stupidly hard form to understand because it's used for so many different things, so it probably wasn't obvious. If you're going to take a test for an extra category at any point then it's probably easiest to send them a new photo when you send your license in - I'm going to update my photo when I eventually get my C entitlement just so I can forget about it for a while. :argh: Stone

All the units I've seen with the box bodies have been in signals regiments as sabre points out - there's a wide selection just for Ptarmigan rigs alone! From memory they have Bedford + Ptarmigan radio relay (3/4 length shelter, front occupied by a pallet containing 2x3kW generators and a storage area with a ton of different antenna heads in and space for 2x12m masts, with a third mast mounted on the back of the shelter and a fourth, smaller mast mounted on the front of the antenna storage area above the cab) - this is the one we have Ptarmigan 'power vehicle' - 2x20kW generators on a Bedford Ptarmigan 'office' - bit like sabre's one but with a different door layout Ptarmigan 'radio workshop' - similar but with a genny I think there's an end node as well (Ptarmigan -> other comms systems), and I've probably forgotten some! I've also seen them with mixtures of the different types - short box body with the massive 20kW genny on the front, for example. I think they mixed and matched depending on what they wanted at the time. We had to throw away about 300kg of Ptarmigan kit to get our box body clear :coffee: I've also had a peek at the new Pinzgauer-based Ptarmigan rigs, they are some very swanky kit :cool2: Stone

Thanks in no small part to your helpful suggestions I passed with 74/100. Thank you! Now on to the main theory test... Stone

Wow, that's very kind of you. Thanks Stone

Just got my driving licence back with provisional for C/C1/D (lasts 20 years so figured I might as well get the lot!) and booked my theory tests. I'm pretty happy with the questions, but the hazard perception (Tuesday!) has me bricking it :shake: Been driving cars for 7 years without any problems, but how hard is it? I keep hearing horror stories and really need to pass soon. Any tips to stop a major f*ckup very welcome! Stone

One-upmanship of the Tank Limo, maybe? :cool2: Stone

Add £30 to the end price for a set of legal numberplates...:coffee: Stone

Lucky you! :-D Ours had an extra zero in it - should have been obvious since all chassis numbers have only 17 digits but oh well... Think it depends on exactly which Bedford - our Ptarmigan one seems to be missing all the seat adjustments (the seats are just bolted straight down). You're right, shouldn't need to steer from stationary but I'm rubbish at parking :coffee: Stone

Thanks, I doubt I'll be down that early :-D Stone

Oh, I also should have added it'll take an extra 4-5ish weeks to get it registered if the Army wrote the chassis number down wrong on the Form 654 :argh: We got Withams to arrange a replacement and that came back with the same mistake on it...in the end we got a letter confirming the correct chassis number and date in service from the nice folks at the MoD's Defense Equipment & Support section which served in addition to our Form 654. If you get this wrong you end up registering and taxing a vehicle that doesn't exist, so if you get stopped and have your documents checked, you can end up being done for being untaxed and thus uninsured and have the vehicle confiscated :shake: To be honest the MJ is pretty uncomfortable to drive around - we got one because we specifically needed it but if you have half a chance of getting something more suitable for off-roading I'd go for that. Certainly without power steering I can barely steer it when stationary, I dread to think what it'd do in rutted ground. Probably not much :-D Hope that's some food for thought, anyway. Stone

Quick question: all you lot are turning up Thursday but some of us can't get down until the Saturday - but when are you going to open up shop? Doesn't appear to be on the website... Don't much fancy sitting in the car park ;-) Stone

Might take you up on that The thing that gets me is it's only held up by the tiny catch on that arm on the side - if it's anything like the British ones and suddenly gives way, the hatch'd snap your arm like a twig. Oh well, they're only conscripts I suppose :shocked: Stone

If you're Russian, you vault in. Wonder how many broken ankles/legs/arms they end up with... Stone

Here's a still from the middle of a Youtube video. What's that sitting in the middle of the SA-15 battery? Sure it's not a hard one, just not seen one before. [edit: Found it! It's a MT-LBu.] Cheers Stone

I've had a few bits from http://www.specialistauctions.co.uk - lots of deacs etc listed (and generally everything else that eBay banned...) Beware if you do sign up - use a temporary password and then change it, as part of the registration process they email you the password you used in plaintext :argh: Stone

Hi Anthony, This is fresh in my mind as I've just sorted out registering our MJ Hopefully I won't ramble too much. Basically, when you get your MJ (assumption: from Withams, given your location) you'll end up with the vehicle and a flimsy blue A4 sheet called a MOD Form 654 (Application for Disposal of a Cast Vehicle). Whatever you do don't lose this - it's the only proof of the age of your vehicle and you'll end up with a Q plate if you don't have it. Get the Bedford home on a flatbed and stick a drip tray under the engine - it'll probably be there a few weeks while the DVLA sort things out. First get the vehicle insured. This will have to be through the chassis number since it doesn't have a registration number yet - most insurers will only cover it for 1-2 weeks on a chassis number so you might want to make sure you have everything in place before doing this. We have a blanket company insurance policy that covers any vehicle owned by the company, so we didn't do anything special here. Next get yourself to your local DVLA office - probably Peterborough. You'll need a form V55/5 from them (application for a first licence for a motor vehicle and declaration for registration). They have them sat in racks at my local office so you probably want to take a couple in case you mess one up. If you want to claim exemption from plating and testing you'll also need a V112G form - you can download these from the DVLA website (here) and fill it in in advance - pick your exemption category and you're signing to say that you don't need an MOT for one of the stated reasons. (we fitted into exemption 14, but you probably won't). If not you'll need to get an MOT from an HGV testing centre. Fill out your V55/5. There's an example here (filled in for a kit car, but you can see the fields). If you have the 'Purpose and Planning' document it's really helpful for filling the fields in (if not, PM me and I'll send you a copy). Salient points: Tax class: Private HGV Make: Bedford Model: Truck 4x4 Fixed Platform 4t W/Turbo Eng Wheelplan: 2 Axle Rigid Fuel type: Heavy Oil Cylinder capacity: 5400cc Maximum Permissible Mass: 9650kg Year of Manufacture: 1985ish (on the Form 654) Leave all the other fields blank - when you get to the desk the clerk will help you fill it in (more so if you've tried to help them out by filling in as much as possible first). At the local office you need the following: - Your photocard driving licence - Your MOD Form 654 - Your completed V55/5 - Your V112G if appropriate or MOT cert if not - Your insurance certificate - £55 for the first registration fee - More money for the first 6 months / 1 year of road tax (£120 for private HGV) - Pictures rarely hurt - Any extra documentation you have, like the purpose and planning booklet from the manual which has all the details of brake type etc in it. We didn't fit side-impact bars - ask if you want to, but we showed them pictures and they didn't seem worried when registering it. Each local office varies, as per usual :-| Once you've handed everything in you should get back a receipt within 7-10 days with a tax disc and Registration Authorisation Certificate attached - this lets you go and get number plates made up. Once they're attached and the tax disc is on display you're road legal - just have to wait for the V5C in the post. At this point you can only drive it if you have Category C on your driving license. Find a friend who does, and get them to accompany you to a weighbridge for a split ticket - you want the unladen axle weights. (usually they'll give you the full weight as well for the same price). Send the ticket off to SV Tech along with £350ish and they'll do the paperwork and send you some metal plates - these bolt onto the suspension endstops to slightly reduce the suspension travel and thus the maximum load. They'll then sort out the paperwork with the DVLA and once the new V5C is issued with the correct weight on (and you have a new dataplate stamped and riveted in place) you can drive it on a C1 license. (note: we needed the extra cargo capacity so didn't do this, but we did look into it) Also note you may need a tachograph fitted if you don't meet one of the exemptions - the rules are very complicated so I won't muddy the waters, but it's definitely something to check up on. Not sure about the body torsion thing - I definitely wouldn't fit a Luton style body to it (as the bed is rigid but twists relative to the cab when going cross-country). You might want to take the easy way out and just convert a comms box body internally - they have a fair bit of internal space, and you know the work's been done already to make sure it won't fall off the vehicle! If you're not confident with what to do when it breaks down I would be a bit wary of taking it too far off the beaten path though, to be honest. Maybe the land rover isn't such a bad idea? Hope that helped, anyway Stone

I think I had a set of those 44 pattern ones on my cadet webbing set! We hated them because you couldn't fit L98A1 mags in them, they mostly ended up stuffed with bits of rat pack :-D Stone

I've uploaded them all to my website - if anyone wants the link drop me a PM. Cheers Stone

As per your other thread, I got a CD off a friend of a friend :cool2: Drop me a PM and I'll see what I can rustle up. Stone

Stormin is right on the money, ours does around 4-500 rpm when nice and warm and does about 3000 rpm flat out. We got it to 56mph on the motorway (downhill, obviously) but the vibration increases a lot above 50mph - you'll have a much smoother ride if you try and avoid ragging it too much. The manual says to idle at ~1000rpm for a few minutes before setting off to allow the turbo time to lubricate itself, likewise when you finish the journey give it a little time idling to allow the oil to remove heat from the turbo. Some of the cab controls were a bit non-obvious when we first started so you obviously want to make sure you know what everything does beforehand! We usually park it with wheels chocked and handbrake off since Withams warned us about the handbrake seizing on. Our service brakes were very grabby too - seatbelt on and have a couple of laps around the yard and you'll be fine I have a full set of digitised service manuals (but they don't quite match up with the truck we have, so caution!). Which body type is it? Winch/no winch, crane/no crane, dropside/workshop body/Ptarmigan/tanker? They're all slightly different, but I'll see if I can sort you out Stone

Do they ever apply these regulations retroactively though? I'm not sure how happy people would be with having half their entitlements taken away - we don't force holders of old licenses to meet the current standards to continue driving, f'rexample. My granddad was telling me about his driving test (a trip around the block with the emergency stop tested by the examiner jumping out of a bush into the middle of the road with his palm extended!) and his license is still current. Not to set the cat among the pigeons too much, but what about tachographs? How many of us lot have vehicles less than 25 years old but above 7.5t MAM? By the new rules all these require a tachograph if they're not under another exemption, but do you have to fit one if you were previously (legally) running without one? :??? Stone