berni

i've taken my jimmy up Birdlip a few times & all was well , she pulled lovely & as there is 2 lanes everything else can overtake. the camber down in nettleton bottom was interesting though,,

a few years have past since the last post on my truck & loads has happened, i can't say it's all been good but it has been interesting. i have been the sole owner since 2007 so i'll start from there. the first show i drove myself to was a small railway event at Toddington in the october of 07. Even though it was dark at the time, the choice was either suck it up, grow a set, get in & drive or go home a chicken. needless to say i sucked it up & the rest as they say is history. 2008 saw a new 'mechanic' ( man friend) on the scene who had never heard of the hobby or even knew shows etc existed. he had a real big shock in store but kind of embraced it. i drove down to horndean for our first show of the season & all was going well untill we were 3 miles from home on the way back. cough, cough, splutter, bluuurrrrgghh. we slowed to a complete standstill on the ebly bypass between stroud & stonehouse. there was nothing we could do on the side of the road so had to get a tow back to the barn. after getting a work party together it turns out the manifold was blowing & also fuel starvation. it took almost 2 hours to get the downpipe off as one of the bolts had rusted on it was almost at the point where we got the grinder out to cut off. i think it started to panic at this point and on hearing the generator start up decided it was going to crack. so , manifold was sent to be skimmed & came back spanking. in the mean time the fuel filter was cleaned, the pipes blown out, the fuel tank taken off ( thats another whole lot of story), cleaned out & put back. put it all back together & voila, started first time & kept on running, she sounded fab. drove her to Beltring & she flew like the wind, well a small gust at least. so 2008 went without any more hitches. 2009 ---- ooh dear---- did a few local shows before the big one at Beltring. went up in convoy but the guys we went with decided to go early so we came back on our own. just got past clackett lane & she started kangaroo jumping, very odd experience in a GMC, coughing etc. i managed to get her off the motorway & thankfully there was a layby just off the slip road. a short while later it was pretty obvious the fuel pump was leaking real bad. unfortunately for them but thankfully for me some other friends with a reo & a 6 wheel dodge had broken down & had to replace some belt or other at clacket lane so they were actually behind us. a few phone calls later to Rex & we got straight barred by the Reo to reading. it was dark by the time we got there & fair play to everyone they put a new fuel pump on by torch light. we started on the way home again only to break down at the end of rex's lane. it was decided that we limp back to rex's & everyone else was going to drive home. it's a good job the people in this hobby are so like family as i don't know what we would've done with out so many people to help us out. as daylight came around we had a carb re build done as fuel still wasn't getting through properly. agaon we almost got as far as the end of the lane when she stopped again. turns out the small rubber fuel pipe had deteriorated & collapsed in on itself. i bought a metal one & had it fitted. woo hoo, she went like a dream & drove home like she'd never drove before. it felt fantastic. the rest of the season is history as they say & went without a hitch. 2010---for some reason she started over revving, horrifically, sometimes to the point where i couldn't get her in gear. it was a tad annoying but she was tuned down which helped loads. it just meant that as i came up to a junction or slowed to a stop i had to pull the choke on a bit to up the revs so the engine didn't cut out. i decided that it had also got to the point where the brakes needed doing. so all wheels came off & all seals re done. engine not running right again so took off carb & ran it up to rex to have a 2nd carb rebuild done, engine ran better but still not ideal. while a very nice chap came down & checked that i'd put the carb back on properly, he discovered a puncture on the drivers side, middle axle inside tyre. this was the night before driving to beltring so had to urgently find somewhere to get a new tube fitted. thankfully i managed to find a tyre place i could just drive in & they did it there & then, well eventually when they managed to split the rim they did it there & then. got to beltring ( yep, this show again) and had a few of the guys round to have a muck about to try & find out why the revs were going up so much & the engine was playing up.. a few pipes off here & a few little experiments there & turns out the hydro vac needs the seals & diaphram replacing as it's pulling in air. on the drive home she started kangarooing again so pulled off the motorway ( i'll soon be an expert on places to park off the m25). turns out she was 'hunting'. my chaperone for the journey, alex chubb, cupped his hands over the carb, i revved it a few times, he took his hands off. we did this a couple of times & hay presto back to normal. thankfully the rest of the journey was uneventful. now to this year, no 'mechanic' in tow so this is the first solo year. it was real daunting but exciting at the same time. i noticed i had a bit of leaking fluids on the middle axle drivers side ( same as the puncture) & also the front passenger side too. i presumed it was the brakes so i got the spare parts & e mailed the red ball chaps from the 514th to see if they could help me sort them out as part of the display at beltring ( there it is again) i took my truck round on wednesday morning for 9 am, that was a real killer after a good session the night before. a quick inspection & the front was fine, no leaky cylinders which was fab. the news wasn't so good for the back though. it turned out to be leaky hub seals. the guys were excellant & just rolled their sleeves up & took it all apart. a quick walk up to see rex & the new seals were purchased. in no time at all the whole thing was back together again. now then, the journey home. this was going great guns till we got to bracknell. it was getting a bit troubelsome to get into gear but thinking it was just because it was hot i didn't take much notice. carried on driving & still nothing else seemed to be untoward. untill coming down blunsdon hill on the A419 by swindon. the most horrific crashing, grinding & knocking noise burst through the eardrums, i managed to pull her into a small layby outside a cottages driveway. once i'd stopped i couldn't get it back into gear, as soon as i lifted my foot from the clutch the noise started again. i figured the best thing to do would be to turn it off. many phone calls later & an almost dead phone the decision was made to leave the GMC on the side of the road & sort it out on the monday. it's at times like this that you realise how friends can make such a difference. i managed to get permission to leave her on site at a steam show i'd be attending the following 2 weekends time. at least i knew there would be many people who could have a good look & let me know what was wrong. turns out it was the thrust bearing first & foremost. i did think it was the gear box as i couldn't get it in gear but after being leaft for a couple of weeks the gears worked fine. i was able to drive her home albeit in 4th gear, but she did get home under her own stream. i have lost 5th gear so have sourced a replacement gear box, found out about a thrust bearing & will have her back up & running in no time. even after all this i do love my truck, my truck is for life & not just for christmas. i am learning about it all the time & maybe by the time i'm 70 i'll be an expert, in the meantime though i'm thankfull that there are so many people who are only to willing to help. ok, so now you're all up to date i'll keep you posted on future events. cheers for listening Berni

you could try a local camping shop, i bought a canvas patch kit & the glue worked a treat.

hi, my truck has been stored outside & inside & half & half ( dutch barn). the canvas is about 7 years old & still waterproof. it hasn't faded that much either & is still quite thick & strong. at the rate it's going i'd expect it to last another 4-5 years before i need to start treating it. Berni

hi, i'm desparately trying to get hold of Paul gannaway. if anyone knows his number can they please pm me. i'd then let you have my number to forward on to him. hopefully by late afternoon tomorrow. any help appreciated. B

it was an upside down garfield, WOW, what a good memory you have!. i'll have to see where he went. hi ashley, i did see you a couple of times but i was either mobile or you were & by the time i'd gone to wave the moment had gone. it was my first beltring as a singleton so i could have done with a friendly face to chat to. Bx

cheers guys, Bx

hello all, i'd like to say hi & it's good to be back. i've been off track for a while but am more or less back to normal, if there is any such thing. i've still got the jimmy & will update the blog over the next week or so, there's loads thats happened over the past few years. well, all that leaves me to say is 'hi guys'. Bx

me too, :tup: :yay: Berni

i'll be there with my GMC. Berni

i thought i recognised that list of vehicles, hi steve & tina glad you joined in, its about time. thanks for a great lunch & see you after my hols, welcome to you Berni

welcome to you terry, make yourself at home Berni

hi there, welcome to the site & i can fully agree with the Jimmy comment as i have one too & love it to bits so comfy to drive, eat & sleep in. mind you theres nothing wrong with ferrets Berni

just about, worse thing was with all the power cuts & surges the pc blew, we lost the hard drive,disc drive,modem & keyboard so have only been back on line a couple of weeks. pain in the rear end but nothing that couldn't be fixed. thanks for asking, berni

hi mike & andi, good taste both of you, welcome aboard Berni

hi keith & tracey, berni here. welcome on board & probably see you at malvern Berni

we took the MW over for 2005 & i will definatly go over again in 2010. Richard did a fantastic job & i thoroghly enjoyed the whole week, we even got a 4 hour tour of HMS ALBION which was stationed just out of the harbour. The bar-b-que at St Ouen was second to none & it has to be the first time i have ever had a 4 course barby, we were behind tootallmike & were watching as they unloaded the famous sofa. the whole experience was quaility from start to finish & i would fully recommend it to anyone. Richard got a real good fare on the ferry which made it very affordable & camping was not far from the airport. the local community centre opened up for us daily for showers & breakfast & everyone was so freindly. The other good thing about it was the military show was open to all eras of vehicles so post 1945 as well as pre 1945 were welcome. it just means i have to save my holidays for Normandy in 2009 & jersey in 2010, can't wait berni

This is the first event at Toddington for 5 years and even though it is late in the season is always well attended because it's normally the last time we see hobby friends till the following may. This was also the first event i drove my GMC solo. I am rather proud of myself as i drove up the M5 at 7pm on a friday evening in the dark, off at junction 9 ( tewkesbury) and drove down the lanes to toddington. I manouvered through a narrow gateway & had to shunt a couple of times blocking the road but i didn't panic & managed to reverse up the show field to a nice tidy spot overlooking the arena. the show itself is rather much like most steam rallys but an added extra to this one is an exhibitors train at night ( which i missed coz of the rugby) which goes as far as cheltenham race course. another first for me was steering a showmans engine round the arena which was quite fun once i'd got the hang of it, you have to pre empt the turn which was bizarre to start with. you have to turn the wheel just before you want to turn then as you start to turn you have to straighten up before the turn has finished. the steering was surprisingly light & i did 2 laps. the drive home didn't worry me apart from the long queue to get off site so i waited & had a gossip while the main of the show emptied out. the journey back was as uneventful as the one there & after 8/9 shunts i also managed to park back in the barn, this took a bit of time as you have to reverse in & I kept having to stop & get out to have a look how far away i was from the other vehicles. Now i am no longer a GMC virgin there will be no stopping me for next year, roll on the start of the season from a rather smug berni :yay: :yay:

welcome jenny, excellant site & i'm sure you will have great fun doing him up. berni

ups random x ray stuff & x ray all pkgs going to eu, we don't carry weapons but then we carry loads of stuff we don't know about berni

we just use royal mail at the local post office, never been asked whats in parcel so never told them last one posted was german mg & tripod each pkg was about 5 ft long & about 2 ft circumferance. berni

day 6 of no water & we hear they are aiming for tuesday which is good news, the portaloos at work are starting to smell now but at 550.00 per week for 3 & an extra 320.00 if we want them serviced is an extortionate fee so will have to put up with smell for another couple of days, lots from work are going out the county to hotels for the weekend just to have a flushing loo & a shower, queues for water are getting longer, i spent over an hour today lining up for bottled water at tescos & then 30 mins at morrisons, at least we have pure drinking stuff. as the days have gone on many of us have started to get headaches & feel lethargic, this is because we are not drinking & eating enough, nature states if you eat & drink you have to go loo & everyone is trying to avoid that, we are not as bad as some cause our hole up the garden is allowing us to flush the loo about 3/4 times a day. only 4 more days to go. berni

you kept that one quiet ashley, no wonder you wanted to stay where you were. :-D berni

cheers guys police called to more fights today over water & i have contacted a local neighbourhood centre to see if they need help watching out for the elderly who can't get out, i have to go see them tomorrow, at least i may be able to make it a little easier for some. we now have a solution for getting water to flush the loo, russ has dug a 4ft hole up the top of the garden & lined it with hession, as the hole fills up with water we are getting it out & putting it into them big round plastic toy tubs, water not pretty but better than nothing. plus it kept him busy as probably no work this week, water still chest height. Berni

we are into day 3 of having no water with the future looking as bleak, between 7-14 days before we get mains back again. all water bowsers are empty by 9am & all supermarket carparks are having lorries handing out free water ( 6 litres per person/household) each one has a police escort as there have been fights, this has also been running out fast with people litterally running to get in line before they run out thankfully 150 fireman,raf & navy have managed to save our power staion at present. sanitation is not at its best, i just spent over 3 hours in a launderette after driving round the country side looking for 1 that wasn't queued out the door, we are eating off disposable plates with plastic cutlery,every single recepticle we can lay our hands on is out in the garden ready to catch any rain water, i have got my camping 12v shower hooked up in the bathroom so at least we are keeping clean at the moment, we are standing in 1 of the big blue ikea bags & then using the shower water to fill the sistern so we can flush the loo. if it wasn't so tragic it is really funny. working for a parcel company is good in a time like this as other centres are keeping the building supplied with bottles water by sending it with our feeder vehicles, we now have 3 portaloos in the carpark so it is a bit like beltring without the mud. russ is not at work yet as it is still waist deep in water across the gateway & yard & no one can get in. thankfully we borrowed 3 x 25ltre water cans from friends at beltring & as they live in bristol we popped down there last night & filled up the ones we emptied. not a great situation but we are all in the same boat & have to make the most of it. Berni