43BM13

Further to my last post, just spotted an error in the diagram. The jib is shown inserted upside down. As shown, there would not be enough clearance under the end of the jib to get the wheek in and out of the bay, and the eye for the chain hoist won't work if pointing skywards!

I used to drive one of these back in the 70s! For a 21 year old, a wonderful thing to be in charge of! You asked about the spare wheel arrangements. From memory, there were two spaces for a spare wheel, one on each side. Anti Aircraft (Bofors) tractors had a mod on the right hand side for the gun second barrel (when firing you had to change barrels on a regular basis to avoid overheating and therefore prematures) which comprised a roller arrangement across the top of the wheel bin. The angled jib fitted into two square brackets on the rear and middle canopy hoops. When not in use, it was simply shoved in alongside the spare wheel. There was a chain hoist ('Hoist Triple Gear' - why?) which hooked into the end of the jib. The drill to unload a wheel went something like this: To unload in an open space (ie not your vehicle lines), if you were the driver, drop the rear wheel compartment door, give the wheel a good shove and watch everyone else run. If you weren't the driver, run. Otherwise, fit the jib as follows: Withdraw jib from spare wheel compartment. You require something to stand on to get it into the brackets. As it is a) angled, and b) long, you will never get the balance right, so it will either hit you on the head or in the groin, or both. As you manoeuvre it in, it will (by way of variety) hit you in the groin or on the head, or both. At about this point your attention will be drawn away from the thing you are standing on so you will step off it into mid air when the jib takes an opportunity to hit you on the head (again) and / or your toe. It is not intended to be a tight fit but this will be achieved by your finger getting stuck anyway. Fit the chain hoist, take the strain, roll the wheel out, and lower. As the wheel is so heavy, you need to keep it upright, however, it is still attached to the chain hoist. With one hand, pull on the chain to release the strain, while the other hand and the rest of you is holding the wheel up and trying not to be squashed flat, while you suddenly discover that you are on a previously undetected gradient and the wheel is rolling away with you under it. Loading the wheel is the reverse of the above, with the additional thrill that the jib holds the wheel clear of the body. You therefore have to somehow slightly lower the wheel while at the same time persuading the thing to go forward against gravity into the wheel bay. I was fortunate in that I had an old and somewhat broken chain hoist with two hooks. Easy! One for the wheel, and the other hooked into one of the eyes on the wheel bay door once you had the wheel at floor height. As you lowered on the wheel hook you pulled up on the door hook so the wheel simply rolled in, under control! Removal of the jib was the reverse of the above, with the variation that it would choose to avoid the groin area, but go for the teeth instead, and / or the top of the head. And relax. Happy days!

43BM13 was a Leyland Martian 6x6 RA Gun tractor. And for a while in the mid 70s, mine. An absolute heap, but I loved it to bits, and the first thing I got to be in charge of properly, all by myself. 5 mpg on petrol, 15mpg on oil (yup, it leaked). I was particularly proud of the fact that I knew how to get to the top winch grease nipple (pull up the rear floorboard) which defeated most other people. I suspect it got gas axed many years ago! A couple of tips from memory 35 or so years ago: when lifting the engine covers, use the handles thoughtfully provided by Mr Leyland for the purpose even if it means bending down a bit. Using the handily flared ventilation slots at where the top cover meets the sides means that as you lift, the side neatly hinges underneath the slot and removes the skin from the top of your finger. Also, don't be tempted to leave the tailboard in the horizontal position using the chains (like someone else did to me). When you go round the rear of the vehicle at speed to check that all is secure, this will neatly coincide with your head rendering you unconscious, leading to enquiries from your No 1 as to why the *** you are lying on the floor and haven't got the vehicle moving yet! Hugh