robin craig Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Its late so im going to pull the pin and lob another hand grenade into the forum. Just like the topsy turvy CVR(W)Fox legend, whats the deal with the ever so unloved RB44s. Were they ever sorted out to the point that they would run and drive and brake in a straight line? Does anyone have real life seat time or other first hand comments to make? I see them being sold through Withams so they must be going somewhere? Oh and dont forget pictures etc etc Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 hi robin i was an army mechanic and the rumour/myth was that the chassis was longer on one side than the other hence the aversion to driving in a straight line ,however i never worked on one but know they were not liked by the guys .eddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 Ah Hah! Score one for Team Myth, zero for Team Truth R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fesm_ndt Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 http://www.dodge50.co.uk/rb44-story-3.html My opinion is that it was blown out of proportion similar to: - Jeeps to MUTTS - Series Land Rovers to Perentie's It was a weird choice though as I would even say the Diesel Stonefield is perhaps marginally better as the RB44 is a high vehicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoggyDriver Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I think they are a nice looking vehicle and just the right size if your looking for a "truck" but haven't got the room. They are also a normal car licence requirment so should suit most. They are pretty quick and the braking problems should have been sorted out by now. Withams have some comms bodied versions that are like hens teeth, but will ask you to part with your right arm for buying one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Burley Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Spoke to the drivers of these at an event i done last year......... I asked them what they were like to drive. The answer was. They were s***e. But they couldnt give any reasons or clues to why. One of the drivers was old enough to have driven 101,s and said they were much better at doing the job. I would still like to experiance one myself before making conclusions. I was so tempted by one that Withams was selling at Beltring. But he wanted far too much for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stone Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 They are also a normal car licence requirment so should suit most. Careful, you'd have to downplate them to drive on a Cat B :nono: (GVW of 5000kg so require Cat C1 to drive laden) Any idea how much Withams wanted for the comms body ones? They are nice little things, just a bit scared of the horror stories! No smoke without fire, I always reckon... Stone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil munga Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Friend of mine just told me of one of these for sale just last Sunday not sure were he said the add was at but I said to him you don't want one of them the 4x2 version were bad enough to drive , but saying that there are ( were ) lots buses built on the chassis , Renault Dodge base so chassis could be longer on one side , but the wheelbase will be the same unlike the Renault 12 that had a different wheelbase side to side , engines should be OK ( Mazda ) Phaser Perkins , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 To be fair i think they don't deserve the bad rep they have with squaddies but once something gets branded crap it gets passed on from one generation to another,that's just how it is. all the best eddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoggyDriver Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) Careful, you'd have to downplate them to drive on a Cat B :nono: (GVW of 5000kg so require Cat C1 to drive laden) Any idea how much Withams wanted for the comms body ones? They are nice little things, just a bit scared of the horror stories! No smoke without fire, I always reckon... Stone OK. For "MOST" on here you can drive on a normal licence as you would have passed your test before the changes. I haven't got a clue what Withams want for a comms bodied one, but I "think" it's around the £7,500 mark. I had a good look at some of the trucks they had up there and some were in VERY good condition with winch. A few had brand new engines fitted too. I think the "horror" stories are over done. The Army still has them in service, (although are now getting rid of them) so they can't be that bad. They spent a fortune sorting out the brake problem. The problem is once a vehicle develops a reputation for something then it's hard to shake that off. These vehicles were sorted out, but have kept the rep. For civilian service they would be great trucks. Lets face it, if it's a show vehicle it's not going to be tested is it. The problem you have is parts for them. The transfer case is a Reynolds Boughton own unit for a start. They were used by fire services also. I fired one up at Withams and it sounded pretty good. About the same HP as a Bedford MJ. Edited December 20, 2009 by LoggyDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recymech66 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 We used them for towing the Lt Gun around Salisbury Plain (or the Arty did) had one for the ftr section, no real dramas at all to be honest. The blokes didn't have any problems with them one way or the other. I think it's bad rep stems from very early on in it's service life and all faults were rectified or they would never have been allowed on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoggyDriver Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 We used them for towing the Lt Gun around Salisbury Plain (or the Arty did) had one for the ftr section, no real dramas at all to be honest. The blokes didn't have any problems with them one way or the other. I think it's bad rep stems from very early on in it's service life and all faults were rectified or they would never have been allowed on the road. Hello Chris. Exactly. The faults to the braking system were discovered very early on in service and they were withdrawn from service as a result to get the work carried out on them. The manufacturer and MOD did the work required to sort the problem out and then put them back in service. Job done. I wouldn't have any problem in buying one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recymech66 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Hello Chris. Exactly. The faults to the braking system were discovered very early on in service and they were withdrawn from service as a result to get the work carried out on them. The manufacturer and MOD did the work required to sort the problem out and then put them back in service. Job done. I wouldn't have any problem in buying one. Me too but got my heart set on a Land Rover when I get my backside into gear.:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recymech66 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Here's some getting backloaded recently, not sure to were but some destination in UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onthecorner Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 How about a civvy one, with a caravan on the back, literally: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RENAULT-DODGE-50-4X4-EXPEDITION-CAMPER_W0QQitemZ280433270310QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes?hash=item414b201e26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recymech66 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 How about a civvy one, with a caravan on the back, literally:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RENAULT-DODGE-50-4X4-EXPEDITION-CAMPER_W0QQitemZ280433270310QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes?hash=item414b201e26 That's awesome, just what I need for Exercise.:idea: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevpol Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I still like the look of them, would love one aswell (including a acmat and a few others aswell!!!), need to win on lottery though!!!! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recymech66 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 A few pics of them in use, not very good as I was aiming at the chopper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Burley Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 The one at my local T.A center is still sitting there. It hasnt turned a wheel in a year and a half. Would still like one. But would it be worth trading this up for one of them........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recymech66 Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Keep that it looks good, nicely kept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Army FV434 Instructor Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 RB44's where do i start ? The first huge fault was the brake disks, they had to fitt the studs for the wheels just a few milimetres from the edge of the brake disks (nobody thought about the wheel sizes) The end result of that was every time they went out on exercise the brake disks cracked once it went over a bump and it was off road again, (I think standing orders was after every exercise they had to be inspected, and you were always fitting new disks) My last unit had 6 of them and there were never more than 2 on the road at any one time. 2nd fault The air braking system, they have the most ridiculous over complicated air braking system which was always leaking and causing the brakes to stay jammed on, or they would fail to put enough air into the tanks (whilst 2 or 3 VM's looked for a leak that was either very slight or non exsistant) and i think I recall there being 3 air tanks (if any one of them didnt reach a certain PSI which I cant recall now) it was again VOR 3rd fault They started putting the new secure radio kits in them and every time they went over a bump as well as the brake disks cracking there started to be new problems. It wasn't long before we were getting reports of the Chassis cracking on operations due to the weight and them being cast. Theres others like the engine being underpowered but I cant remember any more offhand. As for driving one (can anyone remember driving an RL Bedford ? because apart from the split windscreen the drivers view was very like that. Nearly forgot You were advised to double the clutch as well to reduce wear on the clutch (which didn't seem to work either, they were always getting new clutches as well, which was another pain to fit) Once you got off road they were again hopeless, whilst doing cross country driving the wrecker would usually have to follow one round and it would struggle and the engine would be screaming to climb hills in even dry conditions. It wouldent be long before it would start showing black or white smoke. I think to be fair though that had a lot to do with the tyres, the same as when they started to put the newer Leyland Daff tyres on the Bedford Mk and MJ and the 4WD became hopeless in mud. Speaking from experiance I wouldent touch one ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Army FV434 Instructor Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 oh yes i forgot to add, the 6 we had were all box body versions which increased the weight still further, dont know if the canvas troop versions were any better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Army FV434 Instructor Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 and another fault i just keep remembering them..... it's like remembering a bad dream On Operations as well as the chassis spliting the box body ones (with the secure kit in I mentioned before ) they started being cast for the rear axel housing splitting with metal fatique as well, just past the differential housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil munga Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 well if that doesn't put every one off nothing will ,, sounds as bad as a Dacia duster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I heard the mirrors worked well though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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