Ferret - Is it easy to drive

[brh]

As those of who read my first post - 'Fuel for Ferret' - will know that I am just embarking on (or at least considering), as part of my mid-life crisis (tail end part I think), looking for a Ferret to buy.

 

Having now established the fuel question to my satisfaction, having read various articles on the complexity of learning to drive a Ferret and, also, only ever been used to driving a manual gearbox car just how easy/hard is it to get to grips with?

 

Quite scary (from a novices point of view) reading some of the posts/articles e.g. wind up - tracking - hub failures etc!!!!

 

The more I read the more complex owning a Ferret seems.

 

Ta

 

Brian :help:

 

[Marmite!!]

Hi Brian,

 

 

they are very easy to drive & you will get use to the gears in the first few miles..

 

I notice you are in Essex so why not pop along to our show next weekend & have a look a a Ferret close up... even have a drive of mine if you want :-D

 

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e132/safariswing/bunkerhmvf.jpg[/img]

http://www.essex-armour-softskins.co.uk/essex%20bunker%20bash.html

 

[sirhc]

Brian,

There's nothing complex about them. No electronics, no really special spanners, you can fix them without a computer etc. The mechanics are simple, the parts are mostly easy to find and there is nothing you can't fix without looking in the manual and approaching it logically.

 

Driving is easy, the gear change pedal doesn't take much getting used to and the steering wheel is actually very comfortable. Don't expect it to drive like a modern car, but after a few miles you will wonder what all the fuss is about. Take it relativley slow, allow yourself room to slow down and make sure you unwind every now and then. Decent glasses or goggles and intercom headsets make driving fairly pleasant. Last weekend I did over 400 miles, mostly at 45-55 mph on A roads and motorways. The fuel bill was about £230 which isn't too bad, the worst thing is that the drivers seat starts to become uncomfotable after a few hours.

 

Chris

[brh]

Thanks for the encouraging words and advice guys - I'm sure I would soon get used to it.

 

Lee - thanks for your offer. I will certainly try to get along to the show on the Sunday and would appreciate a close look over the Ferret - would have loved to have a drive but I am at the tail end of recovering from a foot operation and I am not allowed to drive for another few weeks yet - ho hum :-(.

 

What are the start/finish times and how will I find you?

 

Regards

 

Brian

 

 

[Marmite!!]

Hi Brian,

 

show times on Sunday is 10am-5pm.. I'll be easy to find.. I'm the one blowing stuff up :-D

[MiketheBike]

Brian,

 

I would agree with Chris and Lee, they are real easy to drive. Visibility actually surprised me...you have to move your head about, but its pretty good and easy to drive solo. I have been driving mine to work in fairly heavy traffic with no problems.

Like Chris said, the steering wheel looks kinda odd at first, but it makes steering much easier and is comfortable.

And it takes up less room on the drive than a large saloon car.

 

getting all the correct oils/fluids is easy enough if you have a decent motor factor's near you that deals with classic motors (the one near me...Unity Motors, have most of it on the shelf).

[AlienFTM]

SNIP ...how easy/hard is it to get to grips with?

 

It's a walk in the park. Okay it's a drive in the country.

 

1. It's a pre-selective gearbox. The actions are:

Take foot off accelerator (not necessary if you are going uphill and losing revs, necessitating a change-down - see below);

Select gear (if not previously selected - see below);

Hit Gear Change Pedal;

Accelerate.

In your own time select gear ready for next change (see above).

 

As opposed to (in a manual):

Take foot off accelerator;

Dip the clutch smoothly;

Select the gear;

Release the clutch smoothly;

Accelerate.

 

Having changed gear properly, the fluid flywheel ensures smooth pick-up of the drive so you really do just "HIT" the GCP. You do NOT engage / disengage smoothly the way you must with a manual. The only thing that can give you a rough gearchange is by bad application of revs after the change.

 

The fluid flywheel is the reason you don't need release revs changing down going uphill: releasing the revs only means you have a hiatus during the gearchange which will cost you more engine speed and mean you need to change down again sooner. As the drive disengages to select the lower gear, the revs will race briefly in exactly the same way as double-declutching would in a manual car, hence a far better gearchange than releasing and reapplying the accelerator.

 

Once you get your head around pre-selecting the gear and that the GCP is NOT a clutch, gear-changing is FAR easier than a manual car. It's the same gearchange as was seen in buses when I were a lad. I don't do buses nowadays and I have no idea how they change gear.

 

The steering wheel, as you will have found, slopes the wrong way. You'd never get your feet on the pedals otherwise. Hold the wheel at one minute to one minute past and steering will be no problem.

 

The issued mirrors to Ferrets were tiny and universally replaced in the field by standard Landrover / truck mirrors.

 

This is the best ride you'll ever have. Believe me. I have driven most CVR(T) variants, Landrovers, a 4 tonner or two, motorcycles, mopeds, staff cars, mini-buses and nothing, but nothing, compares with the Ferret. Enjoy.

 

Jealous Mackem in Southampton.

;o)