the DT guy Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 42 minutes ago, attleej said: When I did the big trailer I spent £11,000 on materials and that was between '96 and 2001. And Sam is is doing a far better job than I did! It really is 'off the scale'. John thank you john appreciate your kind words. material wise were not that far apart although i got less hubs (12) i think than your big trailer it's safe to assume the parts are nearly twice as expensive know. i'll have a good think and wright down what just the running gear has cost not including labour. regards sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 jason brought the rear axles over today and we wasted no time getting them fitted and the tyres all set up, which was a decent 3 hr job start to finish. A lot of time money and effort has payed off with fantastic results!! Got a few bits to bolt on then it can be flipped over, have a few bits welded on followed by more paint. To put into perspective just the scale of the running gear overhaul here’s the main costs. 24 new tyres with tubes/flaps £3000 24 new timken wheel bearings £4000 24 new break linings £1000 4 nos break chambers £500 blasting/paint, materials, newly made parts, labour etc £5500 total 14K to refurb all the running gear and the dolly frame and this doesn’t include my own time. Crazy yes worth it? to me definitely!! Really looking forward to putting the truck & trailer through their paces this summer at Armour & Embarkation and XXX core Holland. Best regards Sam 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scammell4199 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Fantastic! Brilliant work lads 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwiitrucks Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Sam £3000 for 24 tires,flaps and tubes. That is one heck of a deal, I need some. Beautiful job on trailer, Cant wait to see it back on its shoes as I call them. Jeff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Looks absolutely superb. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Packhow75 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Very nice... it would be a shame to load anything on the back and scratch the paint. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Packhow75 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 How many hours of time do you think it took? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 12 hours ago, Packhow75 said: How many hours of time do you think it took? no idea really, took me 8 months or so just to sort all the rot out in it. don't think i want to know how many hours of my life are in it lol. owned it 2 years know i think and been consistently working and hunting parts for it. hopefully the truck and trailer will perform well at Armour & Embarkation this year and possibly Capel then XXX core Holland. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 22 hours ago, wwiitrucks said: Sam £3000 for 24 tires,flaps and tubes. That is one heck of a deal, I need some. Beautiful job on trailer, Cant wait to see it back on its shoes as I call them. Jeff good evening Jeff Empire tires here in the UK know supply new correct style and spec rogers tires with tubes and flaps. think there £240 per tire/flap/tube so £5760 to rubber a rogers, there on milweb we had some british pattern tires from them for our ww2 morris's and there really nice tires. the new Continentals on mine are MOD spec low loader tires and i was very very lucky to buy them from a friend who started a rogers project but stopped as the trailer was just to far gone. the tubes & flaps i got from my local tire fitter, which was the cheapest option for the amount needed. regards Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwiitrucks Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Evening Sam The tires on my rogers are Italian, They still look good but there are two that brake was stuck on and they dragged the trailer long enough to grind them all the way into the tube. I have never seen a trailer tire so thick, It must be 2 inch's thick and like a motorcycle tube in it. My trailer was also widen for I think M47 tanks so that might be why it has super duty tires on it. Wish I could find 2 to match the rest. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 24 new tyres? But it looks great! Hopefully I'll see it at A&E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 On 1/20/2024 at 3:01 AM, wwiitrucks said: Evening Sam The tires on my rogers are Italian, They still look good but there are two that brake was stuck on and they dragged the trailer long enough to grind them all the way into the tube. I have never seen a trailer tire so thick, It must be 2 inch's thick and like a motorcycle tube in it. My trailer was also widen for I think M47 tanks so that might be why it has super duty tires on it. Wish I could find 2 to match the rest. Jeff morning Jeff sounds like your trailer has the solid rubber infills in side the tires to deal with the weight of the heavier tanks. if i'm right there will be no tube valves in the rim at all which case you want to be careful with them as a friend had them on his rogers and first time he went up the road the tire fell apart leaving the solid rubber core on the rim. regards Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwiitrucks Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Hi Sam It has inner-tubes and the trailer was fitted with a central tire inflation system, I think that is what it is called. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Saturday was a big day for the Rogers as time had come for it to stand on all 24 feet. Wayne Meadows very kindly came over with the Foden as it was definitely the safest way to perform the manoeuvre. after flipping the Rogers we needed the M10 (a whole different head ache😂) moving into the shed so it’s positioned ready to start on that for next year. Not sure if I’ll do a thread on that but will see when the time comes. today I fitted a few bits to the Rogers then decided sod it needs to be done. 1st time my truck has been coupled to a Rogers I believe in 70 years. Still a lot to do before Armour & Embarkation but will do what I can to get it properly finished. regards Sam 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utt61 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Fantastic progress and the DT with the Rogers looks stunning, I'll wager it is better than new! I am also absurdly jealous of the Foden, a thing of beauty. Thank you for producing this thread and and giving us our regular Diamond T fix, it makes great reading. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attleej Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 A few years ago, Wayne practiced the task on the REME Museum's 60 ton tri-axle Dyson tank transporter trailer, what we call the 'little trailer' Sam has done a fab job. Far better than my work. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwiitrucks Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Looks fantastic Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rewdco Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Fantastic job, love it! Looking forward to seeing pictures with the tank on the trailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niels v Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 (edited) Where did the M10 come from besides Israel, ex budge? Edited February 3 by Niels v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 8 hours ago, Niels v said: Where did the M10 come from besides Israel, ex budge? ex wheatcroft 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 productive weekend getting this pocket cleaned out and painted prior to fitting the original cover plate. This is were the copper air lines run inside the neck through the small hole then down to the break valves which bolt to the chassis. This pocket was never painted before as there isn’t any real access to do so after plate is welded on. This is why I removed it to clean/paint to help look after the steel. painted back side of cover plate to help as much as possible. next job sort out the components to make the ramp hinges and get the ramps fitted and hinge properly. hinge assemblies finished and tread bars for ramps drilled, these will be bolted on with counter sunk 10.9 M20 bolts and fully welded as don’t want to rip them off! outer hinge brackets welded on. must of got something right as they connected and hinged up perfectly, very happy so far. Got handles to make/fit and the tread plates to fit then there ready for blasting/paint. Glad it’s looking more finished all the time. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Been fighting the weather a bit but got the ramps them selves finished yesterday and got the J hooks made which stop the ramps from bouncing over when running empty. These trailers have zero suspension on the rear and when empty they bounce a lot going down the road. bars tacked on and used as guides to drill holes in ramps. pre heating before welding as there is a lot of cold metal and using 3.2 mm rods they tend to lay down a lot smoother when everything is already hot. Also reduces stress on welds as they contract. holes counter sunk and M20 10.9 bolts fitted. Originally they were just bolted but seen loads were there welded to and some of the bars on the beaver tail are welded. So going with bib and braces as the bars on the ramps get a much harder life than those at the top of the beaver tail. handles bent up and welded same as originals, next parts to make are the nuts & bolts that hold the ramp hinges to the trailer frame. Currently got some bits of 1” bsp pipe acting as pins as there correct o/d. making the J hooks which hold the ramps in the stowed position. Have thick walled whitworth nuts in stock so just have to castellate them, simple enough job on the mill. finished items, these are not exactly as they should be I don’t think but there are no pics I can find in service. Also the parts book doesn’t show a broken down image just a tiny image of a complete assembly which I can’t see how it actually works. so have gone with my own style as I was lucky to find the springs at GDSF. was 8pm when I finished them so will take pics in the day time on the trailer. Start looking at getting the winch cable trays installed on the deck as the next big job then can make the rear chain locker lid. regards Sam 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Been busy last couple of weeks doing various little but same time big jobs, making all the various parts that were either missing or original but not to this trailer fit. 1st job make new A frame pins aka big nuts & bolts which are 1 3/8” shank with a 1” UNS thread. Simple enough machining job but I did choose to counter bore the back side of the nuts to allow the shank of the bolts to come all the way through plus a bit so there is maximum shank being used. one un foreseen issue was the bore dia of the fixing eyes on the A frame which were 1 1/4” dia not 1 3/8”. So Fruehauf decided the pins needed to be an 1/8” bigger for some reason. Reason the A frame is wrong is it’s from a different trailer because the original a frame was twisted and had a very badly worn and beaten pintle eye and mount. So I bought the old a frame that was on another well travelled trailer in preservation and replaced the pintle and mount with new parts. So to fix the problem luckily I had a rota brooch the right size and managed to get the big mag drill set up on the A frame as pictured below. And was able to open the pin holes up an 1/8” with ease. A frame sorted moved onto the trays that run down the middle of the trailer for the winch cable to lay in. All 3 sections are original but not a matching set as the middle section is a fabrication we’re the other 2 are pressed. It does look a little odd as they don’t line up perfectly but there from different trailers and have had a life. Which I don’t mind as they didn’t stay factory spec very long in service and have wartime photos of them bent, mangled and torn off were trackless tanks have been dragged over them. this long section was on my trailer when I got it but was welded to the trailer which caused a lot of the rust problems in the middle of the trailer frame. Decided to weld on brackets and make it bolt on cause you want to be able to remove it so you can service the rear brake chambers and linkages. moving onto the rear chain locker lid which was missing to begin with. This is 3/8” thick which I know will bend from experience with a good friends trailer 🤦♂️. So originally the hinges were welded to both the lid and the trailer from factory but I have decided to have one end bolted so if I bend the lid I can remove it and sort it out. The hinges are NOS half track door hinges which are a nice heavy hinge. Original hinges should be a bit wider and obviously no bolt holes, but can only work with what’s available. hinge spacers welded to trailer cross member and tapped 3/8” unc all the way through. the 2 unused holes will be filled with weld. Lastly a few pics of the J hooks fitted so you can see how they work. so the chain locker lid needs all the little features making and fitting then that’s done which finishes the rear end off. Got a few other little parts to make that need welding on then ready to prep the trailer for final paint and all the rusty parts can go to be blasted and painted. In all getting very close to wiring and plumbing 😋 regards Sam 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Good evening, spent a few hours today machining the new junction boxes kindly supplied by Bart Ammeraal in Holland. These are aluminium castings and the originals on my trailer were cast iron/steel. Though I have seen nos boxes that are made of an alloy so there are variations. simple enough machining drilling and tapping job, 1/4” whit screws to retain the lid and 1/2” BSP for the conduit ends to screw in. front junction box temporarily fitted with original conduit ends screwed in. New brass studs made in house with original wing nuts. old & new front junction box showing the obvious rust jacking damage which is a real shame. old/new front/rear boxes together, interesting the original boxes were cast iron/steel and the 1 original lid is aluminium. Jason will be painting the trailer some point this week so hopefully over the weekend will get a lot of parts fitted😋 regards Sam 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 Making progress know and it’s so relieving to be at the stage of fitting parts permanently. Got the trailer painted Friday afternoon and spent Saturday fitting the track guides, winch cable shieves and rollers to the neck. today looked at the air tank problem, the tank on the left is the original from the fruehauf which nothing is saveable. The other tank is from another trailer which generally is much nicer condition but still has some good sized holes. So going to re use the pressed ends and roll a new cylinder and have it right. also cleaned up all the pipe work and fittings that go on the air relay valves and fitted it all loosely to the nos relay valves. When the thread sealant and nuts/bolts come in a few days will get it all fitted properly. another couple of weeks should see some major changes to the look of the trailer and hopefully on track to have it finished mid May. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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