Retarders

Billy P,
Thanks for posting that link to the early days of BMG, boy! Did that take one back to memory lane! Just spent a leisurely hour or so going over some of the stories posted there by both yourself and other contributors, great stuff!
It's really encouraging to both see and read some of these old reminiscences, I for one would like to see more of the same, like going to old truck drivers reunions!
TDU and d23j,
I concur 100% with your views. I live just one street of a major East-West link in Central Victoria, often walk down the main street to the library etc and the amount of blokes who insist on leaving the Jake on right until they pull up right at the stop sign, is uncountable!
Was a time not all that long ago, where you would get your ass busted for creating 'undue noise', especially in some towns on the New England Highway. Was one particular law enforcer who was red hot on this, dropping off the Liverpool Range into Murrurundi, he obviously lived just somewhere near where the 60kph sign was posted. I can't remember if there was a warning sign posted or not.
Interesting, maybe some of the modern drivers believe that if it's not posted as such, it's open slather! I would have said that with improvements to engine braking devices coupled with modern exhausts, trucks were a good deal quieter these days. Then I spot some flash looking jigger sporting what seem almost to be 6 inch straight through vertical pipes, barking like a lovesick baboon. Maybe these same blokes ride Harleys with straight through pipes as their daily ride? Either that, or as the grandkids tell me, "if it's too loud, you're just getting old!" Just as well I'm half deaf (and that may have something to do with years spent driving trucks with R/H exhaust pipes with windows down - listening to jakes? or driving dozers without any ear protection).
Dave_64

Yep..........The Jakes can be a bit annoying (possibly to everyone
except the driver)
I remember when the 250 Cummins were fitted with them.....
on the open road when they came on, any cattle and sheep near the road
would virtually stampede....yes they were noisy........
These days , how ever, they should not be any noisier than the engine
noise when pulling.
I found when in heavy suburbin traffic a lot .......if you didnt use them
all the time and trying to keep up with the flow......then you risked
running up some ones choofer if they pulled up super smartly,
simply because the brakes were getting a bit warm...........
I always complained about noise, till TNT fitted a new muffler.
so in my mind , it was as good as it would ever be.....how ever.....
i still switched it off in delicate areas....
BUT...Other than that........as $wishy said ,it was on all the time.........
PURELY FOR SAFETY SAKE......
.......................Billy....................

Where we live there are signs to not use engine brakes, the older drivers mostly comply but younger ones for some reason have to use them constantly. Maybe it's an ego thing.

My poor dynatard up in the hills is a little light on for the job after my 2624 Benz which had more engine brake than pulling power. I am still chasing the parts to fit the Jacks to the 320 coolpower with a good muffler!

Dave_64
Yep, you're right. Just one sentence can get the old memory going.

You mentioned dropping off the ranges and the very zealous law enforcement officer(s). I was coming down the Moonbi one and two one day from Brisbane to Sydney. Not that I went to Brisbane much.

At that time I had a Scania 112 single drive 'footy boot', built to a special order and you couldn't get a better truck. It was fitted with an engine brake that worked off the footbrake pedal. There had been some runaways at the time and the local enforcers were insisting that you used engine brakes to save the main ones.

So there is this little black duck wobbling down the hills with his boot on the footbrake just engaging the engine brake. Up come the wallopers and attached themselves to my back door. Of course the engine brake is on because my number eleven boot is on the pedal, lo and behold, the brake lights on the trailer are activated. Down to the bottom of the hill close to Tamworth on come the red and blues. So being a proper gentleman as I am, I thought it prudent to stop.

Up to the door he comes with his mate.

"Evening all" says I.
"Riding your brakes driver" says he.
"Nope" says I.
" Yes you are. Your brake lights have been on all the time" says he
" Thank Christ for that" says I. "They should work when I press on the Brake pedal"
"That means you have been riding your brakes" says he.
Here we go thinks I. I'm going to have a long conversation with this bloke and try and explain how the system works.

Well to cut a rather long story short, it didn't work. I even said that we should go into Tamworth and I'll explain it all to his duty sergeant. After what seemed about half an hour I'm getting rather pissed off, so I insisted that he write the ticket out and I would see him in court with Scania engineers and Uncle Tom Cobley and all. He then wrote the ticket out and we parted company. Not on exactly good terms either.

I then returned home about a week later and wrote to Tamworth, care of the duty sergeant on that day explaining everything that had happened.

Two weeks later or so, there is a letter in the post. I can't remember the exact words but it said that the infringement had been withdrawn and apologising for all inconvenience.

Sometimes, it pays to ark up. :woohoo:

It's now time for TDU's 'happy hour' or two or three.

TDU

Hunters Hill bus co (North and Western) were big users of Telma Retarder in their Leyland Tigers and even the tonka toys (812/814 "pie cart" benz) Although I've never found one to still be connected up in any of their previous fleet.

I think ZF auto boxes in the buses have it down pat and the new Allison is good but can hit in a bit harsh when trying to pull up smooth, so old beryl doesn't land on the front windscreen on the way to bingo.

ABM Foden and ERF, morning teabreak outside the old Parramatta Bowling club, cnr Pitt and Macquarrie sts Parramatta

.

I live a kilometre form the end of the M1 in Sydney (Warrawee if you want to goggle it) and between my house and the Pacific Highway is the North Shore Rail line.

The train line is 100 metres away and the highway around 300 metres away.

The trains never wake me but trucks with Jake brakes wake me almost every night.

I'd love to sit by the roadside and fire RPG's at the trucks with Jakes that are used unnecessarily in the middle of the night.

.
.
Zuff.......Yep ..noise at night is most unwelcome.....
Our next door neighbors ( who really are lovely and helpful people)
keep waking us up nightly........He leaves to pick up his wife
at about 11 PM in a work ute that seems to have about fifteen doors.
Arrives home at 11/ 45 still in that fifteen door ute...then seems to
toss about a dozen house bricks into the back of said ute.
Then at about 3 AM the daughter leaves for work...she has a car
with only about a dozen doors...........
Then at about 5 AM, the fifteen door ute goes to work...........
I have thought about mentioning this to him,then think well,
every body has to go to work, then i remember that i used to get home
and leave in the middle of the night , sometimes with the truck,
So we just wear it.........if i cannot go back to sleep, i will have a look
at this forum or whatever. Sad but thats life...........
..................Billy.......................

Billy, have you tried ear plugs? I live on a hill with a bus stop right out the front, and a speed hump ( sorry traffic calming device) as well. With the automatic buses revving, and the air con fans screaming, and the tradies utes with all the lose gear in the back hitting the speed hump ( double noise, once when the hit it then again when they come off it), a good nights sleep is out of the question. I might ad that none of this was here when I built my house, I was at the end of a dirt dead end street. Progress? I would not even mention your problem to your neighbours, some people don't need much to set them off, and take it the wrong way and try and make even more noise. Ear plugs work for me.