§wishy ............ The KENWORTH ‘S’ Model Truck & me

MRS
gudday m8

Gus went on to build a few trailers for others in a small rental factory in Melbourne
he then retired

PART L
Gus made a dolly for us to try



It was not suitable as it was too high and the truck would not be able to have swing clearance and near impossable to back
he wanted the bottom pins on the float to be on a cam and when you fold down you need a bar to turn the pins ..... We could see this would never work
so we suggested a cut here n there ... bring it back here tacked welded to gether and we will sit it on blocks and check it out
after a few mods it came out OK he then went on to make another one for us



Meanwhile Jim B from Brentwood Trailers Woolongong contacted us about bying a new FGNLL
we were not to keen on the idea cos we had seen the trailer Readmix had and seen many faults for us to use
Jim was going to be in Melb the next week and I agreed to meet him on Footscray Rd West Melbourne
I told him the things I did not like on the Readymix float
He said yes he can make to our specs
the only problem he had trouble with is how we got the gooseneck to deck so low
once I showed him he said yes of course and supplied a triaxle Brentwood @ great expense because of all the ideas I had
he charged lots for the trailer and then went on to make my ideas his standard
we also bought 2 more Brentwoods another 3 axle and a 4 axle





cya

Awesome story and awesome pics as always thanks mate…

I love reading up about the history

Looks like I'm getting the cart before the horse (swappin and changing dates etc)
heres the 2 dollys waiting to roll
they were ideal to get a bit of extra weight and still be able to fold the floats with them connected to truck



Part M

Mid 1970's kept bizzy with a few projects on the go around Melbourne
Melb made a underground railway
we would be called in to cart the Alpine miner machine, a electric boring head and conveyor system
they would wait until of end of shift organise transport with an operator and electrician to load us
not unusual they would forget about us not unusual to get 6 to 8 hours hire for a short shift around city
Alpine miner looked simular to this, as we dont have any pix of us in the tunnel

Sundays were allways bizzy carting gears around the city to do with the underground rail





About the same era the Westgate Fwy was being built
but first we had to shift a boat in the way


Then the construction of Freeway could get under way









cya

Looks like you may have to get the Grooving Iron for the Dolly on the Left.. Swishy!!

https://www.hcvc.com.au/forum/attachment/27225

So what was better about the Brentwood floats than the Steco ?
I gather they must of been better as they survived and the Steco's got the ass

Was a busy time in Melbourne back then, actually it was a busy time in most of Australia I think

Dont get me wrong it's busy now but no substance in most of whats going on these days

Paul

Hay
Seed
Gudday m8
In my defence u're honor th@ B only mud in the grooves of the tread
or it was a long time B 4 we got a tyre regroover
LOL

Mrs
m80
we bent the rear gooseneck of the Last STECO FGNLL it was a box section fabrication bit flimsy but we fixd and plated it sum
When Jim B owned and ran Brentwood you could talk to him and he understood as tho he was an ol experience float driver
the 1st tri axle Brentwood we had was a good solid trailer but weight 12t all made of common garden variety mild steel
the 2nd triaxle Brentwood he built with much the same specs as the 1st one but made of High Tensile Steel only weighs 10t
@ the same time we also purchased a 4x4 with a gap of8' between the first group of 2 and the last group of 2 axles RSend legal with 35t
But Jim B Retired and sold off the buisness and the new owners aint clued up

LOL

Part N

Some where I have forgotten to mention mid 1970's we purchased a Drake Swing Wing Float
it is a 3x8 with a 6' gap between the wheels and @ 14' wide it is legal with 49t on Rsend
(normally @ th@ era a Drake 4x8 with 4' gap between the wheels were legal with the same weight of 49t)



Had a friend from the U.S. visit and we had the Drake up on blocks
so it shows the swing wing effect
Clikity ............. ClikClikClik


Usual story told m not gunna fit through the gate way to unload @ 20' wide
so only way to stop arguing put it in the gate entrance and let m tell U it aint gunna fit
LOL
Clikity ............. ClikClikClik

cya

Still got the Drake, Swishy?
What width does it close up to?
Cogz

Cogz
gudday m8
Still got the Drake still all original
the only thing we have done to the beast in all these years is fit ramps and hydraulics to widen and narrow the deck and raise and lower the ramps
was electric power pack now updated to a Chonda power pak
the Drake widens from 8'.2.1/2" (2.5m) 10'6" 12' 13' 14' ( 4.26m)

Part O

Local Quarry @ F.T.Gully started making portable crusher equipment suitable for us to winch on to decks of the FGNLL
they set up a temporary quarry at major construction sites Hamilton, Dartmouth, Upper Thompson


Crusher unloading at Hamilton


coming back from Upper Thompson

was not unusual to run a stack of trailers to do a project where they wanted to cut down crane hire so we could have the one truck loading swaping trailers






other times they would take all day to get the machine out and ready to load and another crew at the delivery end seting up to install loads
all to do with the motor industry mainly interiors and upholstery etc





nothing too hard
machine was too high to travel across Melb they cut and inch off the base plate so it could clip in under the main deck flange with the 3" deck removed
Applied for permit VicRoads came back and said the trailer is registered as a 2 axle I said it has been registerd as a 4 axle all this time
so the sent a VicRoads man to look at trailer at our depot he counted 4 axles etc.... permit granted
then Vicroads said it has been registered as a 2 axle for the last 3 years and you need to pay the difference I said OK what ever
a Month later they said they having trouble working the difference out so just keep it registered as a 4 axle and don't let it happen again
FFS this is what you get dealing with Govt departments

cya

Running B Doubles Now are We swishy..??

Hi,

do the little triangular piece along the side of the trailers swing out and hold a board or ramp?

Terry