Grillled oldies on and off the road

"Customized" grilles seemed to be the order of the day this week.

This big Freightliner with a light load - touched down in Halifax Friday.

Its long wheelbase hints at a western history, but it is now operated by D.Forsyth Ltd of Centreville, NB, a US DoT license holder. Missing the normal Freightliner plate below the windshield, it has an engraved "Freightliner" over the custom grille.

I found this Mercedes lurking in Burnside. It appears to be a T2 variant, the 508D, produced as a van or bus in the 1986-1996 period. This one was likely customized as a campervan when new, but the T2 types were so ubiquitous at one time that it could have been just about anything to start with. The stainless steel marine type windows could be a giveaway to a connoisseur. 

 

Missing its front bumper, which may not be too far away, it has a few loose wires and a the front of the frame showing.


 Also in Burnside, standing out a amid a bunch of new Freightliner fuel trucks, this well worn Western Star features the low door latches of the late model Autocar Driver Comfort Cab.

The truck has lost some of the grille frame, and what remains is battered. It also has well wired mirrors with rear facing back-up lights in nacelles. The single centre mounted clearance light is a unique feature too.

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My summer vacation - Part 2

Always on the lookout for Autocars and COEs I saw a few of each.

All these A'cars are from the GM era:

 Hard working dumper in Quebec City must be a durable beast.

This well driller has a drop axle, and appears to be in great shape.

 With an added steering axle, this pumper is a veteran.

Some prime COEs:

A rare Mack COE, a 1983 model, runs for Scierie Bois-St-François of St-François-du-Lac and is in pristine condition.

Le ferme Guy Benoit runs Big Bull Attack II, a Kenworth Aerodyne.

And finally, need a tow?

Garage Bertrand of Neuville and its sister company Remorquage Lévis will go anywhere to pick up a tow, and have 8 big trucks to do the job. This Volvo was taking a break hauling a Kenworth.

Closer to home,  Clarke's Towing of Moncton NB runs this well worn KW that looks capable of handling just about any job.

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My summer vacation - Part 1

A little late, but here is my report for my August vacation in Quebec.

As usual I was able to find some serious - but very old - snow clearing equipment.

A 4x4 Western Star, complete with 60s era Autocar cab, appears to be on its last legs, but may be fired up if needed this coming winter.

 A classic Sicard Snomaster with its huge blower motor - the real way to clear snow.

 

High speed plow, spreader body and a Cat powered classic Freightliner split window cab. Does the size of the fuel tank drop a hint about how many mpg this rig gets.

It wasn't all old stuff however. I did finally get to see some new Navistar International HX series trucks. These came about as a result of Caterpillar canceling its truck production (which were built by Navistar) and Navistar needing a vocational heavy duty.

I  found this pair at Simard Suspensions in Baie-St-Paul waiting for some modifications - doesn't look like they will go to steering axle.  

Set-back long wheelbase

Shorter wheelbase has a crooked stack.

I haven't seen any of these locally yet - they were just introduced in February - but they are supposed to replace the Paystar. There is a set-forward model too, and can be straight truck or tractor.

to be continued...

Just in time delivery from Europe and bound for Europe

Delivered this week by ship these two Vovlos will soon be earning there keep - although I am not sure where, since they carry no owner markings.

They are aircraft de-icing rigs, built by Vestergaard A/S of Denmark, and carry Vestergaard's Elephant Beta tower which raises the operator well above the ground with a clear view of the de-icing process.

Vestergaard is a family owned business producing various kinds of Ground Service Equipment. With several branches and representatives around the world, its North American presence is Vestergaard Inc in McHenry, IL. More on the company here: vestergaard

The truck chassis are Volvo FE 260, a model not normally seen in Canada.

The articulated tower folds up to give the rig a 4,05m maximum height.

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Heading in the opposite direction - back to Europe - is this German plated Peugeot. The RV conversion is by CS-Reisemobile and it is the Korfu model.

Peugueot, the French automaker, produces a line of small commercial vehicles in cooperaiton with Fiat and Citroen. The Fiat Ducato, Citroen Jumper and Peugeot Boxer have the same mechanicals, but with slight body differences.
This one appears to be  Boxer II model, produced between 2002 and 2006. If so it is in remarkably good condition- aside from one BooBoo on the front left lower bumper.

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GDLS import

The constant flow out export Ligth Armoured Vehicles from General Dyamics Land Systems Canada (based in London, ON) now has a backhaul component.
Normally we see LAVs arriving in pairs on Earl Paddock drop decks for export by ship to Saudi Arabia. As far as I was awre the trucks returned empty back to Ontario. Yesterday I noted one of the trucks with a pair of LAVs inside the Fairview Cove container termanil - np picture possible.
Today however I saw (possibly) the same truck outbound from the terminal bearing a different dort of LAV- not painted in desert colours.

This one looked a bit slicker that the usual military vehicle and even had a "GDLS" on the front. It laso had General Dynamics painted on the side near the back.
 It seems to have arrived from Europe and is not identified in GDLS Canada's web site.

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And another one

The second MAN this week - this one from Germany - and with a very slick RV body.

 This MAN model TGM 18.340 is a much bigger and more rugged rig than the one I saw Monday.

 The Bischoff-Scheck body is almost featureless. It is better know for its racing industery trailers:

http://www.bischoff-scheck.de/en/index.htm

 

The flush fitting access door is barely visible just ahead of the rear axle. This is really a fortress on wheels!

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And they keep on coming

With more than a dozen or more foreign RVs, ranging from bus size to pickup, lined up in the compound at Fairview Cove, the end of the season will soon be here. Most will leave Halifax by ship in the next few days.
It is unfortunate that photos are not possible in that area, for the array is quite astounding.
I am able to pick off the odd one before it enters the compound, but that is rare.
Yesterday I was fortunate to catch this MAN from France.

California, Mexico and Cuba are among the stickers plastered on the cabin.

 

This rig is equipped with a winch and frame at the rear which I assume is used to extract a motorcycle from the hatch. It also has a "Dakar Arica" label and the tire frame is marked Baja Rack. The owners are obviously desert lovers.

MAN trucks and Neoplan buses are produced by MAN Truck + Bus AG of Germany, a company that is owned by Volkswagen. They are sold world wide, except in North America where they are still seen only rarely.

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