ESB and Utility 4x4 Truck Thread

CharlieZeroOne

hi all

came a cross this pic on the net a few mins ago and the rb44 in the background caught my eye

i never knew the esb used them? i have a fair interest in the esb stuff, bless em they bought in some nice kit, my last truck was an iveco 40.10 4x4 that came from them, and the renault b120's are smashing.

anyone got any more pics or info on the esb rb's?

lol not another soul might find this interesting....

101sean

I might!

No ESB ones but the British Army had loads of them, complete heap of sh!te!

They were bought as a sop to Reynolds Boughton to keep them quiet after they developed the DROPS concept but didn't get the contract. They were supposed to replace the Land Rover 101 as a gun tractor but the end user wouldn't accept them due to braking problems, when you off roaded them the brakes went out of adjustment.

They got used for other purposes and Pinzgauers are used as gun tractors.

Usually plenty for sale at Withams, you get a lot of truck for your money. http://www.mod-sales.com/

CharlieZeroOne

cheers Sean

Im hat they are, and they are a good looking truck i think. I think there were two variants, and one was less ****e?... i think i read that somewhere.

If the brakes are the only major defect youd image that could be rectified.

But more specifically im interested in ESB units.

Is there an ESB truck thread? catalogueing the different 4x4's the esb used over the years...
Ive seen a lot of esb 4x4's but never an RB44

I think theyre after buying canter 4x4's now, i saw one a few months ago. nice piece of kit that.

Silvera

Interesting thread. I also have an interest in ESB (and other state) vehicles.
I've seen a few of those ESB RB's in use over the years. I always thought
that they looked strange with the normal headlamp sections covered in.

I recall talking to a guy who worked in ESB HQ (he organised the ESB scale models, I got a couple from him) and we had a great conversation about the older ESB vehicles. We agreed that it was such a pity that the ESB (or some state body) didnt retain any retired state vehicles as museum pieces. He recalled how there was a large retired ESB vehiclel (crane?) left to rust away in a field in Laois.

Is the photo of the RB above from Ger Reid's scrapyard in Suncroft, Co. Kildare by any chance? He has (had?) all sorts of old cars / trucks / tractors in his yard!:D

CharlieZeroOne

hey

cheers! - im not mental so, which is nice.

The RB44 pic came from a truck breakers in Mitchelstown, Cork. I'll put the link up later.
Ive seen several 'collectors' of these items. theres a guy outside Bansha, has a scrapyard with 2 Renault B120 4x4's, a B110 2x4, and a transit county 4x4.

I came across another place in the wilds of kildare, the guy there had 3 renault B120's also.

There is a chap in wexford somewhere with, Ive been told, 5 Daily 40.10 4x4's. Ive never seen that place though.
Personally, i love all kinds of 4x4's, and i think the ESB bring in the most interesting vehicles on the roads here.

Silvera

No..you're not mental!;)

Good to know that some old ESB vehicles are being saved.
Have you seen the small ESB van at the classic car shows in recent years?
I think its a Bedford van. It's fully restored in classic 'ESB' livery.

I also recall seeing a very large (1950's era?) ESB vehicle at a steam rally
event in Fenagh, Co. Carlow about 10 years ago.

You might find this thread from the 'All Things Retro' forum of interest too -

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055103218

Btw, I saw this interesting tracked LandRover in the Scottish Highlands 2 years ago. It's owned by a land rover dealer called 'Lix Tull'. I think it may be an ex-UK/Scottish "esb" vehicle...

101sean

We scraped an ESB Renault Trafic 4x4 van a couple of years ago, we paid €50 for it just to take a wing and bonnet off it.

That Cuthbertson Tracked Land Rover is no longer at Lix Toll, gone to a collector as has the Forest Rover behind it. They have the modern equivalent, you can get rubber track units for 4x4s, will set you back as much as the base vehicle costs though!

I'm happy for this thread to stay going for pics of unusual utility vehicles if boardsies want to post what they've seen.

Anyone spot the AEC Militant Mk3 Recovery in Moone Boy last night?

101sean

Current tracked LR at Lix Toll

Silvera

Ex-ESB van at Fingal Show in 2009

CharlieZeroOne

sound Sean your a moderator on here are you? all good anyways. id like to just see them all catalogued somewhere.

would you believe this was sold for scrap about a year ago, the guy couldnt sell it, it had something like 44,000 miles on it

Renault B120 4x4



heres a nice B110 (shorter wheelbase than the B120)



this is a daily 4x4 that I bought. It had 57,000 miles on it, and was generally in very good condition, though it didnt look it.
I made some money back, selling the hydraulics off it too. One factor about the esb vehicles, is that they dont scrimp on the toys when they are kitting them out, its all expensive stuff



worked on it for a while, sprayed it and then sold it to buy another yoke that caught my eye



my uncle has 2 Renault Trafic 4x4's, one is moving, one is for parts. Ill get some pics of them. They have a very nice air filter housing, as mundane as that sounds, a waterproof affair. They get beached very easy though, I've read.

101sean

Yea, I'm the mod here, thankfully an easy job here compared to some forums!

Interesting stuff, I like any 4x4 despite my Solihull bias but the bigger and more unusual the better.

Tyres is a big issue, see there's 9.00x16s or 255/100R16 on some of them, hideously expensive new, hard to find decent s/h, my 101 runs on them.

CharlieZeroOne

theres a guy on ebay importing a Chinese clone for decent prices

or rather he was selling them. it looked like he was going to be selling them going forward.... quite a good idea


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Michelin-255-100-R-16-Clone-/221384945739?ViewItem=&item=221384945739&nma=true&si=8b1m4YUTHOfv63Rk9FDEGJLfAck%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

this guy is selling them in the states, check out his truck, his mileage must be horrendous!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Michelin-XZL-Clone-Yellowsea-YS20-Military-Tire-255-100R16-9-00R16-/230973386301?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Tires&hash=item35c7162e3d

i have a bremach at the mo with 255/100/R16s on it, part time 4x4 but without free wheeling hubs.. going to be interesting to see what kind of mileage that gets

101sean

Someone in the 101 club is looking to import a load of tyres from Tellowsea in China, trial batch worked out at around £200 each.

CharlieZeroOne

thats great news. i wonder how they will compare to the michelins, which are prob one of the toughest tyres around. Its all good looking like XZL's, but they are legendary for theyre toughness, so yah, looking forward to hearing experiences of them

101sean

Comment from someone who's fitted the Yellowsea tyres - The first thing I noticed was that the tyres are so incredibly quiet. The other noticeable characteristic of the tyres is that unlike the XZLs there is no subtle (or perhaps no so subtle) rumble as the vehicle comes to a halt. The handling characteristics of the vehicle is also more precise. All in all an improvement of the XZLs and I'm as please as punch.

They were £236 each, the guy on ebay is the 101 club importer. I'll pm you if I hear there's any more coming in.

Changed the thread title

CharlieZeroOne

ah sound, great stuff on both counts. im going to put pics of all the different ESB trucks i know of up here as soon as i get a chance, i work during the week though, so ill save it for when im idle.

.17hmr

You might like this some lovly landrovers am sure the person involeved would'nt mind another enthusiast hope this works!https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onetonlandrover.co.uk%2Felectricityboard%2F&ei=WFs1U8K1Hqzo7AbkgIG4Cg&usg=AFQjCNEa1JBqvSTBSyWswKnYMy-hY66oaA&bvm=bv.63808443,d.ZGU

101sean

Nice find, some great pictures on there.

I can remember SEEBoard using Austin K9s as well as many 1 ton 109's

.17hmr

101sean wrote: »

Nice find, some great pictures on there.

I can remember SEEBoard using Austin K9s as well as many 1 ton 109's

yep they always used the best of machines for the lines

CharlieZeroOne

some nice machines on there, some lovely hardwear

CharlieZeroOne

a nice pic of a Unimog U140L



Ford Transit County




This Vario belons to a chap called IanC, he has made a pretty serious camper out of it

.17hmr

nice mog any plans may be ?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imozhpubSrA#t=140 nice mog
but i much rather the man 6x6 fantastic looking machines http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ceFF93HV974#t=118 just need the lotto now and im set .

Silvera

Redd4 wrote: »

a nice pic of a Unimog U140L

What year is the Unimog?
Would love to have one of these as a 'plaything'!:D

Dell bhoy

Hi Guys...
Really interesting tread...
I'm on the lookout for something like a Unimog U140L... Or an equivelent...
I've seen a few of the Bigger-Mogs but pricey...
Somewhere there's a good 4x4 truck with my name on it...
Ideally I'm going to fit a Long 8 meter+++ hiab on the back... But first I need the truck...
So what's the best value one to go for ??? Unimog ?? Iveco ?? Renault ??

CharlieZeroOne

you have a truck licence?

the renaults look good and the dailys are a good machine, if you have a licence I know where my old daily is and its sitting idle, that truck is in very good shape.

there was a crane and a bed added to mine as part of the sale.





the renaults, they go for stupid low money. under 1000. which is crazy and woulnt happen anywhere else.

I also know that the ESB renaults (and dailys) are the long wheelbase version which is unusual, even in France most of the Renault B110/B120's are short wheelbase, so the ones herein Ireland are the more desirable version. The daily and the Renault both have an Iveco engine so very reliable.
The one issue to watch for with the daily, not sure about the renaults, is rust.

There was a B120 on donedeal a few years back. The seller had listed it badly, i think he wrote 'four by four' in the title of the ad, instead of 4x4. No one saw the ad, so no one rang him, and he ended up selling the truck for scrap value 800. He said on the phone it had 44,000 miles or kms on it, one or there other. here is that truck -

bren11

I know its not ex ESB but probably some utilities company. It comes complete with winch and hiab. Its been for sale for a while, and I dont think it will make its £2650 reserve.

http://www.copart.co.uk/uk/Lot/16464566?searchId=1369062051

CharlieZeroOne

thats pretty sweet, thanks for adding that. interesting truck.

Slideways

Redd4 wrote: »

you have a truck licence?

the renaults look good and the dailys are a good machine, if you have a licence I know where my old daily is and its sitting idle, that truck is in very good shape.

there was a crane and a bed added to mine as part of the sale.





the renaults, they go for stupid low money. under 1000. which is crazy and woulnt happen anywhere else.

I also know that the ESB renaults (and dailys) are the long wheelbase version which is unusual, even in France most of the Renault B110/B120's are short wheelbase, so the ones herein Ireland are the more desirable version. The daily and the Renault both have an Iveco engine so very reliable.
The one issue to watch for with the daily, not sure about the renaults, is rust.

There was a B120 on donedeal a few years back. The seller had listed it badly, i think he wrote 'four by four' in the title of the ad, instead of 4x4. No one saw the ad, so no one rang him, and he ended up selling the truck for scrap value 800. He said on the phone it had 44,000 miles or kms on it, one or there other. here is that truck -

I just saw this thread again and that Renault pic brought on the horrors.
They were some bag of twine and any man that had the misfortune to drive or work on one can confirm.
The anguish of trying to get the minimal handbrake reading that would pass a DoE every single time they came in for a test

Nekarsulm

In Cavan Car Auctions yard there is an ancient Bedford single axle lorry, probably early 1970's.
It has four big drum winches mounted crossways in line along the body. Each winch probably a yard wide at the drum. Lots of wire rope on the winches. Lots of rust in the cab also. I'll get a photo if anyone is interested.

They hold ESB and An Post vehicle auctions every few months. Usually a couple of dozen transits, renaults, and right lorries, many with hiabs or man lifts.

CharlieZeroOne

would love to see pics of that please. would love to get to those auctions.

Shannon757

Anyone know how/where/when you can buy ex-ESB vehicles?

Nekarsulm

Shannon757 wrote: »

Anyone know how/where/when you can buy ex-ESB vehicles?

See my post, #29

https://m.facebook.com/irishcarauctions.cavan/

Shannon757

Nekarsulm wrote: »

See my post, #29

https://m.facebook.com/irishcarauctions.cavan/

Thanks.

Nekarsulm

Here she is. A Bedford, not a Commer as I thought.

Nekarsulm

few more views 14 thousand miles... Who'll take it on?

CharlieZeroOne

wow. rough cab on it hey. doesnt look that bad otherwise? cheers for taking the pics, interesting livery.

Nekarsulm

Roof completely gone, but must have been under cover cause no weeds growing inside.
Would there be another one in Ireland?
Could go for peanuts, cause scrap is at a low, or could go mad money depending on the value of those hydraulic winches and pumps and control gear.
Not many bargains at those auctions, crowd comes from all over the country.

Here are two tool trailers at the same place. Made by Westwood Kildare.
Like a lot of ESB stuff, they don't bother taking out a lot of the spares etc. Cause you and me, brother, we will buy more!

68deville

Prior to the quad being used extensively by the ESB they had some oddball
4x4 with floatation tyres and a ford 1800cc diesel engine with room in cab for one person, bout size of a swb landrover and made in the UK,a woeful ball
Of s***e!