Truckfest '99: we'll e there!
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If it's trucks you want, you'll get them at Commercial Motor Truckfest—and how. We preview the pick of the crop at the Peterborough Show Ground over the Bank Holiday Weekend! Whatever you operate, there will be plenty to see and do.
• by Brian Weatherley For the second year gifts sharing a stand with its two monthly stablemates, Truck & Driver and Truck. And as Truckfest is the place where owner-drivers and drivers gather, where better to congregate than on our joint stand where Truck & Driver is laying on a spectacle with Mercedes-Benz (UK) and Shobba, T&D's ace cartoonist. On the Sunday and Monday morning he'll be drawing on a pristine white Actros 1840 Long Distance tractor with the aim of completely covering it with his humorous haulage characters before the weekend is out.
We're also hoping to have a wandering caricaturist; so be prepared to have your beauty spots captured! Meanwhile, on the M-B stand proper you'll also find a trio of Actroses (should that be ActriP) including a Mega Space cab model and the Actros hauler used by the McLaren Fl team.
Scania's Drive and Buy used truck roadshow hits Peterborough in time for the Truckfest weekend. Operators can check out up to 50 used vehicles as well as test driving them fully laden. There will even be a finance person on hand if you want to buy it and drive it away then and there!
Win a Scania
To add a bit of spice, Scania is running a competition to win the ex-Safeway P113 4x2 tractor that appeared on its stand at the recent NEC show promoting its approved used truck scheme. The Drive and Buy event will run from a separate stand with its own access.
Scania always has an eye
catching new truck an display, and on its own stand will be two vehicles from George Green Transport as wet as a Topline tractor owned by Gary Coles which carries an outstanding Star Wars paint job.
ERF will be showing three operator vehicles in the colours of Jack Richards, Minster Motors and Welch Transport of Cambridge on its stand, manned by local distributor Sellers & Batty. For vintage truck lovers there will also be a chance to see "ERF 1", the first truck the company built. Back up to date there's also the futurishe centre-steer EM municipal as well as its latest Cumminspowered Turkish-built EP 18-tonner with its distinctive wedgeshaped steel cab.
Volvo is clearly concentrating or its new fleet tractor, the FM, at Truckfest. On display will be an FM12 6x2 powered by the same Ci12C all-electrcnic six-pot engine as its big brother, the FH12. There's an FM7 sixwheeler and an FM10 4x2 artic too. You can also see a Canter light middleweight on the stand. The Canter is sold through Volvo's UK dealers but built by and badged Mitsubishi. In addition to marketing the Canter in Europe, Volvo and Mitsubishi have signed a deal to develop a new 17/18-tonners which will appear after 2000.
At Peterborough MAN will be showing its latest 26 284 M2000 tipper as well as Eaton manual and Autoshift auto versions of its Evolution 19 364 tractor. Alongside that will be its flagship 414 and 464 artics, both with the latest four-valve engine technology from Munich. Visitors can also see the new Evolution 35.364 eight-legger and MAN is hoping to have a customer vehlcie display including a turntable fire engine on an M2000 chassis, day-cab M2000 17-tonners with fridge bodywork, a 7.5-tonne L2000 and a Roadhaus tractor in operator livery.
lveco Ford says it will be showing "just about everything" at Peterborough, with its "EuroStar alley" consisting of three EuroStar E47s: two with its EuroTronic auto box and one 6x2. There will also be a EuroTech 180E drawbar racingcar transporter, two Super Cargo tippers and a EuroTrakker eight-legger.
Last, but not least, a CNGpowered Daily will represent the little'uns. And a Jackie Stewart Fl driving simulator will test your mettle at Imola (it's £2 a go, proceeds to charity).
Fellow lveco Group company Seddon Atkinson will be exhibiting at Truckfest through its distributor Direct Commercial Vehicle Sales of Brigg. Its Peterborough line-up includes Direct's own T7 6x2 23.405 StratoCruiser demonstrator, complete with a sliding fifth wheel and Hyva hydraulic tipping pack. Next in line is a 32.340 eight-legger courtesy of BPH Equipment which features a
massive Fassi crane and a long flatbed body. Backing those two will be a brace of 23.405 6x2 T6 Strato high-roof sleepers, one in the colours of FM & JE Lea and the other in Fairbrook (Agriculture) paintwork. Then, for a real trip down memory lane, check out the Mk1Atkinson Borderer, complete with legendary Gardner 150 engine, in John Huddleston's livery.
Feeling hungry
If you're a Dal XF customer, or operator, and you're feeling hungry, you could well be invited to a pig roast at 17:30hrs behind the Leyland Daf stand on Sunday afternoon! As before, the Anglo-Dutch company will major on its flagship 95XF range with 4x2 and 6x2 tractors on show. However, there will be an extra special vehicle from one of LD's service dealers who will bring along an amazing 95XF recovery wagon. And there will be show vehicles from local dealer Ford 8.4. Slater, rumoured to be bringing along no less than 22 95XF tractors, four 95 Series, two 85 Series and a brace of 45 Series too! There will also be trucks from Brian Currie of Milton Keynes.
After last year's extravaganza of Eddie Stobart trucks James !Ham is planning to get in on the act with a big display of its vehicles at Truckfest, including Renault Premiums running in its fleet. Anything "Steady Eddie" can do, "Jimmy the Lorry' can do—the company is also planning to launch its own fan club at Peterborough. Where's it all going to end?
In addition to all the fun detailed above there will be full displays from countless other suppliers.
And don't forget to drop in and see us on Commercial Motor's stand]