"What a Beast!" American Reacts to the Scammell Explorer

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[@davidrobertson376]

The British truck industry sure was something to behold in those days. So much choice. Scammell, Leyland, ERF, Foden, Thornycroft, Attcenson, AEC, Bedford. Ford, Morris, Austin. I am sure I have left some out but they were sure built for work

[@stephenmunday123]

The Scammell here is excellent. The badge on the doors and front grille is a military badge for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. I used to see these when I was an apprentice at the 43 Command Workshops REME. During the mid 70's, They were an all terrain recovery vehicle. It's great to see one in action again. Keep finding these beasts.

[@austinmorris1693]

we also had these and Thornycoft Antars at the 27 command REME in the 70s merry xmas

[@stephenmunday123]

@@austinmorris1693 The Antar was a beast 💪 had them at 43 cmd too

[@Crash-zm2qd]

My grandad did some work in 43 Command Workshop REME in 1963 at Aldershot he worked at CSS TDU on tanks as well he was in REME but in TA he drove scammells as well and worked on them.

[@iainhughes8110]

Arte et Marte!

[@alanprice7584]

When the travelling fair came to our town in the UK they came with short wheelbase scammells that carried huge generators to power the fairground rides. I Remember on one occasion we gave a hand to crank start a scammell, it involved two guys applying their weight to the starting handle while six or more of us pulled on a rope and boy if that engine kicked back we knew all about it.

[@hugovaughan]

Those are Showmasters. There were some 7 ever made, and six of them are now operated by the same Fairgound company. it the Scammels are running, it is a "Diesel Day", if the traction engines are generating the power, it is a "Steam Day"! That is an awesome heritage fairground event!

[@alanprice7584]

The travelling fair that came to Orpington in Kent was called Bottons, they had a winter yard at Green Street Green just a few miles from Orpington.

[@paultrevett1287]

In the Gulf War our guys with Scammell transporters were tasked with transporting US armour they ran 24/7 apparently your military were very impressed with how they performed! We've now ended up with Oshkosh tractors!

[@MattOGormanSmith]

The USPS wanted nice electric mail vans, they ended up with Oshkosh tractors too. Funny how that happens

[@johncameron8435]

Back in the 50s and 60s ,in England . Our friends owned 3 of these . They were Timber Merchants . They owned a lot of woodland . They used them to tow large trailors loaded with large Tree Trunks . Not anything as small as pines . Oaks , Cedar , Horse Chestnut . If they passed me , as i was walking home from school . They would stop and pick me up . I felt special . All the kids from school , watching me climb up in to the cab . I had many rides in them .

[@dukwdriver2909]

Explorers were new to the Forces in 1950s. More likely Pioneers that were not being converted to "SV2" recoveries to fill a shortfall

[@Mike-dg2pw]

The Scammell Pioneer was a British artillery tractor that Scammell produced from 1932 to 1945.

[@dukwdriver2909]

Also adapted as tank transporter with sloping semi-trailer (shame about the bridge heights with a sherman tank) and recovery SV2. Feel free to improve your knowledge of the subject before commenting again.

[@philipoakley5498]

Got to drive one for a few minutes when in the Northumbrian OTC (TA) at university. Had a 'drop hand brake' (steel beam with spikes to engage the ground). No power steering. Steering was a beast!

[@leebrowning3668]

Isn't that an Explorer

[@leebrowning3668]

We had one at work the original engine was a Meadows I think the winch was second to none

[@leebrowning3668]

@Philip Oakley yes the power steering was air assistance if my memory serves me right with a non existing steering lock

[@briancooper562]

The small truck shown first in the wiki text is a Mechanical Horse for delivery of goods from the railway depots in the UK to the surrounding area. It was three wheeled tractor which could turn in its own length, extreme maneuverablility, needed to get through and into commercial properties in crowded cities. Had the optional van, flat, or tanker 2 wheel trailer.. Replaced actual horses that did not come back after WW1.

[@usernamesreprise4068]

Mechanical horse in later years actually became only its nickname, a carry over from the very first ones produced which WERE named the mechanical horse by Scammel themselves it was actually renamed the Scammel Scarab not long after the one in the pic is actually a post war Scarab, I used to see hundreds of them working in the fifties around the local docks and railway goods yards when I was a young boy in Liverpool in the fifties, you could easily tell early and late ones apart, as pre war and very early post war Scarabs were painted a sort of railway private green the later ones as here were painted in B.R's new at the time cream over maroon, I was lucky enough to even ride in a few as my dad was a driver for a local transport company who owned several, comfort was NOT a word you associated with the Scarab back then - but then it was never intended to be, it was a no frills work horse pure and simple, heater ? -forget it, - only some were lucky enough to even have the optional vacuum powered drivers windscreen wiper . My one abiding memory as a young boy though which I think beats the Scarab, was to see every single day the very very last working steam wagon in the Country maybe even the entire world...but not too sure of that last one - a Sentinel steamer working daily non stop since well before the War out of a local cattle food manufacturer called Criddles ltd in Great Homer Street, Liverpool, where I grew up. I would see it every day belching clouds of steam out all over the pavement as it chuffed and puffed at a pretty good lick out of Criddles yard pulling TWO trailers piled high with bags of cattle feed on its way to the docks. (overloading was common practice everywhere back then).

[@davidjones332]

The real incentive to produce something which could turn in its own length was the fact that most British railway stations dated from the 1840-1880 period and the station yards were laid out for horse traction. Mechanical horses never completely replaced real horses which were ideal for local cartage work, and when the railways were nationalised in 1948 there were still 7000 horses at work.

[@usernamesreprise4068]

@@davidjones332 You are right, there were still dozens and dozens of working horse's round our way even in the mid fifties, in fact reading your post led me to reminiscing, and then remembering that actually there was STILL a large working livery stable at the bottom of our street, and after consulting old 20's/30's maps of the area was actually surprised to find loads more all within about three quarters of a mile that didnt close for business till 1960/61, (probably compulsory purchased by Liverpool City Council who knocked ALL of our houses and businesses down (tens of thousands of dwellings bulldozed inside 18 months) - in a time of extreme housing shortages !! - just so they could turn the WHOLE area into "Everton vally park" - JUST what WE needed NOT !......and over fifty years later it is STILL a park...and we STILL have a housing shortage.

[@Phiyedough]

The AEC Matador was a similar truck which would typically have started life in the military but later be used by repair garages for breakdown recovery etc. Something like that with a crane was a cheaper alternative to a big low loader if recovering commercial vehicles.

[@Savagetechie]

A lot of matadors went into forestry too, at least the ones in recovery jobs got looked after.... The same can't be said for most forestry wagons. Mind you the ones still on the road are nearly 90 years old so I suppose any surviving is a good thing.

[@arfamortis1]

I was an apprentice in REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) in the 1960's, the first vehicle I ever drove was a Scammell recovery, aged 15 (legal for military then). Most of the early Explorer's were gasoline powered by Rolls Royce.

[@Crash-zm2qd]

My grandad was in REME TA in 1963 he drove scammells and worked on them in Wales and Cyprus they had seven out in Cyprus he drove a WW2 Pioneer out there which was a wreck and ran by diesel he drove Explorer as well which had meadows engine the WW2 pioneer he dumped and ripped parts off of it.

[@landyandy7]

powered by a meadows petrol in service

[@dukwdriver2909]

@@Crash-zm2qd True. Pioneer was Gardner diesel powered during WW2. Government policy changed after WW2 so the "Army got petrol, the Navy got diesel and the RAF got paraffin. "To make logistics easier" (supply trucks to you and me)

[@Crash-zm2qd]

@@dukwdriver2909 he knew a lot about scammells wished I asked I asked him more questions he worked on Bedford RLs and Series 1 land rovers too.

[@alabama1413]

I remember seeing these beasts pulling trailers with 50+plus tons of tank on them. They were immensely powerful.

[@partymanau]

Total monsters, was told about these things by old Diggers. at the time, I thought they were scamming me, but found out they really existed.

[@dukwdriver2909]

Please enlighten me. They failed as tank transporters above 20 tons in WW2. At the time of the Scammell Explorer in the 1950s + the tank transporter tractor was the Thorneycroft Antar Mk 2 with the a petrol engine. If you ever had to refuel a truck that did 1 mile/gallon with jerrycans on exercise, you would know this.

[@mothmagic1]

That would more likely have been the explorer's sister machine the Atlantic

[@nrs91]

@@dukwdriver2909 the tank transporter Scammell pioneer was rated to carry 30ton but often went upto 40ton. The explorer recovery was used to tow up to 70ton in Korea according to a driver I knew

[@philiprufus4427]

@@partymanau

[@b101uk]

I use to have an ex military Scammell S26 6x6 (cabover for people in the US) that originally had a tipper and a crane behind the cab (ex Royal Engineers), removed the tipper and placed a hook-lift on the back that could take 20ft hook-lift bodies, and used it in a forestry setting, it was even registered as a agricultural tractor, unfortunately it was subject to vandalism and an arson attack when parked on a jobsite (it had no battery's on it as I had removed them, so there was no way for it to combust itself), unfortunately I could not get another, as at the time the remaining ones were all recalled from military surplice sites, due to the events of the early 2000's, else were sat in the Netherlands with an absurd prise tag ten times what I paid for my one, due to the recall.

[@strac86]

Nikki Owen in his Scammell pulling the second Scammell. The work he puts into that machine is impressive.

[@nickwalters5380]

I only remember seeing them when the fun fair came to town back in the 70's. The fair ground people used then to tow the rides from town to town

[@rickhayes4278]

I used to drive one of these, a Scammell heavy recovery vehicle as a civilian driver for REME about 1963. My most “Glad I did that” journey was towing a BLR (Beyond local repair) army lorry from Chester through the Mersey tunnel. The Scammell was 8’6” wide and the lanes in then tunnel were 9’ wide. Add an army 5 tonner suspended from the Scammell crane and it was a trip that required concentration and attention to the mirrors.

[@peterfairhall1784]

My father drove a cabover Scammell in the late 60's early 70's. It was a beast of a truck with a pneumatic, preselect gearbox.

[@frankparsons1629]

Circuses also used Scammell lorries because of their amazing hauling capabilities, they heaved circus rides and tons of stuff all over the country easily.

[@PatrickCurrie1]

The one being towed was either in gear or they had the transbrake on. Look at the rear wheels and they're chattering instead of roling. This makes it even more impressive and why the front of the tow truck went up n the air. Very impressive.

[@exb.r.buckeyeman845]

In gear I would say Rick.

[@PatrickCurrie1]

@@exb.r.buckeyeman845 that's my first choice to. It's still an impressive piece of towing.

[@marcush131]

I'm the driver of the towed Explorer, I ease the foot brakes on to add drag. Glad you guys enjoy this, we normally get shouted at for having fun 😉

[@user-ig1xo3om2x]

These Explorers originated in the 1930s, and back then the lowest gear was so low that the driver would take them through narrow doorways by selecting first low(est), aiming the truck, getting out, checking the aim, getting back in, adjusting the aim and repeating! Aside from the filmed recovery truck they were also made in a tank transporter and an artillery tractor version.

[@stratofez]

I was there. It's from a tank show in the UK. The engine is a Cummins 410 I believe. Wherever you were in the show you could hear that thing running. It was awesome

[@interrygator7250]

The lorry you saw at 5:46 was a scammell scarab and was mostly used by railway companies to transport goods from stations to nearby areas, it was three wheeled. If you're interested in seeing more of it there was a British TV show called salvage squad that restored one years ago and the show is almost certainly on KZbin somewhere

[@ianprince1698]

the three-wheeled cabs meant it had a very tight turning circle

[@philyew3617]

@@ianprince1698 You beat me to it 🙂. I lived near a large Railway Goods yard as a kid (when we could go in and wander around without being arrested). The thing I remember about the Scarab was it could turn around in it's own length. British Rail, when they did deliveries themselves, had hundreds of them because they were so good in confined spaces. Another sadly lost example of great British engineering.

[@johnwright9562]

As the others have said the Scarab had a very tight turning circle it was developed by Scammell and the then British rail. British rail asked for a truck that could turn in the same turning circle as a horse and cart. The Scarab was the result

[@interrygator7250]

@@johnwright9562 maybe I should have clarified the 3 wheel system in my post in all fairness, it was extremely clever and well thought out, I did see one at a vintage fair years ago and being about 8 or 9 at the time it did fascinate me to see it amongst other bigger trucks of the time

[@johnwright9562]

No problem , I saw the Salvage Squad program it was fascinating. If I remember rightly, it was at one of the heritage railway places

[@kevinwilliams4899]

I have some pictures of my Dad working on these as a Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineer (R.E.M.E) Craftsman during his National Service in Malaya during the Maylayan Emergency in the Early 1950's.

[@Crash-zm2qd]

I have a picture of my grandad with a scammell explorer taken in Cyprus in 1963 when he was out there for his annual camp he worked on them and drove them.

[@borderlands6606]

In military trim they were designed to get heavy equipment in to and out of anywhere. Desert, forest, you name it, Scammels had every conceivable lift, winch and pulley to drag and lift themselves and their cargo into and out of trouble. Fantastic vehicles that were sold off cheaply after WW2 to hauliers, showmen, foresters and similar usage.

[@johnbenson2919]

You used to see them around a fair bit, especially if you came up on an oversized load being hauled or of course the tank transporters. They were always a favourite of mine just because they looked so damned tough and hard.

[@scammellman831]

The first Explorer in this video is fitted with a Cummins L10 with Jake the second is Gardner 6LW powered , all Explorers were originally powered by Meadows petrol engines although most have now been re-engined due to horrendous fuel consumption and carburetor problems ...

[@DaveGreeneramblingcarpenter]

Im glad you said that,

[@Marc-so2cd]

Scammell trucks were among the best of heavy duty trucks along with Thornycroft and Alvis Unipower. I love Gardner engines. British trucks are beasts. Even the Commer TS3 truck has an opposed 3 cylinder supercharged diesel. They called it the Commer Knocker. The British Oshkosh M1070 and Alvis Unipower MH8775 tank transporter are my favourite.

[@andrewcalvert2013]

Whilst doing my equipment training at Bordon for Cheiftain tanks. early 80's... Big parade /showcaseing the "New" Scammel EKA, they got the worst driver they could find, got him to take a 15ton wagon out on Bordon Heath and he did not dissapoint, he got that thing stuck! Out comes the "New" Scammell EKA to recover it! It got stuck also trying to pull it out! Along comes the old Scammell to recover said caualties..... pulled BOTH out in one easy pass, go figure, lol! There is a garage owner in my area who still operates one of these amazing peices of automitive engineering! Take note of the front grille! Some had Gardiner 120 engines, 120 non turbo horse power, I even worked on some 8 cylinder straight 8 Rolls Royce engined, petrol, of these magnificent Beasties! And thank you for mentioning the articulation, so now+ look at at the scotch blocks they employed! Luv to you all and Merry Chrimbo!

[@brustar5152]

There are 1940's videos of Scammell Explorers of the British army recovering a Churchill tank by winch dragging it sideways up the sides of a ravine. They were equipped with all sorts of accessory huge wheel chock plates that would glue the thing to the ground and prevent it from slipping while winching something heavy and along with thick cable and a bunch of pullies they could move huge weights.

[@sporkfindus4777]

My grandad had a haulage business in the 1960s and ran a few Scammells. I'm sure we've got some photos somewhere. Brilliant video, as always. Really enjoyable to watch and your pronunciation of foreign machinery is almost always spot on. I've been paying more attention to the contemporary Scanias, DAF, Volvo and Mercedes lorries on UK roads since you've been focusing on European lorries 🚚

[@IWrocker]

Awesome, glad to hear that 🎉😎

[@petebeatminister]

Scammell is a old British manufacturer for heavy trucks. The ones in the video are probably WW2 era models. I don't know about today, but way into the 2000s the British army had huge Scammell tank transporters for the MBT Challenger and so on, the 60+ ton tanks.

[@j.h.customsireland]

aye they they had scammells there buying in the oshkosh 1070F tank transporters now

[@Crash-zm2qd]

My grandad drove them in TA said they were hard to drive and slow.

[@petebeatminister]

@@Crash-zm2qd Well, I can imagine that - there was no servo this and automatic that in those days, only good old muscle power. :)

[@Crash-zm2qd]

@@petebeatminister yep I remember him saying they were fuel guzzlers constantly topping them up.

[@dukwdriver2909]

Please take the trouble to learn more to respect the people that worked to make your freedom possible. We gave away our skills of generations to buy a truck that can be stopped by a single faulty sensor.

[@rayclamp-ir7yf]

Glad you liked the scammell friend, I liked your enthusiasm for them. I used to drive an explorer for vehicle and heavy plant recovery work. Our model had a Meadows 180 horse power inline 6 cyl petrol, yes, petrol engine. They had a 45 ton winch which was awesome to use. 6 wheel drive, they could go just about anywhere. Enjoyed the video.

[@kenhart6330]

Look for the one driving up a wall. After the war a lot of heavy haulage companies used them to haul heavy/large loads sometimes as double headers. I once read about one that was heading back to its base in the south of England, the police near Middlesborough in the Northeast flag down the driver and asked him to help. He followed them to a small hill on which another heavy hauler was broken down, he hitched it to the back of his trailer and pulled it up the hill with its load and his trailer. After stopping where the police told him to. This was in the 50s/60s with a newer model scammells. The other driver who was sitting with him all the while told him that he'd forgotten that his handbrake (e-brake as you know it) was still on. I didn't believe that story until I found the article in a newspaper many years later online. Another truck that was used you have probably have heard of or even seen was the Diamond T, was also used here in the UK as heavy haulers after WW2.

[@rowejon]

There are some good videos about the Scammell Scarab, also called the Mechanical Horse. They had a ridiculously small turning circle & were widely used for delivery in old built up areas.

[@robertleeimages]

It was a show of its power, note the one being towed rear wheels not free wheeling each time the front wheels of the front one were off the ground and then when they knocked to out of gear or took brake off they were rolling freely

[@fugawiaus]

Yeah I noticed that, the rear wheels were going funky.

[@woods457]

Yeah, i think they were applying the brakes on the towed explorer to demonstrate the power and torque of this vehicle type..

[@charlesemerson6763]

My father used to drive a rigid, 4 axle Scammel fuel truck, the front wheels were dual steer, when he worked for Regent/Texaco in the late sixties/early seventies in the UK. My Grandfather used to drive a six wheeler Scammel flat bed delivering household coal in sixties.

[@peterbiltfan5]

3:20 to answer your question, no. Granted, it soes sound Cummins-esque. Its actually a Gardner 6LW. A 8,370cc, straight 6, NA diesel cranking out 112 HP at 1,700 RPM. Gardners in general are excellent workhorses and, as heard here, have insane soundtracks. Nice seeing an old British legend being featured on the channel. Nice work!

[@RYAN-eu9tz]

The truck getting towed puts his brakes on to make the tow rig do a wheelie

[@en3myspott3d54]

Brakes*

[@RYAN-eu9tz]

PS. Cheers for the NZ videos lately.. been a fan and watching from the start of the Aussie videos and it's great to see NZ videos popping back up ... Cheers mate

[@petercaldwell8674]

Not being a smartarse but it's brakes not breaks🙃

[@RYAN-eu9tz]

@@petercaldwell8674 give me a break....... Haha 😃

[@teromanninen2776]

Scammel uses British made diesel engines, example Leyland and Rolls Royce/Perkins. Gearboxes are Eaton Fuller

[@alantaylor353]

That Scammell being towed had its brakes on at points.!

[@regd.2263]

I used to deliver to the Scammel lorry factory in Watford England, and delivered metal fasteners (nut & bolts) in the mid 1960's and my dad used to drive those three wheeled Scammel Scarabs for British Rail the road transport side of the railway's. they later became National Carriers, they used to say you could turn them around on a sixpence a small area. The engine was at the rear of the cab built into the chassis, when you connect to the trailer the legs use fold up automatically and self connect. They were widely used throughout the transport and manufacturing companies and large Department stores, such as British Road Services, Guinness Breweries, Ely department stores London etc

[@regd.2263]

I might add that they named a road called Scammel Way built on part of the site of the old Scammel Factory in Watford England

[@BensWorkshop]

I've driven one. 500 yards to move it from someone from one compound to another. Top speed 28 MPH. Before I got to the gate of the second compound, rather than stop it and put the hand brake on, I put it in first gear, got out of the truck, and went to open the gate, walked back, got in and revved the engine and drove in. The one I used was used as a recovery vehicle on D Day. According to some of the information I have found it had a 10 lire petrol engine and does 4MPG. Obviously diesels may well have been fitted to later models.

[@gar6446]

If you need to recover a Centurion Tank, this is what you sent. If you want to transport one you use the mighty ANTAR.

[@MrStredders]

Scammell also made tank transporters - the Australian Army used them to move our Cents. They also made a 100ton transporter for moving locomotives.

[@kevinlawrence2127]

After WW2 there was a lot of heavy surplus vehicles. Scammell's being one manufacturer most of which mainly fitted with Gardener engines, some with Rolls Royce engines. Many were bought for heavy vehicle recovery work or used as heavy transport tractor units for pulling 50/100/200 tons plus, with 1-2-3 or 4 Scammell's in front & 1-2 on the rear of the trailer. A few were bought by fairground Showman, who used them to haul the latest fairground rides up to 3 trailers behind them to replace steam showman's traction engines. And on the back of the Scammell's, the showman had generating sets 110v DC up to 600amps to provide power for the rides. Normally powered with Gardener Diesel Engines. You can see these vintage vehicles at many shows in the UK doing demonstration's. The Biggest in the UK, is the Great Dorset Steam Fair, that has a large demonstration in the heavy haulage arena. If you look on KZbin, you can see these on display. also at this event you can see how it was done with steam traction engines.

[@gordonevans7781]

In the UK we have several steam fairs that travel around the country most are using schamells for towing the rides and matching trailler accommodation

[@wendyharbon7290]

this is a Scammell Pioneer, was a British 6×4 tractor unit used in World War II as an artillery tractor, recovery vehicle and tank transporter. Wee produce between 1927 upto 1945, From 1936, the British Army began to receive Pioneer heavy recovery vehicles. The first 43 delivered were designated the Pioneer SV1S[2] and the Pioneer SV1T both with a 3-ton folding crane and lockers for recovery equipment and towing bars. Most of these early Pioneer recovery vehicles were lost with the BEF. The Pioneer SV2S[3] had a simpler redesigned extending crane that provided greater lifting height. It was Introduced in 1938 and remained in production throughout the war, with a total of 1,975 built by the end of the war. Among the Pioneer's equipment was a pair of tracks that could be fitted over the two rear wheels, converting it temporarily into a half-track and giving greater traction on soft ground. The last Pioneer recovery vehicle was not retired from the British Army until the 1980s in Belize.

[@deezelfairy]

Scammell explorer, not pioneer

[@_pjb-vw6cy]

When towing a saracen one of the centre tyres of the saracen was hung on the grill on the front to weigh the front down, ours had the meadows petrol engine and built in 1947, a good work horse

[@anthonyjohngilson9055]

Its a Scammel 6x6 recovery vehicle , with a mesdows petrol engine , amazing Torque . I used one in 1980 for a few years ,came into service in the early 50s

[@alasdairfinlayson]

The vehicle at 5.49 was a little odd , in that the tractor section only had a single wheel at the front , for increased manoeuvrability. They were quite commonly used by the railways for local deliveries of goods from the stations to their final addresses. My local town had one of these operating till about the mid sixties. Nowadays only seen at shows or in museums!

[@timewilltella39]

Love these scammel one of the best heavy recovery trucks ever made

[@richarddavidjohn6803]

Love the sound of the Gardner 8.4l 6 cylinder diesel

[@andrewharrison5983]

The Scammel were introduced with 2 engine variants the Meadows petrol engine or the Gardner 120 hp diesel. Many of the Gardner engine ones were used by the Royal Air Force, had a top speed of 28 mph if you were stupid enough to push it that fast as there was no power steering. I bought one in 1986 and restored it to original condition, they were designed to be able to pull 150 tons, but are capable of much more than that I pulled 210 tons in Dover docks with mine!!

[@benjigray8690]

Thanks for getting hold of the video footage of these great old trucks, They were made when trucks were built to do a job, and who cared what they looked like. No CD player; no cloth seat, or leather option, there was no aerosol can of "spray on dirt" in the glove box. Heck! there wasn't even a glove box! Back then, the only "options" were "do you want the Bren Gun or Browning GP Machine gun fitted?" and the folks that operated them, weren't overly concerned about "image". There was no room for pretenders or Princesses. @ 3:48 do you see the kid's bike in the back of that truck? I'm assuming that they were going to drop her off at school, and she could ride her bike home.

[@biggelmo]

Hi, I was born in 1964 and my dad worked as a mechanic for Caffyns Garage at their main workshop in Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK. At the workshop there were 3 apartments built above the main workshop entrance where 3 mechanics and their families lived, we were one of those families. Caffyns had an ex British Army Scammel Explorer that was used for heavy vehicle recovery and Dad sometimes had to drive it for recovery jobs. From my bedroom window I could look down into the back of the Explorer when it was parked on the forecourt. This left me with a lasting memory and I always check out any Explorer when I see them at Steam Fairs and transport festivals. I've spoken with the Scammel Explorer owners club to try and find out what happened to the Caffyns Explorer ( Caffyns shut the workshop in the the 80's and it was knocked down ) and it is thought that it is now owned by Harris Brothers (Fairground Showmen ) in West Sussex.

[@samcarre7561]

been in a few at a show I went to and they are honestly the bumpiest ride you'll ever be on but the cool factor and just how capable they are definitely makes up for it

[@briancooper562]

Up to the development of the turbo diesels these where the king of heavy haul. But fuel consumption was in gallons per mile. Some times working in twos or threes at the front of a load with two behind. Also used with US trucks Diamond T and Pacific ex WW2.

[@kerrstuartaxefireman]

Scammell Explorers were built for the British military in the 1950s and fitted originally with a very thirsty Meadows petrol engine. A lot of them went in to heavy recovery when they were demobbed and they have nearly all been converted to diesel engines now. I believe the one in the video has a Rolls Royce but there are ones fitted with Leylands, Gardners and Cummins. The Scammell boys quite often do that towing trick at shows, with the weight of the rear one hung on the back of the towing one all the rear one has to do is touch his brakes to make the front one pull a bit harder and up she comes, the rocking beam rear axles give them an excellent pivot point.

[@ewanstewart8011]

An American company that had a oil rig construction yard in Scotland was Brown &Root and they owned two of the S24 Scammel tractors. I think they can be found on KZbin look for Brown & Root, Highlands Fabricators Nigg operation 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@spinaway]

My first day at work after leaving school was Drivers mate on a heavy haulage scammell explorer, loved every day at work.

[@aswclassicsiow8588]

When I did my apprenticship 70 to 75 with a Ford main dealer we had a Scammell Pioneer as our heavy recovery truck, great bit of kit went anywhere

[@shush103]

That particular truck was built in 1953, being first registered on the uk roads in August 2001

[@Savagetechie]

Theres a great video of an Eagle powered scammell crusader somewhere, loved explorers since I was a kid though seen plenty of them.

[@hbhmhbhm]

I work in Watford near where the factory used to be (it is a housing estate now) and they have put up a large sign commemorating the company.

[@jackx4311]

In a 1952 road test, done by 'Commercial Motor' magazine, they said the engine was a Meadows petrol /gasoline engine, straight six, 10.35 litres / 633 cu.ins., 175 BHP at 2,400 rpm (governed), max. torque 475 ft.lb. @ 1,100 rpm, six-speed constant mesh gearbox, top speed 38mph. Twin Solex horizontal non-spill carbs (to cope with severe gradients, fore and aft and sideways), fuel tank 70 Imperial gallons / 87.5 US gallons. Fuel consumption on heavily loaded test ranged from 2.6 to 3.5 miles per Imp. gallon / 2.08 to 2.8 miles per US gallon. As to its haulage capabilities; 'CM' said: "In addition to hauling 31 tons (69,440 lbs) gross up a 1 in 4 incline (25%), the outfit made a successful stop / start test on this gradient. I could not find a gradient which would stop the Scammell. Without the trailer attached, it roared up the 1 in 2.25 slope (44.4%) in first gear." As you say, mate - "What a beast!" www.unusuallocomotion.com/medias/files/scammell-6x6-explorer-from-commercial-motor-1952.pdf

[@timewellnick]

My grandfather drove the scammell pioneer recovery trucks during world war 2 recovering and repairing tanks etc that had broken down - he was a mechanic. I have got pictures of him with these trucks somewhere

[@KernowHill]

Scammell trucks (British built) started in the 1920s and where one of the main haulage vehicles in the UK through to the 60s

[@notcalledbob2654]

Used to help maintain an explorer between the age of 11-16. Such good fun either messing around on the farmland it was kept or doing demonstrations at steam fairs. At the end of shows we’d pull the low loaders including tractor unit and steam engine, that were stuck in muddy fields. The explorer has since been fully restored and is still going strong, nearly 30 years later.

[@ricl]

My Dad was a Captain in the REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) during WWII and was in a unit that used Scammell Pioneer recovery tractors and trucks to bring back damaged tanks and armoured vehicles for repair. They could go just about anywhere and pull, lift or drag anything back to base. His unit was apparently the first one to grab a brewed up German Royal Tiger tank and get it to base for examination and evaluation.

[@DavidDavid-ip1xf]

My dad was 32 field squadron royal engineers he operated these amongst others back in the day he served 18 years

[@lancestancliffe4885]

In the 90s I worked at a British engineering site in Sheffield, they had three yes three Scammels pulling and pushing a 400ton casting going to Hong Kong. I asked the driver the mpg ??? One gallon a mile. Awesome engineering at it's best.

[@popuptoaster]

I have a Gardener 6LW engine in my boat, super long lived and reliable engine essentially little changed since the '30's and still really good economy, hand assembled at the factory by one guy per engine, well worth looking up the history. Killed off by emissions and other companies embracing turbos more successfully, many of them were sent off to developing nations to run water pumps and generators where they are still going strong.

[@randomoldbloke]

You can still get new Gardner’s in India 4and 6 lx mainly . I repowered a boat a few years ago with two 6lx mains and 4lx aux . It was a fishing boat built back in the early 60s and they were the original engines

[@TriumphBeezaman]

On my first job as a kid in a truck dealership we had a Scammell recovery truck with a 12 litre Rolls Royce 320 motor , I'm sure they were used as heavy artillery haulers by the army originally.

[@78a67h]

As part of the demo the towed truck slams on its brakes (you can see the wheels drag) which causes the towing vehicle's nose to rise in the air. The brakes on, apart from the nose lift, does not seem to affect the towing truck one bit as it continues at same speed. Huge, huge pulling power!

[@jamesduffin9417]

Had a ride around a show ground in one of these about 10 years ago! One of the most impressive vehicles I have ever been in!

[@Bob10009]

The front wheels only lifted because the vehicle being towed put its brakes on. The Scammel didn’t care, it just popped it’s nose up and dragged it anyway. 💪🏼🇬🇧

[@Ragnar6000]

I really like the Dodge Power Wagon of the 1940's.....especialy one that's tricked out with more modern offroad tyres!

[@neilfoster814]

Those old Scammel tank transporter tractors could pull a building down!

[@rogerlewis6488]

When I was in the New Zealand Army one of my bosses had been a mechanic in REME during WW2. He said the articulation was great and allowed the trucks to maintain a constant speed of 15 to 20 MPH over all terrains.

[@johnsharp6618]

The commander was a handy little truck that scammal made in the 80s, about 22 tons in weight just for the tractor powered by a V12 rolls Royce engine .

[@johnrevell6684]

I’ve driven a x army Scammel recovery truck, absolutely brilliant

[@crissyb00]

That big Diesel you're singing about, is a 10.35 litre petrol (gas) engine, these old girls were tank recovery trucks.

[@jwboatdesigns]

I trained on one of those, an older version with a Rolls Royce diesel engine, did a heavy recovery course in the NZ army engineering course, it was an amazing machine with a monster winch and all the cables, anchors and pulleys in special lockers. Great machine.

[@metocvideo]

In Britain in the 1950’s, we used to see them a lot. Designed as a tank recovery vehicle, they were used by construction equipment hire companies, and also fairground people to house the attractions from town to town. The front fenders are attached to the axle, so the front fenders turn with the wheels.

[@robertkustos2931]

I worked in a sand and gravel quarry. My friend had a 20t scammell to transport the material . He never got stuck in the soft sand or mud , unlike all the other lorries I had to tow out .

[@jeffoakley2331]

I worked for a recovery company in the 80's where we had one of these for heavy work. It had a huge winch under the bed which was used to right tanks by the MOD. They were six wheel drive and each axle could articulate to huge angles and still drive. They also had outriggers that dug in to the ground to stop it moving when recovering vehicles I remember going to Leeds Bradford airport where a plane was stuck. They had called a local company who had a big shiny Ford which had got stuck trying to pull it out I pulled them both out with that winch. It was petrol and was single figure with a top speed of around 45 mph very noisy but great fun to use

[@Herbybandit]

My dad was staff Sgt in REME heavy recovery at the end of WW2 until the 50's he loved the pioneer/explorer, AEC Matador, they'd pull a main battle tank with ease and if they couldn't pull with the wheels they could drop the ground anchors and use the winch.

[@keithrichards378]

Hi, my father was one of the test drivers at scammells (watford) from the early seventies and use to pick me up take me along for drives. When they closed another company was started in watford called unipower. Check out the re engineered model called trojan by a.l.e heavy haulage. 2022 marked the centary get together at watford.

[@paulwilson7622]

Im 67 & remember those three wheel prime movers operated by British Rail to move cargo around

[@billylund5910]

We had them in thr RAF they were a forces recovery vehicle. Gardener engine 6 wheel drive. I remember going out in the 70s in one to drag in a Bedford RL from the Brecon becons.

[@colderwar]

My dad drove a Scammell sometimes when he was fighting in Europe during WW-2. He was an artilleryman and they towed the 155mm guns with them. They are a beast.

[@jasonbull6560]

Built as a tank/heavy vehicle recovery. Had a go in one,ww2 era. It had a rope in the cab too tie the steering wheel so you could walk over to the left side to look out the passenger window. Cab as big as a bedsit, HUGE!

[@kevinhayes3184]

Back in the 90's I saw a Scammel Commander tank transporter with two cheften tanks on the back

[@simonatkinson6389]

These things were an absolute Monster Truck from the 1940's, (approximately 1939 to 1945). An 8.4 litre (512 cubic inch) Gardner straight 6. It produced 102 horse power delivering 358ft/lbs of torque. It was classed as a 6x4 drive, meaning Both rear axles were driven from the transmission. There was an option available to add drive to the front wheels or a third rear axle making it 6 wheel drive. These things were flat out at 25mph but that was driving ANYWHERE you wanted to take it. That last blue and red one had a STGO Cat 2 plate on it. This means it can pull oversized and extreme weight loads. Cat 2 means the total gross weight it can be AND still legally pull it is 80,000kg that's 176,000lbs, ( Yes, that's 176 Thousand). If you think this was cool and you want something fun check out this clip of the chassis articulation on a Model T Ford. THE First off road vehicle. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ionLp6qhe66pZtE

[@thomascatford2627]

Thats an explorer would have a meadows petrol engine originally and was not produced untill 50s , the gardner 6 LW engine 40s model was a pioneer ,

[@robertkirk4387]

I see that truck regularly as it is garaged just up the road from me and is displayed at the local vintage rally every year

[@richardaustinaustin1890]

It’s a Gardner engine. Pretty common engine in the U.K. right up until the early 80’s. My dad drove a scammel Crusader,late 70’s

[@johnnyhollis9977]

My father drove the Scammell Pioneer gun tractor version in Europe up until VE 1945. He loved it and told me that it would go virtually anywhere. They would sometimes put sandbags on the wooden cab floor to help deflect any mine explosion damage that could occur! He used it to tow a British 7.2 Howitzer and later an American 155mm Long Tom. He much preferred this vehicle to the US Diamond T !!!!!😉

[@squirrels103]

My Father did exactly the same, Johnny. 56th Heavy Regiment pulling 7.2s. North Africa, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Spike Milligan was in the same Regiment and his books document their story. They had one day off for VE day and then were re-equipped with tropical gear for Japan.!

[@johnnyhollis9977]

@@squirrels103 Amazing! Dad lost his first Scammell and 7.2 in 1944 when the RAF had the very bad taste to bomb his Regiment (1st Heavy Reg) and a Polish tank regiment equipped with Churchill tanks wiping them out. That's when he got the Diamond T for a while to tow the newly issued US 155mm Long Tom. Later though the Diamond T's were declared not up to the job and he then got a Scammell again which lasted him to 1945. He stored all sorts of things on the roof including a brass bedstead for a while. An uppity officer took a dislike to that and shouted at him to get it off of the roof. Quote, "what do you think this is, a bloody circus"!!! Similar stories to Spike Milligan I would imagine!! 😉👍

[@martintolley484]

I grew up round these trucks often seing them parked in my street my dad. Also drove them and ive driven the. Later models myself they didnt use big engines but they was geared very low which made them very popular with heavy haulage companys even some modern rigs use scammal running gear . And the royal mail had many of the 3 wheel scarrabs for local work from rail depos

[@brianartillery]

The old British airline, B.O.A.C., used one for years, as a recovery vehicle and tug. It's a ridiculously powerful truck for it's time. The tank transporter had two winches, one rated to fifty tons. It was capable of carrying any wartime allied tank. I love 'em.

[@artistjoh]

There was a time (back in the 50's and 60's) when Scammel was fairly common to see on fire engines.

[@johncrofts4393]

My father drove Scammels during the war. These pulled low loader Queen Mary trailers, which were used for desert aircraft recovery in North Africa.

[@peterdawes1868]

When I was in the military, Australian army, (field force transport). The heavy transport Sq had Scammell's for transporting tanks. Lav 25's and APC's.

[@garystroud6153]

My dad worked for United Dairies in the 50's and drove a smaller version , what you'd call a "semi", to deliver bulk milk to distribution dairies (ready bottled ) around London. You could put it into first gear and walk faster it was so low geared. Once he managed to get jammed against the end of a bank (a kind of platform to allow offloading/loading at truck bed height, no fork lift trucks!) went to pull away and the truck didn't move. The wheels were still turning! Had to back up and move over. Must have taken miles off the tyres.

[@admiralhusky7862]

We have only Scammell Pioneer in Australia. it was used by Queensland Tram for tow breakdown tram until 1964 when Brisbane City Council decide to switch tram to bus then it continue towing breakdown buses until retirement sometime in late 1970s. It now parked in Queensland tram museum in Brisbane in original QLD tram livery.