Info needed: Trailer socket Humber one ton

[Robert Sexton]

DSC_1133.JPG
Brockhurst one ton trailer,GS body.
Robert

[Richard Farrant]

Just to set the record straight, the trailer make is Brockhouse. I recall some were made by Joseph Sankey as well.

[Robert Sexton]

Thanks Richard I will make that correction. As far as I could find out they were referred to as Sankey trailers in Oz but were indeed made made by Brockhouse. This what it looked like when it came to me.

Robert

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

I hope the Humber is in better condition than the trailer!
Nice job.
Rich.

[Robert Sexton]

Rich,The Humber was a going concern when I got it. The usual rust problems in the tray body but the rest does not look to bad.Engine runs well ,transmission sounds OK,all the electrics work,brakes not working. It was in a shed out of the weather and not been run for thirty years when I bought it.This is what it looked like after all the dust and chook feathers were washed off, also the the GS tray just after restoration and assembly.
The timber from the tray and the trailer look like Teak but hard to tell as they were very weathered,I have replaced the deck with local E.Wandoo, it is a very hard timber and will stand water immersion, it is commonly used as stock yard material.The usual lifespan in the ground as a post is fifty years plus.

[Dave Mills]

Robert, the Trailer looks great, is it staying this colour or going the deep bronze green? You will be one very fortunate Humber owner if there is no rust in the cab.

Have you been following our Humber restoration story on MLU. What I would give to have my very own forklift.

Dave

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Humber looks surprisingly good, those tubs do tend to rust out along the wood line, and what is it, 160 totally rusted bolts to remove (pretty sure Dave counted them all...) the only other bit's that suffers from rust is the cab floor, roof, hatch's, mudguards, centre air vent ....
Did you put the winch hatch back in the (Tub) floor?
FFW or cargo?
Have you got the ARN for it?
Rich.

[David Herbert]

Originally Posted by Dave Mills

What I would give to have my very own forklift.
Dave

I don't know about Australia but in the UK old forklifts are suprisingly cheap. Get friendly with a dealer and you will find that they take in old ones that have little commercial value just to make a sale of a new one. If you are paying cash and don't need it certified it gives the guy an easy way to get rid of what is otherwise almost scrap but may well work reasionably well. I have an old 2 ton Fiat which would have been hard to certify as they all have dreadfull brakes. Came with a new battery and cost £500. Very usefull. If you ever have to transport a forklift check its weight as they weigh well over what they lift. Obviously we need the hydraulics to be good with no creep when loaded and solid tyres are good because they don't get punctures! Also don't get an electric one because the batteries die quickly if they are old and aren't used every day.

David

[chrisgrove]

Originally Posted by Robert Sexton

Attachment 86267
Brockhurst one ton trailer,GS body.
Robert

Hi Robert

I have a much smaller problem than yours as I am a modeller making a small (1/76) model of the Humber and the 1 ton trailer. I do have a book on the Humber; it has a few pics of Oz trucks - but all are FV1602A - the FFW (fitted for wireless) version. Only one has a visible ANR which is 105-779.

I do have one question, if you would be so good, though you may not know the answer! Your truck dates from 1955 or so; maybe the trailer does too. If your trailer has the original lighting arrangement, like one red light each side mounted on the outside edge of the chassis (maybe an even earlier version had only a light on one side!), can you tell me where the number plate was mounted? I can cope with the lights, but where was the number plate?

Later versions had outriggers at front and rear on each side of the trailer with lights and reflectors and, in UK at least, reflective triangles. On these ones the rear left hand outrigger (looking from the rear) carried the number plate. But my trailer will be in service at Suez 1956 and is too early for this arrangement.

Oh, and I think you will find the number of your trailer is not 678K45, but 67BK45. I have seen pics of these trailers with numbers in the BK series (so were the Humbers), but 678K45 is not a British Army number.

Chris

[Robert Sexton]

Hello Chris,about the serial number, you are probably right ,the "eight" is a bit distorted and looked like a "B" to me. I will get a strong light and a magnifying glass to verify it.I have attached a pic (poor quality) as the trailer was when it came to me.The brackets for the tail lights were as you describe,one on either side with the bracket taking the Lucas with the red lens.Mine had late after market combination Narva lights ,definitely not original.The number plate was mounted central below the tailgate but I do not think that is original either as it was fixed direct to the chassis and not to a bracket. There are mounting holes for something central to the chassis at that point, I think it unlikely that it would be for a number plate bracket as that is covered when the tailgate is down and locked,it would be more likely to be on an outrigger on one side. Mine had the original reflectors (common to the Humber) mounted central on the lower part of the mudguard.In the centre of the tailgate is a metal triangle with nine cats eyes inserted in the three sides, the centre was painted red.
My Humber has 1954 stamped into the air cleaner and it would be likely that the trailer is about the same vintage.I have yet to find out out exactly how the trailer socket was connected to the Humber.
I couldn't even think of being able to work in the dimensions that you guys do. Regards, Robert

[chrisgrove]

Hi Robert
Many thanks for your extremely prompt reply. Just think how long that would have taken by snail mail!
Thanks also for the useful pic. It confirms what I thought about the lights - the one I have seen that has that arrangement has amber blinkers mounted, on a similar bracket, above the red rear lights. It also has a (civvy) number plate mounted a bit further to the right (further from the centreline) than yours, but it must be on some sort of bracket as it appears below the chassis. I begin to wonder if the number plate was originally mounted on the mudguard above the reflector.
My model may be small, but I don't have to contend with the degree of damage, rot and rust that you had to start with! I'll try and remember to put a pic on this thread when its finished.
Chris

[Robert Sexton]

Hello Chris, I have a parts book for the trailer dated 1974. It shows a number plate bracket mounted about the mid point on the RH mudguard, it has the standard Butler illumination/convoy light above the mounting plate. The plate looks like all one pressing with a support at the top to match the curve in the mudguard.
My trailer had the remains of some steel conduit running from the chassis inside the RH mudguard to about that point,I had wondered about its use and assumed it had been added on maybe for after market indicators.I was remiss in not having a closer look,I am very much at the learning stage with the restoration game.
Just curious why the 1/76 scale,and you were correct about the chassis number.
Robert

[chrisgrove]

Hi Robert

Thanks for the gen on the number plate. The only query I have is about when you say the right mudguard. All the later ones I have seen have the number plate mounted on the outrigger to the left (looking from the rear) of the tailboard. But if there is a conduit for the cable on the right, that must be correct for the early ones. I understand you drive on the right (correct) side of the road (ie the left), so it seems unlikely that a trailer in Oz got the number plate on the other side!

What is the Butler convoy light - I've never heard of that? The ones I've seen have a plate, seemingly painted white, fixed under the trailer to the left of centre and \i have assumed that was the equivalent of the white painted differential form of convoy light, and would have had a lamp shining on it.

I have been making small scale models for 50+ years and all my British ones are in 1/76 as that was the only scale around (from Airfix) for army vehicles back in the 60s, so I don't want to change as then I can't display them together. But I have a lot of 1/72 ones too for French, Italian, Russian and post war German vehicles. 1/76 more or less matches the scale of the most common model railway models in UK, so I guess that was why Airfix chose it.

Chris

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by chrisgrove

What is the Butler convoy light - I've never heard of that? The ones I've seen have a plate, seemingly painted white, fixed under the trailer to the left of centre and \i have assumed that was the equivalent of the white painted differential form of convoy light, and would have had a lamp shining on it.

Hi Chris,
I think this is the FV number plate lamp, mounted at top of the number plate, it has a shield that can be turned to reduce the light emitted in blackout conditions. a similar lamp was fitted to the white convoy plate under the vehicle or trailer.
Looking at Robert's trailer it appears that there is a strip of metal standing proud down the right hand rear end of the body, where the tailboard shuts up, this could be the mounting point for the number plate on the early 1 ton trailers.
Richard

[Robert Sexton]

Hello Chris,I can't even think in the dimensions that you use or the fineness of the work. My good lady makes bobbin lace that does my head in for fineness ,skill and complexity.
Richard's description of the light is spot on.They were made by Lucas and common to many British vehicles, they were also fitted to the Australian made ACCO trucks and I had heard them referred to as "Butler"in that context. Richard is more likely to be correct than I.
My parts book says they are a Convoy/dashboard light,definitely fitted to the RH mudguard (offside)above the number plate.The Sankey trailer chassis included the mudguards in the build, the other uses(cargo body,water chiller,water tanker,generator) were added as a separate construction,all are attached between the mudguards and so present the same mudguard configuration.
Richard,the piece of steel that you can see in the pic I believe was added on by a previous owner as it had a length of chain attached and I presumed it was to hold the tailgate in a horizontal position.There is nothing in any of the publications or other pics that I have had that show any thing similar,the locking catches on the tailgate hold it in the vertical down position.
regards, Robert