Landy Question for Mr Phoenix

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Richard
I have an Army Workshop trailer, and always assumed that they were towed behind any old Landie, but that they could be linked by the trailer canvas to make the "workshop". During my last visit to Bandiana Museum (as its 15 minutes down the road, I go about once every 5-6 years), I saw a Landie with the back section the same as my trailer, a Workshop L/Rover. Was this a one off, or were there heaps of them? Tried asking one of the volunteers, which was a strange experience itself, for the heck of it I''ll give you a sample.
"Hi, this Landie...."
"See that over there, thats a Champ, did you know they can go as fast backwards as forwards?"
"Well yes I did, I own one and we drive it ......."
"Well I've never driven one, I drive a Toyota, the best.....greatest.... billion miles without a service..... trillion miles to the gallon.......(10 minutes later {Ikid you not})"
"Well how about this Humber tru....."
"Of course the 2nd best 4x4 ever made was the Dodge Weapons Carrier, Best fishing (?) truck in the world, pity we don't have any around here....(5 more minutes)"
"Well actually there is one just down the road at Bar......"
" Still the old Toyota........"
I gave up, so I'll ask my questions here instead.
Are there any photos of these trailers in use with the tow vehicle?
Any information not involving Toyotas welcome.
Rich.

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

blasted photo won't attach, trying again

[Tony Smith]

Richard, the Workshop body was fitted to many Ser 2A's (both early and late styles) and some Ser 3's. While the basic form of the body was the same, there were lots of different variations to the actual fitout of both the Truck body and the Trailer to suit various applications, ie: Armourer's workshop, lube truck, welder, instrument repair, etc. The REMLR Fleet Information page suggests that there were 437 workshop trucks in 14 different versions. The Trailers were fitted out in a similar number of variants! I have owned both a 2A Workshop and a Workshop trailer (which I still have)

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Thanks Tony.
setting up one of these trailers is not something undertaken lightly, think they were designed to keep as many guys occupied as long as possible. Fully errected once (15 years ago), but carried heaps of firewood in it.
Rich
PS. The way the canvas folds back on itself acts like a parachute when towing, I imagine the similar set up on the Workshop landie would slow the combination down considerably, not to mention the fuel economy.

[phoenix]

I know of one workshop land rover and workshop trailer coming to corowa from canberra, so you can have a close gander at one there.

The Army No.5 Trailer and the workshop bodied land rover indeed have the very same platform attached to them. I think I even have the ADE drawings showing detail on a number of the parts of the platform and canopy.

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Thanks Richard,
Did'nt even know that they were called a "No.5" trailer. I usually drag mine along to Corowa, these day its about the only outing it gets.
Rich.

[sapper740]

...you ever wonder why so few end up for sale at Crown Assets disposal yards? Perhaps it's because the Royal Engineers use them as Legos! Here is what I believe to be a CHAVRE using Landies as building blocks. What a shame!

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

A shame?
I dunno, I would have been quite happy to see them do that to my LandRover Defender....as long as the salesman was strapped in!
Rich.

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Richard Coutts-Smith

A shame?
I dunno, I would have been quite happy to see them do that to my LandRover Defender....as long as the salesman was strapped in!
Rich.

Which model Defender did you have, Rich? I had a Discovery TDi which I loved but which also was the least reliable vehicle I have ever owned, and that includes Morris Minors and Oxfords. It leaked oil (of course), the ABS died, constant trouble with the drive belts, cooling system failure, cam belt broke, alarm malfunction, the list goes on. It was the 4 cylinder 300 TDi series.

A couple of years ago I bought a similar package - a Mitsubishi DiD Pajero which has been brilliant.

[Richard Farrant]

Land Rovers have never been the same since Ford took them over

[Howard]

Originally Posted by Richard Farrant

Land Rovers have never been the same since Ford took them over

Really? At my work there was a Customer who used to bring his landie in and on the back there was a sticker that read "Authorised Ford Destroyer". The sticker was quite old and the author has been proved to be quite intuitive...

[sapper740]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

Which model Defender did you have, Rich? I had a Discovery TDi which I loved but which also was the least reliable vehicle I have ever owned, and that includes Morris Minors and Oxfords. It leaked oil (of course), the ABS died, constant trouble with the drive belts, cooling system failure, cam belt broke, alarm malfunction, the list goes on. It was the 4 cylinder 300 TDi series.

A couple of years ago I bought a similar package - a Mitsubishi DiD Pajero which has been brilliant.

My experiences with Landies and other British cars date back nearly 40 years, and they were all good experiences. The predecessor to B.C. Railway was the Pacific Great Eastern railway. They used 88's to get around B.C.'s mountainous terrain in order to work on the rails. After a decade or so of hard use, they would auction their Land Rovers off. They were always eagerly snapped up by the public because, even though the bodies were badly battered, they were kept in perfect mechanical condition. A good friend of mine bought one and we spent many a weekend 4X4ing the backwoods of B.C., usually drunk as skunks and having the time of our lives. The Landie never let us down. The same can be said for the multitude of Sunbeams, Hillmans, Austins, Cortinas, Humbers, Jaguars, Triumphs, MG's, Commers, and Morris's that were driven by various friends and brothers of mine. Of course, these were all pre-British Leyland.
What happened after British Leyland came into being? I have no idea but the quality of British cars went into the dumpster and lead to the demise of many British car dealers in Canada. What a shame.

[Keith Webb]

The issue of reliability with my earlier cars was more to do with their age than build quality. The first car I owned ($25) was a 1959 Singer Gazelle, followed by around 15 Minors of various types. They had weak gearboxes, especially the series II. The Morris Oxford series MO had weak axles and the diecast door handles used to just break off. Having said all that I loved them and learned a lot about how cars worked. The price for a Morris back in the 1970s varied from free to a few hundred dollars and I don't think I ever paid over a hundred for one. My favourite was a Wolseley 4/44 which was pure style, cheap, and low mileage. My dad had a series 2A Landy which although it had done far too many miles was a great vehicle. British Leyland went on to market things like Triumphs, Mokes and Marinas as well as the spectacularly unsuccessful home-grown P76.

Sorry to hijack the thread Richard!

Originally Posted by sapper740

My experiences with Landies and other British cars date back nearly 40 years, and they were all good experiences.