Friday.
0630 Start. I'm all loaded ready this morning, I'd picked up a Hitachi ZX130 from Eltham yesterday afternoon and was due to deliver this morning near Watford before coming back to Braintree for a telehandler to go to Farnborough. I'd thought this daft an arranged for one of te 6 wheelers to bring the telehandler to the yard, so when I got in on Thursday I loaded it at the front and tucked the machine on the back.
I'm out of the yard promptish and along towards Watford, it's actually Leavesden which isn't so bad and amazingly the traffic is light and I hit the site at 0750. The groundworkers are not going to be in until 10 but there is a security guy there and I'm to back in and tip off the ZX130.
At 0820 I'm done and even had a brew and off along the little spur of the M25 and fearing the worst around the M4 turn. A few 50 limits on the variable speeds and a 40 at one point but steady traffic all the way to J4 on the M3. There's a fair bit of traffic here but it is 0900 and I just plod along following the signs for Airshow with the lorry symbol on. The airfield is always on the left and I reckon it must be about 10 miles before I arrive at Gate A, which I suspect is very close to where I started the mystery tour. I'm delivering a brand new JCB 535-125 and it dawns on me that I've got no paperwork for it.
It doesn't matter, I just tell them I'm going to ETPS road (yes really) and they point me in the direction of the plant compound. There's a forklift wagon just coming out and I pull in when he's gone, I reckon he'd just dropped a few of these.
I'm done by 10 and out of the gate turning left and arriving half a mile later at the start of the freight route. The plan was now to head back to Essex, grab some diesel on the way and get a decent break in on the A12 somewhere. Now the mistake here was making a plan because at 1030 I'm on the M25 closeish to the M40 when the engine dies and I coast to a stop on the hard shoulder.
When I read empty I actually mean 200 litres.
The fuel gauge is empty but I know for a fact I've got plenty left, well plenty in the right tank and none in the left where the feed is. The tanks are not balancing properly / at all and I've drained the small tank about 15 miles short of the Shell garage at St.Albans. I suspect I'm in for a bollocking and call in to report, surprisingly the boss is OK about it and arranges for Scania Assist to well err...assist. They ring me and tell me it could be 2 hours.....I'm going to get a break just not quite as planned.
I get a visit from the HATO's who take my number and promise to check on me later, the Scania man arrives at 1200 and crawls underneath and annouces that the isolator taps are almost shut. It would appear I've drained the tank quicker than the big one can replenish it. The fuel starts to flow through and before long we get the engine running on about 4 cylinders and gradually back on to all 6 without bleeding. I'm on my way at 1230 just as the HATO's ring me, at least they keep their promise. There's now some big incident between J23-J21 so I peel off and skirt round through Watford and get to the Shell garage near St.Albans. 309 litres later (That's 191 litres on board) and I'm off to complete the rest of the journey. As I come down the A12 I'm passed by another plant wagon, he was alongside in the traffic before I left the M25. It was a good route choice as I'd stopped at the garage for about 20 minutes.
Back at the yard I loaded our Doosan 225 ready for Monday and was given more bad news, I'm being reported for failure to stop after an accident with a Smart car (that I knew nothing about) in central London.
Oh the joys of this job.
I'll post some pictures later but can't be bothered right now.
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