[Humber-One-Ton Tom]

Hi Richard - yes, you are right the whole thing is a lot like a big Champ, with the transfer case at the back just effectively forming part of the rear axle. Also as you suggest, this vehicle just has a low first 'crawler' gear - selecting this also engages 4WD, which can be manually engaged in any other gear. The Humber has a conventional reverse gear, unlike the Champ where reverse is seperate from the main box and applies to all gears.

YES - get one of these trucks, preferably save a dead one because they are so rare and they deserve to survive. That burnt one in the bush on this tread is better than any unrestored example you would find in the UK. They are also universally misunderstood ever since the CT class of vehicles was dropped by the MOD in (I think??) 1956. We need to drop the obsession with load carrying weights - we sound like a convention of freight haulers. This vehicle is not about load lugging. Think of the Apollo rockets (sorry I am being extreme...) they really didn't have much payload either. Or maybe a submarine compared to a freighter.

Don't worry about the winch position - with those 20 inch wheels at each corner and short wheelbase, when you go off-roading you will be shunting stuck Toyotas out of the way. Also the underbelly is well protected and quite smooth with skid plates so there are not many snag points to stick on even if it does ground out. The winch cable works at each end with nice big fairleads along the chassis and at each end. Also the full inependant suspension means that all 4 wheels stay firmly on the ground in most circumstances so it will pull through most situations.

The main cause of axle failure when pushed off road or tugging out tree stumps is lack of oil - 5 oil points per axle, most were used for years without any lubrication, maybe just to the diff - and the axle is vlnerable when dry-as-a-bone. More a maintenance failure than a design fault.

This vehicle will go as fast over rough land as it will over the road - you can get 45-50MPH over dirt, and it will feel like it is flying. Driver skill is required to make sure you don't overdo it and kill yourself, but those speeds in a normal old (even new...) 4x4 and you will bite your tounge, smash your teeth and loose all you stuff out the back.

And then there is the awesome deep fording. Properly prepared this woill out-do ANY of its contemporaries and most modern stuff. A friend of mine summed it up well when he compared to most 4x4s in the water, this is a Hippopotatamus compared to a Labrador - this thing can LIVE in the water, not just splach through it.

Get one, you won't regret it. On top of that, these are so cool just to cruise to a bar on a sunday with the screens folded down, something you can't really do so well in a 40' load carrier.

Regards,
Tom
Portsmouth,
UK