The Bedford TM was a heavy goods vehicle manufactured by

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

between 1974 and 1986. Up until the TM, Bedford had been building mostly low-specification short haul distribution trucks, such as the

Bedford TK The Bedford TK was a truck manufactured by Bedford. Launched in 1960 to replace the Bedford S type, the TK was scheduled to be replaced by the Bedford TL in 1981, but manufacturing of the TK continued as a cheaper alternative. A military 4x4 ...

and KM. In view of the increasing popularity of high cabs in the maximum weight long distance category, such as the Leyland Marathon,

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

L110 and Volvo F88, Bedford designed the TM as a competitor.

History

The TM was introduced in 1974. A thorough update in 1982 left the appearance mostly untouched - perhaps to the detriment of sales of what was a substantially new model. Improvements included the new

Detroit Diesel Series 92 The Detroit Diesel Series 92 is a two-stroke cycle, V-block diesel engine, produced with versions ranging from six to 16 cylinders. Among these, the most popular were the 6V92 and 8V92, which were V6 and V8 configurations of the same engine resp ...

engine, a new chassis, many new engine and transmission options, and a variety of other updated fittings. The Fuller transmissions now received a new telescopic shift mechanism, allowing for a sealed cabin floor. The cab was counterbalanced so as to allow one-man tilting, while two front flaps allowed access to check on vitals. Production ceased in 1986, with the closure of Bedford.The TM ''Commercial Motor'' 23 June 2011 page 39

Powertrain

Through its lifespan, it was available with a Bedford 500 turbo engine also known as the ''8.2 Blue'', a Detroit Diesel

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

V6 and V8 or a

Cummins L10 Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

, coupled to either a Fuller or Spicer transmission, and a SOMA rear axle (dropped after the 1982 facelift). The Detroit engine was not a successful choice in the UK. Because of its high-revving characteristics, it proved unpopular with drivers, who were used to slow revving, long stroke, UK diesels. It was also disliked by operators because of its poor fuel economy.

Variants

Available as either an articulated

tractor unit A tractor unit (also known as a truck unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, tractor truck, semi-truck, tractor cab, truck cab, tractor rig, truck rig or big rig or simply a tractor, truck, semi or rig) is a characteristical ...

, or as a rigid, in either wide or narrow day and sleeper cabs, the TM was actually a highly competent vehicle, and over the years was a common sight with some of the larger UK operators. It offered new standards of comfort and refinement especially for a Bedford. The

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

purchased thousands of

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...

and

six-wheel drive Six-wheel drive (6WD or 6×6) is an all-wheel drive drivetrain configuration of three axles with at least two wheels on each axle capable of being driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configurat ...

variants, some of which remained in use in 2010.Support Vehicles
British Army 25 October 2010 AWD tried to market a 6x4 version under the Multidrive brand, targeting it to construction markets,5> although only a few were built, some of which were sold to the

MoD Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

(which deployed them into

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

) and the Central Military Command in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

.9> The Multidrive brand was later sold to Caterpillar, that started producing the Multidrive M8-Series.

References

External links

{{Bedford vehicles, state=autocollapse TM Vehicles introduced in 1974