Production 1953–early 1970s | ||
 | ||
Manufacturer Bedford (General Motors) Class Commercial vehicle, military vehicle Body style chassis cab, flatbed, troop carrier, fire engine, recovery vehicle Layout Longitudinal front engine,
rear-wheel drive (4x2), or
four-wheel drive (4x4) Related | ||
The Bedford RL was the British military's main medium lorry (truck), built by Bedford, from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s. They superseded the Bedford OY.
Contents
History
The Bedford RL was based on the Bedford SCL, a civilian 7-ton truck. The military version had all wheel drive and bigger wheels to increase ground clearance. Originally conservatively rated at 3 tons, all RL GS (general service) trucks in British Military service were, at a late stage in their service lives, re-rated at 4 tons without any mechanical modifications; the weight referring to its rated cross country payload weight. The last RL rolled off the production line in the early 1970s, a total of 74,000 being produced.
Design
The RL was powered by a 4.9 litres (299.0 cu in) petrol engine producing 110 brake horsepower (82 kW; 112 PS), although some were fitted with diesel engines.
Variants
Many specialist variants were also built; including recovery vehicles, mobile workshops, radio vans and cable layers. The Green Goddess fire engine was also based on the RL.
The RL and variants continued to serve alongside the later Bedford MK and Bedford TM trucks until well into the 1990s.
The Home Office also purchased a large number of these vehicles, kept in reserve for any national emergency. All have now since been disposed of, many having less than 2,000 miles (3,220 km) on the clock.
In Australia, R series Bedfords were used during the 1960s, 1970s and early '1980s by Victoria's Country Fire Authority (CFA). They were built as 800 gallon water capacity, 4 wheel drive bushfire tankers and designated "State Spare Tankers". Considerably larger and with greater water capacity than CFA's standard Bedford, Leyland, BMC, Austin and International brand rural fire attack tankers, they were spread thinly throughout the state to bolster their smaller workmates. Most were painted in CFA's standard "Carnation (dark) Red". They were fitted with rear-mounted, British-built Godiva pumps rated at approximately 2,250 litres per minute output.
New Zealand
The Bedford RL was the New Zealand military's main medium truck from 1958 to 1989. Built under licence in New Zealand, the RL served the New Zealand Military in New Zealand and South East Asia. The RL was replaced by the Mercedes Benz UNIMOG Family of Vehicles. The New Zealand Army used the RL GS, Tipper, Recovery and Mobile workshops versions.