The Boughton Group started life in 1897 when Thomas Trafford Boughton began using mechanical road transport vehicles, a rare thing in those days. As well as running vehicles for hire and reward — the fleet reached over 30 at one point — Thomas Boughton was also deeply involved in the evolution of many aspects of transport and himself made several innovations.
Boughton extends and reinforces the chassis and adds a third driven axle. This axle is of the same type as the existing rear axle, so parts are common.
To provide the double drive, the company makes its own transfer unit. This is cleverly mounted above the first rear axle and connected to this axle's pinion shaft. Drive is then taken through to the second rear axle. A unique rear suspension assembly is another facet of the design. The vehicles are intended for developing countries where allwheel drive is necessary.
Reynolds Boughton filled the bill with a number of chassis powered either by Rolls-Royce or Detroit Diesel engines. The power units are rear-mounted and drive the wheels via Boughton's own transfer box. They are available as either fouror six-wheelers and orders for them have been taken from behind the Iron Curtain as well as from Europe and the developing countries.
The Dodge 50 Series, later known as the Renault 50 Series were light commercial vehicles produced in the UK by Dodge and later Renault Vehicules Industriels (RVI) between 1979 and 1993.
The 50 series included a wide range of chassis and body configurations, including two distinctly different cab designs, and spanned the 3,500–7,500 kg (7,700–16,500 lb) revenue weight range. Various engines were offered, including the Perkins Phaser and 4.236, and there was also a four-wheel-drive version, the RB44, built by Reybolds Boughton (now known as Boughton Engineering).
The Land Rover Llama is a vehicle that was designed and developed by the British company Land Rover in the mid-1980s. 11 prototypes and a single production vehicle were built during 1986/7 with the hope of winning a contract from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to replace its existing fleet of Land Rover 101 gun tractors. Heavily based on the contemporary Land Rover One Ten, the Llama was intended to be sold on both the military and civilian markets. However, the MoD did not choose Land Rover's design and without the security of these sales Land Rover was unwilling to risk putting the Llama on the market.
The Llama prototypes were sent to the MoD for testing.
Vehicles were subjected to load-carrying, off-road driving, stability, cold-weather and endurance/performance tests. These showed several flaws with the design. The main one was that the coil-spring suspension and high centre of gravity led to poor stability over rough ground when fully laden.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) finally selected a 4-wheel drive version of the Dodge 50 truck, converted by Reynolds-Boughton Engineering and designated the RB44. After only a few years in service the entire fleet had to be overhauled and fitted with a crucial brake modification at major costs to the UK taxpayer. The poor reliability of the RB44 meant that the British Army opted to overhaul its fleet of Land Rover 101s, which remained in service until the early years of the 21st century.
Related or similar vehicles - Mercedes-Benz Unimog and Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle. The Dodge 50 Series, later known as the Renault 50 Series were light commercial vehicles produced in the UK by Dodge and later Renault Vehicules Industriels between 1979 and 1993.In June 1988, the Department placed a contract worth some 25 million doll with Reynolds Boughton for 846 Heavy Duty Utility Trucks - known as the RB44 -to meet a requirement to replace the ageing 1 tonne Land Rover fleet. The RB44 was selected following evaluation trials of one vehicle type from each of three contractors. Although the RB44 used in those trials met the stated requirement and complied with road traffic legislation, the user mandated changes to the production vehicles' design to refine its braking efficiency.http://ccmv.aecsouthall.co.uk/p730558485/h16522266#h587fb65a
Army Fire Service Reynolds Boughton RB44 Apollo 4x4 rescue tender
There was a Mark II version of the RB44 that used a Dodge 50 series cab. The MOD ordered approximately 1000 of these for various military purposes with the early production being by Reynolds Boughton themselves and the later production (about 85%) being assembled at Renault trucks (Renault Vehicules Industriels) , in Dunstable, from RB parts
Boughton-Bedford 6x6 - military project that did not materialise.
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