Trial by operator
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by Paul Brockington
WILL 290 Volvo horsepower do better than 240 Gardner horsepower? Ron Sinclair of R. Sinclair Ltd, Worcester Road Industrial E s t at e, Evesham, means to find out. Assessment in due course of the performance of an ERF B-Series 3862 TR tractive unit, powered by a Gardner 8LXB, in comparison with that of a Volvo F88-32 unit with a TDIOOB turbocharged diesel should reveal whether ' overpowering" pays off.
The vehicles will be operated intensively on the same routes to Scotland and Cornwall and accurate records will be kept of mpg, journey times, driver reactions, servicing requirements, tyre wear and so on.
The opportunity to compare a Volvo F88 and an ERF B-Series came about in an unusual way. Having held back replacement of AEC Mandators and Mercuries of a fleet of 25 vehicles for two years (the acquisition of two haulage companies has recently added 27 Ford trucks to the total) Ron wanted to place an order for 20 B-Series 8LXB-engined units with ERF or, as a second choice, to purchase Foden trucks powered • by the same type of diesel. In March he was told 'by ERF that he might get three units in 1975 and that the first would be delivered in June; Foden advised him that he would have to wait indefinitely.
Should he go foreign? Starting in September last year the company had operated a Volvo F88-32, a MAN 16.232 FT N, a DAF FT 2200 DU, a DAF FT 2800 DKTD and a Fiat 619 Ti as well as a BL Marathon MTL 38.28 F on extended trials of makers' demonstrator units over distances of not less than 1,000 miles and up to 5,000 miles. The outputs of these models are 216kW (290bhp) at 2,400rpm, 173kW (232bhp) at 2,300rpm, 161kW (216bhp) at 2,400rpm, 185kW (248bhp) at 2,200rpm, 179kW (240bhp) at 2,200 rpm and 204kW (273bhp) at 2,200rpm, respectively.
Narrow margin
And the Volvo had come out best by a fairly narrow margin, the good reputation of the make in the UK over the years and its high level of cab comfort being overriding factors. So after facing up to the certain disadvantages of including one or more foreign vehicles in a fleet which had always been UK orientated, Ron opted for a Volvo F88. Delivery was prompt; and in a short while the first ERF arrived a month ahead of time.
Many operators regard the use cif higher powered vehicles as uneconomic despite the reduction in journey times they provide because the extra power is abused by the average driver with a resultant increase in wear and tear all round and a greater likelihood of accidents. Ron has four sons, three of whom are directors of the company and have hgv class 1 licences (the fourth son is 13 years old but is showing a keen interest in the business) and the Volvo will be driven by one of the sons and by the foreman who has worked for the company for 17 years. So appraisal of performance will be a strictly co-ordinated and technical exercise with the profitability and good name of the company (and family) in mind.
According to Ron, the 42year-old driver of the ERF is of the same calibre as his vehicle and there's no doubt that he will make the best of a good thing. Both vehicles are expected to do well. Equipped with extra fuel tanks to increase total capacity to 546 • litres (120gal) and coupled to a Crane Fruehauf semi-trailer each unit can haul a payload of rather more than 21.34 tonnes (21 tons).
A power output of about 230bhp is regarded as adequate for long-distance 32-tonners and the Volvo will normally be driven at speeds that are well within the capabilities of the ERF, although the greater power of the Volvo will undoubtedly save time on some of the steeper gradients. Over a distance of 2,415km (1,500 miles) the ERF has averaged more than 2.83km/I (8rnpg) while the average of the Volvo on demonstrator trials was 2.62km/1 (7.4mpg).
Lugging power
Good matching of engine, gearbox and final drive is cited by Ron as an essential to good economy. He considers that the good lugging power of the Gardner may partly offset the advantage of the greater peak power produced by the Volvo despite the fact that the ERF's nine-speed transmission is competing with a Volvo 16 speed splitter/range-change gearbox. Time will tell.
All the foreigners did well on the trials of demonstrator vehicles, but although the performance of the Marathon was praised by the drivers it had a lot wrong with it, including a cab fault and door locks which didn't work. It also showed signs of shoddy workmanship and its fuel consumption of 2.09km/1 (5.9mpg) was higher than that of any other vehicle tested. Moreover, the power steering was faulty and drivers didn't like the cab.
Power or mpg
The DAF 2200 averaged 2.62km/1 (7.4mpg) but was underpowered for the job, and although the DAF 2800 proved to be a highly satisfactory truck with regard to performance, handling and cab comfort it had a poorish fuel consumption of 2.124km/1 (6mpg) and its cost was not acceptable. While cab comfort is given a high priority, the super-luxury cabs of the DAFs represent a wasteful luxury in Ron's view. And the relatively high tare weight of the more powerful model did not favour its purchase.
Coming close to the Volvo and DAF 2200 on fuel con sumption, the MAN averaged 2.55km/I (7.2mpg) and was a close rival of the Fiat as a second choice after the Volvo, although the Fiat's higher fuel consumption of 2.16km/1 (6.1mpg) was against it. The MAN's column-mounted gearchange lever was at first in dis favour because of its apparent sloppiness but the drivers liked it once they had mastered its peculiarities.
In a frank comment on British Leyland, Ron Sinclair told me "We had a long and happy association with AEC before Leyland took over.
Our recommendations regard ing modifications were often acceptable. The Mandator and the Mercury are good trucks with a well-matched engine, gearbox and final drive. If they had had better cabs we might well have continued to buy them and benefited from an extra ton of payload. What a pity the association couldn't go on."
Company drivers have complained that enforcement of the fire regulations has resulted in a large number of drivers' hostels being closed down, and point out that the simplest and possibly the only economic way out of the difficulty on many runs is to sleep in the cab. Ron asks: What are the unions going to do?