Continent takes to eight-leggers
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THE EIGHT-WHEELER configuration has long been established in Britain, Italy and Spain. It is now obtaining wider recognition by other European operators of its valuable role in many applications.
While Germany still awaits legislation to permit more realistic gross weights to be obtained than those possible under present C and U rules, users in Holland, Austria and Switzerland have been building up their operating experience. Visitors to the Geneva and Amsterdam Shows should see several newcomers to this sector.
Two years ago a MercedesBenz based eight-legger at Amsterdam staked a claim for this maker in a market in which Dutch domestic specialists such as Terberg, FTF, and Ginaf had a vested interest and at next month's RAI Show a further development will be on view in the shape of the MERGAM 8x6 unit for a gvw of 33 tonnes, In the Netherlands, eight wheelers can develop their potential most usefully in on/offroad and site work and the new vehicle provides an alternative to operators vacillating between the choice of a 6x6 or an 8x4 vehicle.
Derived from a MercedesBenz 2632 AK 6x6 chassis, the new special has a second steering axle with leaf/air suspension and can take a payload of 20 tonnes.
Meanwhile, in Denmark, Albert Andersen of Svenstrup, is carrying out similar conversions to adapt Mercedes-Benz chassis for use as truck mixers. Fitted with Liebherr 8cum hydraulic concrete mixers the Andersen conversions are based on M-B 2626 6x4 chassis. An Alku second steering axle is fitted to allow the following axle loads under Danish regulations: 1st steering axle 7.5 tonnes, 2nd steering axle 8.5 tonnes, tandem drive bogie 16 tonnes.
Mercedes-Benz eight-wheeler exhibits at last year's Frankfurt Show revealed that this maker's own engineering philosophy in this sector owed much to the new commercial tie with FBW in which Mercedes-Benz now has a 49 per cent holding). Several examples of high-powered rigid eights for Swiss operating condition at only 28 tonnes gvw (!) will represent joint M-B/FBW production specialists at next week's Geneva Show.