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"Scania 9 s strongest selling point for us was fuel consumption. John
Page 34
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Ward We visited PMP logistics at Fareham and spoke to director John Ward, who runs a fleet of 22 artics—mainly Scanias, apart from two Dafs—that run out of the company's Huddersfield depot. -We have just one 380 Scania and the rest are 124 42os. I have had good contacts with Scania since 1993, when I was with my previous company.
"The local dealer is situated within walking distance, which certainly has its benefits. We buy some trucks outright and others we lease. It depends on the deal at the time, but we like to keep them for a minimum of five years.
"Most of our work emanates from the container terminal at Southampton. We operate mostly in the UK and cover up to 1,80o miles a week. A lot of the loads are white goods, which tend to be quite light. Fuel consumption has been something of a disappointment: it started off well enough, but has shown a steady decline in performance. We have dropped from 9.23mpg to 8.9mpg over three years. "Regular faults include bulbs for axle lift warning and panel lights, which have to be replaced at every service. Exhaust heat shields crack every two months. The cost (about Lao plus labour) is annoying but our bigger concern is the inconvenience of taking the truck off the road to get it fixed.
"The cab's rear level valves stop working at about 250,000 miles. We have also had leaks from hydraulic retarders. At the end of the summer, we suffer the usual night heater control problems; the thermostat often fails to cut in and the cab becomes too hot.
First and second-steer idler bushes need replacing at about 190,000 miles, while the clutch drive plates have a life of about 225,000 miles. On right-hand lock, the draglink can foul the air filter bracket and should be modified to give sufficient clearance.
"We had one water pump pack up at just 50,000 miles and, on the same truck, the rear brakes lasted just 200,000 miles. With hydraulic transmission retarders fitted, we were expecting them to last twice that distance. On another truck, the driver noticed low oil pressure at 231,000 miles and saved us a lot of money; the number two injector was leaking fuel into the sump.
"We were less fortunate on another at 257,000 miles. The problem was the injector again, but this time the engine needed new pistons and liners and the cylinder heads checked out. Yet another had number three and four injectors replaced at 255,000 miles.
"We have been experiencing some uneven tyre wear on the two steer axles, so we have replaced the Michelin XZAs for XZEs, which we hope will improve the situation," says Ward.
"Feedback from the drivers is that, with the R cab, stowage space is a bit restricted and the bunk is too thin. Scania's strongest selling point for us was fuel consumption, so we have some concerns there, but the after-sales backup is exceptional," he concludes.