Rare breed of Bison rules tipping jungle
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Time is of the essence for Hales Containers, so why, in these hard times, did they invest heavily in an unusual application for automatics at their Fulham depot? Steve Gray finds out
SOME YEARS AGO when I tested a Volvo F86 tractive unit and an F86 eight-wheeled tipper, both fitted with automatic transmission, I believed that the application was better suited to the latter.
This was because drivers of long-haul machines generally make far fewer changes, and an automatic can actually be a disadvantage.
For example on a long, slow motorway gradient, an intelligent driver would probably make a downchange — or even two — long before the automatic, with its limited information, would.
This delayed change not only slows journey times but also has a bad effect on fuel consumption — apart, that is, from the inherently poorer economy of automatics.
By contrast, tippers are sel
dorn used on tong-haul work — those that are would remain specified with manual boxes.
Fuel consumption is a factor, of course, but the relatively low annual mileages covered and the fact that a sizeable proportion of the work involves running the engine to operate the pto and tipping gear while stationary places the emphasis on the power unit's efficiency.
While it's true that some tipper operators have invested the extra money needed to equip their vehicles with automatic boxes — George Webb of Cambridge is a notable example — the depressed state of the construction industry has probably been to blame for the lack of widespread usage.
Now Hales Containers, part of the massive Ready Mixed Concrete group, have come up with a novel application for automatics — on their rear-end loading Bison six-wheel industrial refuse collectors.
To see why in these recession ary times Hales are spending its money and in order to drive the Bison in its normal working envoronment, I visited the company's Fulham depot and spoke to the manager Peter Gridley.
Peter told me that to be competitive in the waste disposal business, efficiency is the key. Until last February, when the Bison was delivered, the total fleet working out of Fulham consisted of TK Bedfords and Leyland desdales — all manual anc four-wheelers.
The automatic Bison r supplements six Clydesds and five Bedfords. Peter sai could handle the same yolk. of collection in a day as cc two or in some cases three of smaller vehicles — these are rely skip loaders and thoi they are perhaps more flex by being smaller and thus a to get into more confin premises, they have th drawbacks.
For example, the skips have be covered to conform to le lation. Because there is no cc paction device, the volume refuse carried is pro rata cons erably less than for a compac vehicle. And twice the number skips are needed, for an emi one has to be left when the one is collected,
Hales have thus opted for six-wheeled rear-end load with compaction which or needs one refuse skip at ea location. But mainly because its extra length, the Bison do present Peter, and driver Jimr Warwick, with some problems.
In spite of its relatively ma sive unladen weight — 15,1001 (14.86 tons) — payload capab ity, however, is not one of ther Most of the refuse collected I ulham depot is from small 3trial concerns and consists aste paper, cardboard and ke.
ieed, the Bison is seldom ing near to its 24-ton maxigvw, even though Peter is ng some of its customers ;ontracting for one form of 3e arid actually throwing in ething else. Nevertheless Jack Allen Colectomatic can ile almost anything.
le chief problem is the cle's length, and, to some -ee, its high unladen weight lominantly over the rear
le depot is located in a resitial area of Fulham among ly narrow side streets. Kees the four-wheelers have Jifficulty in driving into the I and turning round, the Bican't manage this mauvre.
stead, Jimmy has to back in one of the roads leading i the yard.
lales Containers have a ing commitment to looking .r their neighbours and ind the environment. To this I Peter forbids the drivers to re the depot before 7am — ny would like to start before to avoid the traffic.
took the wheel of the Bison -n the depot to collect a load vaste from Vauxhall. The first ig I noticed, apart from the k of clutch pedal, was how it the steering is with the 3vy Jack Allen equipment.
meter is very aware of this )blem — one that is of course 3cerbated when the vehicle is loaded — and it can make the vehicle difficult to steer when power is applied, especially in the wet.
Pirelli tyres of a special kind have been fitted, but the problem hasn't been completely resolved.
Driving the automatic — once you've got used to resting your left foot — is simplicity itself.
The MT654 Allison box has a selector lever enabling you to choose all the gears individually or to leave it in 1-5 which allows automatic changes through the box.
For the narrow streets around the yard, Jimmy advised me to start in 1-3. It was good advice. The Leyland didn't change up too quickly and was much more controllable especially when I came to make the first turn. This showed just how light the steering is and how poor the lock is on the Bison.
The result was that I had to take two bites at the corner and I could understand Jimmy's problems as the Bison tried to go straight on in spite of being on full left lock.
But I soon got used to it and was able to carry on without further problem. The gear selector is much neater than those I've seen on previous automatics using the same box. In fact it looked a little flimsy, though it has stood up to the use so far.
One thing that was impressive was the performance. The Ley lands TL11 power unit was more than enough for the vehicle, albeit unladen. Acceleration was, as Jimmy had said, very good.
Fuel consumption is averaging out at about 701it/100km (4mpg) but includes loading and tipping when the engine is running very fast.
Of couse the old Ergomatic cab is past its best now, and the horizontal steering wheel, with the instrument cowl seemingly miles away, all add to the im pression of age. A massive engine cover takes up most of the cab space, and it all seemed somewhat incongruous on a W registered vehicle.
No doubt Hales — very proBritish in their vehicle buying policy — were able to negotiate a good deal on the Bison which of course now has been replaced by the Constructor Six.
In spite of all this, driver Jimmy likes his vehicle. He says that sometimes it's difficult to adjust to his manual car.
Our collection from Vauxhall was fairly straightforward, ex cept that the skip had been pushed against the wall. This meant that Jimmy had to attach the chains and pull the skip forward so that it could be tipped into the Colectomatics.
That operation completed — one that is strictly in emergen cies only — he was able to tip the container. This is done by lowering the stabilising wheels and attaching the chains to the skip. The hydraulics then lift the skip — which has a lower front end — to tip into the body. A compaction compresses the refuse into the body.
Jimmy explained that it is unwise to tip the refuse into the body all in one go as it can overflow onto the operator.
Another problem is that some of the waste gets stuck in the bottom of the skip. To free it, Hales has two viewing holes in the sides through which a bar can be inserted to loosen any blockage.
The test to check if all the rubbish has gone is by banging the bottom with a rod. If there's a hollow sound, it's empty.
Jimmy also told me that though the controls mounted on the nearside at the rear — are convenient, it means he gets dirtier because he is actually working at the business end.
Tipping the load is accomplished by releasing two large clamps at the base of the body and simply tipping. The load comes out like a large plug. Hale use a tip at Coinbrook — they bought the tipping rights from Summerlease. As it has to be fitted by a certain date so that rights to the next tip can be ob. tamed, time is of essence. ThE Bison is able to fill the tip fai more quickly than the smal vehicles.
Automatic transmission addt about £4,500 to the chassit price, but when Hales is invest ing £95,000 for the vehicle, it: equipment and 70 containers it's a drop in the ocean.
And it must be realised tha the penalty clauses on the wasti disposal contracts mean even day lost for, say, clutch replace rnent, costs a fortune.
There's another consideratior Because the Bison automati moves slowly and under mop control in reverse, there is les likelihood of damage to the cor tainers.
Clearly, Hales are convinced c the value of automatic geal boxes on these ralatively larg vehicles operating in tigh working environments.