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Driving Impressions W Double-drive tractors are most at home dragging
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a bulk or pushout trailer but they also find a home in the planthire business. Hence our choice of distinctly non-standard test load: an over-width Andover Trailer and around 30 tonnes of 360' excavator. However, logistics demanded operation of the new Strato in a number of guises; solo, unladen, laden and off-road.
First impressions of the new Strati, are dominated by its ride height. With a ground clearance of 300mm, landfill sites and the like should cause little concern. Sitting some way up in the heavens requires a three-step access, and the Strata's lowest toehold flexes as necessary. A wide door opening and well-positioned grab handles allow easy access, with nan-slip steps ensuring that even muddy boots are unlikely to cause problems.
Easy to maintain
Inside, there's a marked similarity to the Euratrakker cab, and Ivaco badges predominate—even to the extent of the steering wheel logo. The decor is pretty much basic spec—vinyl predominates, and a quick wipe over at the end of the day is likely to keep things clean. The sector at which the new Strata is aimed tends more to daily as opposed to overnight work. There's a shortage of decent day-cab-type storage— paperwork is going to wander, and there's little facility to anchor down a bottle or flask, save putting them on the bunk.
Our first foray onto the public highway was solo. Not profitable, but an occasional must. Be warned; keeping the airlines off the propshaft while operating solo requires more than the clips provided on the catwalk. Unladen 13x4 units tend to hop as opposed to drive from A to B, and gaffer tape became a necessity. Things calmed down somewhat with the addition of an Andover beavertail.
Steel suspension means no option to adjust pick-up height, but selecting the Furatranic's low reverse gear allowed us to get under the rubbing plate and onto the pin with a minimum of fuss. Unladen, our route took us out into the countryside, with narrow and winding roads dominating. Courtesy of Eurotronie, we were able to concentrate on the road ahead as opposed to gear selection; an advantage here. But, it's the load that makes the money and, courtesy of HE Services and about 1100,000 worth of 380° excavator, we were soon freighted. Until this point, we had left the gearbox to do its own thing, and it had done just that. But, does one allow an automatic box to make decisions at high weights? We did, and it selected fourth (2H). We went with the flow and, rather than the smell of incinerated driveline which we had expected, all we got was a measured and stately progress towards the M4.
Cursor 13 and Eurotronic does the business here. With cruise control set at around 53mph, Neu's engine brake held everything back dawn the long drags past Membury Services. Going up the other side, the down shifts from the Eurotronic box were smooth and well-timed.
Good visibility
Off the motorway, and onto some twisting local roads, visibility became our main concern. Granted, a high driving position means keeping a keen eye out for pedestrians and cyclists but, with a wide load aboard, being able to look over corners does have a major advantage. Moreover, a combination of small yet steep hills might be expected to have the gearbox working double-time.
In fact, it seemed quite happy to let the engine dip down to around 850rpm, which is effectively outside the torque band, but still appropriate for the surroundings.
Finally, on to the site, A loose-haul road showed the double-drive set-up in its proper environment and—well, we didn't get stuck, which is what it's all about.
The new Strata isn't perfect. The cab could do with some work, and we'd like to see some sort of shield underneath; refuse sites are not good places for exposed componentry, and some means of deflecting material away from radiators would be a good thing.
Similarly, the catwalk arrangement for those airlines is not sharp. But, allround, the new Strato—or the old Eurotrakker—is not a bad machine. it does what it sets out to do, and does it with some ease.
Inn market that is never going to be huge and in which, as a result, operators have a limited choice, that can be no bad starting point.