A 32-TON FLY DUTCHMAN
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WHETHER or not it will ever prove possible to achieve a set of uniform vehicle construction and use regulations for the whole of the E.E.C. area, the average German haulier will take a lot of persuading that the lorry and trailer " road train " is not the most satisfactory heavy vehicle for his purposes. After all, the lorry and trailer has been supreme in Germany for the best part of 50 years, and the whole pattern of that country's heavy road transport is based on this.
The Germans should be good at designing and building this type of combination, yet one of the finest outfits yet to run on German roads is built in a neighbouring country —Holland. This is the DAF 2600, currently the most widely discussed heavy-goods vehicle in Europe and an example of which I recently subjected to a full road test in the Ruhr Valley area of West Germany. It was almost as if the German countryside resented the intrusion of this very fine Dutch vehicle, for "everything in favour was against us" (as the Irish say) during the course of our tests, not the least of which being cold, wet, foggy weather and endless stretches of extensive roadworks, Nevertheless it was still possibb to measure most of the outstanding performance characteristics of this Dutch outfit, which was running at over 32 metric tons gross weight and yet which could return 8.6 m.p.g. at 43.2 m.p.h. along a difficult stretch of Autobahn, could accelerate up to 30 in.p.4 from standstill in 32-8 seconds, and could stop from 30 m.p.h. in 54 ft.. and was far easier and more comfortable to drive than any heavy vehicle I had previously handled.
If Britain does eventually become a member of the E.E.C.. our commercial-vehicle manufacturers will find themselves up against the type of competition typified by the DAF 2600, as non-Dutch manufacturers in the E.E.C. are doing already. The weight at which this outfit was running—although high by normal British standards—was by no means above the average for generally accepted Continental operation, yet its performance bettered that of most British 24-ton-gross vehicles in all respects.
Admittedly, British manufacturers have not had to design for this type of operation as yet, other than in respect of
relatively small orders for rather specialized vehicles intended for use outside Europe, but if the Dutch are already capable of building this class of machine, it shows that our people will have a fair amount of leeway to make up by the time it is our turn to enter this•market.
The DAF 2600 with trailer is not what one would call a "cheap buy ", but the odd 000 or so here and there is of little concern to the long-distance haulier operating over the length and breadth of the European mainland at mileages of well over 100,000 a year. What he wants principally are high payload tonnage, generous body space, high cruising speed and long, trouble-free life. If he can get all these and good fuel economy plus car-type driver comfort, so much the better, and it is because the DAF 2600 offers these things that I predict it will be one of Europe's most sought-after heavies. At least Britain can gain a measure of consolation from the fact that the 2600's power unit is made in England.
The DAF 2600 range was introduced in February of last year. at the R.A.I. Commercial Motor Show in Amsterdam. and the first British news was given in the February 23. 1962, issue of The Commercial Motor, reference to the design being made in the Show Report published the following week, with a fully illustrated description in our March, 9
issue. .
Readers of any of these three articles will recall that one of the most striking features of the DAF 2600 models is the cab -which, like a certain well-known series: of 'British cars, is "small outside, but big inside ".. Its shortness gives valuable additional body space, whilst at the same time its interior layout gives room (175 Cuft.) for very comfortable driving and passenger seats, behind which can be fitted two sleeping bunks, the lower one folding to provide two comfortable outward-facing seats. It is interesting to note that the length. of the DAF cab with sleeping bunks-73 in.—is only
about 6 in. more than that of some of our shortest British cabs, in which there is little chance of installing a pillow, let alone a fully equipped bunk, and in which the standard of driving comfort is deplorable compared with that given by the Dutch layout. Of course, the DAF cab did not" just happen ": its design is the result of intensive research into the requirements of Continental long-distance hauliers. backed up by first-hand experience gained by DAF engineers during the course of week-long trans-Continental journeys in competitive makes of heavy vehicles engaged in normal service.
It is easy enough to appreciate the obvious advantages of the DAF cab by inspection of the outside and inside, but the little things that really go to make the difference between an exhausting and an enjoyable spell of duty at the wheel become really apparent when actually driving the vehicle. Such things as variable-intensity instrument lighting, cigarette lighter, door-operated interior lighting. four ash trays (including two for the folding-bunk seats), roof vent, quilted engine-cowl cover incorporating a useful tray for papers and small items, lockable glove compartment, adjustably-sprung driving seat and parallel-action windscreen wipers which clear about 90 per cent of the screen area. I should like to meet the driver who would not feel at home in this cab!
Straightforward Mechanically
Mechanically the DAF 2600 range is straightforward-it is the combination of units employed and the way in which the vehicle is put together that distinguish this "Flying Dutchman " from its contemporaries. The standard engine—to which there is no alternative—is the Leyland 0.680 Power-Plus unit, which I am assured by the DAF engineers is used in perfectly standard trim, despite which it felt different in some way from examples of this engine which I have 'tested in Leyland vehicles. The quoted net ratings are as published by Leyland Motors Ltd., whilst DAF gives gross ratings of 220. b.h.P. at 2,200 r:p.in. and 586 lb. ft. torque at 1,200 r.p.m. Engine cooling is provided by a pressurized system incorporating an expansion tank, an arrangement which obviates the need fOr coolant replenishment during high-speed transEuropean hauls.
Power is transmitted through a Fichtel and Sachs 16-5-in. single-dry-plate clutch, and whereas the clutch used behind this engine in LeYland chaSsis has air-assisted operation, 05 in the DAF application the clutch has an unassisted hydraulic circuit, despite which it was extremely light and smooth to operate.
The Z.F. AK 6-70 gearbox has overdrive top as standard. This box has a type of gear change linkage which I had not met before, but which gives extremely light, fool-proof changing at all times, with a very short. transverse levermovement and not-unpleasantly long fore-and-aft travel.
Externally the 6-70 box is similar to the AK 6-55 unit sometimes used in British vehicles, but the gearing and bearings differ so that the torque capacity is 27-25 per cent higher.
The standard DAF 2600 models-consisting of two load carriers and a tractive unit rated for up to 36 tons grossn6 have 10-ton double-reduction rear axles, which at present are imported from the U.S.A., although DAF intends to build its own in due course. The standard ratio is 7.78 to 1, with the option of 8.69-to-1 gearing, and in top gear the 7.78-to-1 axle gives a maximum road speed of 50 m.p.h., the top speed with the other ratio being 5 m.p.h. less. With the higher axle the maximum grade ability is 1 in 2.8 solo, and 1 in 5-8 at 32 tons train weight.
There are special export versions of the 2600 intended for countries such as France and Belgium where the legal axle loading is above 10 tons, and these models are identical to the standard jobs except for having 13-ton rear axles, with slightly lower final-drive gearing.