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OUR VIEW
Page 62
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8x4 rigid vs six-axle artic tipper
Moving up from an 8x4 rigid to six-axle artic tipper isn't for everyone. There are delivery situations that an artic just would not be able to access, and it would be unable to move freely on a tight building site with an undulating surface. But with the bigger projects like the Birmingham Toll road, it seems common sense to get muckaway and aggregates moved more quickly with larger vehicles.
Invariably, the bigger sites have better access points and quarries and aggregate sites are ably adapted to cater for rig ids and artics. Tipping in an artic is more likely to be done on even ground on a larger site than in a building site in a town centre.
In terms of size, the Foden Alpha 8x4 rigid is 9.44m long compared with the 13.8m overall length of the Foden tractor and tipper trailer. The artic is easier to manoeuvre around compared with the wide sweep of the 8x4.
The trailer can handle an extra 8,735kg payload in its 47.7m3 load space, while the 8x4 rigid has a 23.2m3cargo area. Unless it's an asphalt truck which tends to travel long distances, the rigid tipper is normally specced with a day cab, whereas for enhanced driver comfort a tractor can have a sleeper cab without hindering overall payload potential.
The real eye-opener is that our test indicated the 8x4 needed 10 trips, compared with just seven in an artic to match delivery quantity. Despite the rigid being more than a third more fuel efficient, with three extra trips to match productivity it used 6% more fuel.