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cars." When Terry Savage from the Union of Shop and Distributive Allied Workers 'sounded off' in our pages recently, his comments must have had a familiar ring to the thousands of truck drivers whose nights are spent in the cab of a truck.
Most drivers on long-distance work sleep in their cabs, either through choice or necessity (see survey, CM 5-11 March).
Our annual cab test is essentially a response to this, letting us look at trucks specifically from a driver's point of view, and in particular at their suitability for an extended trip.
Having assembled a group of premium tractive units last year, we felt it right to concentrate on no-frills fleet machines for the 1992 test, so we came up with a selection of half a dozen tractors around the popular 240kW (325hp) mark. Running through our 1992 contenders in alphabetical order, we start with the ERF E12. We had expected it to be powered by the Perkins Eagle Tx 325, but we couldn't complain when the factory's new Tx 400 demo vehicle rolled up instead; aside from having a heater as standard, the E12.40's SP4B plastic cab is unchanged from its less powerful siblings.
Like the ERF cab, Nee° Ford's TurboTech cab is due for replacement soon, in this case by one of the new Cargo family. We were interested to see how well the TurboTech cab was standing up after a minor update some 18 months ago when it was changed from the previous TEC; our truck was a 220.36 twin-steer.
We are more familiar with MAN's 77.322, having completed a full road test on it last September. With its unu
sual bunk arrangement and aimed directly at the fleet market, the MAN presents its more established rivals with some solid competition.
Renault continues to persevere with the -Club of Four" cab design; the latest variation on the 20-year-old theme is the G340Ti, part of the recently re-christened Manager range. Topping the Manager line-up, the G340Ti not only gets a comprehensively revised interior, but also fourpoint air cab suspension — quite a rarity in the fleet market.
Customers who find the standard Seddon Atkinson Strati, a bit on the plush side now have the option of the down-specced IC model, introduced at the NEC Show in 1990. Our group included a TC 17.33L powered by a Cummins 110 325 and borrowed by the manufacturer from Parcelforce.
Completing our sextet is that established fleet machine, the Volvo FL10. Though undoubtedly popular with transport managers, the Volvo has the chance here to prove that it deserves the same respect from drivers.
As in previous years, our test concentrates on living conditions in the trucks, looking at the features which can make or break an overnight stop. But as usual we have also taken a look at on-the-road comfort, notably noise levels and ride quality.
With a group of tractors using the same basic layout {there's no Renault AE in this year's group!) the differences between cabs come down to those important details. So rather than pick winners and losers we have concentrated on the strengths and weaknesses of each cab in turn.
Our grateful thanks for their help with this year's cab test go to BP Truckstops at Crick and Redcat Heaters of Hemel Hempstead. ill"