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IT SITE WI1H FODEAS' TONNER
Page 75
Page 76
Page 77
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T-WHEELERS have been legal up tons gvw for some time but because long outer-wheel spread called for at • eight (at least 26ft) very few have pought. The majority of operators Preferred the over 23ft but less than uter axle spread 26 tons gvw conion which compromises between d and compactness.
.er the new C and U Regulations, als which will become law in the rture an eight-wheeler will be able to operate at 30 tons gvw with an outer-wheel spread of only 20ft 8in. where the maximum axle weight is not more than 9.25 tons. This will make the heavier vehicle really practicable.
Fodens have had two of these new topweight tippers out on demonstration since January this year and I recently spent the day with one of them to judge its operational advantages. The vehicle was working with Moreton C. Cullimore, a large, Stroud-based sand and gravel firm, on local deliveries of gravel. At the moment Cullimore runs some 26-ton-gvw Foden tippers and is therefore in a good position to evaluate the 30-ton-gvw design.
20-ton payload
Cullimore's current Fodens and the new 30-tonner have similar specifications: S39 glassfibre cab, Gardner 180 engine, Foden 12-speed gearbox and Foden driving axles, and as a result the unladen weight of the
two types are surprisingly close. The 26tanners weigh 9.50 tons and the 30-tonner 9.80 tons unladen. In other words, the 30-ton-gvw vehicle has a payload of 20 tons — nearly 4 tons more than the current 26-ton-gvw vehicle. This size of increase is very significant ; it means that on a delivery to Gloucester, for example — four such deliveries a day are normal — 15 tons of extra gravel can be delivered in the same time. This is nearly equivalent to one extra delivery of the current 26-ton vehicle and represents a 23 per cent increase in productivity.
Until the new C and U Regulations become law the new vehicle was limited to 24 tons gvw on the road because of its short wheelbase, and naturally enough the performance at this weight was more than adequate. With the Foden 12-speed box fitted it was normal to start in 2nd low, change to 3rd low then change to 1st direct, 1st overdrive, 2nd direct and 2nd overdrive and so on up to 4th overdrive. With this gearbox the range shift, ie low, direcl overdrive, are on a separate control is operated by the right hand, but the Foden nine-speed gearbox, announo last year's Scottish Show, has the shift incorporated into the gear lever making gearchanging that little bit e The nine-speed box is available in a tipper models and would suit all N.] most arduous conditions.
As already mentioned, it was possible to run the vehicle on the ro 30 tons gvw but some tests were carrie off the road on a quarry site at this . mum load.
Room to spare The Edbro body which had lookeC about half full at 24 tons gvw still had to spare when loaded to 30 tons gvN, showed no tendency to sag when tipped in spite of the underfloor ti gear. Some operators prefer fron, mounted tipping gear but Fodens' of underfloor gear on this vehicle is ; at providing good axle-load distrit within the short overall length. By p the gear under the body about 2ft of space is saved behind the cab and ; 6in. body is possible inspite of the 20 Ale spread. (The 23ft outer axle 26-ton-gvw model with front-end ,pically has a 22ft body). Body apart, the main advantage of the )or gear is the naturally good axletribution it gives.
k-weighed
loading to 30 tons gvw no special s taken other than to get the load distributed along the body. When ncle was check-weighed on the y's weighbridge it recorded a total of 29.7 tons and this was split pairs of axles in the ratio of front 9 tons and rear pair 18.7 tons, both ably within the plated weights of tirs of axles. The slight discrepancy the split weights and the total is the unevenness of the weighbridge ..11 but is close enough to demonow well matched the body is to the native designs having a similar body moved further back on the or a shortened body maintaining le overall length because of frontd gear, would upset this natural and be that much harder to load Surprisingly, the eight-wheelers in the fleet are averaging 50,000 miles a year with individual round trips of up to 300 miles.
At this mileage fuel consumption becomes a large proportion of the overall operating costs and any increase in consumption has to be justified. In our short test it was not possible to check fuel consumption accurately but the indications are that fuel consumption of the Gardner 180 will suffer only slightly inspite of the considerably increased payload.
Also at this mileage, driver comfort is important. Cullimore's driver missed the roof vent of his own Foden, would have liked a "cubby hole" or tray to keep little odds and ends and thought that the white interior would have been more serviceable in black.
Good steering
The noise level was acceptable at all times and we both agreed that the Burman power steering was near perfect. It had just the right amount of control at low speed over deeply rutted ground and gave accurate wander-free steering on normal road. The air-assisted clutch was too light for the Cullimore driver who preferred to feel the clutch bite, but I found no difficulty after the initial acclimatization.
The turning circle of the vehicle — though not measured — is about 70ft and this is about 7ft better than the current 23ft outer axle spread eight-wheeler.
Good buy
When I was later talking over the pros and cons of the 30-ton-gvw vehicle with Mr Cuilimore, kir, he summed the vehicle up as a good buy inspite of the £8830 chassis price tag. Fodens, in his experience, have a life of eight to 10 years whereas cheaper vehicles he finds last on average only about five years. His only adverse comments were that the Gardner 180 "might not be man enough" when running at 30 tons gvw and the underfloor type of tipping gear would need a stabilizer fitted.
In my opinion a stabilizer is not needed on such a short body and to specify one would necessarily increase body weight and price. The aluminium Edbro body on the test vehicle is available at £1628; this price includes the tipping gear, body and wings and mounting on the chassis.