Scammell 526 easy to handle off road
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THE 6x6 Scammell 526 is a surprisingly easy vehicle to drive in spite of its apparent size, writes GRAHAM MONTGOMERIE.
Last weekend at a test driving session organised by Leyland at the Yorkshire proving ground of Mintex, I had the chance of driving the S26 on a cross-section of public roads and in rougher offroad conditions at the proving ground itself.
In its unladen state, that is• with nothing on the train, the Scammell would pull away from rest in the highest ratio of the low range of the Fuller gearbox. Once on the move, the upper range was more than adequate.
On the road, the only feature that distinguished the 526 from a Roadtrain was its height. With a ground to top-of-cab dimension of 4m and a correspondingly high seating position, it certainly gave the driver a dif: ferent angle on things.
Once I had adjusted to the height, however, I found the S26 a surprisingly easy vehicle to drive. The driveline was as easy to use as that of a more conventional vehicle and the excellent power steering made light work of close-quarter manouevering, even on the massive section tyres.
At the Mintex proving ground I took the Scammell off the track and through some rough going. Because of the recent heavy rain the ground was far softer than it looked which meant operating all the cross-axle and inter-axle differential locks to get through.
With all the diff locks operating, the straight-ahead steering tendency was very pronounced, acting as a reminder to return the axles to normal operating positions for on-highway use.
Not surprisingly, getting in and out of the Scammell was the most difficult part of the excercise, though the well placed steps and grab handles made it easier than it looked.