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ROADTEST: MAN 10.153

14th November 1996
Page 30
Page 30, 14th November 1996 — ROADTEST: MAN 10.153
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Keywords : Pickup Trucks

• match the 18.4mpg (15.3 lit/100km) we recorded on test with the 7.5-tonne 8.153. The lighter vehicle's A-road figure of 17.9mpg (15.71it/100km) gives a pointer, but the extra weight and PTO operations of the recycler would reduce that figure further.

The lively four-cylinder engine endows the chassis with enough performance to ensure that it could pack the loads in during a working day, too. Even though we were running empty, the unladen vehicle weighs in at around 6.4 tonnes with a 75kg driver aboard. Drawing on our experience with a laden 7.5tonner, we doubt that a full load would rob the little MAN of much performance.

• ON THE ROAD Minimal rear overhang and a body that's generally narrower than the cab gives the recycler very compact dimensions. This makes it easy to place on the road and easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces. It also means that most of its weight sits between the axles so despite its narrow body, it's stable on the road.

Standard anti-roll bars front and rear help here too, limiting its tendency to roll in cornering. A full load would lead to some greater body roll, but it's unlikely to have a significant effect.

The lively four-cylinder engine gives the 10-tonner a healthy power-to-weight ratio. ZF's five-speed box is a popular choice for 7.5tonners. Installed in the MAN it has a relatively narrow gate which can lead to some unintended gear choices. A little more width to the gear gate would help. We also found gaps in the ratios between second, third and fourth. In normal running this does not present much of a problem, but a six-speed gearbox would give a better spread of ratios. MAN offers the ZF S6-36 six-speeder as an option which would address the problem. It would also add £655 to the price and carry a small weight penalty.

As our noise meter readings show, the L2000 maintains MAN's reputation for low incab noise levels. It was advisable to keep an eye on the rev counter particularly in the lower gears.

As engine noise was so well suppressed it was easy to rev the engine close to the red line without noticing. • CAB COMFORT While the compact dimensions of the cab mean that it will fit into tight spaces and narrow streets, it means there's not much room in the cab. With two on board life would be fine, but add a double seat and threeman crew and there wouldn't be much space for personal kit, protective clothing, gloves, waterproofs and the like.

Stowage is limited to door pockets each side plus a couple of fairly deep overhead trays. There's also a wide bin on the rear wall, but this might be lost if a two-man seat was fitted. The engine cover is trimmed with carpet which would also take a battering with three in the cab. Otherwise the trim fitted to the two-man cab was cloth seat facings and rubber mats, offering a sensible mix of the comfortable and practical.

The instrument layout takes its cue from larger IVLANs with a central tacho and rev counter in front of the driver. The surrounding dash panels are also angled towards the driver. A single column stalk controls indicators, dip/flash, washers and wipers—too many functions for one stalk in our view. Other electrical functions are controlled by dash-mounted rockers.

The low mounted cab means the floor is less than a metre from the ground, ideal for the multi-drop work the vehicle is likely to carry out. It's easy to find a comfortable driving position. Controls are generally light and easy to use but by contrast, the unassisted clutch is relatively heavy. We don't think that power assistance is necessarily the answer, but it should be possible to tighten the clutch action. Compactness helps visibility, although the lack of a kerb mirror seemed a curious omission on this vehicle. The side-mounted binlifter means the driver can see the bin loading operations without the expense of a rear-view camera. We didn't need the heating or demisting system in the warm autumn weather of the test but the five horizontal slides which control the system are too fussy to work out quickly how to demist the screen. Let's hope that MAN revises the controls in the same way as the F2000, greatly simplifying the selections.

As Trio's managing director Colin Hinson told us: "The refuse collection market is around 1,000 vehicles a year. Recycling is more difficult, because many users are using old waste bodies. Now it's becoming more commercial, there's a need for the right machine for the job."

Recycling plants are becoming more picky about the condition of the loads sold to them. Glass with a high content of breakages for instance, will command a lower price. Any old iron just won't do any more.

So there is a clear need for a vehicle which can either compress loads such as textiles or handle other loads more gently. Certainly the Trio recycler offers the potential for both. Its payload is light but that should also mean that it's a flexible vehicle, able to handle a number of different loads in the course of a day.

Convenience has a price. The recycler body will cost around £26,850 (ex-VAT)—in new or used notes. That's close on £20,000 cheaper than the Jack Allen refuse body fitted to our Seddon Atkinson Pacer test vehicle last week. The MAN 10.163 chassis is listed at £35,440 (ex-VAT), slightly more on paper than the Iveco Cargo 100E1 5S at £34,700 and a bit less than the six-cylinder Leyland Dal 45.160 10tonner at £37,780. The Mercedes-Benz 1117 11-tonner is listed at £37,180, Renault's 10tonne Midliner S150.10 at £34,040 and Volvo's F1,611 at £29,400.

It will take a while to see if the Government's Landfill Tax stimulates recycling and cuts our consumption of scarce resources. If so, Trio's right on target with its recycler.

11 by Jahn Kendall

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