1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156 
"Urban operations are heavy on clutches but the ERF's are no worse than
Page 34
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
other makes." Bob Yarnell
Bob Yarnell has been transport superintendent for Rushcliff Borough Council for five years. He has a fleet of 65 vehicles, ranging from one to 26 tonnes. Among a mixture of Seddon Atkinsons, Ivecos and LDVs are three ERFs fitted with the ES cab: two ES 6 4x25 and an ES8 6x2 rear-steer.
"The ERF's reliability and built-in strength lends itself to tipper use," he says. "We intend to keep them for seven years but we are still interested in obtaining a good residual. The ES steel cab is covered by a five-year anti-corrosion warranty and it comes with the three-man seating option.
"We bought the first one in 1998 and the price was competitive with both Daf and Iveco. They were specified for individual uses and operate within a 2o-mile radius of the depot. One 4x2 is a tipper equipped with a Hiab and grab for highway repairs. The second one has been de-rated to 15 tonnes to qualify for lower VED and was specified with left-hand drive with Johnson Goo sweeper equipment. The ES8 carries a 3,000-litre vacuum tank built by Carlow of Southern Ireland; it is used to empty cesspools and septic tanks.
"None of them do a high mileage. The sweeper, rated at 215hp, is averaging about i6,000km a year but most of that is lowgear work. However, we specified the ninespeed range-change box to give versatility in the sweeping speed we require, which is between 4-8mph. Overall it's averaging 5.i3mpg. That's better than our Leyland Daf 55 that returns 4.4mpg.
"The tipper was bought as a 17-tonner and is still plated at that weight. With a steel body it gives us a payload of about to tonnes. It's laden 8o% of the time and also operates with a trailer up to a train weight of 20.5 tonnes but still returns 11.17mpg. Like the 6x2 it's rated at 24.5hp. With an Eminox CRT exhaust for reduced pollution it halves VED rates—it costs f3,500 but pays for itself over its seven-year term with us.
"Urban operations are heavy on clutches but the ERFs are no worse than other makes. The rear hydro-steer on the sixwheeler gives us a turning circle that is close to that of a four-wheeler so it's good at getting in and out of difficult sites. Initially the bolts retaining the rear air suspension worked loose. It's a problem that we have experienced with other makes of chassis. ERF beefed up the bolt size and it has not been a problem since.
"We look after all the servicing in house. We bought the truck from main dealer TopTrux of Nottingham and the service dealer is just three miles away on this side of the city, which with traffic is more important than the distance. They operate 24 hours a day so there's no problem in getting parts: in my experience ERF has always shown the way in parts availability and delivery.
"We sell through a municipal auction house at Merthyr, South Wales and we do achieve good residuals. The ES range has good driver acceptability. The cab is easy to keep clean and ERF will tailor the chassis for specialist applications. We feel comfortable with the product and we will return to the marque if the vehicle application is right for us." Ef