Strato outing in Scotland
Page 8
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MI Seddon Atkinson's Strato 210 4x2 17-tonner was introduced at the IRTE show in Scotland last week, where we took time out for an outing in a demonstration tipper fresh from the factory.
The Strato chassis comes complete with Iveco's EuroCargo day cab, and our first impression was that it is mounted quite high on the chassis. Fortunately, the staggered steps are well placed and the doors open wide to 900 to make access easy.
Personalised
The personalised front grille makes this unmistakably Seddon Atkinson's "own" cab. The driver's air-suspension seat is equipped with an integral seat belt and the steering column is adjustable. The dual passenger seat has a back support that can be folded forward and flat; there are storage spaces in the doors and in a full width console over the windscreen.
Two unusual standard items in the cab are a headlight angle control and a hand throttle which can be used with the P1-0 by the driver in or out of the cab.
There is too little space between the seat and the door for the tipping control, but there must be a better place for it than in the middle of the floor which is where the bodybuilder put it.
Both Perkins and Cummins supply engines rated at 157kW (210hp). Our demonstrator was fitted with Cummins' 6BTAA Euro-1 unit which offers slightly more torque than the Perkins Phaser.
The gearchange is light enough but the combination of a low mileage engine and the new standard six-speed synchromesh box gave our truck a rather stodgy performance. This could be improved by using the optional Eaton nine-speeder, but with a small weight penalty.
The chassis' longer and softer two-leaf spring pack on the front axle combine with cab suspension and the air suspension seat to give a good ride without much body roll.
Three damp bodies inside the cab and Scotland's inhospitable weather on the outside put the vehicle's heating and ventilation system to the test. After initial misting over, the front screen and side windows soon became clear again.
The brake linings were not yet bedded in but the large Girling cam-operated brake provided plenty of stopping power. For tipper operations the smaller 200-litre tank is standard and with winter coming on the heated fuel filter sounds a good idea. Among the plethora of warning lamps inside the cab is one which lights up if the filter becomes contaminated.
The advantages of group development show up in the most unlikely places. Under the front grille a profiled screen washer bottle makes maximum use of the available space. A simple enough item on the face of it, but it would be low on the list of priorities if Seddon Atkinson had to manage entirely on its own development budget.
0 by Bill Brock