"The Volvo name has credibility and it gives us
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a good image" Robert Collard
Robert Collard got into transport almost by accident. Nine years ago, while working as a self-employed mechanic, he took on a Ford truck to cover a bad debt; then he bought a JOB. The engine needed some work but that was soon put right and he put it out on self-drive hire. Next came three secondhand Oaf eight-leggers. Two of them proved more unreliable than the business could cope with, so in 1995 he bought two new Iveco EuroTrakkers and ran them for the next five years. With age, brake costs became excessive and fuel consumption degenerated. "I didn't get the backup I had hoped fog" he adds.
Today R Collard Demolition runs 40 vehicles from a base at Eversley, Hants and operates a range of plant equipment from a recycling depot at Farnham, Surrey. A mixture of heavy-duty six and eight-wheel tippers, a low-loader and service vans support a successful plant operation.
"I had good relations with Iveco but I needed a heavy duty rugged truck that would give better fuel consumption," Collard explains. "I bought my first FM12 last September and three more since then. Straight front axles and hub reduction axles at the rear give good ground clearance for muckaway work, and the T-ride bogie is really robust. We specified lower reduction hubs than standard. They are all 340s like the EuroTrakkers but the FMs seem to be just that bit more powerful and they are certainly more manoeuvrable.
"My trucks cover 80,000-100,000km a year. Some are double shifted, working on road construction at night and muckaway during the day. The FM eight-leggers are all plated at 32 tonnes. They are fitted with Thompson steel tipping bodies and Edbro front-end rams—they carry about 20tonne payloads most of the time. We were surprised with the fuel consumption at first: it's creeping up now to over 6.0mpg but that's still not much better than the Iveco EuroTrakkers.
"A steering geometry problem caused the tyres on the steer axles to wear excessively. All of the FMs have been in for new drag links, which is the recognised modification—the old ones rubbed against the chassis. The two-stage engine brake is a major plus but every one has had a new clutch airassistance pack, We tend to remove the bottom step; it is pivoted, but any sideways movement at the front of the truck and it gets buckled.
"The chassis is pretty good. Most components like the brake chambers are mounted high out of harm's way. Although the air tank, water separator and ABS distribution valve (all grouped just behind the second steer axle) have not given any trouble up to now, the installation looks very vulnerable. Electronics have become very specialised with an on-board computer, so the truck has to go back to the dealer for attention.
"Ifs a nice cab...the drivers have no complaints. Our FMs are just about the highestspecced eight-wheelers around and they prefer the overall comfort they get in preference to our other trucks. The Volvo FMs are good in the wet; they pull well through very sticky site conditions. Put a bit of weight on and they will go anywhere, plus they are very stable when tipping on site.
"We only use one make of tyre: we fit new Michelin XZYs on the front and Remix on the rears as we have found these give us less downtime. We have our own workshops but all the FMs are on contract maintenance; the local dealer at Basingstoke services them overnight. They offer a good service but need to carry more spares so that they can always get the job done at one visit.
"I had three reasons for buying the Volvo FMs: the Volvo name has credibility and it gives us a good image. The initial cost was very competitive with the service contract taken into account; after five years I expect residual values to be double what we were recently able to realise on our Renault Maxters.
"The fuel situation remains a disappointment but we will be taking four more FM12 340 8x4s on by September as we work towards a one-make tipper fleet."