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156 
it makes a good buy for ilant hauliers who don't 'Ways have the volume if work to justify a new
Page 35
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truck."Peter McLaren
tgines with the Jake brake. is very useful in this area. 1th the Caterpillar it comes standard but adds quite a t to the price of the =mins. Brake life is quite :eptable. We had some Duble with the earlier ammins Mit 403 engine hen the bonded sump )led. Fortunately we picked 3 on it before any damage as done. The Caterpillar wines have been very relide and the present 430 has !en trouble free. It is one of LI ! first with the ZF o6teed gearbox. The driver -efers it to the Eaton box, hich he says he found diffililt when engaging reverse id the tipping gear.
The double drive gives us Ty good traction. It's used tipping about 83% of the me and it makes a big dif ference off-road in the depths of winter when it can be very wet. We have the AirTrac suspension, which gives a softer ride and better bogie articulation. Running empty the 6x4 is nicer to drive than the 6x2 with the tag lifted.
We buy the trucks outright and finance them over two to three years, some with R&M contracts, but they come with Autolube and that makes a big difference to component life. It's not got the biggest sleeper cab but we are not out overnight so the size is adequate. The new one is coming with the XL cab, which is taller and quite a bit deeper. It will help with residual value plus give us the flexibility for longer distance work. The steel cab is better built and holds together better than the old GRP construction. With the old style Alpha cab there was no outside locker but that has now been addressed.
The chassis are fine except that the occasional cross-member bolt becomes slack but they are better than they used to be.
"Dealer support is reasonable. Our local dealer was taken over by Hutton's of Glasgow about four years ago. Foden dealers generally, do not enjoy the volumes of new truck sales as those with the larger manufacturers, so they can't invest as highly in their workshops. Our local dealer has made the investment in the diagnostic equipment needed to manage the electronics on the newer generation vehicles and spares backup is quite good?