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M AN's M2000 line-up has become a reliable option for rental
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companies. Now it appears that the small-tomedium-sized fleet operator looking for a truck to fill a hole in the fleet is taking advantage of e strict repair and maintenance contracts enjoyed by e rentals. Service histories, although standard fare, en't always taken too seriously—it's not until you open i the truck and check every part that you realise what rk has truly been done.
Rental companies pride themselves on well-lookedter trucks that won't fail when you're out on ajob caus; embarrassment and red faces; and the second-hand arket is benefiting as a result. For good residuals on a ;id, a sleeper cab, average wheelbase and either a box curtainsider body are essential.
Even with the help of M2000 operators MAN has to pleased with the reputation earned by the 18-tonner ice its launch in 1996, before it was replaced by the ro-3 line-up last year. Two-axle rigids tend to be funcnal and mundane with drivers likely to spend more le unloading than actually driving. Optional extras tend be few and far between and usually there is just ough room for a bag, paperwork, and a flask.
roduct low-down
spite operating in the 18-tonne sector and having the me number written on the cab, these M20008 were It on steel suspension and therefore plated at 17 Ines GVW. P357 ERC has the Euro-2 DI charge-cooled -pot knocking out 220hp at 2,400rpm, and has 825Nm ak torque between 1,400-1,700rpm. Linking the engine the driveline is the ZF six-speed synchromesh gearx rather than the standard Eaton version.
Mounted on the chassis is the largest of five options,
the Long-haul cab with a single bunk. The layout is exactly the Same as the F2000 cab on the tractive units, fitted with a spoiler, Apart from its colour making it stand out from the crowd, it also has a 6.8m-wheelbase and overall 10.95m length, just slightly longer than the average 18-tonner.
On top of the long MAN chassis sits a Reeves Coachworks-built body with a Birmingham telephone number, and barn doors at the rear. It was originally owned and specced by the rental company Lex Transfleet who registered it on 17 March 1997. During the five years with Lex Transfleet, P357 ERC worked on a contract hire deal with an undisclosed Lex Transfleet customer operating at maximum cube rather than GVW while clocking up 362,000km.
In Cap Network's Red Book for Used Commercial Values July 2002, the price for a 1997, M2000 18.224 4x2 rigid with a sleeper cab is £12,300 (ex-VAT), The new owner of P357 ERC, TT Express, Warehousing and
Bottom line
Despite the odd tractor hedge-cutting on the Welsh hills ( just to slow down the English traffic probably), the route was devoid of hold-ups, bad weather, and tourists with caravans. This is reflected in the creditable 13.6mpg overall fuel figure and a very consistent 39.8mph average speed.
Through the tough A-road section P357 ERG produced 13.7mpg at 35.9mph average speed and on the motorway leg back to Hinckley returned 13.2mpg at an average 50.6mph.
At 17 tonnes GVW, payload is 9,250kg. The length, height and sleeper cab option compromise its overall payload capacity, but CM feels that this truck is more likely to cube out than weight out.
On the road
It's every photographer's wish to have a truck that Is not white, but to have one lime green and blue is probably beyond their wildest dreams. With one satisfied snapper left in our wake, CM set off around the Used Truck Test route to see if it could live up to its colour.
As this truck Was registered in March 1997 the speed limiter is set at 57mph which means good headway out on the open road. The only downside to gradually overtaking pretty much every truck on the motorway is that the revs are over 2,000rpm. Maximum power is at 2,400rpm but the torque band is under the 1,700rpm mark. Perhaps an extra gear would come in handy, but if operators were going to run mainly city-to-city trunking at 17 tonnes, a different gearbox would probably be wiser. Reeves Coachworks' body is pretty big too, su gesting high-cube loads and deliveries, rather than lum ing GVW and plenty of air around.
With a pretty healthy 13hp/tonne ratio the 81km average speed was quite impressive on the motorw section. Power held pretty well into the long hill climbs the eastbound M42 from the M5, and with the high re running into the hills, changes on a six-speed transm sion were rare.
The only gap evident on the ZF six-speed gearb appeared between the bottom of fourth and the top third gear. As we passed Kington on the 444 and turn left on the second roundabout, heading tower Leominster, the short steep climb fully laden is probel the worst on the route if you get baulked early on. I prizes for guessing what happened next then. A tract appeared from a side road, travelled 100 yards a promptly turned off again, doing just enough to sli P357 ERG down into third and battling in vain to get be into fourth before the slope evened out. Then on I timed Dinmore Hill, P357 ERC dropped down to th halfway up and the leap to fourth was just out of real Gaps aside, the gearbox was very sound and seei to have aged remarkably well. On the A-road at a around 40mph in top the rpm was smack bang in I middle of the peak torque zone—this undoubte helped produce an encouraging fuel figure on this tot section.
Only the most subtly aware drivers can tell the duff ence between a ZF transmission and the stand Eaton; for those who can't, the ZF reverse gear is f ward and on the Eaton it is back.
On the fiat at GVW, first gear is imperative to get truck rolling; despite its long rental history it appe. most drivers have adhered to this, as the clutch seems very sound. When the 17-tonne truck is empt then becomes a five-speed as there is 10-tonne resistance on the clutch plate, After negotiating Newtown and hitting Dolfor Hill in third at 25km/h, P357 ERC made pretty good headway on the fight bend at the start of the hill—until baulked by two tractors hedge-cutting!
Cab quality
It makes a change to see a sleeper cab fitted to a 4x2 rigid but as TTX intend to send their driver away four nights of the week then this spec is paramount. Lex Transfleet has looked after this truck very well and the interior is pretty much immaculate.
Sure, the facade looks a little dated and the steering wheel is the size of a dustbin lid, but it is just about as functional and tidy as a cab can possibly be after five years and 362,000km.
Away from an urban day cab the driver has a single bunk, a centre tray dash for paperwork and storage with three decent compartments under the mattress. The door pockets are deep and can carry a two-litre water bottle but there are no cup holders around the driver's work area for the much-needed Nescafe coffee-in-a-can drink while on the move.
MAN's decision to deck the early models out in a dark-coloured interior has proved very sound for residuals because it hides any scuffs and scrapes well when you glance around the cab. Closer inspection normally shows up a cigarette burn or two, marks on the walls or faded dash at the front but P357 ERC was remarkably scar-free.
CM verdict
Trundling down the centre lane of the motorway at 57mph on the way back to Hinckley could easily have sacrificed the overall fuel figure but CM had nothing to worry about in the end. The 13.6mpg was very respectable. As these models are actually for sale it's nice to report that P357 ERC has already found a new home and at a reasonable rate.
Were it up for grabs with a decent fuel figure, a well maintained driveline and cab interior it would have been well fancied by many operators but with its long wheelbase and large box body it would have appealed less to those who run weight rather than cube. Besides, the owner is more than happy with his new wagon and has sprayed it in distinctive "company" colours to underline the point.
• by Kevin Swallow