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
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194 
itX011 ON A DIET
Page 64
Page 65
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
UK tippermen want lightweight 8x4s and Mercedes is happy to oblige with a trimmed down Axor.
DaimlerChrysler is an organisation that rarely watches sales opportunities pass it by unmolested. So it must have hurt to watch the 11( market for four-axle tippers steadily grow. hut in an area where it doesn't have a competitive product.The Actros8x4 is a good heavy-duty muckaway tipper. but this sector only accounts for around 20% of the market.What the construction industry wants. and in ever increasing numbers, is lighter-duty eight-leggers for aggregates and the black stuff.
It wants them with decent power outputs but with chassis weights of no more than nine tonnesTh is weight-conscious demand is largely
a 1:K phenomenon,due to stricter enforcement of plated weights..
DCUK has already had one go at creating a British special by converting a 6x2 Atego to 8x4. Although it got within 1004 of the desired weight, it was only by using the Atego's 6.4-litre engine. A nd therein lay the problem— its 1,3i INm proved woefully inadequate to get 32 tonnes rolling.
Rush job?
Not to be beaten the UK product planners and the. German engineers got their heads together and have come up with a second
solution, this time wearing the Axor badge.
The result has now been launched rather hurriedly because the lighter 8x4 counts as a new modelllad the specification not been signed off and homologated by now it would immediately have had to meet the Euro-4 emissions limits. This would have put it at a significant disadvantage in terms of manufacturing cost and weight for nearly a year when its competitors were still making and selling Euro-3s.
The Turkish-built Axor 8x4 weighs in at around 9, 140kg. thanks to a comprehensive weight reduction programme which included reducing chassis reinforcement.ditching the first axle's anti-roll bar and specifying disc brakes, lighter springs and batteries and the most compact cab in the range.
On the opposite side of the balance sheet are the 12-litre six-cylinder engine,' 1E7 hub reduction axles and a 6210 16-speed manual gearbox;rhe latter were all that were available at sign-off. hut they will replaced by singlereduction axles and an eight-speed box to coincide with Euro-4's arrival next autumn, compensating for the weight of the SCR kit.
A really lightweight Euro-3 version would definitely create some extra sales during the summer, hut Mercedes refuses to be drawn on the possibility.
Other side of the sheet Three nominal engine ratings are available at 350hp/1,850Nm.400hp/2.000Nm and 430hp/ 2.100Nm. It was the middle version that we drove recently at an extensive off-road proving ground near Vienna. Despite the German registration plate, the Axor was built to UK spec, complete with a lightweight aluminium body.. The %cline w as really better suited to the serious heavy-duty German-spec tippers also present, being considerably more arduous than the decent quarry roads that the UK Axor is designed for.
It was immediately apparent that the 50% increase in torque has addressed any deficiencies in pulling power. Pulling away from rest requires negligible amounts of throttle .and it stormed up hills approaching 50%. On one occasion we watched from outside as a driver forgot to engage the diff-locks before such a sandy ascent. Inevitably it ground to a wheel spinning halt, but as we prepared to see it reversed to the bottom for another go. with all diff locks engaged it simply restarted with ease.
We'll defer final judgement until we've sampled the production version on UK roads, but first impressions are positive.The first examples should hit British roads in the New Year. priced some £1,000 below the comparable Actros model. •