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 
"We are highly delighted with the
Page 30
Page 31
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Renault 420 dCi "Bill Webb
Strongserve operated successfully as a clearing house for ro years before it ventured into the realms of road transport in 1988. ERF was the company's original truck of choice but they did not prove to be as driver friendly as had been hoped. With a succession of dealers knocking at his door, managing director Bill Webb finally succumbed to the most persistent and bought his first Renault Premium 385 in 1999.
"At the time we had eight ERF rigids and attics, but by then the business was already dictating that we used more articulated trucks," he says. "We continued to buy more 385s until the 400 came on line and then moved onto the 420 and have bought three with a further five on order, with the first to be delivered in May. Renault's price was the most competitive—we only have one truck now that is not a Renault, "We have to cater for a wide spectrum of requirements from our customers and we have worked on the principle that what carries a lot can also carry much less so we are prepared to operate at the maximum 44 tonnes gross weight but for much of the time our loads are determined by volume. We have some flat trailers that can be loaded up to 29 tonnes but the majority of our trailers are curtainsiders that allow a payload of up to 27 tonnes.
"The Renault was an unknown at first so we decided to take it on a lease contract. The three-year lease runs out in six months' time but we may decide to extend it for a further two years. We would now consider buying to give us increased operational flexibility, but only if the deal included a manu
facturer's buyback guarantee. "Today the truck has to
be right on top of the job. The 420 is not far off the rohp-pertonne that we think is necessary, but we would be happier with 44ohp at 44 tonnes.
-Overall our trucks cover ioo,000km a year and return an average of 8.5mpg across the fleet. Individual drivers do better—some can average as much as 9.75mpg—but it depends on the route, the load and bow much of the time
they can use the cruise control.
"West Midland Trucks do all of our serv ing. We haven't had any serious proble with the driveline; on the Premium we ha only had to replace one clutch. The true work on a mixture of contracts. Each we the fleet travels all over the UK and two three run into Europe. Renault's brea down/recovery service has a very good rep tation on the Continent but fortunately I haven't had to call on it yet.
The dealer backup is better than .c ght have expected. Our local dealer conLs us regularly every couple of days jut to if they can be of service or just to book licks in for service. When we have had a ck breakdown they have gone out of it way to get it back onto the road .ckly, even to the extent of supplying a t to another dealer out of our area.
We are highly delighted with the iault 420 dCi and will continue to operthe company's products for the foreseee future." be downloaded to a laptop computer for analysis. The two units communicate with each other and take account of other functions such as the brakes, retarder and anti-theft starting device.
Renault's long-serving 1318 gearbox was replaced on the 420 by ZF's lightweight i6speed all-synchro direct-drive 165181. This transmission is associated with the 1370 sMgle-reduction axle; the overdrive 165151 box is designed to match the double-reduction 1345 rear axle and to take the ZF lntarder.
This compact hydraulic retarder is fitted to the back of the gearbox. It offers a peak output of 400kW and only adds 130kg to the chassis unladen weight. It is operated from the steering wheel and can be used in conjunction with the service braking system.
The system is again controlled by V-M AC but can be set to control downhill speed at a constant level. Renault's transmission plant was sold off to ZF, which already supplied some of the internals for the Renault box. The new units, with the double-H gate Servo shift, are said to halve shift loads.
It almost goes without saying that a modern chassis would be incomplete without the benefit of air suspension on the drive axle. With a unit weight of approximately 6,840kg the 4x2 Premium 420 provides for a body/payload of 33.16 tonnes and a potential payload of just under 26 tonnes at 4o tonnes gross.
• by Bill Brock