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An instinctive fear of rolling out of bed and falling
Page 36
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to earth made us decide to sleep in the lower bunk.
This hybrid Scania is a unique piece of kit, present in the test more as a talking point than as a serious participant. Built to order for Beers, the Dutch Scania importer, it was driven over from Holland by our Dutch colleagues before entering service with its new owner. Although currently unavailable in the shops, it is a special which, rumour has it, may well be heading for the production line.
The cab is a combination of Scania '1,:'' day cab with Topline sleeper roof, and came equipped with two bunks. The first was situated behind the driver and passenger seats and the second stowed above the windscreen at a 450 angle. For a 62" tall resident, the allocation of the Scania for the night seemed like a stroke of luck thanks to its apparently generous dimensions. So far so good.
The low-entry height of the distribution cab made climbing in easy enough, with good placement of grab handles and steps. Once inside you immediately notice that there is not much room to manoeuvre across the cab thanks to the large engine hump between the seats, a relic of its day-cab roots. Scania has tried to take advantage of this by fitting it out with storage trays, though they're not really deep enough to be ideal. Lifting yourself out of the driver's seat and into the bunk demands that you first stand on the seat and then on the engine hump—not good if you have dirty boots or are over fond of transport café food.
The lower mattress was of an acceptable length and width, although upstairs, accessible by pulling down a metal ladder stored in the ceiling, was noticeably wider. A lack of practical storage space was evident in the cabin—another side-effect of its P-cab heritage. There were no storage pockets for clothes or bedtime books, leaving it to the seats to accommodate all the luggage. More about that later. Also, the quality of the materials in the sleeping area looked as if they would not stand up to wear, especially the grey panelling on the back wall.
An instinctive fear of rolling out of bed and falling to earth made us decide to sleep in the lower bunk. Before settling down for the night, we found the internal lighting to be of a good standard, with the controls handily placed for the lower and upper bunks. The thick wraparound curtains blocked out all exterior light effectively, helping to create a cosy environment. The quality of the mattress was surprisingly good. It had the necessary dimensions to accommodate a lanky frame and was soft enough to get comfortable, though a note to future residents—bring a pillow.
The night heater had been pre-set to keep the cab nice and warm for our arrival and all seemed to be going well on entry. However, when we got up to answer nature's call in the middle of the night, it was obvious that the heater had stopped and would not start up again. Then the hurried attempt to exit the cab involved tripping over the pile of clothes situated on the driver's seat and falling against the door.
If Scania is to put this cab into production, several areas will have to be rethought to make it more practical. Firstly, storage needs to be addressed. For some reason, the Topline's usual range of cupboards on the back wall weren't included, which only went to prove how useful they are. Secondly, the night heater controls could be simplified. Although a regular driver would eventually work out the controls with enough reading of the manual, intuitive they are not.