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Foden's Blackpool dash
Page 15
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• Foden's electronic dashboard made its UK debut at Tankcon in Blackpool last week.
It has been developed by Foden's American sister company Kenworth and has been cleverly fitted into the dash of Foden's new '4000' series, in the space usually occupied by the tachograph and rev counter.
The electronic system provides analogue displays of road speed in both Irtn/h and mph, along with readouts like hours driven, average journey time and ambient air temperature. It can also be programmed to emit an alarm if the vehicle is driven above a certain speed.
Foden engineers are working to link the electronic dashboard to Eaton's new Semi Automated Mechanical Transmission (SAMT), which is due to be available in Fodens from October.
Foden has not been able to completely replace the conventional tachograph with its electronic dash, which fits in the space normally occupied by the tacho. It is, however, considering fitting a tacho elsewhere in the cab, and is working with a number of tachograph manufacturers, including Lucas Kienzle and Veeder Root, to link a tachograph into the electronic dashboard.
Since the electronic dashboard is only around 100mm deep there is room for a tachograph under the dash. One alternative might be to use the electronics of the dashboard linked to a tachograph printer to provide the necessary tachograph functions. Foden's Roger Smith says the dash could provide all the tachograph functions, but current legislation precludes the use of this type of electronic tachographs. Smith says Foden may test the electronic dashboard with a haulier: "We are very early in the project for the UK so far," he says, "there are 2,500 of the units operating in the US so far," but Foden is not ready to take orders for the unit in the UK.
At the Tankcon exhibition, Foden's Doug Ellwood reported a favourable response to the dashboard from hauliers and suggested that the unit will eventually be offered on the market at a price measured in hundreds rather than thousands of pounds.