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came along in March 1992.

26th June 1997, Page 34
26th June 1997
Page 34
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Page 34, 26th June 1997 — came along in March 1992.
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The taller Turboliner cab was added in August and air suspension became standard on this model from November of the same year.

Disc brakes, initially introduced on the Magnum 420, were extended to 385hp models in 1992 along with air suspension on the 4x2's drive axle. Three-axle 22TDi 340hp versions were introduced in October 1991 followed by 385hp models in March 1992 with the 18speed transmission, Airtronic suspension, ABS brakes, ASR traction control and Turboliner sleeper cab with tinted glass and electric windows.

The range was discontinued last year to allow a clear stage for the new Premium tractive unit.

Richard Garn with his wife Sue runs the family business, Garn Transport, based on the Wardentree Lane Industrial Estate at Spalding, Lincs. Starting with a single truck in 1984 the company has built up to a fleet of 20 top-weight artics.

"We are a bit unusual," says Garn. "[am the only one around here now who runs a fleet of Renaults. [started with a Dodge Commando and progressed to Renault when I bought my first C-reg tractive unit. I had a Dodge engine go very early on and the Renault sub-dealer WA Burdall of Donington, was very helpful so I stayed with them and, although I have three Scan ias, the fleet is mostly Renault today.

"I still have some 310 and 365 R-range vehicles as well as seven 385 Majors," he says. "I've just changed one for a Premium—I had the first one in the country and have four now and a couple more are on order from main dealer ET Commercials of Grimsby. I'd put them against any other truck in the country.

"I always preferred to buy my trucks outright but [have taken four or five on contract hire," says Garn, 'some with and some without a maintenance agreement. We have our own workshop on site and service other operators' vehicles as well as our own. The trucks still don't have a good reputation in the industry despite being far better than they were 10 years ago. The Majors cover about 85,000 miles a year with Southfield curtain-sided semi-trailers. They're fully loaded for most of the time with up to 23 tonnes payload.

"We do cover the whole of the country for some customers but mainly operate in a triangle enclosed by Lincolnshire, South Wales and London," he adds. "We keep one driver with each truck where possible and find that they look after them. On average we get 7.5 mpg from the Majors, about impg less then we're getting from the Premiums, but that also depends on the driver. I would look to replace all of my trucks after about four years or so We may trade or sell privately so if the price and the overall deal is right it might be sooner.

"The older ones naturally need looking after more but most of the reliability problems were

put right with the coming of the Major," he reports. "They share a lot of the parts with the earlier R-range so we don't have to carry a wide range of spares. Radiator leaks early-on are a distant memory. The non-electronic-managed 12-litre engine has never given trouble. Single-plate clutches used to last about 18 months—that was put right with the twinplate design but the clutch-release bearing can still seize up. Wear on the delta-two shafts was cured a long time ago: the 18-speed gearbox has been very good.

"We change the oil in the transmission and in the differential every MoT and don't have problems," he says. "All of the 385s have automatic lube which prevents wear to kingpins etc. The electrical wiring system is a little odd—over the years we have had most problems and know where to go to sort them out.

"We find that the Pirelli FH15 tyres stand up well to shoulder wear on the front axles but we are now looking at the Continental HS45 to see if they are any better," says Garn. "We don't have any complaints from our drivers about the cab's size or comfort but the shock absorbers on the cab suspension get a bit soft after about three years and need refurbishing to limit roll.

"The ventilated discs on the front axles last about two years before they crack. It's a heat problem which seems to affect the thicker half of the disc worst. Discs give better performance than drums and make brake servicing quicker and the discs themselves are easy to change although there is a cost involved.

"Dealer backup is lot better than it was in the early days and overall I have to be happy with the Majors or I wouldn't run them," he says. "They cost about £10,000 less than my Scania 113 360s to buy and running costs are equivalent. I know that they have been costeffective."

Young Brothers Transport was set up in 1967 and runs a European groupage operation from its base at Faversham, Kent. Distribution manager Jeff Young says the company has a mixed fleet of Volvos, Dafs and Renaults operating on local distribution and long-haul work. Managing director Jim Young and his brother own the Renault dealership Kent Truck Services so it is only natural that the transport business supports the product they sell.

"We have always bought Volvos, we've had Dafs for a long time and we had four or five Scanias but replaced them with Renaults," says Young. "We now have 12 Majors from Jreg through to M-reg-, some are 340s and the others are 385s with the Highliner cab. They cover about 90,000 miles a year and we expect to keep them for five to seven years. Payload ranges from 10 to 23 tonnes but on average they return between 7.7 and 8.7mpg. The drivers obviously like the 385s and they may give a marginal advantage on fuel but not a significant difference over the 340. The largest difference comes from the driver.

"Every make of vehicle may have an occasional fault but on the Major there hasn't been a persistent problem that's lasted throughout the first five years," he says. "We will continue

to work them 'IP hard so the next two years will be the test \ w mg time. Renault

t-0 uses a different colour coding to everyone else. In general later vehicles include more electrical components so there's more to go wrong but I don't think Renault is any worse than any other make in this respect.

All spares seem expensive," says Young, "and some Renault parts may cost a bit more than some other makers while others will be less. Overall I think that they even out. You also have to balance the expense of fitting a new component that has a warranty against fitting a repair kit which incurs extra labour costs. The good things are that the cabs don't rust, as a rule they don't suffer from air leaks, the engines don't drink oil and they don't have coolant problems. The Majors are as reliable as anything else."

VIA Truck Rental of Tamworth, once partly owned by Renault, now belongs to the French conglomerate VIA GTI. The company's spot and contract-hire fleet includes some 700 vehicles between 75 and 38 tonnes. Fleet engineer Mike Stapleton joined VIA from Parcelforce 18 months ago so he has personal experience of the 30 or so remaining Renault Majors in the fleet over that period.

"We turn all of our tractive units round after four years and in the later part of their life the Majors' performance has been no different to any other vehicles in the fleet," says Stapleton. "Cracked discs have been more of a problem with the AE braking system than on the Major. All of the major components are pretty reliable—it's the bits and pieces around them that tend to let them down: electronic components, air valves and we had a particular problem with speed limiter actuators.

"The cab is quite an old design," he says. "All of ours are specified with the high-roof Turboliner cab but in general the drivers don't like them. I think it's a matter of image they'd rather be driving a Scania. We bought them all under a guaranteed buy-back scheme so the residual values are not a problem."

Renault was one of the first manufacturers to support its used truck values. It operates a factory-based used truck sales organisation which can supply a wide range of models through its dealer network Alan Phillips is general manager of Renault's national used truck operation, based at Dunstable.

"Some of the larger fleets took the Major with the smaller 340hp engine, but in line with the demand for higher power models most customers bought the 385 in the later years," he reports. "In the used truck market they are certainly the more popular model as they also have the larger Turboliner cab.

"Three-axle units have become more in demand in the used truck market than they were perhaps new," says Phillips. "They especially appeal to operators working out of the docks with skeletal trailers, or in other areas where axle weights may be sensitive. Prices vary as to the model...a three-year-old 4x2 385hp Major is priced at about £25,750 while a 340hp version would cost £22,750 and a 6x2 385 would fetch £30,500."

Renault Trucks claims about 4.5% of the market for new trucks above 15 tonnes and this is reflected in the availability of used models.

As Renault's used truck scheme picks up on most of the later used Majors through buy back deals and trade-ins, those offered by the non-franchise dealers are few and far between, as a glance through C714's classified adverts will confirm. The Renault Major was not hugely popular among fleet operators when new and that has a knock-on effect on their availability used. But because of Renault's used truck operation, franchised dealers should be able to lay their hands on good examples.

Most u-ucks improve through their production life—the Major is no exception. The 385 is the more attractive purchase but there is little between it and the 340hp version when ii. comes to fuel consumption and reliability, which our operators thought no worse than with other makes. Our road test found that the 340's fuel consumption is better than most of the competition. The driveline comes out well but some minor components can give trouble.

The Berliet cab, though old in design, is a match for many models of the same era.


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