Steve Lock is the managing director of Lock Brothers, a
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haulage company specialising in muckaway recycled construction materials and demolition work. The company has been based at Erith, south-east London, for the past 10 years, and is sited near the Dartford crossing. It operates a mixed fleet of 17 tippers. With T, V and W-reg Foden Alpha 8x4s already working and two more on order, the earliest is now 12 months old.
Lock says: "Over the next year we will have completely changed over from our old Leyland Constructors to an all-Foden fleet, adding to the 11 we already run. Operating one manufacturer's trucks makes servicing and parts stocking much easier. All of our Bx4 Alphas are powered by the Caterpillar C10 380 engine coupled with the 12speed transmission for a similar reason. The Cat engine is a personal preference but a choice that had to be made.
"Our T-reg was the first Alpha truck to come out of the factory with the straight beam front axle,' he adds. "It gives us the ground clearance we need to operate on site. We have rubber suspension at the rear which I believe makes it the best backend on the market. With a 15m3 steel body we can carry a payload of 19.5 tonnes.
"Our trucks cover 50,000 miles a year, mostly in and out of London," Lock reports. "We expect them to last at least eight years but fuel consumption is not good. While we might expect to return up to 8.5mpg on a run, in London traffic 5.6mpg is about average. We haven't encountered any major problems but the working environment is very harsh and brake linings last only just over a year. On older 4000 Series the drums are having to be replaced after just three years.
"Drivers say that the cab is higher to climb in and out of and the seat position is more restricted than in the older 4000 Series Fociens, but overall they like them," he says. "Power-wise, the engines are good but the computer on the first 1-rag model had to be replaced. The 12-speed synchromesh gearbox is easier for the drivers. This transmission won't suffer the same internal wear problems which are common with the older 12-speed constant mesh boxes. One minor problem we do have is with the front screen. Due to stone damage on average we replace one every year and sometimes two. Because the screens are bonded it takes up to five hours before the truck can be moved."