Winner: 8x4 Chassis Foden 3325C
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OTHER CONTENDERS Volvo FL10 310 "B" ride Renault Maxter G340ti.32D Last year 32-tonne 8x4 chassis became legal. The only trouble is that operators didn't go out and buy them in droves. It wasn't anything 8x4s did wrong, they didn't rush out to buy 6x4 26-tonners either. Even so, the extra £1,000 in tax levied on 32-tonners meant there was a whole lot of down-plating going on last year.
The new limit means we had to discount another Foden 3325, the first 3000-cabbed Foden 8x4 to go on the road, belonging to Macclesfield.based Alan Kendrick. The Perkins Tx Eagle-powered Foden was displayed in Kendrick's livery at TipCon '92 and he kindly volunteered the vehicle for test as soon as it had racked up a few miles. It impressed us greatly with good fuel economy and its VPS exhaust brake but could not match the 32-tonne chassis on productivity The Cummins L10-powered 3325 32-tonner carried an extra 1.28 tonnes compared with its Perkins powered stablemate, but used only marginally more fuel around our Midlands tipper route. Both shared the same lightweight 3000 series cab and Eaton TwinSplitter gearbox. Payload was helped by the Foden rubber suspension, compared with the AirTrack air suspension fitted to the rear of the Kendrick 3325.
The Cutnmins engine was fitted with a Jake Brake, compared with the VPS system on the Tx engine. The Jake probably helped the Foden to maintain a fair turn of speed around the test route. Take the Foden's strong productivity, add-in good road behaviour, lightness and a nice price and the result is an excellent all round package.
The same can be said of the Volvo FL10 310. Volvo eight-leggers have built up a loyal following over the years and its easy to see why. There's something in it for everyone. Operators will appreciate the competitive price and light chassis Drivers will like the low cab, excellent cab ergonomics and crisp handling. Our test vehicle, with Alcoa aluminium alloy wheels and Mackworth aluminium body, gave an impressive body/payload allowance of 23.5 tonnes. This figure was marginally greater than the Foden.
So far, so good, the Volvo was shaping up well. Disappointment came at the fuel pumps when the Volvo returned 36.31it/100km (7.77mpg) overall. Below 8.0mpg, even at the higher weight limits doesn't impress among today's 8x4 chassis
Renault launched the Maxter multiwheelers at the Paris motor show in autumn 1992, so we were keen to test one of the range as soon as possible. But it was autumn '93 before we finally tested one, and not with a conventional tipper body. Sure it tipped, but the Huwer 15.5m3 vacuum tanker wasn't carrying solid matter. The Renault eightlegger confirmed our impressions at the launch and our European tipper group test early in the year. Behind the pre-historic "Clubof-Four" cab lurks a responsive, torquey 10litre engine. The Maxter goes well, handles well and returns good fuel consumption. It's also blessed with a slick-shifting synchro box that shames the heavy Volvo shift action_
Three good trucks to choose from gave our testers a difficult choice, but the Foden clinched it on productivity by a tight margin.