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A Premium by any other name
Page 76
Page 77
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What can you do if you're a truck dealer and you have more of one particular model than the market is clamouring for?
If you're imaginative, you turn them into something the world does want.That's the approach taken by Stoke-on-Trent's Renault dealer, Staffs CV. Faced with a potential surfeit of 6x2 Premium tractors, its answer is to convert them into rigid plant carriers.
The conversion involves lengthening the chassis, reversing the mid-lift rear bogie to give a tag-axle layout, then fitting a new, in-house beavertail body. The extra length is created by replacing the chassis rails behind the gearbox, with the welded joints fully flitched.
Eight different wheelbases are available, ranging from 3,815mm to 6,400mm, the ' extensions chosen to allow the use of standard Renault prop shafts. Reversing the original equipment Hendrickson bogie also allows the conversion to retain all original parts, including the suspension ECU settings. The body features keruing hardwood flooring, with bearers located at 300mm spacings. Following experience gained with early examples, the wheelbox area is now fully steel-plated, possibly over-engineered for most applications, but capable of resisting the high wheel loadings of an asphalt-laying machine.
For rolling loads up to 8,000kg, a hydraulic winch by Superwinch is added to the front of the body as standard, with higher loads accommodated al extra cost.
Trucks are part-built for stock, with the conversion completed as far as the back end of the bed.A number of different loading ramp options mean the finishing-off can be completed quickly to the customer's exact requirements.Typical choices include solid or mesh-filled, full or track width and folding or straight ramps.
"Cheese-wedge" rears, which convert in a flat container-ready floor above the beavertail, are a popular option. All come with hydraulic rear stabiliser legs.
Before the timber floor is fitted, the whole truck is resprayed to the customer's requirement and given the full 96-point Renault used vehicle mechanical and cosmetic checkover.
On standard tyres, the plated GVW is 25,500kg, but if payload is critical, this can be upgraded to 26,000kg by fitting 385180R22.5 tyres to the drive axle. Payload varies according to spec, but the completed vehicle pictured will carry around 15,050kg excluding fuel and driver.
Each is sold with a new MoT and six-month's worth of Renault's mechanical breakdown insurance, upgradeable to a year. Prices are £30,000 for a 2000 model and £35,000 for a 2001,which compares with around 160,000 for a new vehicle. •