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VA L U ED

28th January 1999
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• Volvo introduced the FM last year to supersede models at the heavier end of the FL range, but the FL rigid stays in production at 17 tonnes and below. For the past 20 years it's been a fleet operators' favourite—last year Volvo was second only to Leyland Daf in its class, with a 19.5% share. While demand for power has increased dramatically in some weight sectors this trend has not been so marked among the 17-tonners, where 210230hp is still the norm.

• EVOLUTION

Over the years Volvo has modified its maximum-weight, two-axle rigid, matching changes in operating conditions as they arose. We saw the first F616 4x2 chassis 16tomer with the "Club-of-Four" cab at the end of 1979; it was powered by the 178hp TD608 turbo-diesel.

In 1985 Volvo took to building the cab in house, introducing a redesigned floor pan and M A re mounting it

\ A., chassis to pro if duce the FL616. if duce the FL616.

, ' To gear up to 17 tonnes the 617 was

introduced in 1987 with a ZF 566-6 six-speed fully synchromesh box (the eight-speed rangechange model was retained as an option). A charge-cooler was added to boost the power of the six-cylinder 5.48-litre engine to 207hp. The chassis was unchanged, except for twin wedge drum brakes on both axles with a stronger front axle rated at 7.1 tonnes for tipper as well as haulage applications. But for the move to 18 tonnes Volvo decided further changes were needed.

A stronger chassis and heavier 7.5-tonne front axle with revised steering gear and front parabolic leaf springs was introduced on the FL618 in 1991 (although the maximum operational weight stayed at 17 tonnes for the twoaxle rigid in the UK). It too was equipped with a ZF six-speed gearbox; the single-reduction axle, with differential lock, had a design weight of 11.5 tonnes. Naturally it came with bigger brakes and there was a move away from swinging shackles to slipper ends on the rear springs.

Since the beginning of this year UK operators have finally been able to take advantage of the 18-tonne design weight by fitting 315/80R tyres in place of the 17-tonner's 295/80Rs. However, VED after March remains an unknown quantity.

As an option to the small day cab, which was also used on the 7.5-tonne FLC, the FL618 was available with a rest or full sleeper cab. The latest engine has the same bore and stroke as its predecessor; it was developed to provide cleaner emissions, initially to

meet Euro-1. Engine output was increased a tad to 210hp, delivered at 200rpm less than before, at 2,600rpm.

The main advantage was a useful 13% increase in torque—up to 700Nm at 1,560rpm. To mark the changes the engine designation gained the prefix D6A. A Euro-2 version followed in 1995; since 1996 Volvo has listed the 5.48-litre engine rated at 180,210 and 230hp with a special 250hp version featuring a supercharger as well as the turbocharger.

Four-bag air suspension (a popular choice with the brewery trade which appreciates its low, constant ride height) has been an option throughout the history of the FL16/17/18, but Z-cam brakes were only introduced in June 1996. The cab shell has remained much the same for the past 13 years but still doesn't look out of place in a modern fleet. Although Volvo has no immediate plans to replace this model it has been talking to Mitsubishi about a joint venture. The FM, which was introduced at heavier weights last year, originally included a low-cab design, but it's considered to be too big and heavy for a 4x2 18-tormer.

• OPERATORS

Green and Skinner Haulage of Ipswich is celebrating 40 years in road haulage. After spending nigh on 20 years on the railways as a steam engine driver Joe Skinner went into partnership with local haulier William Green and took over the assets of the company seven years later. His two sons joined him as they grew old enough and soon after Green's death in 1983 they completed the take over of Wyards, a local removal company.

Today the two companies are run as separate entities with Michael Skinner as managing director and brother Richard as financial director. Green and Skinner is a groupage distribution and general haulage specialist with 460m2 of warehousing while Wyards Removals has 790m2 of containerised storage and another 460m2 of conventional storage.

"We operated Dodge Commando flatbed and curtainsided rigids for many years and progressed through to Magirus Deutz on heavier work," says Michael Skinner. "We got on well with the Dodge—it gave us a l05-tonne payload and 13mpgbut when the local Dodge dealer lost its franchise we had to look around for a replacement from another local dealership. We bought our first FL6 12 years ago, after the Dodge salesman went to work for Duffields. To-day we run Scania tractive units. Volvo rigids and Mercedes-Benz up to 7.5 tonnes.

"The Green and Skinner fleet of 20 vehicles includes 12 Volvo FL6 rigids and we have a further five bodied for removal work," he adds. "All the Green and Skinner flatbeds are equipped with twistlocks as we collect a lot of containers from Felixstowe docks. They travel all over the country and clock up around 100,000km a year. It was our policy to replace the Dodges every four years but we still have the first FL616 180 we bought 12 years ago. That has a 241t flatbed body, but for groupage we moved to a longer, 6.5m, wheelbase and a 28ft curtainsided body to accommodate 16 pallets on the floor.

"With an 8ft-high access we still get a 10.0tonne payload," Skinner reports. "Payload is equally important as cube on groupage. The flats give us 10.5 tonnes or 10.75 without twistlocks. I'm taking delivery of my first FLC 7.5-tonner this March. It has about the same payload of around 2.8 tonnes as the Atego but it's still too new Ill let someone else find out any problems with it.

"For the first time in the past 12 years we've moved away from Volvo as our first choice for a rigid vehicle," he says. "We've ordered a Scania 94.260 6x2 26-tormer which gives us a payload of 17 tonnes. It will give us the flexibility to pick up heavier 20ft containers without going to the expense of using an articulated combination. The FM was not available when we made the decision, but I didn't like the idea of different tyre sizes used front and rear—the fronts are costly if they can't be reused later on the rear. I got hold of a Scania demonstrator for evaluation. We liked it and I knew what we were buying.

"The 17-totmers don't have any recurring problems," he says. "Our fitters have longstanding experience of these models and we pride ourselves in a high standard of preventative maintenance which heads off most roadside breakdowns. On the engines the liner seals start to weep at about 800,000km, but we have never had to replace a head or block. You have to keep an eye on brake wear. The inspection holes in the back plates on the older models don't give a good view of the wear indicators so the only way to be sure is to take the drums off. I think Volvo had three goes at the inspection hole before they go it right. On the older models the linings last about 200,000km and the later ones over 300,000km.

"We get about 100,000 miles out of a set of tyres," Skinner adds. "We change them round as soon as they start to show signs of shoulder wear. I personally inspect the tyres on every vehicle every week; it's my Saturday morning job. It useful because I pick up on other things as well.

"We had the eight-speed box on some of the early models," he says. 'They suffered from air leaks on the pipe joints and from the valve on top of the transmission. The six-speed has been no problem, although at first we were concerned that the gap between the ratios might be too big The drive axles have difflocks, but they're seldom used and aren't very effective anyway. When the cabs are painted in our own colours we insist that the windscreens are taken out. The oldest one is showing a bit of rust now, but only where the bodywork has received a minor knock which has gone untreated for a while. They don't rust round the screen.

"The dealer back up is good," he concludes. "As I said, we have our own workshops but Duffields are not beyond giving us advice if we have a particular problem. Our local Scania dealer is also very good but I would say that support from the Mercedes-Benz dealer is much poorer Where Volvo has a captive market its parts prices are high, but with items like ball joints and brake parts they are just as The City Works Department at Norwich acts as a service supplier under contract to other divisions within the city council. CM spoke to purchasing and supply officer Julian Lawn and service manager Mike Van Raalte.

"We have a fleet of 86 trucks which includes 52 Volvos encompassing the whole FL range from FLCs to FL10s," says Lawn. "We now have nine FL6s working on refuse collection equipped with PDE Vulture compaction bodies, three skip loaders with Hyva gear and one tipper with an insulated body. We also have a fleet of gritters equipped with dedicated bodies. They have already been working this year

but only cover around 2000, miles a year. For this reason we choose to buy second-hand chassis which we refurbish and protect

against rust with a special

4/44 paint also used On the oil rigs in • / the North Sea. "Because our contracts are for varying lengths of time we buy 75% of our trucks outright and contract lease or contract hire the others— whichever works out to be the cheapest," Lawn explains. "In some cases the up-front purchasing cost can appear to be more expensive, but we're more concerned with the whole-life cost and evaluate the quality of the truck along with downtime and dealer backup. We look at it as a three-way partnership between us, the manufacturer and the dealer. "I inherited a number of Renault, Seddon Atkinson, AWD and Dodge vehicles when 1 joined the department four years ago," he adds, "but we've been buying FL6 models since 1992. Payload is important to us for the refuse-collection vehicles. With our setup we can carry 6.0 tonnes. On other types of operation it's not so important. The F1,6s on refuse collection give us about 10% better returns than we managed with the previous Seddon Atkinsons. Skip loaders also work mainly within the city limits, and on average they give us 13.2mpg against the 8.6mpg we managed from the Perkins-engined Commando G16s. The refuse vehicles cover about 12,000 miles a year and the skip loaders about 40,000 miles a year We would expect to keep them for about seven years but vehicles used on

shorter contracts are turned around earlier.

"The skip loader can go three years on the same clutch—but it depends on the driver and the work," he points out. "Our M-reg tipper had a clutch change at just 38,000 miles. We don't normally experience broken springs but we did have one break last year on our oldest FI.6. 1 remember because I thought it was expensive at £400. We specify Michelin tyres on new trucks and operate a Michelin-only policy, but vary the tread pattern for the particular application. We get 29,000 miles first life but we regroove, remix, and regroove again. The skips do about 40,000 miles. Our contractor, ATS, carries out a weekly check and measures tread depth on selected vehicles every four weeks.

"-Volvo's crew cab didn't suit our needs so we now specify a conversion from Longtons of Stoke-on-Trent, says Van Raalte. "Everything on the vehicle is supplied through Volvo so there's only one source to go back to if there is a problem; but

we don't have many. One that comes to mind was to do with the non-asbestos brake lining—in our stop-go urban environment the heat build-up was so great it melted the wheel nut torque markers. "Access to engineering staff has always been available if we needed it," he adds. "We can't afford unscheduled downtime and service is good, but we have experienced administrative problems with Volvo Finance."

McGrath Brothers of Enfield operates 32 Volvos including FL1Os and FH12s on waste disposal, but 17116 skip loaders represent the core of the fleet. Fleet manager John McDaid recalls that the company bought its first FL6 in 1987. "They weren't cheap but the payload suited our operation," he explains. "They were reliable and we got a good level of service from the dealer. We operate in London, mainly inside the M25. The FL6s cover about 45,000km a year and return between 7.0 and 10.0mpg. We keep them for a long time and so either scrap them or sell privately at the end of the day. Where possible we reuse the skip gear.

"We had problems early on with brake wear," he says, "mainly to do with servicing— they were difficult to adjust. The new Z-cam brakes on our latest S-reg 618 are much better. We expect clutches to last three years but they don't with some drivers. Although we had the gear selector break on our first one, it's usually minor things that go wrong.

"Door locks wear out," says McDaid, "and with the constant movement of the driver in and out of the cab the seats suffer, but they can be recovered. We specify the steel bumper because the plastic ones wouldn't last long on our work. With kerbing and moving on and off site, tyres tend to get damaged before they actually wear out."

• DEALERS

Independent dealer Chris Hodge, based at Greenwich, carries a mixed stock of around 600 trucks at his four sites.

"The Volvo FL6 is one of the more popular 17-tonners," he says. "Its cab is nicely equipped and the trim is good, but it's a bit smaller than some of the other 17-tonners. Not everyone wants a sleeper cab at this weight but it's the most popular choice. The engine is rated at 210hp and is well up to to the job. "Six speeds are not a problem and it's an easy box to use," Hodge adds. "Price, as always, depends on age and condition: a threeyear-old model with a 24ft curtainsided body and sleeper cab, first registered in 1994, could fetch between £16,000 and £20,000. Curtainsiders are more in demand than other body types so in some uses a box body might lower the price by as much as £1,000, and a flat would go for about the same.

"The FL618 is a good 17-tonner," he says. "We only buy those in the right condition, so we never have any problem selling them."

• SUMMARY

Volvo's FL618 is one of the more popular 17tonners; many operators keep theirs for a long time. If they've been well looked after, younger models coming onto the market should have a good second life left in them. The engine's relatively small but 210hp is on a par with other 17-tonners. However, while the six-speed box may be adequate at the old weight, it might be stretching credibility at 18 tonnes.

The FL618 does not offer the best fuel consumption in the business but the driveline is reliable. Brake wear on older models can be difficult to monitor and clutch life in arduous condition may be shortened by lead-footed drivels.

The cab is on the small side but it's mounted low enough for easy access, which is a boon on stop-start distribution work. The ride is comfortable, the payload is good and this veteran doesn't yet look out of date, which is a credit to the Volvo design team. Verdict? A good buy!

0 by Bill Brock


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