THE OLD
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GUARD
• The Renault Midliner range of light and middleweight rigid chassis from 65 to 15 tonnes has been on the scene for about eight years but has never really reached its full potential. This may owe more to Renault's general standing in the marketplace rather than to faults with any particular model. Of late Renault has made serious attempts to improve factory and dealer back-up, and there are signs that this is paying off.
EVOLUTION
The Midliner name dates back to June 1987 with the S08 7.5-tonner and S13 13-tonner, followed by the S12 12-tonne chassis at the beginning of the following year. It was imported with a day cab version of the "Club of Four " cab (still also used by Volvo). Renault's turbocharged six-cylinder engines rated at 130hp and 154hp could be specified for the 7.5-tonner but only the more powerful of the two 5.49-litre units was supplied in the 111.
heavier models.
In mid-1989 Renault launched a facelifted range with a revised cab floorpan giving more room in
the foot well. For the first time the GT sleeper cab was offered on all but the shortest chassis. The naturally aspirated 116hp six-pot Perkins Phaser was offered in the S120 7.5-tonner, complementing Renault's 140hp and 159hp turbocharged sixes in the S140 and S160 7.5 and 10-tonners.
A 6.5-tormer arrived in 1990 with lower powered Perkins and Renault engines. At the same time heavier 11.5 and 12-tonne M models were rated up to 160hp, while the 12-13tonnes M200 was specified with a 6.2-litre charge-cooled unit delivering 193hp.
A 140hp MIDS unit was added to the 6.5tonne options in March 1991. The five-speed synchromesh gearbox was carried over from the earlier models up to 10 tonnes with a six speed box for heavier M models.
The S models were offered with a choice of four wheelbases from 325m to 5.05m but the longest option was dropped by the 6.5-tonner in September 1991 and the second shortest (3.85m) wheelbase was deleted as a tipper option at 7.5 tonnes and above.
The M160 and 200 4x2 tractive units were introduced in March 1991 with engine ratings of 159 and 196hp and a six-speed gearbox at 21 tonnes: this was followed in November 1992 by the 24.39-tonne M230 tractive unit
with nine speeds and 226hp on tap. At the end of last year the model line-up was simplified to the S135, S150 and S180 at 6.5, 7.5 and 10tonnes. A lighter four-cylinder 3.99-litre Perkins Phaser engine was introduced, rated 115hp and 135hp. Renault's 5.5 and 6.2-litre are still in use and a 62-litre engine is used throughout M150, M180, M210 and M230 Midliner range.
OPERATORS Oxford-based Cooper Callas supplies bathroom and kitchen equipment to builders merchants throughout the UK from a network of six depots. The company runs two dozen trucks; we spoke to Peter Andrews, branch manager of the company's Bicester branch, who has two 7.5-tonne Ford Cargos and five Midliners.
"We cover an area that takes in the south Midlands and South Wales, which means that the trucks average between 800 and 1,000 miles a week," he says. "The 7.5-tonne Midliners, all 150s, are big enough for our needs, fitted with 24ft and 26 bodies and Rateliff tail-lifts. They are rarely up to maximum weight even though they carry sufficient payload to make up to 25 drops in the day. We sell on service so we are very conscious of reliability, durability and appearance.
"Our daily deliver schedule doesn't include spare capacity," he adds. "Like anyone we get minor problems but a breakdown would give us major problems. They are not the cheapest vehicles but the back-up and service we get is very good."
"Bicester Commercials, the main dealer, is right on our door step" Andrews explains. "We bought just one truck from them at first, on a maintenance contract, and we were very impressed with it so we added the others as the old ones came up for renewal. We change them after five years—our image is important to us and we're conscious of how that is portrayed on the road. When the last two Cargos go next year we'll replace them with Midliners as well. We have several long standing contacts always ready to buy our old trucks.
"The Midliners are lighter and have a better turning circle than the Cargos," he adds. "That's an important factor to us getting in and out of builders merchants' yards. They're all fitted with day cabs which the drivers say are very comfortable. Theoretically they can be driven on a car license but we only employ professional drivers that look after them."
Mike MacDougall is general manager for vehicles on long-term contract hire at VIA Truck Rental in Tamworth. The company's fleet of 1,200 vehicles is looked after by depots at Stevenage, Park Royal, Hayes, Bristol, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Nottingham.
MacDougall says: "We have just under 100 Renault Midliners and about 80 % of them are 7.5-thrillers. The Midliner is a very hard, rugged vehicle. We specify the four-cylinder S135 as a tipper: it's light, good on fuel and you can't break it on construction work. The Iveco Ford Cargo is the most popular 7.5-tonner among our rental customers but it's got a lot of plastic on it and bits break off, which costs us money. They're also costing us
money where the manufacturer has problems. We now fit, as standard, the six-speed gearbox with a larger bell housing just so we can fit specify a larger clutch. As far as we're concerned its not as good as the Midliner for that type of work.
"We use the S150 with the six-cylinder engine in various applications with box, curtainsider and taillift," he adds, "and we have some dropsides. We find that vehicles that have been on the market as long as the Midliner have had their problems sorted out. We tend to stick with vehicles we know and are not I going to let us or the customers down. Normally problems occur within the first two or three years of production. At the moment the Midliner, Grange and the R range are almost perfect, but they're all up for replacement within the next few years and then they might have a few problems again.
"We mainly sell our trucks ourselves from Stoke-on-Trent," says McDougall. "A lot of them on rental cover low mileage, perhaps 35,000 miles per annum, and we retail them off after four years. They're white, and with our three-trees logo taken off we don't have any problem selling them. Higher mileage ones used on long-term contracts are more often sold out to the trade.
"They don't fetch the money a Leyland Daf or Iveco Ford Cargo would fetch but we're within about £1,500 at that age and that's reflected in the front-end price," he reports "It's a good workhorse and our customers think so too—some of them are making repeat orders for the same models they had four years ago. Renault's back-up is very good. There's always going to be the odd part that you can't get straight away but it's been around long enough for them to know the parts that are needed to cover normal wear and tear."
CDL is a civil engineering company based in Egham, Surrey. Transport manager Barry Burkett runs about 100 vehicles ranging from 8x4s downwards. Over the past two years he has bought 22 S150 and S135 7.5-tonne Miclliners which are used by sub-contractors, but each vehicle has a dedicated driver.
"They're used to carry signing and guarding equipment plus some tools and light plant," says Burkett. "We used to have 3.5-tonners but they had to make several journeys to get all that was needed on site. At first we were not particularly keen on the Midliner. Even though it was £1,000 to £2,000 cheaper than the alternatives, over five years that's not so significant.
"We chose Renault because they offered us the best overall package which includes contract maintenance, breakdown recovery and a guaranteed buy-back after five years," he explains. "Other manufacturers later said they could have matched it but they didn't when it counted. We used to have our own workshops, but running trucks is not our core business. We waritto operate them with as little hassle as possible so now they're all covered by outside maintenance contracts. We use Wells Commercials at Croydon who give us good service: preventative maintenance has reduced our downtime considerably."
"All of the Midliners are down-rated to 7,25 tonnes," says Burkett, "which allows us to tow light pieces of plant up to 8.25 tonnes GTW
without the drivers needing an HGV license. Some of them will cover up to 40,000 a year but the average distance is about 12,000 miles. It's mainly a short stop-start type of operation within the M25 ring but once on site they may stand all day.
"The first 12 were S150s with Renault's sixcylinder engine," he says, "but the later fourcylinder S135s do the job just as well. Peter Cook of Benfleet supplied the dropside bodies with reinforced floors and they're standing up to the work • well. There's nothing you could really say • is a fault with them. They're all basic spec and there's nothing flashy about them...nothing to fall off or break. The drivers get on well with them but moving up from Transit-type vehicles with hydraulic brakes one or two commented that the brake pedal is a lot softer.
"The seat for the third man in the cab can be a bit uncomfortable," he adds. "Our only trouble has been with the batteries. If the vehicle is left standing for a few days the power drains away and they can be difficult to start. The 135-litre fuel tank is also a bit small. As a company we are conscious that these vehicles are our image to the world at large. We've just improved our logo and made sure that they can be seen from the rear—we get a lot of comments on our stripes."
DEALERS
Following his move from a wholly owned ERF dealership two years ago Mike Jakeways took on a directorship as general manager at Renault Bristol, one of Renault Truck Commercial's 11 dealerships within the RVI group. Sales, service and customer backup are all managed from a modern complex situated less than a mile from junction 18 of the M5.
Jakeways reports that the used truck sales are not the most successful element of the business: "At the moment we turn over about six used trucks a month but it's an area that we're developing now we have a dedicated used truck sales manager, Paul Thompson.
"Renault Bristol normally has six or seven used trucks in stock," Jakeways adds. "Not all may be Renault models as they may have been taken in part exchange for new vehicles. Renault's used vehicle department has a larger selection from which we can pull stock if we need it. We're looking to bring in good used trucks to enhance the Renaults vehicle park in the area. While we specialise more in the heavy end of the market we also sell a lot of new Midliners and see them in the used truck market as well."
Although the Midliner extends from 6.5 tonnes to 15 tonnes on rigid chassis the 7.5tanner is the main stay of the range, with either the 135hp four-cylinder Perkins Phaser engine or the less powerful of the two Renault sixes rated at 156hp. With new licence holders needing an HGV above 3.5 tonnes from next year Jakeways expects the 7.5-tonner's dominance to become eroded over time.
"The 7.5-tonne Midliner is a light truck but for an extra £2,000 the 10-tonner gives an extra 2.3 tonnes payload," he points out. "For some operations that could make the difference of one vehicle doing the work of two."
Apart from the own-account hauliers, new Midliner sales are concentrated in three main areas. They're popular with specialist services and local authorities, which take a lot of the 6/7-seater crew-cabs, and hire fleets which take mainly day cab models.
"Some customers keep them from 10-12 years," he adds. "but for our stock we look for two, three and four-year-old models. Perhaps the best ones to buy secondhand are those with a defined condition that we originally supplied under a guaranteed buy back/contract-maintenance deal, The Midliner goes back quite a long way but that's one of its strengths. Any faults it might have had have been ironed out long ago.
"Generally they're worked hard, but we don't see them back outside of their service routine. If you're looking for reliability and durability it's definitely one vehicle to be considered," Jakeways concludes. "They stand up very well."
Williams Truck Centre, located in the Mersey docklands of Liverpool, is a non-franchise dealer who's stock covers a wide range of makes and sizes of used commercials, including an extensive selection of models at the lighter end of the market.
Sales manager Harry Williams says: "We get a few Midliners in from time to time—for what they have to offer they're a cheap truck. They're pretty reliable but if they do break parts such as clutches can be expensive. We find most of them have been operated by big own-account companies and are well maintained. There isn't a lot of difference in the new prices but secondhand they're a lot cheaper than the equivalent MercedesBenz 814 or Leyland Roadrunner. They sell quite easily because the prices are well behind book, but we find that's the case right across the Renault range.
"I'll give you an example," says Williams. "A '91 J-registered 45 Series 7.5-tonner will go out at between £9,500 and £10,500. The Midliner with a box or curtain sided body, in the same overall condition, will fetch between £5,000 and £5,500. As long as they come from a good home, and most of them do, they're a very good buy."
SUMMARY
Within the next two to three years the Midliner will probably be replaced by a new model but many operators would just as soon stay with what they've got. Any problems it might have had seem to have been put right years ago, for none of the operators we talked to had a bad word to say about it. The 7.5-tonner is light enough and fuel consumption is competitive but the whole-life package that has been put together by Renault appears to be the deciding factor for many operators Residual prices seem to be low, but this may simply reflect the initial price. If it's a good buy for the original owner then in the used truck market the hard-working Midliner looks like a winner.
] by Bill Brock