"It's a good strong motor"
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Richard Sheehan
IN Sheehan Haulage and Plant Hire is a family business which was established some 30 years ago and now runs a fleet of 20 trucks from its base on the outskirts of Oxford.
As well as Mercs, Leyland Dais and Volvos, Richard Sheehan runs seven MAN 8x4s equipped with Boughton hook-loader equipment with muckaway and waste collection bodies. The company bought its first F90 32.375s with the 52.0litre engine rated at 37ohp on N-plates in 5995: since then they have been joined by two F2000 35.343VF 8x4s with the fivecylinder to-litre engines.
"It's a good strong motor," says Sheehan. "It's slightly heavier than the Leyland Dafs we were running before but it's got a very strong chassis. We can carry 59.5 tonnes so payload is not much of a problem. Our original intention was to run them for five years but they're so up together that we're going to keep them for longer. However, we've already sold one of the F 9os—we didn't have to advertise it and we got the asking price from a private buyer.
"Our two F20008 have very different work cycles," he adds. "One is all motorway and the other spends all its time around town. The disc brakes have not been a problem, in fact the sooner they put them on all round the better we will like it from a maintenance point of view. On the F90 we had a problem with faulty linings, but MAN soon rectified the situation once they realised the problem was not being caused by the way the trucks were being driven.
"At 34ohp the engines are powerful enough," he says. "A turbo packed up on one: Cordwallis, our local dealer, determined that the bearing had failed and replaced the unit under warranty without any hassle. The ZF is a good box, but with 16 gears there is a lot of clutch work. I think that the old Fuller box was better to drive.
"The suspension on the F2000 hasn't given any trouble but one of the F 9os had a leaf go this year. It looks like it's the same multi pack on the later ones. We've had some wear in the steering relay arm bush— it needed adjusting every time it came in for service—but we've fitted a grease nipple which has solved the problem.
"Front tyres tend to wear on the shoulders," says Sheehan. "We fitted Bridgestones with a block tread at the rear and the drivers say they are better than anything else off-road. The trucks run between So,000 and ioo,000lcm a year. FDC hasn't thrown up any problems and the clutch lasts over two years. The F9os came with a steel bumper with plastic ends. It's the bit that gets knocked, and if they do break the replacement doesn't cost much. The new trucks have all steel bumpers.
"We carry out our own servicing and the dealer provides a same-day service on parts," he says. "When a truck has broken down they've fitted it in for repair straight away. There are a few improvements that could be made. With the exhaust down low it blows up a lot of dust in dry conditions off-road.
"Ground clearance is not that much of a problem but for off-road work it's better to have a vertical stack. The air cleaner would be better behind the cab. It can get a knock underneath the front of the truck and the clips are not that strong. The stalks in the cab do break and they are quite expensive to replace.
"I'm not that fond of autolube although it's a lot more reliable now than the early systems," Sheehan remarks, "but with a grease gun you know the lubricant is getting through to where it's needed.
"We invested in the fully hydraulic Boughton Kwickcova sheeting system, initially for use with the high waste bodies, and it's worth its weight in gold. We didn't want the drivers climbing up that high. Before, we got through a sheet every month. These have lasted over a year and they are still in good shape. We expect the kit to make two chassis changes along with the hook load equipment." In