New Scan/as demonstrated
Page 27
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by Tony Wilding
• Two of the new Scania LB110 fourwheel tractive units were demonstrated to the Press in London last Friday. As announced in Commercial Motor of July 19, Scania-Vabis of Sweden is now marketing this model in this country and both demonstration vehicles were to the latest specification with DS11 281 bhp SAE gross turbocharged diesels, 10-speed gearboxes and double-reduction rear axles.
Biggest change on the LB110 as compared with the previously imported LB76 tractive unit is in the cab and the latest chassis have a bigger, flat-fronted tilt unit with improved interior trim and seating. Although quite a different vehicle from the driver's position, the LB110 is basically the same mechanically as the L876. So I did not find any change in performance or brake feel as compared with my test of the earlier model (reported in CM of November 24, 1967). The cab floor is higher but the three steps needed to get to the seat—the squab is about 6ft from the ground—were easy to use because of well-placed grab handles. There is more comfort for the driver than on the LB76 and I found that the suspension gave a less bouncy ride. But it still needed concentration when starting off from rest to avoid "bucking" at the front end.
One of the Scania 110s was coupled to a King low-loader semi-trailer loaded with concrete blocks to a gross combination weight of 40 tons and the clutch on this vehicle was not quite as "sharp" as that on the second vehicle—coupled to a three-axle trailer and grossing 30 tons.
As neither vehicle had done much mileage before the demonstration—just over 1,000 miles and about 300 miles respectively—it is possible that the clutch action will improve and in any case, as I found on my road test of the LB76, the driver can soon get used to the "feel" of the clutch.
It was also probably because of the low mileage that the gearchange action on both vehicles was rather stiff. This was particularly so with the new lever-mounted control for the splitter section of the gearbox but a change is to be made by Scania-Vabis to the design of splitter-change control and it will be located nearer to the end of the gear lever.
Other controls on the 110 were found to be very light, especially the steering which has this advantage combined with positive feel.