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Leyland Dafs Constructor eightwheeler is the latest in a long
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line of Leyland rigid eights which received an injection in the 1950s in the shape of the Scammell Routeman. Little is now left of the original Routeman and Octopus which formed the basis of the first rationalised eight-wheeler in the 1960s, except the Scammell badge and that the name Constructor was a Scammell name given to powerful oil-field construction vehicles.
The latest Constructor is something of a paradox in that it is both sophisticated and basically simple. It is built from well-tried components using a well-tried and proven engineering layout, and the version we followed through the workshops of Channel Commercials at Ashford was fitted with Cummins LT 10 engine which is well on the way to earning itself the sort of reputation for long trouble-free service which the old NT Cummins engines had.
Channel Commercials is a relatively new company, but the association of the management and staff with Leyland goes back many years when the company was the Ashford branch of the commercial division of Caffyns. Ron Stupple, who was Caffyns' commercial vehicles director, also has long associations with Leyland vehicles, and is now managing director of Channel Commercials.
Although the Constructor is a straightforward vehicle to maintain, we learned that there are many points, some of them quite simple points, which need to be watched on servicing if operators are to keep clear of what can be exasperating little problems.
These points include being unable to undo the front grille because the catches have seized, or being unable to withdraw the U-bolts on the rear suspension because they too have seized in their housings.
• by Peter Wallage