CNG
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w Building on its experience in supplying the AGORA CNG (compressed natural gas) urban bus to operators in France and Australia, Renault VI plans to launch a range of CNG trucks this summer.
Initially two models will be offered. The larger of these is a Premium 6x2 26-twine OW rear-steer refuse collection chassis; that will be followed by a pair of 19-tonne WM Premium 4x2s in standard and narrow widths. The engine, which uses well tested technology, is a six-cylinder, 9.84-litre, charge-cooled spark-ignition unit. On the standard chassis the engine is fed by eight composite tanks of 126 litres apiece mounted outside the chassis between the axles. The narrow 4x2 makes do with six tanks.
Simulated testing indicates that a manual transmission 6x2 will have a range of 160200km on door-to-door refuse collection, or 600-800km running laden on the open road. The 4x2s operating at their 19tonne design GVW should give 190-260km on eight tanks and 160-210km on six.
The 6x2 chassis has a fully tanked kerbweight of 7,970kg; the standard and narrow 4x2s weigh in at 6,531kg and 6,353kg respectively which, says Renault, is on a par with diesel models.
A brief drive in the ONG Premium showed it is smooth and quiet, although further development work is still planned on the mapping of the engine management software to improve throttle response. At tickover, the engine is so quiet that the most noticeable noise is the chattering of the gearbox.
The second model is a Mascott 6.5tonner. Based largely on the existing lveco Daily CNG installation, the Mascott has a 2.8-litre SOFIM engine.
Two 80-litre steel tanks are mounted on the side of the chassis; a third 50-litre tank can be mounted transversely inside the chassis. With all three tanks full the range is said to be 80-100km on refuse collection or 200-300km on the road. Gross payload with full tanks is 4,080kg, representing a 200kg penalty compared with diesel.