6x4 watches its weight
Page 11
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Toby Clark • Volvo has developed a 26-tonne variant of the FL6, intended for weightconscious 6x4 tipper and mixer operators. It's powered by a 230hp or 250hp D6A diesel; the more powerful version is fitted with a supercharger for greater torque at low revs.
The FL626 is a light weight 26-tonner which promises a very high payload potential—particularly important in the UK market—but with the driving characteristics of a larger engine. It mates the cab of the FL618 4x2 tipper with the B-ride steelsprung 19-tonne bogie of the FL7, with a choice of four wheelbases.
On the shortest (3.90m) wheelbase the standard FL626 with 230hp engine has a claimed chassiscab weight of 6,845kg, giving 19,155kg body/ payload allowance at 26 tonnes GVW. This compares well with other 6x4 tippers of similar power; only a few small-cabbed "specials" are significantly lighter.
The supercharged variant is 50kg heavier, but still around 600kg lighter than the lightest FL7 6x4. • CM took the supercharged FL626 round part of our Midlands tipper route. Though the driveline was still fairly tight (the truck had done barely 2,000km) it performed well round this hilly mixture of motorway and A-roads. There's a solid wall of torque from around 1,300rpm, and it's easy to forget the engine displaces less than six litres.
Our test truck was built on the shortest wheelbase of 3.9m with a Wilcox Wilcolite aluminium body, Edbro frontend tipping gear, a Dawbam Evertaut sheeting system and heavy-duty 11R tyres on the drive axles. It weighed in at 8,460k9 to give a payload potential of around 17.5 tonnes.
The eight-speed gearbox has the usual stiff change of the FL series and the cableoperated throttle action was heavy, but the small-capacity engine means that you can blip the throttle and make downchanges surprisingly quickly. The engine also delivers enough torque to feel a little undergeared on easy motorway runs with the engine running just above the green band.
With a comfortable ride and easy handling, the supercharged six should be a viable alternative to heavierduty models such as the FL7.