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T D he Hino range has hardly set the

6th September 2001
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Page 24, 6th September 2001 — T D he Hino range has hardly set the
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Keywords : Truck, Pickup Trucks

UK market alight. This is partly due to the sheer competitiveness of the UK 84 sector and the fluctuating Yen, and partly because tippermen are inclined to stick with what they know.

That's not to say these Japanese workhorses have flopped: Hino's Euro-1 tippers enjoyed notable success following a mid-eighties debut, and the launch of the Euro-2 FY2P and ES2P 8x4 and 64 from the company's European base in Dublin also went reasonably well. The current range made its debut at TipCon in 1997.

Hino remains the only tipper designed outside Europe in a market which is dominated by Scania, Volvo and Paccar. One bonus for importer Harris (UK) is that Hine does not have to spend time adapting the cab, as the Japanese also drive on the left.

Hino offers fewer options than its competitors, but its price, payload and power are all competitive. Valley Trucks has already shifted a few second-hand Hino 84 tippers for about £34,000 (ex-VAT)--and that's the asking price for T2oBPM, which is the subject of this used truck test.

Product low-down

A single Hino-built 32ohp engine powers both the 64 and 84, but operators can choose between two specialist 8x4s: the UKM for cement mixer applications with a chassis weight of 9,i5okg, and the UKA for tipper and cargo work at 9,0 6okg.

Since its registration on 27 April 1999 OUT FY2P has clocked up I61,000km, operating in North London and Hertfordshire. The clutch was replaced last November, and the brakes were relined at the start of this year Apart from that, only routine maintenance has been needed.

The clutch and brake replacements would certainly be premature on a delivery truck, but tippers tend to work in tough environments demanding a lot of low-speed gear changes and with plenty of work for the brakes. The 4.1o:1 rear axle is fitted with a diff-lock for off road action. Charlton Bodies built the tipper body with high-tensile steel sides and a Ushaped floor. The body and tipping gear account for some 3,200kg.

In June Hino enjoyed its best month so far this year, taking a 2.8% share of the market for 84 chassis-cabs—matching Iveco and beating Mercedes, Seddon Atkinson and

Renault Trucks UK. Hino sal( have been increasing steadi since February 2001.

Bottom line

Travelling from Hincldt through Wales to Ross-on-Wy 7 To BPM returned 8.oimpg an average speed of 61.7km/ with no hold-ups; on tb motorway it posted 8.78mpg ; an average 80.7km/h. Overa consumption around our te: route was 8.26mpg at an ave age speed of 66.9Icm/h.

The weather was warm an dry with a slight headwind ft much of the time, and th roads were surprisingly empt although this was peak holida season (the Welsh section t our route has become notor ous with CM testers for uncle powered cars hauling caravan not to mention tractors an combine harvesters).

The test load in the Charlto tipper body was broken cor crete which, unlike loose load like sand, does not require sheet. However there is littl doubt that one would hay improved our fuel figures. Th Hino's 9,060kg kerbweight gives a body/pa load allowance just shy of 23 tonnes. Standar tyres for the FY2P arel2R22.5s up front, wit 11R22.5s for the rear axles. Our test vehicl came with the optional 295/80R22.5s.

On the road For the most part tippers are designed to dez with severe gradients, uneven surfaces an dirt tracks. As we have not developed a test fc off-road tipper driving, all CM can do is put vehicle through its paces on the road. In thi environment T20 B PM handled pretty wel a little play on the ng wheel. It sweeps ato the corners, and the road as well as )ther 8x4 we have

roundabouts id the As, at the of the M5o and on final leg home id Coventry (traffic itting), we found a high rate of enthm could be tamed, sometimes L but more often not in 6H. This was rd by that 4.1o:r combined with a rpm torque sweet helping us to d an average of nearly 7olem/h on the first an of the test. Very impressive.

th ioo,000 miles on the clock and a new 3, the Hino/ZF driveline responded well to our demands of the open road. Starting 3H on the flat, it was possible to go straight high range at sL, but taking a smoother via 4H made the experience more enjoy

ak torque is on tap at around the Lioorpm and it certainly pulled well up to )rpm and its full 320hp. From here a full ge drops the revs to L000rpm, but because ngine is relatively quiet it's all too easy to rev slightly so that the revs fall straight into eak torque spot.

e exhaust brake is on the left stalk by the ing wheel and, according to those who drive

■ s to pay the bills, it tends to be left in the position (towards the driver). Its power is y impressive—as soon as you activate it, it inly kicks in and makes a substantial Current D difference. If you leave it in the "on" position it goes into action as soon as you lift your boot owner off the accelerator.

Movement up through the ZF 16-speed Ecosplit gearbox box is smooth enough, but demands a little patience. Any attempt to hurry the gear change provokes the gearbox to grind its disapproval, dragging out the procedure before the next gear is engaged. Gently moving the lever into the right position and applying smooth pressure is actually quicker than hying to ram the gearstick home.

Cab quality

For this used truck test 120 BPM arrived at the MIRA proving grounds straight from active duty, with no more than a quick wash of the paintwork.

There's no point expecting a tipper fresh off the site to have the gleam of an owner-driver's truck that simply hauls pallets of perishables u p and down the Mr. Cabs for this type of work have to be functional, with enough room to put your essentials (generally a flask and a hard hat).

It would be fair to say that this vehicle has spent plenty of time off-road. The driver's foot well had mud under the rubber flooring material, and the cab has developed a dusty light brown hue rather than the nondescript grey it started life with. If a truck works in among the muck and rubble, its longevity is bound to suffer.

The one thing that does strike you about the one-cab-fits-all option is how much room there is. The single bunk behind the driving seat gives the driver enough day-to-day space to avoid day-cab-tipper claustrophobia. Storage is not brilliant, but with the bunk it is not an issue, and it didn't look as if the driver had spent much time on the relatively thin mattress.

The only part of the cab that does seem crowded is the bit between the clutch pedal and the steering wheel. If you verge on the lanky, then lifting your left leg after changing gear will bang your thigh and knee against the underside of the wheel. You can push the steering wheel up and towards the dashboard, but this makes driving more difficult and doesn't really solve the problem.

CM verdict

T20 BPM wouldn't win any prizes in a bestkept-truck contest—it has clearly been busy earning its keep, and a buyer would have to question how much longer it could cope with the intensity of its work. But not too many 8x4 tippers arriving on the used market will have worked in such tough conditions, judging by the quality of the trucks in CM's classified pages.

Our final fuel figure was slightly compromised by the lack of a load sheet, but the overall driving experience was very enjoyable. Operators seem to repeat buy once they have added an 8x4 Hino to their fleet because of its workhorse status.

These machines might not look pretty, but they are built with heavy, repetitive work in mind. And they can handle it, too. We see no reason why this one should not keep rolling and earning its keep.

Eby Kevin Swallow

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