1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
MIX AND MATCH
Page 54
Page 55
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
It may not have the most modern cab in Iveco's parts bin, but Seddon Atkinson's Strato six-wheeler can mix it with the rest.
Following Iveco's decision to take Seddon Atkinson out of UK mainstream truck building and concentrate on refuse collection trucks and construction vehicles (increasingly with Iveco engines) all "Big A"badged wagons now trundle off the production line in Madrid rather than Oldhatn.As strategies go it makes sense, not least as Iveco's Cursor 8,10 and 13-litre diesels are all strong performers.
For the moment you can still spec a Cummins ISMe engine at 345,385 and 420hp in a Strato tipper. But like-for-like the Cummins model costs up to £3,500 more than a Cursor 8 and as recently highlighted by Commercial Motor, come 2006 the partnership will fade away like all good soldiers (CM 17 June).
Seddon's always been known for building lightweight chassis for UK operators, not least in the mixer market. Its latest Strato R6 six-wheeler forgoes the Cummins C-Series in favour of a Euro-3 certified Cursor 8 six-pot offering a similar 7.82-litre capacity and rated at either 310 or 350hp complete with a rear-ofengine gear-driven PTO.
Working on the "big engine working lazy" principle, the Cursor 8 is a good bet for anyone looking for maximum residuals on a 6x4 compared with lighter six-litre equivalents like the Mercedes Atego 2628B.
At the recent NEC CV Show Seddon launched a Strato R5 18tonner with the latest Eurocargo family cab.The R6 Strato multi-wheelers are stuck with the old EuroTech cab until at least 2006— at least the old cabin is non-multiplexed and relatively simple to maintain.
The rest of the Strato's driveline comprises a single-plate clutch in front of a ZF nine-speed Ecornid box (without Servoshift).The Meritor single-reduction double-drive rear bogie offers a choice of tworatios;4.10 or 4.56:1 (our test truck had the latter) riding on rubber suspension and dampers.
Mixer men invariably want a full 6m payload on a six-wheeler and that shouldn't prove a problem with the Strato, With a Spanish Imer barrel on our Cursor-8 demonstrator we tared out at 11,300kg with an 80kg driver and full tanks (300 litres of fuel and 280 litres of water).With 6m' load of concrete on board (assuming 2,440kg/ m ' for a heavy mix) that amounts to 14.640kg, which puts us 60kg inside the Strato's 26-tonne GVVV.And that's without alloy wheels, which would save 160kg.The standard fuel tank is actually a 180-litre plastic unit so there's even more room to play with.
The Strato R6 is ready for the rough with a big front under-run bar, a sump guard, light guards front and rear and a protective mesh over the charge-cooler radiator. Nothing's bullet proof in construction but the Strato comes pretty close.
Climbing into the EuroTech cabin is easy with three steps and decent handles. The open metal treads on the steps act like boot scrapers to keep the worst of the site mud out of the cabin (which is a practical, no-frills environment but screwed together well and refreshingly more tipper than tractor).The instrument panel is pure EuroTech, which means the tacho sits in the main binnacle rather than up in the headlining or tucked away at knee level. The R6 day cab offers a fair bit of stowage space, not least behind the seats for wet kit, boots and hard hat. There's also a decent bin on the rear wall, a storage box on top of the engine hump with a half-lid serving as a document case door pockets and the odd cubby hole in the headlining. Standard fittings include electrically operated windows, adjustable mirrors and a heated windscreen.
Impressions The Cursor 8 is not the quietest of diesels and the vertical stack doesn't help. With some seven tonnes of stone in the barrel we were grossing around 18 tonnes. Not the full monty. hut enough to go on with.
Thanks to its high (4.56:1) rear axle the Strato took off in second like a scalded cat, accelerating rapidly up to high range, so we had to shift up pretty quickly to keep in the green band which runs from 1.300-1.900rpm.While such a high rear diff is fine for town work, running along the M62 on the limiter the Cursor 8 was turning over a tad too high at around 2,100rpm. For dual carriageway or motorway driving, spec the faster 4.10 back end and save fuel.
The Cursor Swill lug down when approaching roundabouts and junctions but it is happiest, and most productive, working between 1,500-1,800rpm.
Standard on all Cursor engines is Iveco's variable-geometry turbocharger incorporating a turbo-brake which boosts back pressure when you select the exhaust brake. On some pretty steep slopes it proved extremely effective above 2,000rpm.
With only 700km on the clock we weren't expecting the ZF box to he particularly slick and it wasn't.The double-H pattern was precise but still pretty clunky when shifting, especially coming across the gate to high range. Servoshift should be standard on all Stratos.
However, on switchback moorland roads around Oldham and Rochdale it proved very sure footed for a high CoG truck, while the rubber suspension and coil sprung cab soaked up the worst of the roads, The driver's seat was firm but extremely comfortable.
About the only thing we didn't like was the Strato's rather vague dead-ahead steering although it's got a good lock. Extending the rubber covering over the engine hump will make it more practical for construction work.