ERF EC11.380 The ERF was a bit of a cheat—a
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high-roofed twin-bunk model rather than a meat-andpotatoes fleet unit; so its noise figures turned out rather better than they might otherwise. But ride measurements were nothing special, and the EC makes an interesting comparison in terms of build quality; particularly as ERF is such a low-volume manufacturer. The firm buys in major components—and the Cummins Mll engine is a good place to start—but the chassis and cab are all its own work.
Sleeper's comments This couldn't have been a fleet tractor— surely not (er, no... Tech Ed). There's so much headroom inside, even for six-footers.
The extra bunk above means you can lay tomorrow's gear out then incline the bunk upwards for extra headroom when sitting in the middle of the lower bed, feet on the engine cover or up on the centre hump—taking care not to damage the air vents and imitation walnut!
Plenty of standing space over the engine cover means you don't have to stoop, but with not much room in the passenger footwell there's an overwhelming urge to boot the seat out of the door.
The bunks are long, wide and comfy but it's too long a stretch to reach the vital control switches. A remote radio control would be ideal, but for a fleet unit it would have to be welded to the ignition key ring! However, the radio/heater/interior light on-off buttons really should be more handily placed for the sleeper to operate.
There's plenty of locker space in the header section and a shelf beneath it, and there's more storage space under the lower bunk but your gear needs shifting to get into it. A switch on the left-hand wall gives fine control over the heater, which responded quickly to bring the ERF cab up to comfort levels in less than 20 minutes.
There's plenty of light inside but some of it is too concentrated—fluorescent lighting would be easier on the eyes. The curtains are light enough and pull around the front easily, but the hooks do look flim sy and we suspect that in the hands of many drivers they will break off, or the curtains will tear.
Unlike so many others, ERFs have a fairly lightcoloured interior which helps you gather your senses when you awaken.
• Bryan Jarvis Expert's comments Shiny grained plastic on the dashboard looks likely to rattle and "tizz", and the finish is a little erratic. Switch blanks are a rather loose fit, and finish around the parking brake and sunroof is poor, all for the sake of a few seconds with a Stanley knife. The "wood" finish is actually a photographic process.
The driver's seat squab creaks as you lean on it, and the header console rattles already with just 10,000km on the clock. Door trim fixings are covered but still obvious. The cupholder is a non-specific size, but its simple design should be easy to clean.
Ride comments The EC11 felt pretty smooth on the "good tarmac" section of test track, and the measurements show it to be well above average, though there was quite a bit of movement coming up through the seat. This was also the case on the rough concrete: a fair bit came up through the floor, and the vertical shocks were worst of all.