Euro 5 Tipper Delivers A Four Season Performance
Our first Euro 5 test honours go to DAF whose new 8-wheeled FAD CF85 tipper still excelled, despite the best efforts of the notorious Scottish winter weather, reports John Henderson. PLANNING road tests in February can be a bit of a lottery with our ever varying climatic conditions. A week previously we’d enjoyed an incredibly mild, bright day for our road test, see Transport News- April edition, so it was almost inevitable that things would be very different for our inaugural Euro 5 run, courtesy of DAF’s FAD CF85 8x4 rigid tipper. Whilst carrying out my first task of the day, the walk-round external inspection, the thought of possible snow covered roads ahead, did not seem quite so daunting, as I reminded myself that this double drive fully loaded eight wheeler is specifically designed for operation on difficult surfaces. The DAF CF day cab with its aerodynamic side collars is an aesthetically pleasing design and looks even more purposeful when raised slightly to accommodate the straight beam front axles, which of course gives better ground clearance and approach angles on work sites. Behind the ‘driver’s office,’ shining in the bright morning light, was a Rouse Bodies of Peterborough 16.2cu.m aluminium aggregate unit, complete with Edbro front end ram, Electro Sheet system and air operated tailgate. Underneath the chassis’ flat top rails, double drive axles, ratio’d at 3.73:1, are held in place by DAF’s unique 8-rod tandem suspension, which allows high articulation and traction, plus a high roll centre of the units. The well equipped unladen rigid tipped the scales at 11,340kg, but a full load of pebble sized aggregate, driver and passenger saw the distinctive daffodil yellow Dutchman weigh in at 32 tonnes precisely for our test. While driving mostly articulated combinations these days, returning to an 8 wheeler always gives me initial sensations of slight under steer and very quickly induced downhill momentum, but this time round, the new DAF was forgiving and predictable on the first couple of roundabouts and the M74’s access ramp. The Paccar MX 410hp MX engine is responsive and lively and setting the cruise control at 85kph, we rolled along nicely, with the steel suspension soaking up most of the undulations on this fast route sector. What was noticeable when hitting dips and bumps was the amount of vertical travel from my comfort air spec seat. DAF offer four different options on this most important piece of furniture and I would recommend the fixed unit for anyone working exclusively off road or the Luxury Air, for mixed surface work as this seat is fitted with a damper to limit the aforementioned movement. There’s also a leather finished Luxury Air available, but strangely enough few tipper operators seem to select this! Returning to the steering, after acclimatising myself with the travel of the 20.11m turning circle, power assisted system, it always proved to be predictable and smooth with the 2.05m spaced axle beams and their load compensators, installing driver confidence in all cornering conditions encountered. On our way north through Stirlingshire into Perth and Kinross, the foreboding dark clouds rushing in off the North Sea soon saw the recently arrived rain turn quickly into the white stuff by the top side of Dunblane. The Blackford to Auchterarder sections of the A9 threw up the worst conditions, with the quickly accumulating snow increasing the verge widths and narrowing the useable road area. Full credit to the region’s ever present gritting crews though, as their hard work kept the carriageways wet and black, albeit with large amounts of water accumulating in the ‘HGV wheel ruts’ of the left hand lane, no doubt increasing our rolling resistance I thought and taking the edge off my fuel figures. Conditions abated slightly after turning south at Perth and a short sharp wintry shower conveniently coincided with our lunchtime stop at Kinross services. A quick check of our data revealed an impressive 2 hours 5 minutes journey time, complemented by an average diesel consumption of 9.05mpg, which was indeed encouraging considering the conditions and two sets of road works encountered. After a 45 minute break, our clockwise circular route around Fife’s Lomond Hills lay ahead providing me with the opportunity to put the new Paccar MX Euro 5 engine through its paces. The northern section of this A-road route follows the contours of some fine rolling farmland and is a good test of any power plant’s response rates and torque bands. The new six cylinder MX is a versatile unit and is available in 360, 410, 460 and 510hp versions with high torque outputs ranging from 1,775 up to 2,500nm. Our 410 SCR unit in Euro 5 trim performed faultlessly in all situations and always seemed to have plenty power on tap regardless of the situation encountered. Amongst the engine’s design features are extensive function integration, such as the inlet manifold being part of the cylinder head and the oil filter/cooler and thermostat all being combined within the same module. In cab noise levels from the power plant were not at all intrusive, with levels recorded about the same as the XF105 tractor unit we tested last November. The excellent three stage engine brake, operated from the right hand steering column stalk provides instant deceleration force and saves many a prod on the footbrake. The same stalk also acts as the manual gearshift override and even when running in auto, I found changing up slightly earlier than the auto shift would, at around 1,200 revs on flat roads, still allowed great progress and put no extra strain on the engine or its fuel economy. The ratios in the 12 speed ZF gearbox are well matched to this lively MX unit and on level surfaces top gear kept us moving at the 40mph two way road limit, registering just 1,100 revs on the dashboard counter. For greater flexibility on these roads, I often found 11th was essential on any slight climbs or after deceleration for bends etc. With the east wind now behind us and the snow turned back to rain showers, we enjoyed an incredibly clear dual carriageway run from the A92 roundabout at the north side of Kirkcaldy, right down to the Forth Road Bridge, with the DAF cruising comfortably at 50mph in an unobstructed and almost empty left hand lane. Our next stop at South Queensferry saw the sun finally come out and gave me the chance to examine the CF’s cab interior in the best light of the day so far. Even in its day cab form there is plenty of room in the well laid out cab, with storage space aplenty including the neat netted racks above the windscreen. There are obviously similar components shared between this truck and its XF big brother, but that’s no bad thing as the fit, finish and quality of the seats, switches and controls is good. There’s no reason that these items shouldn’t last a lifetime in the tough world of tipping operations. With a windowed rear cab panel and a glazed roof hatch there’s plenty of light and visibility in all directions, particularly rearwards, thanks to the handy reversing camera mounted on the centre of the windscreen top rack. The rear view mirrors are well positioned with a good gap between the A frame and the units. DAF’s unusual spilt side window arrangement, initially gave me suspicions that it may affect the mirror views, but after fine corrections with the electric adjusters, unimpeded vision was easily achieved. Just to confound us completely, our run east around the Edinburgh City Bypass saw the useful front and side sun visors in action as the outside temperature peaked at a pleasant 8°, with a clear blue sky! The last section of our test is undoubtedly the most demanding for the vehicle, yet the most enjoyable part for the driver, as auto transmissions are usually switched to manual and the truck is made to really work for the first 25 miles, climbing from the almost sea level altitude of the A8000 to the 980ft highest point of the A702 at Amazondean Farm, just north of the village of Carlops. The FAD 8 wheeled tipper excelled itself on this route, digging in hard on the climbs, with its well honed steering and handling characteristics allowing super smooth, confident cornering on the many twists and turns. Twice during the route I had to apply some sharp braking, due to wayward motorists, but DAF’s disc and drum set up for the front and rear axles respectively, provided excellent and predictable stopping power. On the last test, I got on my soapbox about mirror settings; this time around I’ll mention brake pedals! From a purely personal point of view, pendulum style pedals, particularly the middle ones are generally good and work well. For me though, a floor mounted and pivoted air brake pedal, such as this tipper’s cannot be beaten. DAF have to my eye used the same, checker plate type, non-slip finished unit since the old DKSE 2800 model of the mid 1970’s and it shows that ‘you can’t improve on perfection!’ It’s a joy to use and your applied foot pressure can be measured to the finest degree. The Scottish 8 wheeled tipper market, for suppliers and operators, is not for the faint hearted. The daily demands of site and muck away work soon show up any Achilles heels in trucks and their on board equipment. Historically DAF has always had a strong presence in this sector and the new improved FAD CF85 should carry this torch on for the foreseeable future. The Euro 5 Dutchman sailed through every aspect of our test with flying colours, despite the best efforts of our ‘four seasons in a day’ weather. The fuel figures returned an average of 8.5mpg, which is encouraging considering the conditions encountered and this, combined with the available payload, should make the DAF an attractive proposition to any contractor seeking real productivity.