Here's a quick video walkaround of the new Volvo Low Entry Cab and I'll try and post some more up soon.....meanwhile click through here for one more clip....
Recently in Garbage trucks Category
How about this for a low rider? Biglorryblog is proud to bring you a real 'exclusive'. This is the first public journo glimpse of the new Volvo FE 'LEC' which as you've probably guessed is short for low entry cab. And around November/December time it will officially enter the low-entry arena to do battle with the likes of the Dennis Eagle Elite and Mercedes Econic. (And before anyone weisenheimer from Scania e-mails me to say: 'We've got as low entry cab too' yes I know. But the Elite and Econic are the ones to go for!
Biglorryblog was in Warwick this morning for a special BLB preview of this smart-looking pre-production 6x2 rear steer tag evaulation unit on all-round air. Now click through here for more photos and details!
Brian 'Mr Foden' Lomas has sent me this following previous posts and comments on Foden building and selling various Paccar products. "Dave Powell commented about the 4 x 4 Foden Gritter and mentioned the L7 Kenworth lowline cab/chassis. We did import one to see if there was any interest. However, there was not enough to warrant the expense of homolagation etc. It was eventually broken up for Paccar International Parts to dispose of I think. I haven't a photo but Terry Smith loaned me the attached Peterbilt PB320 which is the equivalent to the Kenworth version Foden had. Regards BL."
And as if to prove the Mercedes Econic isn't afraid of getting dirty this show it's more than just a pretty face amongst bin wagons. And doubtless the Econic's on/off-road performance helped persuade Down District Council in
Just spare a thought for those that, even on a nice day like today, still need a bit of help to get about.
Is it me... Or is this the prettiest garbage truck on the market? Word reaches Biglorryblog that Mercedes Econics are 'cleaning up' in Essex after being chosen by Redbridge Council to form the backbone of the Borough's refuse collection fleet. The local authority issued a tender for new trucks that was won by a combination of Heil compacting bodies mounted on 26-tonne Econic 2629 chassis supplied by S&B Commercials, Hatfield. Twenty-seven trucks have already been ordered and by March the council expects to have nine Econics with Heil Eurocycler bodies in service on kerbside collections of recyclable waste, and a further 15 trucks on standard domestic and trade refuse duties. But there's more to come if only you click through here, including a reference to Radio 4's most popular quiz show...
Sign of the times? Where once all municipal vehicles were British-built those days are long gone. It's now all about the right truck for the job--at the right price. And following extensive trials, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council has chosen Isuzu 'Forward' N75.190 7.5-tonners with rear-loading NTM refuse collection bodies, as the primary bin-waggon for its new residential recycling service in
The 11 Isuzus have been put to work on kitchen waste and cardboard kerbside collections. And in case you ask Blaenau Gwent Council is the first local authority in
Word reaches Biglorryblog that Volvo is to deliver four hybrid-powered refuse trucks to Veolia Propreté (one of the world's largest refuse handling companies) with the aim of running them in trials in London and Paris next Autumn. "It is particularly gratifying that Veolia Propreté, an international company renowned for its dedication to green development, wants to be among the very first to harness the benefits of hybrid technology," Claes Nilsson, President of the Europe division at Volvo Trucks tells Biglorryblog.
The garbage truck quartet are all based on Volvo's heavy-duty FE model but with the following driveline alterations:
- 7-litre diesel engine
- Volvo's I-SAM (Integrated Starter Alternator Motor) hybrid pack featuring starter motor, 120 kW electric propulsion motor, alternator and electronic control unit.
- Lithium-ion batteries that are recharged whenever the brakes are applied and also via the diesel engine.
- Volvo I-Shift, automated gearchanging system
And according to Volvo: "Each of the diesel/electric power sources can be used separately or in combination with the other. Since the electric motor is used when the vehicle is idling and for acceleration, fuel consumption can be cut by 15-20%. With the addition of an extra battery featuring a plug-in recharging facility to power the ancillaries, the hybrid refuse trucks can cut a further 10-15% off their fuel consumption figures, giving a total fuel reduction of up to 30%. Emissions of climate-impacting carbon dioxide are also significantly lower. Electric power gives exhaust-free and almost totally silent operation, a major benefit for refuse trucks that often operate in dense urban areas early in the morning." I'll say every Thursday morning, what wakes me up? "Dad, dad it's the Dustbin men!" Now click through here for more...
The ultimate sign of the times methinks? A Hino bin waggon? Yes indeed and it belongs to Kirklees Council which has chosen the Japanese eight-wheeler as the chassis of choice to go undeneath this Heil 'Big Bite' refuse body. Kirkless covers a large conurbation area of Yorkshire stretching from Huddersfield through Dewsbury, Holmfirth and the many villages of the Colne Valley and Denby Dale. With over 160,000 households and a population of just under half a million, the council refuse collection services are in high demand, so it's no surprise that they chose the Hino/Heil Big Bite combo as the latest addition to their hard-working RCV fleet. But how times have changed. A decade ago this might wel have been a British chassis... Anyway click through here for more news of the growing acceptance of Hino..across the pond!
How about this for a 'star' performer in the Biglorryblog top truck photo stakes? Sometimes the sun shines on the righteous..and grille ornaments too. Though I suspect there's a touch of 'starburst' filter here... Still it works for me.
As does this rather nice wide angle shot of this purple Econic. Meanwhile I can you that the London Borough of Harrow has signed an extension of its full service contract hire agreement with Fraikin to supply and maintain its entire vehicle requirements (including this smart Merc Econic) until December 2018, valued at over £3.6 million. Now click through here for more....
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Dennis Elite Cab..happy to etc...etc. At a time when the newpapers are full of doom and gloom (and stories slagging-off Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear-(don't forget to post you comments for or against on Biglorryblog NOW!) specialist vehicle manufacturer Dennis Eagle www.dennis-eagle.com is clearly bucking the trend. Indeed, the workforce and management at the company's Blackpool RCV cab manufacturing plant recently celebrated the 10,000th Elite 2 refuse collection vehicle cab to roll off the production line.
With a current workforce of 80, Dennis Eagle Blackpool is on target to produce in excess of 900 Elite 2 cabs this year, a figure that has grown steadily since this cab model was first launched back in June 2003. Blackpool is the birthplace of the Elite 2 cab, which was designed to replace the original Elite model first developed by Dennis Eagle in 1992. The 10,000th Elite 2 cab forms part of an order for some 22 new refuse collection vehicles that Dennis Eagle is in the process of building for SITA UK.Now click through here for more...
Ahhh God Bless the old 'Brochure King'. Biglorryblog knew he'd come to the rescue with some decent pictures of Britannia refuse trucks and those weird centre steering wheel ERFs and lo...it has come to pass.
"Hi Brian, I'm still rushed off my feet and letting work get in the way of your blog (!) " he tells me, "but I thought I would take five minutes out to indulge myself with the murky world or British Bin Waggons on the 1990's. As I recall it the Britannia was a truck built largely on Seddon Atkinson chassis (and the one in the photo looks a bit 211-ish chassis wise) but these enjoyed only a limited production run, and are no longer with us. Luckily the association between rubbish and Britannia continues to this day with Stoke City playing their home matches at the Britannia stadium. (Only joking, hope they stay up and everything but I'm a Port Vale man myself)"
"The centre-steer bin lorry was built by Seddon Atkinson and christened 'The Leader' which was an odd choice of name since there had already been an Atkinson with the same moniker. Again this design didn't seem to be massively popular and it lead (geddit?) to Sandbach where ERF built the design under the 'EM name (pictured at the top). At this point in time (1998 ish) ERF were having a serious crack at the municipal market and were producing a 'low cab forward' version of the EC, and another unusual beast known as the 'EU (the next one down). The EU may also look familiar - it was derived from the Marshall Utility truck (above) produced by the Marshall SPV company that briefly revived the Bedford marque. Got all that?" Great stuff Richard, and click through here to see a shot of the Atki Leader...
Now we all know that virtually every single British dustcart ends up in Malta (sooner or later). And not just the major players too. Tony Cauchi has sent me this rare breed resting in the shade and says: "Hi Brian, saw this refuse truck which obviously started life in the U.K.---but the question is who made these as the badge is interesting and it says Britannia trucks?"
Well Tony I'm no expert but Britannia did make refuse trucks for a shortwhile in the 90s and if I recall rightly ended up being taken over by ERF. They certainly made a very distinctive curved crew cab with a central driving position---I drove one once up at Sandbach and it was a most unusual experience too! Can anyone supply Biglorryblog with pictures or details on that truck and/or on Britannia in general? Now click through here for another Malteezer!
Continue reading Rule Britannia! But whatever happened to their trucks asks Biglorryblog?.
John Henderson---Biglorryblog's man 'North 'o' The Border' has responded to the quiz set by that yound whipper snapper Will Shiers on BLB earlier today. and he seends me this picture and message too: "Hi Brian,here's an old photo as promised earlier, re my comments from the Elmia truck show blog.You can always trust 'The Brochure King' to identify a Saurer D330 and it's no surprise to learn that he is in possession of the original Shelvoke & Drewery 'Pakamatic' pamphlet (how about a posting Richard?)"
John goes on to say: "Sadly I've no original pictures of Midlothian Council's S&Ds I saw as a lad, Films and developing were too expensive then to bother with bin motors when there was many a good haulage lorry to capture on the old A1 trunk road!" And he asks: "Was the high roof, fibre glass cab on these the inspiration for Volvo's first F12 Globetrotter? - Eh, probably not, but the four door cab was ahead of the game for crew space. This TZB shot is gleaned from the pages of the 1971 edition of The Observer's Book of Commercial Vehicles and the fore and aft tipping mechanism was essential for packing the rubbish in, with the help of gravity, to maximise the 25 cubic yard capacity."
Now click through here for some of John's S&D recollections as a young lad...
Those go-ahead people at North East Truck & Van (NETV)---Iveco's largest independent dealer in the UK----have only gone and done something special haven't they...They've only gone and developed their own Eurocargo bin wagon for the UK's refuse collection and recycling market in the UK. The first vehicle----this top-of-the-range 26-tonner with a mid-lift steering axle and Heil bodywork---officially broke cover today at the Chartered Institute of Waste Management Exhibition in Paignton. And Biglorryblog's mate 'Clutchslip' was there to see it too so you can read all about it in his forthcoming report in Commercial Motor. However, for those that can't wait here's the low-down from BLB.
Modified by NETV's own in-house Engineering Division, which carries out Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) work for Iveco, the project aims to maximise sales of the Eurocargo amongst local authorities and municipal hire specialists. The new vehicle is based on the standard Eurocargo 180E28, which is adapted by NETV and can be offered as either an 18-tonne 4x2, 23-tonne 6x2 mid-lift or as the aforementioned 26-tonne 6x2 with either a mid-lift or mid-lift steering axle. Now click through here for more...and a rather nice Stralis picture too from Martin P.....
Tired of the ruthless domination of Biglorryblog by those Aussie anoraks (just kidding guys) Richard The Brochure King' tells me: "Hi Brian, I didn't manage to make it to the CV show due to some heavy work commitments, but the webcast was good and kept me informed. It seems there was an unprecedented amount of golden oldies at Brum too---which is nice to see."
Meanwhile he goes on to say: "Anyway in a desperate attempt to wrestle the blog back from our Antipodean friends I thought I'd send you this scan of a Dennis Eagle Sport. 'AtkiPete's' one-person operated ACCO refuse truck got me going through the files to find this one, which officially is a Single Person Operated Refuse Truck, equipped with a 'Rotalift' bin retrieval system---very similar to the Aussie system, but I've not seen one in action over here, so they apparently didn't catch on. Cheers! Rich."
Well either way Richard if we were hoping to play down the Aussie connection on BLB I think we might just have shot ourselves in the foot---after all, the Dennis is called by that familiar term beloved by Aussies everywhere..i.e. 'The 'SPORT'!
(PS expect a backlash any moment!)
No doubt following on from my recent Biglorryblogs on 'Green' Volvo garbage trucks, 'Atki Pete' Lynch has sent me this picture and the following message: "G'day Brian, the diesel-electric [Volvo] recycling truck you had was pretty good. Hopefully, it sounds as good as those GM-powered, diesel-electric locos the railways are still using out here. Those supercharged V12 and V16 motors are music to the ears of any GM fan---but they might be hard to fit into your average six-wheeler!" Mmmm sounds like the old Bedford TMs run by BOC Transhield--and speaking of which does anyone have a shot of one?
Meanwhile, click through here to find out more about the above, uniquely Aussie, one-man ACCO recycling truck!
Is it me? Or does Biglorryblog detect something a bit more clever than meets the eye here. OK, I grant you that it certainly LOOKS like yer average Daf 8x4 with a Heil front end loader body on the back. But you know it has a strangley familar look to it that I can't quite put my finger on...the way it seems to be changing shape and moving bits around....wait a minute I've think I've got it.
Now do you see what I'm going on about? Stand it on two legs and shove a sonic cannon in its hand and behold---a brand new Transformer! And if you don't believe me that a 'normal' truck like a Daf eight-legger with a big bin on the back is in fact a shape-shifting robot then click through here for more proof...as if proof were needed!
Biglorryblog reader Trevor Wood has kindly sent me this picture of a multi-axle Scania dustcart operated by Viridor, featuring a trailing, steered-axle behind the double-drive back bogie. Trevor says: "It was taken at Dover sea front." And why the extra axle at the back? Well the simple answer is that those rear-end compactor bodies are pretty heavy anyway, and especially when they're close to full, so the extra axle at the back prevents any acidental overloads. And by making it a steered unit you at least get some life out of the tyres and make the eight-legger just that little easier to turn!
Trucking hell! If you're going to muck around on a British landfill site then you'd better have a rugged truck (and trailer) to do it with. And thanks to Agent Reg Biglorryblog learns that those plucky chaps at Hills Waste Solutions have put two no-nonsense Euro-4 Volvo FM 440 double-drive tractors into service to transport municipal waste and recyclable materials on a contract with Wiltshire County Council from their base near Swindon. And here's one of them, displaying that typically Volvo total disdain for muck and bullets, whilst showing a somehow 'soft, warm and sensitive' side to it...don't you think? (I must stop drinking the Toilet Duck...)
It's a well known fact that when it comes to operating on UK landfill sites we Brits ask a lot from our waste wagons. It's something the Continental moving floor trailer makers had to learn through hard experience and I recall talking to one who expressed horror at the punishment his trailers were taking in good old Blighty, especially when it came to them being towed out of the mud! His solution? Build a concrete apron on the edge of the waste site where the trucks could discharge their loads removing the need for such a heavy duty spec. Naahhh! I can't see that happening...we LIKE getting up to our axles in the mud over here!
Anyway now click through here for more details from BLB on the double tough FM tractors
Truck of the Year
BigLorryBlog editor Brian Weatherley is the UK jury member for the International Truck of the Year award