Truck Shite

[martc]

Here's some more from the wonderful Views of Paris website -

We're somewhere near the Citroen factory -

 

 

[warch]

Not particularly old but quite a odd design, presumably a repurposed bin lorry chassis.

[5speedracer]

1 hour ago, warch said:

Not particularly old but quite a odd design, presumably a repurposed bin lorry chassis.

More companies who do city work are buying these for the visibility, maneuverability and ease of crew access.

[warch]

 They’re getting a bit flash these scaffolding firms, business must be booming. 
 

Where I live most scaffolders need to serve at least five years in the job before they’re allowed to ride inside the cab.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

4 hours ago, warch said:

Not particularly old but quite a odd design, presumably a repurposed bin lorry chassis.

They look rather odd and unsuitable for the role- I'm thinking ground clearance- especially off road stuff:

 

[warch]

19 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

They look rather odd and unsuitable for the role- I'm thinking ground clearance- especially off road stuff:

 

That's wonderfully odd. I can absolutely see the point of the design for trucks like bin lorries where there are several people on board who are constantly getting in and out (and to a lesser extent builders, groundworkers and scaffolders) but Iess of a necessity on grab lorries or tippers which tend to have only one occupant. 

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

it's not just merc doing it with the econic

[warch]

16 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

it's not just merc doing it with the econic

It occurs to me that the visibility down the sides of the vehicle is probably a lot better than a normal lorry, so better around pedestrians and cyclists. Which, having just googled the Econic website is apparently the whole point.

I wonder what drivers think, I imagine proper lorry drivers like the conventional six foot off the ground seating position, but I can see these appealing to new or inexperienced drivers or drivers with mobility issues (the average age of a lorry driver in the UK is now mid-50s). The seating position relative to the steering axle looks very like that on coaches to me. 

[sutty2006]

They put the 936 engine in those econics and coupled up to the merc gearbox they are utter garbage. I road tested an empty bin wagon and struggled to hit 30mph on a slight uphill but very long slip road. It was hell on wheels. I was glad to get back to work that day and felt sorry for the drivers. They’re better with the Allison gearbox but not many around in econic flavour. Most of those are repurposed bin trucks, as second hand bin trucks are harder to sell. I’m sure there’s a company repurposing them, or there used to be anyway. 

[busmansholiday]

Had a DAF XF10 electric tractor unit pull up alongside me today. Other than the fact it appeared almost silently it was only the fact it said "electric" on the side that made it stand out . 

 

What's the crack with these compared with the diesel units, @New POD.

 

 

[quicksilver]

2 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

it's not just merc doing it with the econic

Those low cab trucks sure are ugly and I really can't see how they're practical as tippers. Take one into a quarry or any slightly uneven building site and that huge front overhang is just going to ground out immediately. They must be about half the height of a normal 8x4 tipper.

[High Jetter]

High speed bumps might be a concern too.

[New POD]

4 hours ago, busmansholiday said:

Had a DAF XF10 electric tractor unit pull up alongside me today. Other than the fact it appeared almost silently it was only the fact it said "electric" on the side that made it stand out . 

 

What's the crack with these compared with the diesel units, @New POD.

 

 

No oil changes ? 

[High Jetter]

5 minutes ago, New POD said:

No oil changes ? 

Yup, even steam powered needs oiling, moving parts need lube.