Buying tipper truck for business in Africa

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hello everyone,

I am in a position of buying used tipper truck for hauling raw material in Africa.

I would be grateful if someone could give me an advice or two which tipper would be the best for this job. Right now I am thinking about Volvo F7 8 wheel (1988), DAF 6x4 tipper (1997) or Foden 8x4 (1998).
Which one would be the best for this job? I would like to buy Foden but I am scared I will have later problems finding spare parts in Africa, and that they will be extremely expensive. In Africa they have lots of DAF trucks. I presume DAF and Foden don’t use same spare parts as they have the same owner?

How much fuel do these old trucks use?

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards,

Daniel

2

Go with the truck manufacturer where as parts are available, no point in buying something where as you will experience breaks downs, mechanical failures and your waiting weeks for parts to be shipped from aboard…

3

Have you considered TATA trucks. An Indian company but have an assembly plant in South Africa.
AFAIK they use mostly Mercedes parts and mostly are simply engineered for ease of repair in poorer countries.
Not sure if they do 8 leggers though.

4

Thank you all for posting your kind replies.
I will check for TATA trucks although I have a feeling it will be hard to find old tipper truck (26-32 tonnes).

5

There are still plenty of people exporting old ERF’s and Fodens etc from here and/or even better specced ones available locally.In addition to the opportunities for importing something from Australia or NZ with the usual ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Fuller engine/driveline combination which bs type approval regs won’t allow in Euroland.Just put a search into the computer for 1990’s Foden/ERF/Kenworth 8x4 with ■■■■■■■ etc and Fuller for sale.

6

I doubt that you will source Tata trucks in the UK. My suggestion was more to the idea of sourcing one in Africa and saving the shipping etc.

7

Can i suggest to put that Topic to the “Health Forum”?

Thanx for readin :wink:

8

One with a bullet proof cab would be at the top of my shopping list.

9

and Air-cooled Engine

10

Thank you for all suggestions.

What is your opinion about Foden tipper trucks? Are they any good? Tough enough for bad african muddy roads? Is DAF tipper better in this case?

11

If the Foden is a Foden not an Alpha and it has a eagle diesel perkins / rolls with rubber suspension then there will be no better lorry .

12

Just curious. Which country in Africa are you basing your business in? Are you from a country in Africa or have worked there before?

13

I am thinking on buying Foden S108R 8x4, model year 1998, Thompsons steel body, double drive, CAT C10 325 engine. I am not sure about the engine and suspension, sorry…do you think this model would be ok for this kind of job?

I am starting my business in Zambia. I have worked there before but only with small busess, 15 seats.

14

If you do buy anything here to ship out, you should try to get hold of as many spare parts - service, like filters etc, and repair, like springs/airbags, transmission parts and anything else you can afford, all the way up to a spare engine.

15

If you pay £25k into my account i will deliver best truck for next tuesday dinnertime

16

Find out what the most popular models of truck are in Zambia and choose accordingly. It could save you having to pay a fortune for spares, repairs and servicing.