Took our new training unit out today as it wasn’t being used, it’s to be used obviously for training up new recruits from our warehouse/offices etc who decided to go for the driving apprenticeship scheme, it seats 4 and runs of gas ( LNG ) as all our recently arrived trucks do with a small diesel tank to ignite the spark.
How do you find the Volvo gas truck…is it any different to drive than the diesel version?
Some of the ‘gas-only’ trucks don’t have so much low rpm grunt as diesels, but Volvo say theirs is better because it has the same compression ratio as a conventional diesel.
GasGas:
How do you find the Volvo gas truck…is it any different to drive than the diesel version?Some of the ‘gas-only’ trucks don’t have so much low rpm grunt as diesels, but Volvo say theirs is better because it has the same compression ratio as a conventional diesel.
It’s not quite got so much “go” in it but it’s hardly noticeable and definitely appears to be a tad quieter, all in all they’re good motors.
DHL had a 3 seater (gas) training truck several years ago, but that was a 1st gen Volvo. on day work it was rather spacious to take a 45 in, but they screwed up several times when they sent philipo flopp out in it for a night out, as it no longer had a bunk bed in it
Nice!
We had two Scanias which were three seaters. Two fastest motors in the fleet!
I see it has Asda printed on the door… I thought they were putting a stop to branding the vehicles now? 
WhiteDog:
Nice!We had two Scanias which were three seaters. Two fastest motors in the fleet!
I see it has Asda printed on the door… I thought they were putting a stop to branding the vehicles now?
Yeah all the new ones are branded but we also have new trailers soon to hit the road which are plain white so no greens glorious greens on show unfortunately not sure the reasons.
Cosy. Obviously the beancounter who spec’d it, doesn’t mind the central passenger having his knee used as an armrest…
If the seat closest to the driver is as close, that’s going to be interesting.
bald bloke:
WhiteDog:
Nice!We had two Scanias which were three seaters. Two fastest motors in the fleet!
I see it has Asda printed on the door… I thought they were putting a stop to branding the vehicles now?
Yeah all the new ones are branded but we also have new trailers soon to hit the road which are plain white so no greens glorious greens on show unfortunately not sure the reasons.
It’s based on costs and ease to sell on. Once they’ve done with them they can just flog them and not need to waste time stripping branding off. Also it enables them to carry out whitefleet work as we call it. This means that if you are run by a TP like Wincanton or DHL they utilise the fleet with agency drivers to do some of their work in quieter times, therefore generating revenue [emoji106]
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bald bloke:
WhiteDog:
Nice!We had two Scanias which were three seaters. Two fastest motors in the fleet!
I see it has Asda printed on the door… I thought they were putting a stop to branding the vehicles now?
Yeah all the new ones are branded but we also have new trailers soon to hit the road which are plain white so no greens glorious greens on show unfortunately not sure the reasons.
Yes, we have a new fleet of white ones sitting waiting to be used. All of our 68 plate R450s are plain white with just the unit number on it.
I was told it was to reduce the amount of people phoning in complaining about poor driving standards, just to get free shopping! Also, been a few nice pictures of our Asda trucks recently… One jammed under a bridge, one resting against a house and another which tried, and failed to jump a big round about… If the vehicles are plain white, might not get out that its Asda.
I think resale value is why we have white R450s, instead of green G410s.
So when it’s de-fleeted, and robo the Romanian buys it and sees 3 seats, he be thinking,. Triple manning, no stoppee for braek,
bald bloke:
WhiteDog:
Nice!We had two Scanias which were three seaters. Two fastest motors in the fleet!
I see it has Asda printed on the door… I thought they were putting a stop to branding the vehicles now?
Yeah all the new ones are branded but we also have new trailers soon to hit the road which are plain white so no greens glorious greens on show unfortunately not sure the reasons.
We’ve just got half a dozen new single curtains and a few new single boxes all with greens, glorious greens on them. New Scania R450s for us with Asda on the doors.
We have around 40 new Scania units and Shmitz trailers sitting on the car park waiting to be used…any of Asda boys know anything about driver facing cameras?
They look the same spec as the ones B&Q are getting, apart from the rear window behind passenger door. Note that the small lift axle is probably only rated at 4.5 tonnes. Once up & running they go as well as the diesel motors, (sound a bit rough for the first couple of minutes before gas side has heated up), they rev slightly lower in top so are well in the green band at cruising, and they seem to have sorted the points at which gear changes occur to make things smoother. Are they installing fuelling stations at each rdc or are they using outside plants?
emil841:
We have around 40 new Scania units and Shmitz trailers sitting on the car park waiting to be used…any of Asda boys know anything about driver facing cameras?
Far as I know the union put the mockers on that one, for the time being anyway. Against the terms of the national agreement I believe. Sure I saw some sort of missive about it floating round the drivers room a month or so back. I’ll see if its still there later and check. I think that the vehicles that were ordered with driver facing were for Doncaster anyway, run by Wincanton so not an “in house” operation.
tallyman:
They look the same spec as the ones B&Q are getting, apart from the rear window behind passenger door. Note that the small lift axle is probably only rated at 4.5 tonnes. Once up & running they go as well as the diesel motors, (sound a bit rough for the first couple of minutes before gas side has heated up), they rev slightly lower in top so are well in the green band at cruising, and they seem to have sorted the points at which gear changes occur to make things smoother. Are they installing fuelling stations at each rdc or are they using outside plants?
Think we are going to be staying diesel for at least another year as our replacements for this year are all r450 diesels.
Fuzrat:
emil841:
We have around 40 new Scania units and Shmitz trailers sitting on the car park waiting to be used…any of Asda boys know anything about driver facing cameras?Far as I know the union put the mockers on that one, for the time being anyway. Against the terms of the national agreement I believe. Sure I saw some sort of missive about it floating round the drivers room a month or so back. I’ll see if its still there later and check. I think that the vehicles that were ordered with driver facing were for Doncaster anyway, run by Wincanton so not an “in house” operation.
Correct Union have put the stoppers on it.
tallyman:
They look the same spec as the ones B&Q are getting, apart from the rear window behind passenger door. Note that the small lift axle is probably only rated at 4.5 tonnes. Once up & running they go as well as the diesel motors, (sound a bit rough for the first couple of minutes before gas side has heated up), they rev slightly lower in top so are well in the green band at cruising, and they seem to have sorted the points at which gear changes occur to make things smoother. Are they installing fuelling stations at each rdc or are they using outside plants?
All except the training one are low cab versions, at the moment we have a mobile (tanker trailer) for gassing up but in time a whole new fuelling plant should be installed.
bald bloke:
GasGas:
How do you find the Volvo gas truck…is it any different to drive than the diesel version?Some of the ‘gas-only’ trucks don’t have so much low rpm grunt as diesels, but Volvo say theirs is better because it has the same compression ratio as a conventional diesel.
It’s not quite got so much “go” in it but it’s hardly noticeable and definitely appears to be a tad quieter, all in all they’re good motors.
I have a 460 Iveco and when it’s pulling an empty tanker it’s ok but stick it full of gas it’s a gutless thing. Always trying to keep it rolling at a roundabout.
OwenMoney:
bald bloke:
GasGas:
How do you find the Volvo gas truck…is it any different to drive than the diesel version?Some of the ‘gas-only’ trucks don’t have so much low rpm grunt as diesels, but Volvo say theirs is better because it has the same compression ratio as a conventional diesel.
It’s not quite got so much “go” in it but it’s hardly noticeable and definitely appears to be a tad quieter, all in all they’re good motors.
I have a 460 Iveco and when it’s pulling an empty tanker it’s ok but stick it full of gas it’s a gutless thing. Always trying to keep it rolling at a roundabout.
With supermarket work you’re not much more than 28 to 30 most of the time unless you’ve got a decker and then we’ll see how they really perform but I’ve not had a decker with them yet.
We have a high cab Merc with seats in the back for training bods from the warehouse to be licence holders.
I have dubbed it the sunshine bus, one of the resident comedians got another driver to drive down the yard while he sat in the back licking the window.
We had a Axxor converted to gas a few years back at great cost it never saw any gas as they couldn’t find a suitable place to site the tank, then one of the club wrote it off and that was the end of that, the depot at Daventry has some Volvo’s on gas early days yet I seem to remember problems with the valves on earlier efforts.