So we’ve got a gap in the fleet that would be nicely filled by a 7.5-10 tonner.
We’ve currently got flatbeds at 6.5 ton to 26 tons. Increasingly the 6.5 tonners can’t take a specific load because they’d be overweight, but it’s not cost effective sending a 26 tonner.
Can the esteemed collective here advise on what sort of fuel returns could be expected, as a ballpark figure, for a standard cabbed (no air kit) 7.5 tonner with 20 foot flat body ?
And perhaps a guideline for a similar spec 10 tonner?
cieranc:
So we’ve got a gap in the fleet that would be nicely filled by a 7.5-10 tonner.
We’ve currently got flatbeds at 6.5 ton to 26 tons. Increasingly the 6.5 tonners can’t take a specific load because they’d be overweight, but it’s not cost effective sending a 26 tonner.
Can the esteemed collective here advise on what sort of fuel returns could be expected, as a ballpark figure, for a standard cabbed (no air kit) 7.5 tonner with 20 foot flat body ?
And perhaps a guideline for a similar spec 10 tonner?
I reckon about 15 MPG. Someone will obviously disagree.
My old firm used to keep tight checks on fuel, they used to post up weekly fuel tables and i used to get between 16.1mpg and 17.63mpg which as far as i know is still the record. always loaded too
Was a 11 plate mercedes atego 1018 box, with only the top air deflector.
hope this helps
No brainer for me. Unless the salesman is paying you good money to take a 7.5t away, without doubt go for the 10/12t.
10t vs 7.5t–
Very similar running costs as to make no difference.
Obviously a far better payload for the same tare weight.
With the last set of driving license changes 7.5t drivers are getting rarer.
Agreed with above. Not much point having a 7.5 ton these days unless you specifically need it for o-licence or road limit restrictions. Hardly anybody goes for 7.5t test these days when you can go straight to class 2.
Ben9:
No brainer for me. Unless the salesman is paying you good money to take a 7.5t away, without doubt go for the 10/12t.
10t vs 7.5t–
Very similar running costs as to make no difference.
Obviously a far better payload for the same tare weight.
With the last set of driving license changes 7.5t drivers are getting rarer.
I run 10ton gross MAN with a 180hp engine, see wakefieldsoflongford.co.uk . I demount the bodies so I can have a flat or curtainside on, if I have the flat on and a nice low load, running on a calm day on flat roads I can get 18 mpg but if I have the curtainsider body on, running in to a headwind on the limiter all day this figure can drop to 15 mpg. MPG on any vehicle depends on a lot more than the vehicle itself, the condition of the vehicle, tyre pressure, type of roads you are running on and the most important factor is the manner in which the driver uses the vehicle, a good driver can make at least 1.5 to 2 mpg difference driving the same vehicle on the same run as opposed to a bad driver, harsh accelerating and braking and not anticipating the road ahead can all have a detrimental effect on MPG.As for the 7.5t or 10t argument I would not hesitate in having a 10t gross lorry on the fleet, if your drivers are licensed to drive it then the operating costs of a 10t against a 7.5t are negligible, many of the 10t vehicles about are really only beefed up 7.5t, same engine, running gear etc. but on uprated springs, brakes & tyres. The payload benefits of running such a vehicle far outweigh any marginally extra cost of operating one, they are just a bit harder to find in the 2nd hand market though.
