Scanias fold down steps seemed like a good idea to me at the time (less drag=more mpg), but not many people seem to spec them anymore, were they not the most reliable of concepts?.
I don’t think you can get them on the R series.
NB12:
Scanias fold down steps seemed like a good idea to me at the time (less drag=more mpg), but not many people seem to spec them anymore, were they not the most reliable of concepts?.
they were a pain in ■■■ n kept breaking
A pain in the ■■■ because they kept breaking?, if so 4 series came out in 96 you would think they would know the common faults and have them sorted by now. Im sure i have seen them on some R series. I always thought they looked pretty sleek.
Were very expensive to fix, I knew an owner driver who had a 96 144, and his step was always down cos he said it would be around £500 to fix
NB12:
A pain in the ■■■ because they kept breaking?, if so 4 series came out in 96 you would think they would know the common faults and have them sorted by now. Im sure i have seen them on some R series. I always thought they looked pretty sleek.
they maybe look sleek but they were prone to breaking and as someome else said they were expensive to fix, hence the reason why most people have the fixed version you see now and not the fold up one
You can get them on a r series but as pointed out expensive to fix etc.
Well yeah but surely rather than give up on the concept due to a poor design of some part Scania should be rectifying the common faults. After all we are in the “save the polar bears” era and if the idea does indeed reduce drag then really they should be trying to promote it along with the rubber air kit extensions. And if the customers have lost confidance in it then give extended warranty cover on the new design.
It was a good idea but poor in terms of mechanical design, I agree that it would be good if Scania could iron out the teeething faults but in today’s cut-throat business world I doubt they will.
NB12:
Well yeah but surely rather than give up on the concept due to a poor design of some part Scania should be rectifying the common faults. After all we are in the “save the polar bears” era and if the idea does indeed reduce drag then really they should be trying to promote it along with the rubber air kit extensions. And if the customers have lost confidance in it then give extended warranty cover on the new design.
it wasnt poor design though that was the problem, the problem was the there was too many moving parts involved and the wear and tare of everyday use wore out the moving parts causing the fold up step to be left in step postion making it prone to be ripped off if the driver was in a tight place causing evenmore damage to the trim, the problem was/is that scania see it as a ware and tare issue and not a warrenty issue
I thought the problem was that people were scared that they wouldn’t open when required.Stepping out of the cab and finding the steps not there ,would I imagine,be quite alarming.Stick with something simple that works.
Deathstar:
I thought the problem was that people were scared that they wouldn’t open when required.Stepping out of the cab and finding the steps not there ,would I imagine,be quite alarming.Stick with something simple that works.
they sometimes didnt open making it akward to say the least lol
the biggest problem with the design was when they parked you close to the walls on the ferry you could only open the door half way and you had no steps at all,the door had to be more than half open before the steps started to fold down
Mine has the fold down step. Door half open before step folds down? Nope! My 7 stone boy couldn’t slip out of the door before the step is down and besides that, they’re adjustable.
Expensive? Who knows!!! The only thing i’ve known to fail is the gas ram (about 25quid)
The only downside is they make opening and closing the door heavy. and they are prone to corrosion, must keep lubed.
The only other grumble would be is there is nothing to stand on when you want to clean the windows.
MR VAIN:
nothing to stand on when you want to clean the windows.
Thats because you are doing it wrong, When door is open, stand on bottom step and force door shut, bottom step will stay open…then you can clean window!
Mine work fine, just noisy when opening thats all.
Koop:
MR VAIN:
nothing to stand on when you want to clean the windows.Thats because you are doing it wrong, When door is open, stand on bottom step and force door shut, bottom step will stay open…then you can clean window!
Mine work fine, just noisy when opening thats all.
I had one of the first 4 series Toplines & made that same observation, after a trip to Scania to get the broken step on the driver’s side fixed, the fitter showed me that little trick, I must admit I felt like punching him when he did it, I’d been without a step for a couple of weeks & it was a PITA getting in & out, here I was with a freshly repaired step & this greasy oik had broken it again, but that’s how they’re supposed to work & I used it regularly after that without hurting anything.
Talking about folding parts on Scanias I also had a later model 144, it had the modified front grille that had the little flap that pulled down at the top so you could get to the coolant cap without lifting the whole grille, well I had some hoses replaced on mine & when I went to pick it up the bloke was replacing the coolant, he had the whole front grille lifted & was using a 1/2 litre coke bottle to put the coolant in, he was moaning that it was ridiculous that Scania didn’t think of this when they changed the grille, it took him forever, there were a few of us sitting there drinking tea & watching him keep topping this little bottle up & pouring it in the coolant tank, after he had finished I started the motor to pump it around the system & got out to recheck the levels, when I pulled the flap down to get to the cap the look on his face was priceless 
WTF? he shouted, “I bet you [zb] all knew that you could do that all along” “Yep” we replied, he then spent the rest of the morning shaking his head & muttering under his breath
I also think it was a good idea that also looked good, but there were few problems with them. Nothing major though, but when compared to ordinary steps that simply don’t show those problems, then people felt ■■■■■■ off.
One of the problems was/is freezing - wet shoes, rain, sleet or whatever, few kms of driving to mountains where temp is below 0 is your step is locked closed frozen
newmercman:
it had the modified front grille that had the little flap that pulled down at the top so you could get to the coolant cap without lifting the whole grille
You mean the smaller grey coloured bit at top of grill, with name “SCANIA” on? Thats not a mod, mine does that too…its for…like you say, topping up water and changing wipers and so on.
Koop:
newmercman:
it had the modified front grille that had the little flap that pulled down at the top so you could get to the coolant cap without lifting the whole grilleYou mean the smaller grey coloured bit at top of grill, with name “SCANIA” on? Thats not a mod, mine does that too…its for…like you say, topping up water and changing wipers and so on.
Yeah that’s the bit I mean, they came out when they modified the range a couple of years in, the original ones had a one piece grille that had a hole cut out for the coolant filler cap, or that bit didn’t move as it was hinged just below that, I don’t remember which, it was a while ago.
MR VAIN:
Mine has the fold down step. Door half open before step folds down? Nope! My 7 stone boy couldn’t slip out of the door before the step is down and besides that, they’re adjustable.Expensive? Who knows!!! The only thing i’ve known to fail is the gas ram (about 25quid)
The only downside is they make opening and closing the door heavy. and they are prone to corrosion, must keep lubed.
The only other grumble would be is there is nothing to stand on when you want to clean the windows.
Another tip mr V, i replaced the plastic bushes in the bottom step, about 10p each, it tightened the whole lot up a treat. 