Help needed with new truck

[niftysteve]

mog may get you noticed more too maybe getting more work

[Stephen Blair]

mog may get you noticed more too maybe getting more work

 

Sure does, it is a mobile advert.

[Peter]

 

Also is there any advantage to a 5.5t or 6.2t instead of a 7.5, especially in regard to extending the time between road tests?.

 

 

The only advantage to derating a 7.5 tonner to 6 or 5.5 is one of driver licensing.

 

If you have a pre 97 licence, this will entitle you to drive a 7.5 tonner and tow up to 750kg of trailer, giving a total MAM of 8250kg. If you want to tow a heavier trailer, you can derate the towing vehicle, so if you go down to 5.5 tonnes, you can tow 2750 kg of trailer. Beware though, that derating a 7.5 tonner by 2 tonnes will decrease your legall payload to the point where filling the truck with chip will put you overweight.

 

You would be much better off paying around £800, and getting category C1+E on your licence, then you can tow 3.5 tonne trailers with your 7.5 tonner, provided the vehicle capable of towing that.

 

As for a narrow 7.5 tonner, I would look at the Mercedes 814, not much bigger in footprint than your transit, can carry 4 tonnes legally, and tow a 3.5 tonne trailer. There is one in the classified section of this site, with a chip body and lockers on.

[Buzz]

I'm not going to be as diplomatic as Peter lol Ed has one for sale in the classifieds, it's a very very good example and if your anywhere near him well worth a look.

 

Pick his brains while your there as he has run various trucks for many years.

 

Matt.

[madmatt]

The local large LA contractor here uses Merc 7.5tonners and they are as good a advert as any mog, clean and smart with some nice finnishing touches they get noticed.

 

I'd look at Merc or MAN I say MAN as a mate runs two delivering plant they work harder than any arb truck ever will and he has very little problem with them and can get them in the tightest entrances, A decent driver helps though!

[Mr Ed]

Mog Vs Truck? no comparison. A mog will break you totally financially, a truck will earn you money. Unless you NEED the offroad capability, A mog will just be a liability, and will cost you X4 times what the same spec truck will.

 

I've owned Mogs, and I admire them from a kit junkie's point of view, but I do not think they in any way justify their outlay cost in comparison to more commonly available trucks.

 

The merc in the classifieds is mine. to get a mog of the same spec and capacity would cost you £20k.

The mercedes 814D is one of the very few small chassis 7.5 tonners, most 7.5 tonners are downrated 10 tonners.

 

It will fit anywhere a transit will go, will turn in a tighter circle, will carry 4 tonnes and a 2 tonne chipper at 70mph (quietly) and will reverse up any hill fully loaded without trashing the clutch.

Yes, you will need a different license, but hey, you need a license to operate a chainsaw too.

[b101uk]

If you are looking at 7.5t trucks (and above)

 

Remember that you get road chassis with tippers fitted & tipper chassis with tippers fitted, the latter is better as a tipper because the rear axel is set closer to the back cross member & the chassis are normally shorter, the radiators & sump are set higher up, the suspension is a bit higher on the rear & the front axel is of a flatter design (spring mounts vs. kingpin) which levels the unit out & the front bumper has more clearance as its normally of a different design, which all aid off-road use on tracks or even landfill sites.

 

i.e. some of the Ivico euro cargo (road chassis) things have an absolutely crap ground clearance and can barely get over a house brick without it taking out the radiator/fan/sump/etc

[Mr Ed]

Ive worked on a lot of Iveco's, (owned a few too) and on the 7.5 tonners the only difference is he front bumper and spring heights.

Mercs and Mans are identical.

 

The differences you describe I've only seen on 6x4 and 8x4's.

[Stephen Blair]

I hear what you are saying about the whole mog and cost thing mr ed, i think the main attraction for me is the chipper set up. For one there is the value for money that you get with a pto chipper, and just the time and hassle it saves. I used to have to take the to behind off half a dozen times a day, it was only a six inch and the preping for the chipper was a pain in the arse.

The bigger the chipper, the quicker the emptying and return time the better.

Every vehicle i have ever owned has broken down at some point and they all cost money to fix. But you either love them or hate them.

[b101uk]

Ive worked on a lot of Iveco's, (owned a few too) and on the 7.5 tonners the only difference is he front bumper and spring heights.

Mercs and Mans are identical.

 

The differences you describe I've only seen on 6x4 and 8x4's.

 

Iveco, not quite true unless you are thinking of 7.5t stuff <3 years old, even then you have still missed out the steel radiator guard & standard tyres (9.5R17.5 [tipper] vs. 205/75R17.5 [road]) the diff ratio fitted as standard.

 

yes some Mercs are the same like the D's, but if you look back at the old 814/817 the road chassis gave good ground clearance so most people used the short road chassis rather than the tipper chassis which is what the AK's (all wheel drives) are based on.

 

about the only truck I can think off over the years that didn’t have a tipper chassis was the old MAN 8136 & 8150 with the VW based cab which were prone to sump damage & the steering track-rod being bent