The new 15-tonne gvw, 4x2 rigid has replaced a 7.5-tonne truck, and is powered by Volvo's new six-cylinder D8K250 7.7-litre engine rated at 250bhp and delivering 950Nm of torque from 900—1,700 rpm. Volvo's manual nine-speed gearbox completes the drivetrain.
This truck has also been equipped with a Fassi F85B.1 (8 tonne metre lifting capacity and 16.5 metre outreach) knuckle boom crane, mounted on the rear of the double dropside, platform body, which was built by SW Commercials of Redruth, Cornwall.
According to Hitchens of Exeter's Mike Thomas, the new Volvo FL will be making deliveries throughout Devon and Cornwall to builders, landscape gardeners and the public.
Annual mileage forecast to be around 60,000 to 70,000 km, and the truck is being maintained on an R&M contract by Stuarts Truck and Bus from its nearby dealerpoint at Clyst St. Mary.
