Little and large

Time to dig out the thermals for a test of big Scania rigs in Norway and the opportunity to try the new 540 13-litre engine, a straight-six alternative to the mighty V8

- Bob Beech

We recently gratefully accepted an invitation to Norway to drive some of Scania’s large drawbar outfits and multi-trailer artic combinations, along with the new 540hp 13-litre engine that now gives buyers looking for 500hp plus the choice of a six-cylinder engine instead of the V8.

It was also a chance to see how Norwegian operators cope with their tough winters running outfits at up to 60 tonnes gross in such a mountainous country. Despite this, the 6x2 tag axle is considered quite adequate for most artic or drawbar combinations even at full weight; 6x4 configurations are used but, even so, many have a subtly different specification to the trucks commonly seen over here in the UK.

High Weights

Longer, heavier outfits have been used throughout Scandinavia for years. In the ‘70s, when UK operators were trundling around at 32 tons with 180-200hp, the more powerful Scania 110/140 and Volvo F88/F89 models had, depending on application, design weights of between 48 and 70 tonnes, such high weights on the chassis plates being normal operating weights in their home markets.

In recent years operators have been able to run much longer/heavier outfits, often with multiple trailers, thereby increasing productivity and reducing emissions. We seem to be missing the point here in the UK, with the slightly terrifying prospect of vehicle platooning on our busy roads – the same number of trucks moving the same quantity of freight but with more risk!

Another reason for using bigger vehicles is that drivers in Norway, a big country with a relatively small population, are in short supply. The cost of living is very high and wages have to reflect this or operators cannot get drivers.