This week we round up Tipper 2005 with the rest
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of the vehicles that joined our group test Artics, 6x4s, drawbars and muckaways — this is
Ili" where the real fun begins, so let's leave the asphalt far behind us... Sure, the lightweight 8x4 is the biggest selling tipper spec around but it doesn't have the rugged specification of the muckaway, the versatility of the three-axle rigid, nor the sheer bulk and presence of an artic.
; 'These three categories are where the fun begin& Mercedes showed up with a 6x4 Actros tractor;Foden entered a 6x4 rigid with triaxle drawbar; and Renault T'rucks put forward a full-blooded muckaway complete with bells, whistles and bunting. _Three-axle tippers seem to have replaced 18-tonn.ers as the most popular 'small' tipper class and it's not hard to see why. Very little extra chassis length offers a lot of additional payload for which the trade off— a tendency to understeer — is deemed worthwhile by many. Operators in certain regions, particularly the narrow rural lanes of the SouthWest, also favour this configuration for the better steering lock and manoeuvrability compared with a four-axle rigid.
At this year's event we compared three very different approaches to this chassis configuration. See if you agree with our conclusion&