"I've got eight F2000 35.403 VFs and I
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can't fault them" Tim Fowles
Tim Fowles Haulage is based at Colnbrook, close to Heathrow Airport, and runs a fleet of 14 MAN 8x4s on demolition and crushed aggregate work. "I've got eight Fz000 35.4o3VFs and I can't fault them," says Tim Fowles. "I like the power of the six-cylinder engine and it's not much more expensive. I have a couple of trucks with the fivecylinder units and they tend to use more fuel when run alongside trucks with the 12.0-litre unit.
"I used to run other makes but I bought my first MAN in 1983," he says. 1 started off with a 240 and have been buying them ever since. We buy new and keep them for about five years. We sell to owner-drivers and always get good money for them.
"The trucks operate in the West London area all of the time so mileage is on the low side. We cover about 7o,000km a year; in heavy traffic conditions for much of the time.
-The front brake pads wear a bit quick," Fowles reports. "They don't last out a year—they could really do with wear indicators.
"We haven't needed to replace a clutch yet, but then they're only just two years old. The ZF box is just about perfect; the drivers like them.
"I can't say we've had any trouble with the springs. They are well-built trucks, but a bit expensive." •