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LITTLE AND LARGE
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
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Hymix reckons there's room in the mixer market for something a
little bit bigger — like a 10m3 artic!
Brian Weatherley and Kevin
Swallow roll out the barrels.
It's an ill-wind that blows Commercial Motor no good.There we were, all ready to run an 18 vs 26 vs 32-tonne three-truck mixer trial with a helpful West Country operator when it all went pear-shaped. Fortunately, a panic call to leading mixer maker Hymix yielded spectacular results.
Not only could it lend us a brand new 2633B Atego six-wheeler complete with an industry standard 6m3 barrel from its own Mixers fleet (see panel, page 48); we could also compare it against a most unusual rival:a 10m3artic mixer trailer. Further scurrying around produced an Actros 6x2 tractor courtesy of Mercedes to haul the trailer and we were ready for a fascinating head-to-head trial.
As ready-mix concrete companies have increasingly moved up from the humble six-wheeler to the eight-legger, with an 8m' potential payload, we've heard the odd rumbling about artic mixers being the next step forward. Hymix has obviously heard those whispers too and has already built four trailer mixers, with CM's test unit being the first based on a Dennison sliding-bogie chassis. The Dennison concept appears to offer the best of both worlds — huge carrying capacity, but with the flexibility to handle deliveries into tight spots.
Hymix managing director Nick Humpish reckons that with the right tractor up front an 11m' concrete payload is feasible, making an artic mixer an attractive delivery vehicle for large floor pours and pumping work. He explains: "The ideal customer for a mixer trailer is probably either a national fleet, which could move it around to where it's needed the most, or where an operator has complete control of the job and has access to the concrete pump as welI.The sliding bogie is not only good for getting into plants, you can also discharge closer to the concrete pump."
How's the water?
An artic mixer could also deliver large batches of readymix mortar in one hit. Humpish points out.With a 60% share of the UK mixer market, Hymix is obviously dipping its toe in the artic mixer water and was as interested as CM to see how its big barrel performed out on the road. Thanks to Hymix,we ended up with a real David and Goliath battle.The 330hp six-wheeler Atego 2633B 6x4 comes with a conventional 6m' barrel sitting on a subframe huck-bolted to the chassis.A 460hp 6x2 Actros 2546 Megaspace hauls the lOm monster barrel mounted directly onto the Dennison sliding bogie tri-axle chassis.
It's our second taste of the sliding bogie design in as many months, having recently trialled the tipper version against an eightlegger (CM 10 June). For on-road running the bogie slides out to give an 8.02m wheelbase to the kingpin, allowing 44-tonne operations. Pushing it back 1.02m for discharging allows the driver to turn the combination around in a tight corner. As always, you get what you pay for. A standard 6rn' Hymix barrel costs 1.14,750, while the lOrn-' mixer trailer retails at a cool £42,500 (both prices are for a primer finish).
Although a V6-engined 6x2 Megaspace cab Actros is clearly not the kind of tractor you'd use in real life to pull a Hymix mixer trailer, it at least gave us a chance to get a feel for the combination's overall tare weight and driveability.We were also pleased to get our hands on the 2633B Atego six-legger, as up till now we've only ever tried the lower powered 2628B as a mixer.
The more powerful "33" benefits from a slightly bigger 7.2-litre engine, which offers 47hp and 200Nm more torque than the "28". And with the 2633B you get a nine-speed range-change box compared with the 2628B's six-speed-plus-splitter.
The six-wheeler has a conventional engine/ hydraulically driven steel barrel. By contrast, the Hymix mixer trailer is very much a selfcontained unit with a six-pot Iveco donkey engine in a neat soundproofed compartment. This means it can be left on site, freeing up the tractor to get on with other work.
The test
Our plan was simple: drive our mixer duo around the same test route measuring fuel consumption, average speed, productivity and driveability along the way. First, we weighed both trucks with full fuel and water tanks and a driver on board to get a true tare weight. 10' The 2633B tipped the scales at 11,380kg,while the Actros and mixer trailer weighed in at 19,020kg.
To simulate a load of concrete we visited a Lafarge hatching plant close to Hymix's Telford factory, which kindly loaded each barrel with the equivalent volume of sand — 6rn in the rigid and 10m3 in the artic. However, as mixer men know, barrel volume is one thing, load density is another matter. Sand is lighter than concrete so we were down on our gross weights. Our 26-tonne GVW sixwheeler weighed 21.56 tonnes; the 44-tonne GCW artic had a noticeably easier ride, grossing 36.44 tonnes.
Having fuelled up at a station next to junction 4 of the M54, we set out on a 99km circuit including motorway and dualcarriageway running, twisting country roads and a nasty 2kin hill climb. Back at the station we did the usual fuel top-up to calculate our diesel consumption. Given the urban nature of mixer work we kept both contenders to a steady 80km/h (50mph) on the motorway to simulate more dual-carriageway running.
Loading up and manoeuvrability
As our pictures show, the artie mixer takes up a lot more space than your average sixwheeler, especially when loading. With the sliding bogie in the 'in' position, we could use the same chute as a 6x4, but we had to dump all the air from the trailer's air suspension to get it under the hopper roof. Even then it was a tight fit, with the bulge of the barrel being the biggest problem, rather than the height of the mouth.
If you plan to run an artic mixer make sure it's compatible with older hatching plants that were obviously designed for smaller vehicles.
When it comes to turning circles the 2633B is no slouch, with 17.5m wall-to-wall helped by its decent lock angle and well geared steering. But put the tractor on full lock and you can spin the artic mixer round on the proverbial sixpence; especially if the sliding bogie is in. Be warned, however; there are a few things to watch out for.
The distance between the bogie and the fifth wheel is considerably reduced and the view back from the wing mirrors is not great.All you can really see are the wheelarches.The shorter (6,995mm) distance between the rear trailer axle and the kingpin makes the trailer more sensitive when being reversed. As soon as it goes off line it's a case of shunting up and starting again. Our tractor also came with an air management kit behind the cab.which obstructed the view of the trailer.
This certainly isn't a criticism— even the best designers are governed by the laws of physics — but it's something to be aware of because, unless you keep an eye on it, the trailer will soon be somewhere it shouldn't be.
On the road/in the cab It's not hard to see why the 2633B Atego is a popular chassis among the readymix cornpanies.The three-step entry—with a folding bottom step for decent ground clearance — provides easy access into the cab, even if the