The story behind the new low entry cab from Volvo
Over the years, several major truck manufacturers have tried to produce a ‘municipal’ chassis for refuse collection operations. At one time, this involved an extra heavy duty chassis, larger diameter clutch and a low ratio gearbox – not to mention axles and springs that would survive life on a rough landfill haul road. But above all, it required a cab to take up to six crew.
Today? The priorities are different. For a start, apart from the developing world markets and more sparsely populated rural areas, fewer refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) have to venture off-highway twice a day to tip these days. Waste transfer sites are now a feature of most urban areas so it’s traffic congestion, the demands of recycling and the costs associated with legal action by staff, injured while working, that are the priorities.
The need for ‘a crew cab’ is also much reduced for the simple reason that a refuse collection crew – which during my early career as ‘a waste collection operative’ was typically the driver and five loaders – is now more likely to be the driver and two loaders, or increasingly, just the driver and one loader in urban areas. And just the driver in rural areas or on automatic side loading systems like the Terberg ‘KTZ system’ featured in the article on page 21.
So does that mean there’s no need for a special chassis and cab configuration for waste and recycling collections? Far from it. In fact, a look at how most developed nations collect waste today will show that the need for a specialist ‘low cab’ chassis (with the engine behind the cab rather than under it) and the right combination of axles, suspension and exhaust system is increasingly necessary.
A growing demand
When the politically motivated trend for ‘privatization’ started to spread from the USA to Europe during the 1980s, many predicted the end of the specialized manufacturers as commercial waste operators ‘made do’ with cheaper-to-buy standard truck chassis. Although some specialist manufacturers sadly went down, there is now a growing demand for special low entry cab options.
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| One of the first Volvo ‘FEC’ low cab 6x2 rear steer chassis for waste collection operations was a UK-spec machine with right-hand steering, but a left-hand steering version will be available shortly. Current use of a flat roof panel will be changed to a higher sleeper cab version to improve headroom inside the cab |
Why? In a word – health and safety legislation (OK, make that four words!). As crews have got fewer in number, so the workload of those remaining has become more stressful. At one time, in many markets, it was forbidden on safety grounds for the driver to get out of the cab while the truck engine and power take-off (PTO) were running. This meant the crew did all the loading. Today, the advent of full air brakes and the almost universal adoption of automatic transmissions with a ‘park’ lock allow the driver to leave the cab with the truck engine running. But smaller crew numbers also means that driver and crew have to enter and exit the cab hundreds of times a day – especially where crews riding on rear steps is forbidden.
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| The cab is an interesting mix of a standard Volvo FE cab with a flat floor and without engine intrusion, so as to make way for up to three crew plus driver |
Unfortunately, even reducing the height of the cab door step is a major problem. On most standard haulage (line-haul) truck chassis, the cab floor level is a compromise of competing factors – of which ground clearance and the need to get cool air into the radiator are just the most obvious. At the same time, lowering the cab is of little practical value on waste collection duties if the low step height it creates continues to be matched to a narrow door step width. Why? Whereas most regular truck drivers climb in and out facing the actual truck cab, the key feature of a low entry cab RCV is that the crew should be able to exit facing outwards without having to duck their heads, or involve any other move that might promote a fall – or a claim for repetitive strain injury compensation.
A good attempt
If that all sounds rather obvious, then I have to tell you it is something that even some of the world’s largest brands have failed to get right. What do I know? Having worked on the design of a low cab RCV way back in 1971, I know enough to spot a good attempt when I see one. And I’ve recently spent the day looking over just such a ‘good attempt’ – the recently introduced Volvo LEC (low entry cab).
If you follow such things, you’ll already know that Volvo’s main Scandinavian rival, Scania, already has a low cab option available. And if you like to weave some ‘history’ into your current job, you’ll probably also know that Volvo has tried to engineer a ‘municipal crew cab’ several times over the years without any major success in sales terms.
It’s not an easy job to do, as in today’s safety conscious (and cost conscious) world, it’s essential that as many ‘standard’ pressed steel panels and other components from mainstream production cabs as possible are used. Unfortunately, any special parts that are needed tend to cost far more in proportion and can, if fitted ‘off-line’, have serious warranty issues should they fail in later life. In contrast to engineering pressures to compromise, it’s always much easier to start with a ‘clean slate’ when it comes to a new ‘concept’ such as a low entry cab. The secret to success is to balance the two. And again, looking at the cab and chassis design of the Volvo LEC, I have to say, ‘the balance’ looks pretty good.
So how has it been done? Obviously a standard Volvo (and shared with Renault) FE cab was the starting point. And equally obviously, like rivals Scania, in order to drop the cab down in height, there has been a corresponding need to mount it further forward – increasing the front overhang. This whole issue of ‘balance’ is central to the success (or failure) of such a project and at the heart of it is the shape of a standard production cab door and frame. Luckily, the shape of the Volvo FE cab door seems to lend itself well to its new configuration and, interestingly, this has been well-matched to the next difficult compromise – how to re-engineer the cab floor while utilizing the standard haulage (line-haul) truck dash panel and instruments.
Mainstream truck cabs don’t need large areas of flat floor, but waste collection trucks do as the loaders have to be able to stand inside the cab to put on (and take off) wet weather gear and still be able to walk out forward-facing in complete safety without slipping. Again, this is the area where some manufacturers keen to win a slice of the market have failed. Indeed, on the first few Volvo LECs completed – like the unit I was able to try at the Warwick HQ of Volvo Truck & Bus UK – the ‘stand-up’ issue wasn’t fully achieved because a basic day cab flat roof design was used. But I understand this issue has now been addressed and a taller cab roof pressing from a sleeper cab will be used in future to give increased headroom. This will also have the advantage of improving the overall look of the vehicle as a higher cab roof will mould into the front of the waste compaction body to produce a more streamlined shape.
Automatically lowered step
That’s the concept then. So how does the LEC look in detail? Inside, the cab floor is quite flat around the kerbside step and the whole design does enable the crew of up to three loaders to enter in one movement and exit facing forwards. Here Volvo’s expertise as a major bus and coach manufacturer comes into play as, when the truck stops by the kerb, the air suspension ‘dumps’ to lower the bottom step height by 110 mm. This brings the first step to within 440 mm of the ground – and much less against a kerb. Is it a gimmick? No, it’s a useful safety feature and it does work.
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Using bus industry proven ‘kneeling’ air suspension, the driver can drop the chassis over 100 mm from normal ride-height to facilitate improved crew ease of entry. It does make a major difference | |
The other ‘odd’ feature of the LEC cab is ... it’s ‘odd’! Or asymmetric to be more precise. The floor on the driver’s side has to contain the pedals (obviously), but at the same time dropping the driver’s eyeline too low is not a good idea as it increases the blind spot in front of the front screen. The LEC uses the same basic door design as that used on the kerbside, but it has a higher lip and exposed step so as to allow for a flat footboard inside. The other ‘odd’ feature is that there is no side window aft of the B-post on the driver’s side, but there is on the kerbside. Again this is a good idea as it gives a storage space for wet weather gear behind the driver’s seat.
Chassis-wise, there are numerous changes to the standard models, but as Volvo is already a major supplier to the waste and recycling sectors, many of these are already listed options. Obviously, the lowered, more forward-mounted LEC cab has involved changes to the front of the chassis, however the engine/transmission position hasn’t changed from the standard FE. This should enable the adoption of diesel electric hybrid drive, ‘Bio-DME’, biofuel engine options and/or the recently announced ‘tri-axle’ rear bogie to be specified without added cost.
If this story doesn’t sound especially high-tech or dramatic well that’s because it isn’t. But perhaps the most amazing part of the whole project is that the LEC did not originate from Volvo Truck & Bus Corporate HQ at Gothenburg in Sweden at all. The initial demand for an alternative low entry cab option came from commercial waste companies in the UK already operating Volvo trucks. But as no such model was listed by Volvo – and the UK no longer has the specialized industry needed to undertake such a conversion to OEM standards – the idea was put on hold.
Meanwhile, Volvo engineers in Gothenburg were unable to sanction a factory design as the actual numbers required – even on a global level – would be too small for a line build option. Again, the story takes an interesting twist. With orders for the LEC concept already promised, Volvo engineers at Volvo in the UK remembered that specialist manufacturer, Estepe (based in Belgium) already had considerable expertise and a proven track record in producing specialized crew cabs for Volvo fire fighter chassis. While the demands were different, the need for a high quality factory-warranted product that was suitable for a long service life was similar. More to the point, smaller specialist manufacturers can often act more quickly and ...
Well, the fairy tale ending to this story is that while, at present, only right-hand drive LEC chassis/cabs have been produced for the UK market, the end product is so ‘right’ it looks like being available in other European and global markets soon. Already, several large multinational waste sector PLCs such as Veolia have placed orders and, of course, the same cab configuration could offer benefits in urban distribution or other applications.
Malcolm Bates is collection and transport correspondent for Waste Management World.
e-mail: wmw@pennwell.com">wmw@pennwell.com
