Your mad man in the real world a scania is best. In my ultimate choice my truck would be v8 scania with I shift and a new actros giga space cab.
kr79:
A lot of scanias have an overdrive top gear to bring the revs down. People complain they are gutless but technically 11th is direct top and 12th is for cruseing on the level on the limiter.
That stems from the days of 111 and early 112 when they revved their nuts off at 60mph. Well the ones I drove did, maybe no-one understood axle ratios 
The daf I have been driving has a stupid final drive ratio. Does 1850rpm at 56 and they wonder why it’s heavy on juice unless you stick to 50mph
A mate of mine has had to replace the stack’s on several Volvo’s due to adblue rotting them out.
Rob K:
Thanks guys, interesting discussion.@ colier
coiler:
Going back to the original question, I run Volvo trucks and jumped straight to Euro5 from Euro3 to get the RPC cert. My 08 and 09 13litre FH480’s are marginally better on economy than the earlier 12litre 460 running on the same work with the same trailers.
I’ve not had any problems with the adblue system, but I have an IBC with an electric pump so the adblue doesn’t get contaminated by using an old oil jug to top it up.
Adblue usage usually is compared as a percentage of the fuel used. I keep accurate weekly records of fuel and adblue usage, and the two previously mentioned trucks use an average of 3.3% adblue to diesel.
I have an 11 plate 13 litre FH460 at Euro 5. This uses more adblue, it’s average since April this year when it went on the road is 4.1%, BUT its’ fuel consumption on the same work with the same trailers is between 8-10% better.My only other experience is with a DAF demo I had for a week, I think it was an XF105 460, this didn’t get quite as good fuel economy but its’ adblue usage was 4.1%.
I generally pay £340-£360 for a 1000L IBC of adblue, dependant upon supplier. Buying the electric pump with meter was expensive to start with (£400), but it means I can accurately monitor usage and keep the adblue contamination free.
Hope this helps.
You mention that you’re mpg is marginally better on your euro 5 FHs than it was on your euro 3 FH 460s, but say that the fuel price was the same on your old euro 3 motors as it is now, surely you would be significantly worse off now profit wise as you’re now having to factor in an extra £350 of adblue every ‘n’ period? 41 litres of adblue per 1000 litres of diesel won’t take long to rack up cost wise, especially if you do a lot of distance work.
Hi Rob,
I still run an 03, 04 and 05 FH460 Euro3, and if I compare their fuel figures to one of the 480 Euro5, in a typical week the euro3 will get 7.5 mpg the euro5 7.9 mpg (on the same work). Typically this is a saving of 18-20 litres of diesel per week @ £1.12 on bulk saves £22. But I’ve got to put 15-20 litres of adblue in @ 36p/litre = £8 tops.
So there is still a slight saving with the adblue trucks over the euro 3’s, and like I said earlier the latest euro 5 is coming in with a fuel daving of 10% over the euro3’s. As adblue is cheaper per litre than diesel the more miles you do in the week the bigger the savings. Plus I save £500 per year on VED, and there is no difference in PM cost between adblue/ pre-adblue trucks,although I should factor in repairs that will probably be needed in future to the adblue system. I assume the exhaust silencer/cat will cost a small fortune to replace compared to the Euro3 silencer, but the EGR system still has some form of cat/particulate filter to maintain?
I haven’t tried a EGR truck so can’t comment if these are better.
Rob K:
So how come some trucks are adblue and others aren’t (of the same age)? Are there any Euro 5 trucks not running adblue? If so surely those would be what everyone buys as they’ll be saving ££££££ on not having to buy adblue.
as it’s been said, scania is offering the 12.7l inline six euro 5 EGR. A friend bought one of the first that rolled out of södertälje. at 250tkm the cylinder sleeves were leaking coolant into the cylinders, at 380tkm the high-pressure fuel pump (they don’t use pump-injectors) seized and at 400tkm the whole engine seized up and that was it for him. fuel consumption was pretty awful as well, a monthly average of 38l/100km (4x2 pulling a curtainsider) the last time I asked.
milodon:
Rob K:
So how come some trucks are adblue and others aren’t (of the same age)? Are there any Euro 5 trucks not running adblue? If so surely those would be what everyone buys as they’ll be saving ££££££ on not having to buy adblue.as it’s been said, scania is offering the 12.7l inline six euro 5 EGR. A friend bought one of the first that rolled out of södertälje. at 250tkm the cylinder sleeves were leaking coolant into the cylinders, at 380tkm the high-pressure fuel pump (they don’t use pump-injectors) seized and at 400tkm the whole engine seized up and that was it for him. fuel consumption was pretty awful as well, a monthly average of 38l/100km (4x2 pulling a curtainsider) the last time I asked.
Euro 6 is going to be both EGR and Adblue combined
Rob K:
Just out of curiosity, how does the introduction of adblue affect the fuel costs between adblue trucks and non-adblue trucks? Typically how much is adblue per litre and what is the typical mpg for it?Also which trucks are adblue and which aren’t?
switch the adblu off and extra cost is zilch. cold tatty 
Just out of curiosity, how does the introduction of adblue affect the fuel costs between adblue trucks and non-adblue trucks? Typically how much is adblue per litre and what is the typical mpg for it?
Also which trucks are adblue and which aren’t?
what do you care your only a ■■■■■■ driver 
I’m getting an FH500 in january, according to friends who have one, the fuel consumption is about 5-6l less per 100km than my R480 euro 4(28-29 vs 34) and they take 0.5-1l per 100km of adblue depending on the load. running empty they use hardly any. in france, which is the cheapest country in europe for adblue, it costs around .75€ per litre
Most truck mags seem to suggest between 3-6% of diesel consumption. All I know is that adBlue is very sensitive, one lad in the quarry needed a totally new adblue system (including all pipe work) because he used a jug that had a tiny trace of oil in it to refill his adblue tank. Cost a couple of grand. Not something I worry about.
Adblue price varies !
£10-£12 for a 10 litre drum if you buy it at m-way services, 70-80ppl if you use a pump when you fill up at a filling station ( if you can find one that works), 210 litre drums cost £100- £120, £300-£400 for a 1000 litre IBC , and I’d assume bulk price delivered into your own tank would be much cheaper
Rob K:
Just out of curiosity, how does the introduction of adblue affect the fuel costs between adblue trucks and non-adblue trucks? Typically how much is adblue per litre and what is the typical mpg for it?Also which trucks are adblue and which aren’t?
I think Rob in the Euro 6 future all lorries will be ad-blue or so I’m told, that will send the price of it through the roof no doubt. I can’t help you on percentages fuel etc as I’ve swerved adblue. Someone I know reckons that what comes out of your exhaust soon will be cleaner than what goes in & sucking your own tailpipe may just result in a nasty headache…
It is a lot more expensive to buy from BMW 
milodon:
I’m getting an FH500 in january, according to friends who have one, the fuel consumption is about 5-6l less per 100km than my R480 euro 4(28-29 vs 34) and they take 0.5-1l per 100km of adblue depending on the load. running empty they use hardly any. in france, which is the cheapest country in europe for adblue, it costs around .75€ per litre
Surely you mean your consumption is 5-6l more ? ? ?
Rob K:
Surely you mean your consumption is 5-6l more ? ? ?
of course and considering the way they drive and the way I drive, I’m sure I can get even more mpg out of the volvo.