Not as exciting as the big rigs, I know but I’m thinking of buying a 2001 FL7 6 wheeler tipper to last me for a year or maybe 18 months. Should be 290 theoretical horses.
Main reservation is that the engine (turbo 7,2litre) seems, on paper, to be struggling at this weight, which could hit the fuel consumption and give slow journey times however I thought I would keep an open mind and ask the people who have some experience of them (You !)
Any thoughts ■■? 
hi loggo i drive an fl which is a four wheeler with a tag axle and is rated at 23 tons it has a 250hp motor in it, a 7 litre i believe
it is a little slow but on the whole doesn’t do too bad on the speed front however it does only manage between 7 and 8 mpg on a run. and if i’m down a lot of lanes and b roads which is the norm for my type of work it will only see about 5 to 7 mpg
Theres an FM7 - 290 that parks in our yard, its a bit slow on the hills but he does the same work as the lads with 400 Cats and 350 ■■■■■■■ in their 6 wheelers. Its a proven engine thats been around years… my old fella had a F7 8 wheeler @ 30.5 tonnes and that was the 220 BHP version, and again it did the same work as the lads who had Fodens with 300 Rolls and 300 Cats (back in 1987).
the firm i work for has a94 L reg and a95M reg both have been operated from new & have around one million ks under there belt . Neither has had an engine problem and the L reg is still on the original clutch & gearbox we grease & check levels at 4 weeks &change the oil at 300000 kms .
They have not had an easy life as they are bulk blowers so the engine is running to discharge the load & farm roads can be very rough they also pull better than our later fm7s . You will not go far wrong with a volvo good luck!
Thanks to the three of you - just what I was looking for.
Anyone else got any input please (Wales is winning 2 - 1 at the moment) !
I’m sure those 290 horses are enough for three axle tipper. Here in Finland it isn’t anything really odd to see two axle FM7/9 to pull three axle A-frame trailer. It’s not usual setup, but not very rare either at least in southern Finland, where this kind of combination are used in doing multidrop deliveries so both are equipped with box bodies. That makes just their dead weight to be relatively near of 20t, and not even counting “resistance” of A-frame which is notably “heavier” to pull than semi-trailer.
I also knew one similar FM7 with 290hp engine which was used on regular route to do collections. When full, combination weighed something between 37 to 42 tonnes. I never heard any single complaint about engine being underpowered from neither it’s owner nor regular driver. Surely it requires more changing gears than 420 horses would need, but it did the job with about 10 liter per 100 km less fuel than FH12 I was using to pull in same work and same weigh loads. Well, that’s not exactly fair comparison as FM7 was working on much easier terrain and I had one more axle, but that shows even “underpowered” engine can get good fuel figures if it’s chosen appropriately for the work it’s doing.
Kyrbo:
I’m sure those 290 horses are enough for three axle tipper. Here in Finland it isn’t anything really odd to see two axle FM7/9 to pull three axle A-frame trailer. It’s not usual setup, but not very rare either at least in southern Finland, where this kind of combination are used in doing multidrop deliveries so both are equipped with box bodies. That makes just their dead weight to be relatively near of 20t, and not even counting “resistance” of A-frame which is notably “heavier” to pull than semi-trailer.I also knew one similar FM7 with 290hp engine which was used on regular route to do collections. When full, combination weighed something between 37 to 42 tonnes. I never heard any single complaint about engine being underpowered from neither it’s owner nor regular driver. Surely it requires more changing gears than 420 horses would need, but it did the job with about 10 liter per 100 km less fuel than FH12 I was using to pull in same work and same weigh loads. Well, that’s not exactly fair comparison as FM7 was working on much easier terrain and I had one more axle, but that shows even “underpowered” engine can get good fuel figures if it’s chosen appropriately for the work it’s doing.
I used to pull 38t with a 290 ■■■■■■■■ 26should be a piece of Pee
Thanks for the input guys - I’m reassured. Now to talk about price !
I have recently departed the hot seat of an 8 wheeler Scania 310 running at 32t. OK it was a bit sluggish when fully freighted but not too bad, it didn’t seem a lot worse when I dragged a load of railway lines out of Earls Court and to my horror weighed off at 37500kg.
Although on reflection it did go well downhill.