A good friend of mine is trading in his Volvo FH 460 for one of the above. He specialises in long distance distribution ( Monday drive 800k’s,Tues. Wed & Thurs. tip 20/25 drops, Thurs. reload, Fri,Sat. drive 800k’s,tip,go home). The truck will be used to pull a 13.6M trailer with a steering axle at the back.
So the choices are:-
Volvo FM Globe. XL with 500HP.
Daf CF Space Cab with 510 HP.
I’ll go with my mate on the test drives, so just looking for a heads up on what to expect from these.
So if there’s anyone one out there with some positive ( or negative) feedback, I’d appreciate it.
We run both (8 Volvo fm 460,09 and 59 plates and 27 Daf 85 cf 460 all 61 plates) I drive a fm and find it a tidy little motor,cant beat the i shift,both have their good and bad points…
Volvo
Plus…excellent gearbox,pull very well (we only run max 40t on 6 axles),very comfy bunk,super night heater
Minus…seem a bit thirsty (against the Daf’s,but they are limited to 52,Volvo’s still at 56)
Daf
Plus…Very good on juice,Best driver’s seat ive used (only on the new one’s…old one’s were nasty),good bunk and thicker curtains
Minus…Gearbox seems to rev very high (up to 2100) before changing up,so bad some drivers are leaving them in manual until theyre cursing which seems a bit pointless having an auto box
But the boss man loves the Daf’s so when our M A N’s go before june 2012 it’s either more Daf’s or the new Merc’s,will be a good deal for someone as were replacing 45 unit’s in one hit
I also go with Ken and 206man re the Premium. Cab access is EXCELLENT on them as they have staggered steps rather than straight up like the Volvo and DAF. You can literally walk into the cab by stepping up them without even needing to grab the hand rail. The Premium is Volvo running gear anyway. If you removed the Renault cab and replaced it with the FM cab it’d be the virtually the same truck. The 460dxi in the Premium is the exact same lump in the FM anyway. Pulls very well as you’d expect and the truck is a dream to drive.
If it’s really got to be between the FM and the DAF though, definitely take the FM. The DAFs with auto box are utter garbage now.
Scarab:
After the FH I think he will miss the storage space in both of those cabs, is there a reason he’s changing down to a smaller cabbed model?
Spending all that time in it Id say stick with the FH!
He’s looking for something lower that’s easier to get in & out of, especially with so many drops.
That would have been my first thought. How about a Volvo FE, Mercedes Econic or a low cab Scania or alternatively enquire about a kneeling front axle.
Defo some food for thought here. the problem Is that none of these come with a big enough engine ( looking for 500 horses min.). Did look at the Scania P cab Highline, but only has max a 420hp engine.
Rob K:
I also go with Ken and 206man re the Premium. Cab access is EXCELLENT on them as they have staggered steps rather than straight up like the Volvo and DAF. You can literally walk into the cab by stepping up them without even needing to grab the hand rail. The Premium is Volvo running gear anyway. If you removed the Renault cab and replaced it with the FM cab it’d be the virtually the same truck. The 460dxi in the Premium is the exact same lump in the FM anyway. Pulls very well as you’d expect and the truck is a dream to drive.
If it’s really got to be between the FM and the DAF though, definitely take the FM. The DAFs with auto box are utter garbage now.
Did suggest the Premium as I’d had one back in 2001. Defo good access, but Renault dont offer It with a 500hp motor…
Scarab:
After the FH I think he will miss the storage space in both of those cabs, is there a reason he’s changing down to a smaller cabbed model?
Spending all that time in it Id say stick with the FH!
He’s looking for something lower that’s easier to get in & out of, especially with so many drops.
That would have been my first thought. How about a Volvo FE, Mercedes Econic or a low cab Scania or alternatively enquire about a kneeling front axle.
Defo some food for thought here. the problem Is that none of these come with a big enough engine ( looking for 500 horses min.). Did look at the Scania P cab Highline, but only has max a 420hp engine.
Am I missing something, but since when did the DAF CF and Volvo FM come with 500hp? I’ve seen a 480 FM once and also a CF 480 once as well, but they’re rare as rocking horse ■■■■. And GT XL for an FM? Since when? Isn’t that kind of pointless even if they do make one? What use is an XL cab on an FM? That’d be the equivalent of an FH with a flat roof, but no flat floor. Crackers.
And what is the specific requirement of minimum 500hp in aid of on “distribution” work? If you’d said STGO work then okay fair enough, but a 460 will also do the job without any fuss or noticeable difference in how they drive plus probably a bit easier on fuel too. Forget the DAF 510 - it’s a gutless ■■■■■■■■■■■■■. A standard FH 420 could whip it’s arse in a head to head race.
For the sake of 40hp I’d still go with the Premium but I get the feeling from your later posts that the to-be-buyer is a badge snob.
Rob K:
I also go with Ken and 206man re the Premium. Cab access is EXCELLENT on them as they have staggered steps rather than straight up like the Volvo and DAF. You can literally walk into the cab by stepping up them without even needing to grab the hand rail. The Premium is Volvo running gear anyway. If you removed the Renault cab and replaced it with the FM cab it’d be the virtually the same truck. The 460dxi in the Premium is the exact same lump in the FM anyway. Pulls very well as you’d expect and the truck is a dream to drive.
If it’s really got to be between the FM and the DAF though, definitely take the FM. The DAFs with auto box are utter garbage now.
Did suggest the Premium as I’d had one back in 2001. Defo good access, but Renault dont offer It with a 500hp motor…
No, no, no, no, no…
You will no doubt be like me - hated the ■■■■■■■ thing, but the 2nd gen version is a completely different animal. Read my thread here if you haven’t already - viewtopic.php?f=2&t=75823. Basically the 1st gen Premium was my WORST truck to drive. The 2nd gen Premium has become my BEST. You need to drive one (460dxi) to see just how good they are. Ignore the badge on the front.
Scarab:
After the FH I think he will miss the storage space in both of those cabs, is there a reason he’s changing down to a smaller cabbed model?
Spending all that time in it Id say stick with the FH!
He’s looking for something lower that’s easier to get in & out of, especially with so many drops.
That would have been my first thought. How about a Volvo FE, Mercedes Econic or a low cab Scania or alternatively enquire about a kneeling front axle.
Defo some food for thought here. the problem Is that none of these come with a big enough engine ( looking for 500 horses min.). Did look at the Scania P cab Highline, but only has max a 420hp engine.
Am I missing something, but since when did the DAF CF and Volvo FM come with 500hp? I’ve seen a 480 FM once and also a CF 480 once as well, but they’re rare as rocking horse [zb]. And GT XL for an FM? Since when? Isn’t that kind of pointless even if they do make one? What use is an XL cab on an FM? That’d be the equivalent of an FH with a flat roof, but no flat floor. Crackers.
And what is the specific requirement of minimum 500hp in aid of on “distribution” work? If you’d said STGO work then okay fair enough, but a 460 will also do the job without any fuss or noticeable difference in how they drive plus probably a bit easier on fuel too. Forget the DAF 510 - it’s a gutless piece of [zb]. A standard FH 420 could whip it’s arse in a head to head race.
For the sake of 40hp I’d still go with the Premium but I get the feeling from your later posts that the to-be-buyer is a badge snob.
you are obviously missing something then Rob, you can get a 510 in a DAF CF, the 480 that you mentioned would be an older model, when they did the revamp in 2006 for the euro4 and euro5 emissions, it changed from 430, 480 and 530 to 410, 460 and 510
Scarab:
After the FH I think he will miss the storage space in both of those cabs, is there a reason he’s changing down to a smaller cabbed model?
Spending all that time in it Id say stick with the FH!
He’s looking for something lower that’s easier to get in & out of, especially with so many drops.
That would have been my first thought. How about a Volvo FE, Mercedes Econic or a low cab Scania or alternatively enquire about a kneeling front axle.
Defo some food for thought here. the problem Is that none of these come with a big enough engine ( looking for 500 horses min.). Did look at the Scania P cab Highline, but only has max a 420hp engine.
Am I missing something, but since when did the DAF CF and Volvo FM come with 500hp? I’ve seen a 480 FM once and also a CF 480 once as well, but they’re rare as rocking horse [zb]. And GT XL for an FM? Since when? Isn’t that kind of pointless even if they do make one? What use is an XL cab on an FM? That’d be the equivalent of an FH with a flat roof, but no flat floor. Crackers.
And what is the specific requirement of minimum 500hp in aid of on “distribution” work? If you’d said STGO work then okay fair enough, but a 460 will also do the job without any fuss or noticeable difference in how they drive plus probably a bit easier on fuel too. Forget the DAF 510 - it’s a gutless piece of [zb]. A standard FH 420 could whip it’s arse in a head to head race.
For the sake of 40hp I’d still go with the Premium but I get the feeling from your later posts that the to-be-buyer is a badge snob.
Good coments Rob.
Hey It’s my mate’s choice. I’ll give you a brief outlook of what he does in relation to the ’ distribution’ work.
He departs Mon. early from the Gent area of Belgium with +/- 25 ton of general freight & drives down to the Baden-Württemberg area of Germany (If you’ve ever driven down the A61 in Germany,then you’ll understand the need for 500 horses ). Starts unloading Tues. morning. Ends up In the Stuttgart area Thurs. afternoon ( after unloading in 20/30 places). Trailer gets loaded Thurs night with 20 ton. Picks up trailer Fri.early and heads up to the Wiesbaden area to pick up another 3/4 ton.Then heads back home via the A3 ( also not a flat road ).Drops trailer of in the yard of his client & goes home. Trailer Is tipped & reloaded over the weekend.
Over here you can get the FM in 500 format aswell as the DAF CF with 510.
Interesting what you say about the Daf 510, Is It so bad??
daf cf is ok but lacks some guts also external storage is poor one small locker on nearside where as volvo you would get at least one big external locker if not two volvo is a better truck all round. Also the volvo should give a better return on selling compare to the daf.
Geoffo:
Hey It’s my mate’s choice. I’ll give you a brief outlook of what he does in relation to the ’ distribution’ work.
He departs Mon. early from the Gent area of Belgium with +/- 25 ton of general freight & drives down to the Baden-Württemberg area of Germany (If you’ve ever driven down the A61 in Germany,then you’ll understand the need for 500 horses ). Starts unloading Tues. morning. Ends up In the Stuttgart area Thurs. afternoon ( after unloading in 20/30 places). Trailer gets loaded Thurs night with 20 ton. Picks up trailer Fri.early and heads up to the Wiesbaden area to pick up another 3/4 ton.Then heads back home via the A3 ( also not a flat road ).Drops trailer of in the yard of his client & goes home. Trailer Is tipped & reloaded over the weekend.
Over here you can get the FM in 500 format aswell as the DAF CF with 510.
Interesting what you say about the Daf 510, Is It so bad??
I’ve not done euro work so haven’t got a clue about it, but the road designation suggests to me that it’s a major trunk route so I still don’t understand why it can’t be tackled with a 460 for example. Any euro drivers know this A61 road in Germany that Geoff speaks of? Is it really ‘untackleable’ with anything less than a whopping 500hp?
Thanks to everyone for their coments on this matter ( keep them comming).
Heard 10mins ago from my mate that he has a demo Daf CF 510 as of Monday (31/10/11) for a week, although It’s a short week due to the bank holiday ( In Europe) on Tuesday…So I’ll have chance on Monday to take a look at It…
). Starts unloading Tues. morning. Ends up In the Stuttgart area Thurs. afternoon ( after unloading in 20/30 places). Trailer gets loaded Thurs night with 20 ton. Picks up trailer Fri.early and heads up to the Wiesbaden area to pick up another 3/4 ton.Then heads back home via the A3 ( also not a flat road 
).Drops trailer of in the yard of his client & goes home. Trailer Is tipped & reloaded over the weekend.
