DAF CF75 8x4: Review

Name: DAF CF75 8x4: Review
Brand: DAF

North Queensland based Cardross Mining, cites safety along with performance, handling and ride quality as some of the reasons behind specifying the new DAF FAD-CF75 for blasting applications

Brown and Hurley’s James Meakin is responsible for DAF sales throughout Far North Queensland and sometime ago he commissioned a new FAD-CF75 8x4 with a sophisticated emulsion mixing and delivery system to Cardross Mining. Recently, he scheduled a customer visit to see how the truck was performing in the mining environment and asked if we’d like to join him to see it in operation.

“You’ll have to fill out a few forms and do the mine site induction,” James added.

“Not a problem,” I replied.

Later that week it was still dark in the small hours of the morning and the streets of Townsville were all but deserted and James and I sipped fresh piping hot coffee from our travel mugs as we headed south out of town.

The new Mt Carlton Mine owned by Evolution Mining is located 150 kilometres south of Townsville.

When completed, early next year, the processing plant will have a throughput of 800,000 tonnes per annum. The forecast life of the mine is 12 years, but some speculate it could be even longer. Cardross Mining is a leading drilling and blasting specialist firm that has expanded and diversified into a large scale and highly regarded contracting company.

Their contract at Mt Carlton is now in full production drilling holes from 102mm to 127mm diameters on 10-metre benches. Along with the acquisition of the new DAF FAD-CF75 they have also added two new DPi 1500 Drill Rigs and one L8 RC Drill Rig. They have on-site explosive storage and a new drill-bit sharpening facility. "Basically, the primary role of their DAF is to transport, mix and deliver the explosive emulsion that is used in the blasting process on site." James said.

James explained that Cardross Mining was very specific about the requirements of their new truck, which necessitated a number of DAF’s inbuilt safety features.

"One of the biggest advantages for customers in these applications with our DAF truck is what we call our body builder kit," James explained. "Essentially it is a series of connectors in the wiring harness that are built into the truck right at the factory. That allows body builders to integrate their equipment from a PTO pump through to lighting, all into the DAF’s electrical system."

"From here we can then program various functions such as the engine revs that are required for the PTO operation. We can also incorporate safety features for instance, door-open or park-brake warning alerts. Our DAF bodybuilder kit along with the clean chassis rails really makes life easy for bodybuilders.

"In fact, Neville McHattan, from Explosive Mechanical Engineering Australia (EMEA) who built the body on the Cardross DAF was so impressed with the DAF product and how simple it was to integrate his system into it, he has now specified the DAF FAD-CF75 as his preferred truck for his bodies. If you purchase a new turn-key rig from him now it will be on a DAF chassis," James said.

Powering the Cardross DAF FAD CF75 is the new 9.2-litre Paccar PR 265 engine. This engine produces 265kW (360hp) at 2200rpm and punches out 1450Nm (1070lb/ft) between 1100 to 1700rpm. A foot-operated exhaust brake comes as standard equipment, offering 170kW braking power at 2800rpm, while 130kW is already available at 2400rpm. It’s connected to a 12AS1930 ZF 12 speed, automated manual, ZF AS-Tronic transmission.

The rear axles are Meritor MT21-144, rated at 18,100kg with a ratio of 3.91:1 and include lockable inter axle, and axle differentials. All mounted on an Airglide-400 eight-bag air suspension with aluminum pedestals, shock absorbers and stabiliser bars.

James told us that the PACCAR PR engines owe their reliability to, amongst other things, the integration of the low-pressure fuel lines in the unit pump housing, a five-layer steel cylinder-head gasket to cope with very high peak pressures and foam wiring on the engine block to reduce vibration and load on the connectors.

Meanwhile, according to the engine specs, the reinforced crankshaft and large main bearings reduce the engine stress and contribute to the design life of 800,000km before any major overhaul on key components is required. Other inbuilt safety features of the DAF, which make it an attractive vehicle for mining operations, include, EBS (Electronic Braking System incorporating ABS) along with ASR (Acceleration Slip Control). Maintenance is simplified with dual-circuit air-operated drum brakes on the rear axles with automatic slack adjusters while the front axle utilises air operated disc brakes with wear indicator on instrument panel.

The completely flat-topped chassis frame, as previously mentioned, makes the DAF the preferred choice with body builders. The main frame, 310 x 75 x 6 mm, and cross members are riveted and bolted construction with inner reinforcement on longer chassis lengths. The standard 430-litre aluminum fuel tank is complemented with a 40-litre AdBlue tank and traditionally provides enough fuel for at least one shift, however James is quick to add that additional fuel tanks can be fitted if required.

The interior of the DAF Cabin is well appointed with high quality trim and upholstery in natural camel-grey colour. The cab floor cover includes an easy to clean top layer in camel-grey. The cockpit style dashboard has a black finish and includes a DIP (driver information panel) and AdBlue indicator, along with an adjustable luxury air-suspended driver seat and fixed co-driver seat with head restraint.

There are ample storage facilities, including two cup holders, and containers behind the seat and overhead compartments. The four spoke, soft grip steering wheel boasts integrated control switches and includes electric window openers, cruise control and road speed limiter.

Arriving early at Mt Carlton had worked a treat, as we got straight through the formalities associated with getting onto a mine-site. After a few introductions we were up in the Cardross DAF running fully loaded with a load of emulsion. The engine felt lively and responsive, as if it was well within its capabilities.

The smart fuel injection technology provides smooth acceleration and response levels. Fuel economy wise, unless there’s a radical design change in future years, a rigid truck of any type will probably never set any diesel consumption records, however we’d measured a similar specced tipper few weeks before and it did deliver some respectable figures which averaged out at 23.45litre/100 (10.03mpg) over the three different sectors. Not a bad effort considering the altitude variations and the amount of wet surface conditions on the day.

DAF’s ASTronic automated gear change system has matured well over the last few years and nowadays it’s just as capable as anything else on the market. The 12-speeds in this model were well spaced and complemented by a neatly mapped control program. Gear changes were always slick besides being well timed and my occasional manual interventions, usually nudging the 'box up to 12th a bit early, were in fact only about half a second in front of the CF’s intended actions.

While there’s no arguing that these automated change systems will never ‘see’ the road ahead like we do, after spending a day with DAF’s ASTronic system you begin to wonder how on earth it can be improved.

If you’ll pardon the pun, I’ll borrow James’ quote to sum up our visit to Mt Carlton: "The DAF CF75 offers a lot of bang for your buck".

Specifications:

Make: DAF

Model: Fad CF75 8x4 Rigid

Engine: ACCAR PR 9.2 litres

Horsepower: 360hp (265kw) at 1600rpm

Torque: 1070 lb/ft (1450Nm) at 1100rpm

Gearbox: 12-Speed ZF AS-Tronic transmission

Front Axle: DAF 152N

Front Suspension: Parabolic leaf 6.6T

Rear Axles: Meritor MT21-144 with diff locks to both axles.

Rear Axle Ratio: 3.91