Rod Chapman•28 Sept 2016

REVIEW

Iveco Eurocargo race transporter Review

Name: Iveco Eurocargo race transporter Review
Brand: Iveco

Some clever thinking turned this medium-duty Iveco Eurocargo into a compact but comfy interstate race transporter

For a rig that has to criss-cross Australia, the Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team's motocross and supercross race transporter is a great example of thinking outside the box.

Most race transporters use a heavy-duty prime mover coupled to a full-size trailer, but not here. Instead, Honda turned to Iveco's medium-duty Eurocargo to get the job done, with Melbourne's Panton Hill Welding Service customising the truck and constructing its trailer.

The end result is akin to a fifth-wheeler or gooseneck, but the team describes it as a semi-trailer to anyone charged with organising the layout of the paddock at a round of the Australian Motocross or Supercross Championships. At just under 19 metres long, it's only centimetres shy of the legal limit for a prime mover and single trailer anyway.

COMPACT AND AGILE

The benefits of the Eurocargo are multiple. The fuel bill is kept in check compared to its heavy-duty sibling – the Honda Racing Team also runs an Iveco Powerstar with single trailer for its road bike squad – while the relatively diminutive cab-over is highly manoeuvrable.

I found that out after recently driving the rig from Melbourne to the opening round of the Australian Supercross Championship in Jimboomba, Queensland. In the crowded pit compound I had to thread the outfit through a tight 90-degree turn, with portaloos on one side and another team's pit tent on the other. The Eurocargo got through with millimetres to spare – a larger combination wouldn't have had a hope, although I did have to watch the tight cut-in (a product of the turntable being so far back at the rear of the truck).

Over 1650 kilometres I acquainted myself with the Eurocargo's strengths and weaknesses, driving it on open highways and in tight industrial estates, through the day and at night, in the dry and in persistent rain.

The drive begins at 7.00am from the Honda team's base in Melbourne. Acclimatising to a new vehicle can be a fraught affair, but the Eurocargo's healthy turning circle, low-down torque and automated manual transmission make the job far easier, and we're barreling up the Hume in no time.

Jumping in and out is painless. There are two footsteps and two grabrails, although the steps are quite forward due to the wheel arch. The doors open to 90 degrees and the ISRI seat is comfortable, with plenty of adjustment.

It's certainly a big improvement on the passenger seat with which Daryl Fenn – the team's technician – must contend. His seat offers one degree of adjustment: stuff all. It seems an odd spec given the truck's passenger-oriented, dual-cab format.

BEHIND THE WHEEL

Life from behind the wheel, however, is good. It's easy finding a suitable driving position and most controls are only a short stretch away. I wasn't a fan of the position of the cruise control button – you have to reach under the steering wheel to find it on top of the right-hand stalk.

There's also no dead pedal for your left foot, which irritates (but isn't uncommon) in a two-pedal truck.

Cab storage is decent. The door side pockets have bottle holders and there are twin overhead compartments, a dash-top tray, and of course all the room in the back.

We folded down the front centre seat but the moulding on the seat back could be better; the cup holders are a bit too small and the flat work surface should be recessed so things don't fly off it when underway.

The Iveco radio's reception was pretty patchy – thankfully there's also a CD player – and there's no multimedia/touchscreen display, as is increasingly the norm in modern trucks.

The instrumentation is clear and easy to read, however, with an analogue speedo, fuel gauge, engine temperature gauge and tacho flanking a large central LCD display. Buttons on the dash allow you to drill down through a couple of layers of information including fuel economy, among others.

This particular Eurocargo, a 2014 model, had completed just over 20,000km at the time of this test, and the computer was reading a very healthy average of 3.5km/lt (or 28.6L/100km) – there aren't many race transporters that can beat that!

THE ENGINE ROOM

The six-speed Allison 3000 Series transmission is so easy to use. It can be used in full auto mode or as a manual, while holding down 'D' for a moment selects 'Performance' mode and raises the transmission's shift points.

Hand in hand with the Allison AMT comes stability control and traction control – that's a big tick right there…

The Eurocargo's Tector 5.9-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel is a willing performer, boasting 251hp at 2500rpm and 850Nm between 1250rpm and 2100rpm.

It does a great job on the flat and in rolling countryside, but with its travelling weight of 16.7 tonnes – close to its maximum 18-tonne GCM – it was having a tough time of it on longer, steeper inclines.

Through NSW's Southern Highlands and along the Newcastle Freeway around Mount White, maintaining momentum was crucial. Even then, and after dropping back a cog via the accelerator's 'kick-down' detent, the speedo would drop back to 60 or even 50km/h on some of the steeper bits, while the bigger prime movers charged past.

There has to be a downside to that healthy fuel economy and this is it, but to my mind a more sedate pace in steep going is a small price to pay for frugal running costs, and especially in a rig that performs perfectly well over lesser gradients.

At 100km/h in fifth the Eurocargo ticks along at 1800rpm. Gearing down to keep it on the boil regularly saw the tacho hovering around 3000rpm, although it never nudged the indicated redline at 3500rpm (or not that I noticed!).

CREATURE COMFORTS

With the hours in the work diary mounting we called it quits at Bulahdelah, NSW. After 12 hours behind the wheel I wasn't bursting with energy but I wasn't shot either, which is largely down that comfy ISRI seat, the Allison transmission and the modest wind, road and engine noise.

Still, after a burger with the lot I was ready for bed – in the trailer, of course. Step through the mid nearside door and you're in a gleaming L-shaped kitchen with all the mod-cons.

Over the pin, the sleeping quarters have four berths in a twin bunk arrangement. They're roomy and comfortable – I slept soundly until sunrise, when it was time to get back on the road.

The transporter really is a classy bit of gear. Aft of the kitchen is a full-size shower which, like the sink, is hooked up to a giant 1500-litre freshwater tank (there's also a 500-litre greywater tank). This also means the bikes can be hosed down with the pressure washer at the round's end.

Up back you'll find the race bikes and the team's tools and associated gear. Up to eight dirt bikes can be accommodated but, with rider Dylan Long sidelined through injury, we were only carrying the two bikes of teammate Jay Wilson.

We'd opted for the coast over the inland route because of the chopped-up nature of the northern Newell. It was a smooth run up the Pacific Highway, made all the easier by the Eurocargo's rear airbag suspension. Working in conjunction with a set of front parabolic springs with shocks, a cab suspended by helical springs with dampers, and the IRSI seat, I had no complaints about the truck's road manners – it's a smooth drive.

The service brakes are entirely adequate, with ventilated discs front and rear running off an air circuit and backed by ABS. The exhaust brake is a multi-stage affair, with the exhaust brake alone complemented by an exhaust brake with engine brake. Using the service brakes, exhaust brake and engine brake together, even the fully loaded Eurocargo could be hauled down from speed with confidence.

Anything else? The truck's low beam is average but its high beam is excellent. The standard horn is pitiful – no air horn is hooked up – but the mirrors are superb. We never engaged the diff lock but it's good to know it's there.

There's no Bluetooth for hands-free communication and there's no USB port for charging. There is, thankfully, a standard 12V outlet near the park brake.

The remainder of the drive passed quickly. With the sun overhead and the traffic fairly light, we pushed on over the border to Nerang and then turned northwest, tracking through the hills of the Gold Coast hinterland to the township of Jimboomba. Job done.

THE VERDICT

The Honda Racing Team and Panton Hill Welding Service have come up with a neat solution here. The Iveco Eurocargo lacks the grunt of its line-haul siblings but it's not a line-haul truck – it's a distribution truck that's been modified for a specialised, often interstate application.

To that end it does a great job, hauling the team all over the country in reasonable comfort and with modest running costs, and all in a 3.0-metre-high rig that can go places larger transporters fear to tread.

Team owner Paul Free is fastidious about Honda Racing's image so as soon as the truck returned to base it was back to Panton Hill Welding Service for some modifications. As this story goes to press, the nose of the trailer is being extended with some additional storage space, while the storage box behind the truck's cab is being modified to flow seamlessly into the top edge of the trailer. Check out the attached pic to see how the transporter will end up.

As for the racing, Honda's Jay Wilson finished ninth overall at Jimboomba, in what was his 450cc class Supercross debut. As I write this, he's already focussed on round two, to be held back in Queensland at Toowoomba on October 14.

You can't predict race results, but when the Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team once again heads north it can be sure of two things: its team members will be well looked after at the track by this stylish and functional race transporter, and the team's driver will be well looked after on the open road by Iveco's capable and competent Eurocargo.

2014 IVECO EUROCARGO DUAL-CAB SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE: 'Tector' 5.9-litre in-line six-cylinder turbo-diesel

POWER: 185kW (251hp) at 2500rpm

TORQUE: 850Nm at 1250-2100rpm

EMISSIONS: ADR 80/03

TRANSMISSION: Allison S3000 Series five-speed automatic

CONFIGURATION: 4x2

FRONT SUSPENSION: Parabolic springs with shocks

REAR SUSPENSION: Airbags with shocks

FRONT AXLES: Iveco 5860

REAR AXLES: Meritor MS10-144

GCM: 18,000kg