Road test: Volvo FH16

Name: Road test: Volvo FH16
Brand: Volvo

We take a run with the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls in Volvo's flagship on a hot day in the north

The opportunity to drive a triple road train doesn’t come along very often. The prime movers are generally in service 24/7, with back-breaking schedules to maximise productivity.

So when I was invited to do a real-time commercial return run in the Pilbara with Volvo’s 700hp FH16 I jumped at it.

From a constant bustling urgency a few years ago, the Pilbara has changed. Storage yards for mining and exploration equipment are either empty or gathering red dust. But people still need support, which means accommodation logistics will never stop.

Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls (PHHG) lined me up for a run from Karratha to Onslow and back, carting giant empty waste bins on the way down and bringing full ones back for disposal or recycling.

An early start is a given when the mercury is heading for the stratosphere. Three trailers were rigged up with the bins already chained so we slipped the Volvo under the plate and hooked up. As the air primed the brakes along the trailers we completed a mile of paperwork on loading procedure, fatigue management and a bunch of stuff for entrance to the destination.

All up we weighed in at 37-tonnes tare, but the high, slab sides of the bins promised a lot of trailer movement when the winds gusted across the road.

PHHG owner Heather Jones took the rig out of the yard and around the light industrial area, and the Volvo quietly idled its way to the North-West Highway, where we headed for a fuel stop at the new Coles Express facility.

After topping off, I got settled in for my stint pretty quickly. The seat, steering wheel and mirror adjustments are so easy and accessible, swapping drivers is never a hassle. The pedal for the steering column is placed above the throttle and means one flick of the ankle gets the wheel out of the way for entry/exit.

Previous drives of the FH came to mind, particularly a B-double run through Sydney’s peak-hour traffic. No such traffic problem here, but keeping my eye on the third trailer I took a wide course to get back on the highway.

With relatively little weight, the Volvo’s 3150Nm of torque got us up to an efficient cruise quickly and quietly. At these temperatures, PHHG limits the rigs to 90km/h. Apart from the fuel saving, it extends tyre life when the bitumen gets near boiling point.

HELPFUL TECH

The safety and efficiency systems packages on the FH mean technology is applied constantly to minimise fuel, maximise torque and help a driver keep the rig placed safely on the highway. On the way down ‘E’ mode governed the I-shift transmission without stress.

The adaptive cruise control and the engine brake/retarder is just one part of the system that deserves lengthy induction. It’s perhaps less important on the vast flatness of the north-west, but still needs to be practised for maximum efficiency gain. With full retarder engaged while approaching a corner or turn-off, a flick of the button on the end of the retarder lever kicks the transmission into help mode, and the gearbox takes over to bump up the engine revs, boosting auxiliary braking and minimising service brake usage.

The additional concentration demanded by road train operations is helped by Volvo’s advanced I-shift transmission software. Power mode does just that - keeping the rpms up and engine and transmission interaction as snappy as a 16-litre can get. But Economy mode relies on the Volvo’s smarts to read the conditions through the driver’s foot and hand input, and calculate shifting patterns to fully exploit the engine’s giant torque output, letting the big diesel lug down to as low as 900rpm.

I was happy to leave the system to run the full span of the torque curve, saving fuel to boot. I tried both modes in similar sections of road, and it was clear that selecting ‘E’ didn’t slow us down.

Road train operations demand drivers stay switched on all the time, as a movement of around 15cm on the steer wheels expands to at least a metre by the time it reaches the last axle set. Critical to remember as we passed dozens of triples and quads on the wide but only two-lane highway.

Gusting cross winds made me compensate so frequently I was looking forward to the return leg with a lot more weight on.

The Onslow road is rutted near the edge from constant road train use and there’s a seam about 500mm in that attracts the super singles used on most steer axles up here. To avoid snaking down the road it meant keeping the rig close to the centreline and moving over for oncoming traffic.

TESTING TIMES

About 90kms in, we arrived at the accommodation camp and staging area for one of the biggest gas projects in the world. 7000 construction and maintenance people live on site, with a fleet of over 50 full size coaches to move them between the airport, accommodation and project.

We checked in and were escorted to the holding yard where the 24 sets of chains had to be released and stowed so the fork could get busy. It was 48 degrees on the dirt loading area, so we bumped up the Volvo’s idle speed and left the engine and aircon on as we sweated through the process in heavy long-sleeved hi-vis gear.

Chaining up again soaked up another half an hour with the sun directly overhead and no shade. We got back in the cab with a sense of relief to see the engine temp still sitting plumb in the centre.

Weaving out of the yard and heading for the highway I decided to leave the transmission in ‘E’. The Volvo’s 16-litre churns out its maximum torque over a wide range and even with 95-tonnes all up, it comfortably skipped gears to reach cruise.

With the load on, the rig sat more solidly on the road, but as we reached Fortescue Roadhouse the temperature hit an insane 51 degrees. With a tailwind as well, the truck was operating in the worst possible heat conditions. The gauge moved slightly above halfway and the engine fan was on most of the time. Gearbox temp was up to 103 degrees and when we stopped the reduction hubs sizzled spit.

Despite the stupifying ambient heat, the FH’s 700hp and 3150Nm of torque never flinched.

Volvo’s development of the FH range took many years, involving hundreds of operators and millions of kilometres of testing. And it shows, as everything on board enhances a driver’s skill set.

With all the operating controls on the steering wheel or on stalks, I only had to remove a hand from the wheel for a drink.

After running both configurations extensively, Heather Jones now prefers the cab-over set-up to the conventional for road train work. She said she would order this truck with the bigger sleeper, but apart from that, little else would need changing.

A day in Volvo’s headline act left me cool, comfortable and relaxed, despite the conditions. I could see many drivers of other European trucks, and especially US-styled conventionals, becoming Volvo converts after a trip or two in this rig – but they probably wouldn’t wrap it in pink.

Specifications:

Engine: D16G 16-litre in-line six cylinder

Power: 700hp

Torque: 3150Nm

Emissions: Euro V

Std transmission: Volvo I-shift 12 -speed AMT

Configuration: 6x4

Tare: 9120 to 9170kg

GVM: 28,100kg

GCM: 141,000kg

Wheelbase: 3000 to 3600mm

BBC: 2562mm