UD Quon 8x4 16-pallet Extra Long Wheelbase 2024 Review

UD recently announced the release of an Extra Long Wheelbase Quon that can be used for a variety of applications, not the least of which is as a 16-pallet curtainsider, which is exactly what the first of these 8x4 rigs is.

The first truck was sold to WA company Spudshed, operating out of the company’s O’Connor depot in Perth.

We were invited to go along with the truck’s exclusive driver, Gary, on one of his daily runs to find out all about the truck and, more importantly, what he thinks of it.

The new 16-pallet 8x4 Extra Long Wheelbase product is an extension of UD’s Quon range and offers an 8.0-litre engine paired with an ESCOT-VI 12-speed automatic transmission.

Worked on by both local and UD Japan engineers, this latest truck offers improved productivity and safety and has had its wheelbase extended from 5700mm to 6400mm to enable bigger loads.

The front end is a load-sharing twin-steer setup with parabolic springs and a 13-tonne capacity, while the rear features electronically controlled air suspension with eight bags and a 20,000kg capacity.

The truck has a tare weight of 12,490kg, a GVM of 30,000kg and a GCM of 38,000kg.

The model designation of our particular Quon was a CG 30 360, meaning that the output of the eight-litre engine was 360hp (or 263kW), with 1430Nm of torque at 1200rpm. Quite sufficient for the job at hand.

And that job was delivering groceries to Spudshed Fresh Food stores from the company’s O’Connor depot.

We turned up at 8:00am and driver Gary had already done a couple of runs: “I start early, around 4:45am,” he said. “I’ll do five or six runs for the day. But today I’m knocking off early to give you guys some time in the truck.”

Gary does about 10 hours a day in the truck. “I spend more time in here than I do in my own bed,” he said. “So it’d want to be comfortable.”

These days, fleet buyers are after safety in trucks and UD provides it in spades. All the necessary safety gear comes standard to keep Gary and other road users safe. Features on this truck include disc brakes on all wheels, electronic stability control, Traffic Eye emergency braking, lane departure warning, cruise control, driver alert system, a driver’s airbag and more.

Gary says that he’s all in favour of the safety systems. “I leave them on all the time,” he said. “If the warnings go off, it just means that I’m not driving well enough and have to sharpen up a bit. The only time I’ll turn them off is if there are road works and the lane departure gets a bit confused, then I’ll flick it off and put it back on when the road works are finished.

“I reckon it’s like another set of eyes on the road for me,” he said.

Gary said he also likes the cruise control. “The cruise is great, especially on the long runs like when I go up north. It kinda gives me a little break and I can relax for a minute.”

And speaking of relaxing, he also loves the ESCOT VI automated transmission. “The auto is a beaut,” he said. “It will skip through the gears when it needs to and it always seems to be in the right gear. I used to drive a Roadranger. Not anymore. Especially in the city traffic, you’d be changing hundreds of times a day. This auto is terrific,” he said.

In these days of one truck, one driver, Gary is very protective of his UD. “This is my truck,” he said proudly. “Well, it’s not really mine, but I treat it like it is. I wash it every day and keep it really neat inside. Nobody else drives it. Just me.”

And the truck showed it. It was gleaming when we turned up at the depot and nice and clean inside.

Our load for the run was a full 16 pallets of mixed groceries heading for the Spudshed in Kelmscott. It’s not a long run, just a bit over an hour, then we were to unload and head back to O’Connor with a couple of detours to get some photos.

I was riding shotgun on the way out, but even from the passenger’s seat it was obvious that the truck was doing it easy with the load on board. The ride is quiet and smooth and the eight-bag suspension in the rear was more than coping with the load.

Chatting with Gary on the drive, I asked him what he liked about the UD: “Everything mate,” he said. “This is the truck for me. I just love how it does everything in an unfussed manner – how it drives, how it steers, the engine has plenty of grunt and the gearbox is great. I don’t want anything else.

“I got in this truck just after it arrived here back in February and I’ve loved it ever since I set foot in it.

“In fact, my son, who is the warehouse manager back at O’Connor, wants me to do some semi work in one of the other trucks, but I just want to stay here. In fact, when we get back, can you tell him that I don’t want to do semi work? I want to stay in this truck!”

After an uneventful and chatty drive we arrived at Kelmscott and began to unload. The AllTruck curtainsider body was a beauty with only about three clips to undo before pulling the curtain forward and letting the forks get to the pallets.

In no time we were back on the road and heading for a nice spot to take some photos. After we got the shots, I gently broached the topic of having a drive. Gary gave me a bit of a sideways glance and then reluctantly let me open the driver’s door and climb up.

“I don’t normally give the keys to this truck to anyone,” he said. I felt privileged to back the truck up and head out into the traffic. I dared not adjust the seat or play with the dash settings, as this truck was set up for its driver and I didn’t want to stuff with the way he had it. So I put up with being just a tad too close to the wheel, and got on with it.

Gary was right, the Quon is a nice place to be. It has plenty of vision from the cab, and the wrap-around dash gives a feeling of really being ‘in’ the truck. The steering is precise without slop and the twin-steer setup is very sure-footed.

The 8.0-litre engine is a ripper. It’s grunty, smooth and relatively efficient. Gary said he was getting about 3.2km/litre, which would give a theoretical range of 1280km between refills. That’s around town, too, so it’s pretty economical.

I was using the engine brake for the most part, but it was nice to know that there was a full set of discs on each wheel if I needed to pull up in a hurry.

I’ve driven Quons previously and found them to be solid no-fuss trucks that are user-friendly and just, well, get the job done.

Back at the warehouse, I asked Rob, the manager, what he thought of the Extra Long Wheelbase Quon. “It’s a really versatile truck,” he said. “If we haven’t got a full load, it’s economical enough to send out with 12 pallets or less, and because it’s a rigid, it can get into some of the tight places a bit easier than the semis.

“It was a really good purchase for the business because it just plugs that gap between the smaller rigids and the semis. It’s a great truck for our line of work,” he said.

And yes, I did tell him that Gary didn’t want to drive semis.

Specifications:
Engine model: UD GH8F
Vehicle specification: 8x4 cab-chassis with an AllTruck curtainsider body
Maximum power: 263kW (357hp) at 2200rpm
Maximum torque: 1428Nm (1055lbft) at 1200rpm
Emissions: pPNLT (Euro 6 equivalent)
Transmission: UD ESCOT VI 12-speed AMT
Front suspension: Load-sharing twin-steer design with parabolic springs (13,000kg capacity)
Rear suspension: Electronically controlled air suspension, 8 x bags (20,000kg capacity)
Wheelbase: 6400mm (extended from 5700mm)
GVM: 30,000kg
GCM: 38,000kg
Tare weight: 12,490kg
Fuel capacity: 400L
AdBlue tank: 50L

Options fitted:
AllTruck 16-pallet curtainsider body
Differential cross locks
Seat covers and rubber floor mats
UHF radio