Ansa Logistics and DAF seek optimum environmental gains

Leading car delivery company Ansa Logistics has begun a comprehensive evaluation programme aimed at determining the optimum vehicle platform for its 155-strong car transporter fleet.

The six-month long exercise is based on a DAF CF85 equipped with a range of environmental and performance enhancing features. The work is being carried out in collaboration with DAF and the supplying dealer, Imperial Commercials in Derby.

“Both the individual and collective effects of these features are being assessed along with some driver-related aspects of vehicle performance,” says Simon Parsons, Group Fleet and Engineering Manager for Ansa’s parent company Autologic.

“Our aim is to determine the optimum specification of truck for our kind of work in terms both of its operational performance and of its environmental impact. The two are entirely compatible as operational gains almost invariably translate into environmental gains.”

Fuel efficiency is one obvious measure during the evaluation but Ansa will also be looking at the use of long drain oils and their potential to significantly reduce oil usage and therefore cost and disposal issues.

The part that an automated transmission can play in improving fuel efficiency, cutting downtime by eliminating clutch problems, and reducing driver fatigue will be examined. And drivers will undergo a comprehensive vehicle awareness and training process to ensure that the truck can be driven to its optimum performance and more safely.

At the centre of the exercise is a DAF FTP CF85 6x2 mid-lift axle tractor specially engineered in Eindhoven to be operated as a short drawbar unit. This has a fully-approved drawbar braking system, chassis packaging to suit the application, and a nine tonne front axle to cope with the weight of vehicles over the cab.

The DAF will operate out of Ansa’s Liverpool depot from where it will average around 100,000 kilometres a year. It will run with a close-coupled tri-axle drawbar trailer designed and built by Essex-based Transporter Engineering. The body on the drawing unit is designed to take four cars or lcvs and that on the trailer a further seven. This new generation equipment incorporates the latest LED lighting components that will help to reduce in-service failures.

Ansa have gone straight to the Euro 5 emissions level with the evaluation vehicle, some two years ahead of this standard becoming law. The engine is the all-new 12.9 litre PACCAR MX, which uses SCR technology to achieve Euro 5. DAF’s electronic SMART fuel injection system also contributes to lower emission levels and better fuel efficiency. The engine is fitted with an integrated engine brake and an exhaust brake to improve braking performance and safety as well as reducing wear on the service brakes, thus extending disc life.

To save fuel and cut emissions when the truck is idling its engine has been fitted with an idling shutdown device. This automatically switches off the engine once it has been idling for five minutes after the handbrake has been applied.

Normal 50,000 kilometre service intervals for the CF85 have been doubled to 100,000 kilometres. This is achieved by using E6 oils and fitting an additional centrifugal by-pass oil filter to the 12.9 litre MX engine along with a larger fuel pre-filter. The use of synthetic oils in the AS-tronic automated gearbox and in the drive axle also allows for longer service intervals.

Along with fuel and service issues, the evaluation will also investigate how telematics can be used to improve vehicle utilisation. The FleetBoard VeMIS system has been installed, which aids fleet management and supports the drivers’ skills using an in-cab economy advisor (ECAD). This information will be downloaded each week and shared with the driver.