DAF

something new from Kenworth and Volvo

Something New From Kenworth and Volvo

At the recent Brisbane Truck Show, visitors got to see something new from Kenworth and Volvo, with new models and new features on display. These two brands are the heavy duty sector’s dominant players with well over 35 per cent of the truck sales in that sector between them. The show was a chance to see what keeps these brands at the top and what we can expect from them in the future.
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were they the good old days?

Were They the Good Old Days?

In this video, Will Shiers asks the question, were they the good old days? The answer is always going to lead to mixed feelings, nostalgia is a wonderful filter which makes past experience a lot better than it was at the time.  Read More
top technical night

Top Technical Night

At the Australian trucking industry’s top technical night, two of its most outstanding technical contributors received well deserved awards. At the Castrol Vecton Awards Dinner in Melbourne, the social event which forms part of the Australian Trucking Association’s 2018 Technology and Maintenance Conference, the Craig Roseneder and the ATA Technical Achievement Awards were announced and presented. Read More
first DAF truck assembled in Australia

First DAF Truck Assembled In Australia

At Bayswater in Victoria this week, a locally-produced DAF CF85 prime mover, the first DAF truck assembled in Australia was presented to, long-term customer and supporter of DAF, Cahill Transport, by Paccar Australia managing director, Andrew Hadjikakou. 
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Paccar Increase Capacity

Paccar Increase Capacity

A second parts distribution centre sees Paccar increase capacity in its Parts Division. The new PDC in the Brisbane logistics hub of Berrinba, south-west of Brisbane, is a move to reduce delivery times to dealers and boost parts availability to customers in its retail network. Read More
Traction And The Lifting Axle

Traction and the Lifting Axle

When considering a truck like the DAF LF 6×2, it’s all about traction and the lifting axle. The new DAF LF can load up to its 23.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass (GVM), but as soon as the mass at the back drops below 6.5 tonnes, it can be retracted. Read More
Lifting The Pusher

Lifting The Pusher

The new DAF LF 6×2 is all about lifting the pusher and the new model, previewed at the Brisbane Show gets a Diesel News test drive around Melbourne. Here in Australia, we are unused to the concept of a pusher axle that can lift out of the way when not needed. If any axles have been capable of being lifted in the 6×2/6×4 space, they have normally been lifting tags, which are simpler to engineer. However, their popularity has remained limited by issues around overhang lengths, especially when we have to live with the 6.0 to 6.5-tonne front-axle mass limit. Read More
Out of the Horsepower Race

Out of the Horsepower Race

Over the years, DAF, has stayed out of the horsepower race, resolutely refusing to follow the crowd and turn up the wick on its biggest displacement, 13 litre, diesels, observes Diesel News’ European Correspondent, Brian Weatherley. However, before the recent launch of its new XF and CF models the press worked itself up into a right-old tizzy (again), convinced the cloggies were about to give their 12.9 litre six-pot a major boost in power, having previously limited it to 510hp and 2500Nm. Read More

Improved DAF Cabin

Diesel News’ Europe Correspondent Brian Weatherley reports on the improved DAF Cabin on the latest Euro 6 XF and CF, launched in the European market. For DAF’s engineers at Eindhoven in The Netherlands, the watchword is with evolution, not revolution and their latest CF and XF proves it.  New CF and XF gain a face-lifted interior along with an updated night control panel by the bed plus an upgraded instrument and dashboard layout. But what are they like on the road? The answer, to use the pommie habit of emphasis through understatement, is rather good. We tried out the new models in Holland and while it’s not a country famed for its contours we did manage to find the odd hill on our test route which included motorways and local roads. With the new 450hp rating on the MX-11 likely to appeal to European fleet operators, we first tried a CF 450FT ‘lightweight’ 4×2 prime mover hitched to a tri-axle tank trailer running at around 32-tonnes, somewhat below the normal 40 tonne EU limit, but enough to get a feel for it working.
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Flat Floor Thoughts

The long-awaited arrival of the right-hand-drive Renault ‘T High’ tractor in the UK has given Diesel News’ European Correspondent, Brian Weatherley, some flat floor thoughts – thinking about the benefits of flat-floor cab-overs to overnighters. Frankly, I’m surprised more manufacturers don’t do it. ‘Do what?’ I hear you ask Down Under. Build more flat-floor cab-over models, that’s what. Given the fact that every night hundreds of thousands of European long-haul drivers are bedding down for the night in a truck (and I reckon 99.99 per cent of them will be doing it in a cab-over prime mover) you’d think that all of Europe’s truck makers would be keen to make their cabs as easy to move around in as possible.
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