Renault Premium Lander and Kerax 2010 Truck Review

Renault Trucks now boasts that it has a vehicle to suit every job on the construction site, and with the construction industry beginning to show some early signs of recovery, the company is well placed to reap the benefit.

With that in mind, Renault Trucks invited a select group of journalists to a very special off road test facility close to their head office in Lyon. Matthew Eisenegger was there, complete with tasteful, stylish and elegant rigger boots and hard hat!

As far as the construction industry goes, business does not start or stop at the site gate. There is a constant need to ship in raw materials and equipment, from bricks and timber, to dozers and excavators, and then afterwards remove all the debris and landscape the area, so in addition to brickies and sparkies coming and going, there are a lot of truck movements and truckies going about.

To meets these special needs, Renault Trucks offers the construction industry a dual offering: the Renault Premium Lander with its outstanding payload and comfort for site supply applications and the Renault Kerax delivering maximum pulling power and sturdiness for even the toughest heavy duty assignments.

‘Built to build’, the Renault Trucks Construction range is being further expanded in 2010 with the Premium Lander OptiTrack, based on a ‘conventional’  4x2.

This new truck gives customers the benefit of a temporary 4x4 transmission and all its advantages only when it is really necessary, without any of the associated financial and practical inconveniences.
These new models are being added to those introduced in 2009 which saw Kerax and Premium Lander gaining in power with Euro-5 engines and an 8x2*6 configuration for the Lander, as well as a concrete mixer version on an 8x4 chassis with single rear tyres.

There’s a new Premium Lander OptiTrack too which can switch from 4x2 to 4x4 mode simply by pressing a button on the dashboard. This is achieved with two hydraulic motors incorporated into the wheel hubs, providing all the power needed to get out of more difficult situations. 

This addition makes the Renault Trucks Construction range the most recent and one of the largest on the market, featuring trucks with lower fuel consumption, higher power and more environmentally friendly characteristics. And now, with an even further improved range of services, Renault Trucks offers not just a vehicle but a fully comprehensive transport solution.

Renault Premium Lander

In ready-mix concrete transport, an immobilising breakdown can have catastrophic results. The contents of the drum would be lost and could even solidify, leading to the loss of the mixer. The payload is also a key factor. Hauliers are paid by the volume they carry and are now demanding vehicles with greater capacity, since overloading is subject to increasingly strict controls. One cubic metre of concrete weighs around 2.4 tonnes - therefore delivering 1 tonne more on each delivery run has an appreciably positive impact on hauliers' operating income.

In construction materials transport and distribution, hauliers' customers expect rapid, reliable deliveries made directly to the site, while those involved in waste collection and recycling activities, need vehicles that are both sturdy and manoeuvrable for carrying heavy, bulky loads in narrow and confined spaces.

For road maintenance works, vehicles must be multifunctional and offer high maximum loads, factors which are even more crucial in the Earthmoving and Demolition sector. Here, work must be carried out in strict accordance with specifications, particularly in terms of timeframes. Operators therefore must be able to carry a maximum amount of materials (volume and weight), and have a vehicle capable of manoeuvring under difficult conditions - which include being heavily overloaded on closed sites.

Renault Trucks has designed a specific vehicle to meet the needs of customers for whom payload and comfort are the top priorities, the Renault Premium Lander. This new type of vehicle, launched in 2003, and then entirely upgraded in 2006, combines the best characteristics of a long haul truck with the robustness of a worksite vehicle to give hauliers the highest possible productivity. Premium Lander is the best of Kerax and Premium in a single vehicle.

For Premium Lander, versatility means 70 different vehicles, 7 configurations (rigid/tractor), 2 types of cab with a choice of 3 roof heights and 3 possible lengths, Off-Road versions, plus a wide choice of tyres and pre-equipment for easy body mounting.   

The new Renault Premium Lander 8x2*6 configuration allows payload to be increased by a further 500 kg and delivers greater manoeuvrability with a 12.5% larger turning radius, as well as improved consumption.

The 8x2*6 configuration is designed for specific activities and applications calling for greater manoeuvrability in rural or urban environments. Furthermore, it provides owners with a solution which makes lower consumption a priority as well as an even higher payload.

The Premium Lander 8x4 Extra-Light concrete mixer also achieves a higher payload for carrying concrete in urban environments by adopting single Goodyear 495/45 R 22.5 Omnitrac MSD tyres (260 kg more than Goodyear 315/80 R 22.5 tyres).

Compared with the competition, a Premium Lander 8x4 rigid with a 4,350 mm wheelbase, ready for the road and with an unladen weight of 9,050 kg (8,790 kg with the Goodyear 495/45 R 22.5 Omnitrac MSD tyres), offers its owner from 200 to 1,200 kg extra payload on each journey.

The two Euro-5, DXi7 and DXi11 engines offer power ratings ranging from 270 to 460 hp with high torque at low engine speeds over an extended range. The robotised Optidriver+ gearbox, available as an option with specific adjustment for the Premium Lander, takes into account vehicle weight, engine power, gradient and other rolling conditions to select the best gear and thereby maximise the vehicle's mobility, while the Off-Road mode further increases vehicle mobility under off-road conditions.

Renault Kerax

For the most demanding applications, there is the Renault Kerax. Launched in 1997, this vehicle was constantly improved to meet increasingly demanding needs until it underwent a full upgrade in 2006.

Renault Trucks was the first manufacturer to offer the Optidriver+ robotised gearbox as standard on certain Kerax vehicles.

There are 60 different vehicles in the range with 9 configurations (rigids and tractors), 3 chassis heights, including two for Europe, 3 cabs, 39 wheel bases (67% more than the previous version) and 3 tandem capacities.

Off-road, the Kerax offers the best ground clearance due to its flat drive axle sump and ability to negotiate worksite access ramps with a gradient of over 35%.

With power ratings ranging from 380 to 520 hp in Euro-5 trim, they deliver very high torque (from 1,800 to 2,550 Nm) at low engine speeds over a very long period. The robotised Optidriver+ gearbox, associated with the (optional) Voith retarder, has been specifically developed for Heavy Duty Construction applications, enabling it to be used in Full Auto mode in almost all cases.

The Kerax are pre-equipped to be fitted with most types of bodies and equipment: tippers, cranes of between 30 and 70t/m, concrete mixers, concrete mixer-pumps and booms, as well as specific bodies such as concrete pumps, high-volume concrete mixers, fire-fighting tenders, etc.

Conclusion

With all these vehicles, Renault Trucks has proved its total involvement with its customers, by offering them a range totally dedicated to their activities.