Cerfontaine has first Scania R770 8×4 V8 as XT heavy haulage tractor in the Netherlands

Cerfontaine BV of Berg en Terbijt (near Maastricht) was the first transport company in the Netherlands to commission a Scania R770 8×4 heavy haulage tractor in a robust XT version. The 8×4 with a tandem chassis with hub reduction and a steering front axle has a technical exemption of up to 180 tons in the Netherlands.

"We never actually go that heavy, at 100 tons it stops with us," director and co-owner Daniel Cerfontaine says of the company's newest Scania. "We use the vehicle for a four-axle flatbed trailer in transporting mainly our own earthmoving department. But we also drive for third parties."

Cerfontaine BV is a family business and is run by three brothers. "We focus on contract work, arable farming, earthmoving and (heavy) transport. Where my brother Roger does the earthmoving and Pascal leads the agricultural part and the workshop and I am mainly in charge of the financial part and the transport part. We operate in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and also increasingly in Denmark."

Although Cerfontaine does not have a pronounced preference for one brand, the brothers did deliberately choose Scania this time because it could provide the most sophisticated configuration the company had in mind ex-factory. "We were looking for a vehicle that within our métier couples good TCO and high deployability with our desired robustness. For the driver, comfort and handling were added. Our previous heavy haulage tractor lost just too many points in this regard. Although fuel consumption is not one of our priorities, the consumption of the previous truck was actually a bit too high, even by our standards. And with more fuel you also get more AdBlue, filters and yet also additional wear and tear in the periphery."

When asked what is considered acceptable consumption within Cerfontaine's heavy haulage division, the director replied that "anything below 50 liters out of every hundred is good. "I know those are values that would keep a road hauler up nights. But with our train weights, that's normal. And I must say that the first signs seem favorable. It looks like the 770-hp Scania V8 engine will stay well below that. And the driver praises the comfort of the all-air suspension truck and the 3,700 Nm of pulling power from the engine."

That Cerfontaine got the heaviest engine in the market under floor of his tractor was not an automatic run. "We actually went for a 660 V8. But things ended up turning out differently. We did consciously go for an XT version. In that version, the truck is just a little bit higher and has a full-steel bumper. Since we do a lot of off-highway driving and are regularly on construction sites, we saw that as an advantage."

The truck was partially built in-house to optimize it as a heavy haul tractor. "The base with the heavy-duty chassis with innerliner, the generously sized driveline with the retarder and final drive ratio of 3.80:1, all the electrical preparation for additional lighting and the strobe lights and more, we had it fitted as an S-order directly by the factory. But the rack against the rear wall of the cab that includes the AdBluetank, all the air tanks and the large fuel tank we made and built ourselves. We also paid extra attention to safety. AEB, ESP and LDW are not mandatory for this type of vehicle. But since Scania could supply it as standard, we added it anyway along with ACCplus and DAS."

The car is further equipped with a heavy-duty sliding dish for a 3.5-inch kingpin. "For the driver, we opted for a King of the Road package with leather upholstery with the red stitching and, what I think is important, a stand cooling system. Because although we don't spend a lot of nights in the car, the truck is still explained on long-distance transportation. And abroad, with an exceptional load, you're often only allowed on the road at night. So the driver has to sleep during the day and get his rest."

The nature of the transport with long often mandatory waiting times, complicated loading and unloading work naturally also depresses the mileage. "Still, we drive around 80,000 km a year with the vehicle. But that means I should easily be able to do 10 years with it. Therefore, although our own workshop has a lot of knowledge and does a lot of our maintenance, we still put the R&O for this truck in a service contract with the Scania dealer in Nuth."