Leyland Roadtrain

Leyland Motors
	Leyland Roadtrain 1988
Roadtrain
Manufacturer:	Leyland Motors
Sales designation:	Leyland Roadtrain ; Leyland DAF / DAF 70-80
Production period:	1980-1993
Previous model:	Leyland Marathon
Successor:	DAF 85
	Technical specifications
Engines:	Diesel engines: Leyland TL12 12.6 liter six-cylinder with 280 HP ; Rolls-Royce Eagle Li ; Gardner 6LXCT ; Cummins Engine : L10 325 HP ; NTE 14 liter 350 HP ; DAF (Automobile) ATi 11.6 liter engine with 300 HP or 330 PS
Power:	195-257 kW
Payload:	10-30 t
Perm. Total weight:	up to 38 t

A new era began at the British Leyland Motor Corporation with the front-wheel drive long-distance truck Leyland Roadtrain . The series presented in 1980 was the basis for a modernization program in the Group's truck range. After the then British Conservative Party government under Margaret Thatcher split the nationalized group into the Austin Rover Group with Freight Rover and Leyland Truck and Bus , various privatizations followed later. The Austin-Rover Group was sold to British Aerospace and the Leyland bus division to Volvo . Freight Rover and Leyland Truck were brought into the now Rover Group in 1987 into Leyland DAF, which was founded together with DAF (Automobile) . As a result, the Leyland Roadtrain was marketed as Leyland-DAF 70-80 in Great Britain from 1990 and offered as DAF 70-80 in continental Europe . The successor, the DAF 85 , appeared in 1994 .

Basis of development

The 1960s were a time of rapid change in road freight transport. Long-distance transport of goods by truck increased steadily and special long-distance trucks with appropriate engines and driver's cabs designed for these needs, such as the Volvo F88 , the DAF 2600 with extensive guarantees or the Scania 1 series , appeared on the market. The MAN F8 and the Mercedes-Benz NG were also specially developed for these requirements and all of them quickly captured market shares in Great Britain. The trucks produced here by AEC , Atkinson , ERF and Leyland were inexpensive to purchase and reliable, but they offered the driver little space and comfort and, with the exception of AEC with engines from Gardner , too little engine power for the new trend in freight transport.

Leyland's answer to that was the Leyland Marathon . Due to the difficulties of the BLMC at the beginning of the 1970s, only developed with a very small budget, it initially stood for unreliability and insufficient rust prevention. In addition to their own immature engines, there were also reliable and powerful engines from suppliers, but the significantly improved Marathon 2 only achieved a good reputation. Overall, however, there was little money available for production improvement and model development and so the marathon was basically a truck with 1960s technology. Leyland therefore urgently needed a replacement and the British Leyland Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Edwards obtained permission from the then British Labor government, which was the majority shareholder, to make massive investments in the Leyland Truck & Bus Division. This enabled the leap to new technology, modern production conditions and product quality. The Leyland Truck & Bus Division, which was slowly becoming ailing, received an enormous boost and only became attractive for the later privatizations. At the same time, BLMC started the Multipart division . This was to ensure that most parts could be delivered within 24 hours from a central parts warehouse in Chorley. Nowadays, Multipart supplies to all manufacturers and is the market leader in its field.

Project T45

In a record time of just over two years of research and development in collaboration with Ogle Design , BRS and many other small companies, the Leyland Roadtrain was presented as the first of the so-called T45 Project in 1980. The T45 Project stood for the cab. This was shaped in the wind tunnel and subjected to strict laboratory tests. For the interior and exterior design, the opinion of many drivers and entrepreneurs as potential owners was obtained and incorporated. No other truck at the time had such a modern design or consistently designed the cabin to reduce flow resistance and fuel consumption. A clever strategy was also used in the production of the cabin. For the different transport requirements there was now the T45 cabin, which was built with as many common parts as possible for these requirements. Only 120 common and 40 model-specific parts were now required for the entire transport range between 10 and 38 tonnes total weight. It was available with a normal or high roof and a single or double cabin with sleeping facilities. No other manufacturer could offer this back then, today it is a common type in commercial vehicle construction . The speedometer was installed separately from the other operating displays. The operating displays had printed lines, which were mounted with tightly fitting connections. These were interchangeable on all T45s and, in the event of a fault, dismantled and installed in less than five minutes. The pedals could be changed in 20 minutes and other typically particularly stressed fittings including doors and handbrake levers could also be replaced quickly and easily. After the Roadtrain, Leyland has now replaced its entire program with the

Leyland Constructor from 1981, construction vehicle in 6x2 or 8x2 construction with a total weight of 10-30 tons. At the start of production it was the most powerful tipper vehicle in the world. With all possible cabin variants.
Leyland Freighter from 1982, 4x2 distribution truck or tractor for articulated trains with a total weight of 10-17 tons. Normal single or double cabin.
Leyland Cruiser from 1982, 4x2 tractor unit with 10-28 tons total weight and tipper vehicle with 10-18 tons total weight. Normal single or double cabin.
Leyland Roadrunner from 1984, 4x2 distribution truck with initially 7.5 tons, later up to 10 tons total weight and a single cab based on T45.

Leyland Roadtrain 1981-1990

The Leyland Roadtrain tractor unit was enthusiastically received when it was launched in 1980 and was voted Truck of the Year in 1981 . The drive took place in 6x2 design with 10-30 tons payload, Leyland TL12 engine with 280 HP and split gearboxes from Spicer . The TL12 was based on the old Leyland O.680 engine. The single or double cabin was also supplied with a high roof. The chassis was an improved Leyland Marathon frame and optionally also available with a forward rear axle, which made a lower frame height possible. Optionally, there was also a Rolls-Royce Eagle with 265 HP and a Cummins Superb L10 with 290 HP, coupled with Spicer or Eaton split transmissions. These engines were little known on the continent and, unlike some of their competitors, were still poorly performing. Therefore, the request of many British transport companies, whose route also led to the continent, for powerful and well-known engines was fulfilled towards the end of 1982 with the Cummins 14-liter NTE. This had 350 hp and was equipped with an Eaton 12-speed twin-splitter transmission, which gave a colossal torque. This combination was also the most frequently ordered variant when exporting to mainland Europe. For the home market there was also the Gardner 6LXCT, which was rarely ordered. Over the years, the Rolls-Royce Eagle's power increased to 300 hp and the Cummins Superb L10 to 325 hp.

At BLMC, the subject of construction quality came up again and again. While the Roadtrain was considered a reliable product in and of itself, the cab began to show signs of corrosion. Therefore, from 1987 onwards, galvanized steel was used, which solved the rust problem. At the same time, DAF responded to the introduction of the longer and wider Volvo Globetrotter and Space cab with the introduction of the higher Interstate cab. A longer and wider cabin was no longer introduced, as the Leyland DAF era began.

Leyland Roadtrain 8 × 6

Leyland DROPS

Leyland also built an 8x6 version of the Roadtrain for the British Army, known by the British Army as the Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System (DROPS), which was also used in the Iraq war and is still used today in the Afghanistan war . However, it is now being replaced by a version based on a MAN .

Team 45 racing truck

Leyland endeavored to attract maximum attention to the Roadtrain and therefore got involved in the emerging sport of truck racing with her team of 45 racing trucks , which also achieved many successes.

Leyland-DAF 70-80 / DAF 70-80 1990-1993

Leyland DAF / DAF 80

From 1990 the Leyland Roadtrain became the Leyland-DAF 80 in the UK and DAF 80 in mainland Europe through the merger of Leyland DAF . It still had the T45 cabin, but was now powered by the DAF ATi 11.6 liter engine with 300 or 330 hp. Ironically, this was based on the old Leyland O.680 engine, while the Leyland TL12 had recently been sold very little. The 70-80 series was replaced by the new DAF 85 in 1994 .

Web links

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