Truck Show Outtakes: Fleetsights

Eye-catching, well-equipped trucks and tractors are not exclusively driven by owner/operators. The hauling companies take pride in their rolling hardware just as well. Remarkable color schemes and liveries are a must, plain and anonymous looks are not done.

Algéra’s line-up is a textbook example of a modern-era Dutch fleet. The company name may sound rather southern European, yet it’s an acronym for Alie and Gerrit Rattink. See, no riviera-vibes whatsoever.

The Rattink couple founded the business in 1991, currently the fleet consists of 18 vehicles. A Volvo FH, Scania R-series and MAN TGX delegation was sent to the show.

The Volvo with the big stacks is what’s called an old school tractor these days, mainly characterized by a completely spoiler-free sleeper cab with a low roof. The roof rack and lightbox are compliant with the style of yore. Obviously, stacks would be lost items on any of the other tractors, visually.

An example of a true, period correct old school tractor. A 1976 Volvo F88 4×2, caught at a 2016 show.

Three Scania tractors in A. Fischer’s livery. In the middle, a 1997 T144 with a 14 liter V8. Scania ended the production of conventionals by the end of 2005, simply due to a lack of demand.

Thanks to Scania’s modular system, all cabs are largely the same, with or without a nose job. Nowadays, the Dutch Vlastuin company custom builds Scania conventionals, fully based on the latest cabover generation (an overview of their creations so far).

The owner of the Scania trio must have had German ancenstors, otherwise his last name would have been Visser. No surprise, given the event location and many participants’ home base, nearby the Dutch-German border.

Border regions are known for their mixture of societies, cultures, economics and usages. In this specific region, also languages: Nedersaksisch/Niedersächsisch, a group of dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands and Germany.

Lasterliebe, which means that Wim (Bill) loves big trucks. On the left a 2013 Renault T, on the right a 2005 Renault Magnum.

The Magnum was introduced in 1990, originally Renault’s top truck model was called the AE. It was especially famous for its fully flat cab floor and the fact that the whole cab structure was completely separated from the rolling chassis, it was literally sitting on top of things.

Because of its set-forward front axle, the steps had to be placed behind the front wheels. Inconvenient, entry- and exit-wise. The production of the AE~Magnum-series ended in 2013.

De Rijk’s 2014 Scania R520 V8 and 2015 Volvo FH.

Last month, Scania unveiled the new Traton 13 liter “world engine”, co-developed with MAN. Without any doubt, that D13C inline-six will also be used by Navistar soon enough.

The OVT vehicles are recognizable from a countrymile, mainly thanks to the vertical striping, something you don’t see often. Simple yet effective.

From left to right: a Volvo FM, Scania P, DAF XF and Volvo FH.

The 2012 Volvo FM container carrier. A 10.8 liter, 378 DIN-hp engine may sound like overkill for a 20 tons truck, but it’s common practice that such carriers are coupled to a trailer for transporting an extra set of containers.

Oh yes, another thing that folks living in the border region usually do is filling up the gas tank in Germany. An economic usage since as long as I can remember.