Renault trucks trusted for Grange Quarry expansion

Aggregates firm praises highly manoeuvrable Range C430 Tridem tippers and mixers  

GRANGE Quarry, one of the leading suppliers of construction materials in south Scotland and northern England, are expanding their Lockerbie site with the help of Renault Range C Tridem tippers and mixers. 

Supplying their own concrete materials for a £1 million two-storey development, Grange Quarry took the opportunity to put a Range C430 8x4 Tridem, with factory-fitted extra-axle adaption, to the test. 

Stuart Dodd, managing director of Grange Quarry, commented: ‘Delivering concrete to site always needs good manoeuvrability with good traction. Having the Range C Tridems across our fleet means we can accommodate sites that are smaller and tighter through a retractable rear axle.’

Thanks to its three-axle bogie, the Range C Tridem offers a shorter wheelbase of 3.7m; improving the turning circle by around 20%, compared with a conventional 8x4. The Tridem’s additional load capacity over a 6x4 also allows Grange Quarry to run a larger capacity drum, an 8m-long McPhee transit mixer body, to sites not usually accessible by an eight-wheeler. 

The company’s C430 Tridem tipper is equipped with an Aliweld aluminium tipping body and is often used to transport aggregates to customers and concrete plants.  However, a recent expansion into agricultural lime production has seen Range C Tridem tipper come into its own. 

The quarry operator’s Tridem trucks (supplied by local dealers Border Trucks of Carlisle) are powered by a Renault DTI 11-litre six-cylinder engine (424hp) with common rail high-pressure fuel injection and overhead camshaft. Maximum power output is delivered between 1,700 and 1,900 rev/min while a maximum torque of 2,050Nm is available from 1,000–1,400 rev/min. 

The Range C Tridems are equipped with a 12-speed Optidriver automated transmission system and an Optibrake retarder. ‘We’re operating in hilly, challenging terrain, with twisting roads that often narrow to single track and the drivers find the Range C Tridem’s handling assured and comfortable, taking tight corners in its stride,’ said Mr Dodd.