Working as a fire truck, that was the intended career for this all-wheel drive DAF truck. But alas, the body manufacturer went belly up and consequently, the chassis-cab was returned to its maker in Eindhoven. After a wheelbase extension and additional metal work, the still brand new truck was put to work by a nearby hauling company, once it was registered in January 1994.
The wheelbase was extended from 4.00 m to 4.55 m (14’11”), a Hiab grab crane was mounted behind the cab, and the LeeBur company supplied the roll-off cable system. The end result was a highly versatile vehicle and clearly, the weight distribution is as good as it gets for a chassis with two axles. The DAF’s registered gross weight rating is 18,600 kg (41,000 lbs).
The on- and off-roader is powered by a DAF HT-168 engine (168 kW/228 DIN-hp), an inline-six turbodiesel with 8.25 liter displacement.
Delivering sand and gravel was the DAF’s main job. And during the winter seasons, it was also used for deicing the regional roadways.
Recently, owner Verschuren has lent his perfectly maintained truck to the DAF Museum. Much better than putting it away and hiding it from the public!
The history of this distinctive and oh-so classic DAF cab goes back to late 1969, when the truck maker had completed the development of their first tilt cab, internally known as the F218; the letter F for Frontstuur (cab over engine), the number 218 for its width in cm. Apropos, it’s all too obvious that the tilt cab design was an evolution of the 1962 DAF 2600-series’ cab.
Initially, the F218 cab was used on a wide range of medium-duty trucks and tractors, from the F1600 to the F2200. Both a day cab and a sleeper cab were available.
The original version, here in the form of a 1977 DAF F2000 4×2 truck, which also happens to have a roll-off system.
The interior, as highlighted in a DAF F2000/2200 brochure from the seventies. The transmissions were sourced from ZF and Fuller.
One can say that these cab shapes -the bigger F241 cab included- marked the end of truck maker DAF ‘as we knew it’. In early 1993, DAF filed for bankruptcy, yet was revived in the same year. At that point, a completely new truck and tractor range was all set to hit the European market.
The new range, with an in-house cab design by Bertrand Janssen, was marketed as the 65/75/85-series. And once again, it looked distinctive. Mr. Janssen also designed the 1997 DAF 95 XF (a thorougly updated 95-series) and made a career move to the commercial vehicle division of Daimler/Mercedes-Benz later on.
The 65/75/85-series evolved into the CF model range, still offered outside Europe, like this splendid CF 8×4 truck from New Zealand. The final edition of Janssen’s cab design for sure.
It’s a shame that we don’t have this brand in Argentina. I know that in Europe it is recognized as one of the best truck brands.
At least as a collector I am pleased to have this piece, made on a DAF also from the 90’s.
Not available in Argentina, while there’s a DAF factory in Brazil? Odd.
https://www.dafcaminhoes.com.br/pt-br
And that’s a very nice scale model! It’s a DAF 95 XF Space Cab, that series was introduced in 1997, it had the then brand new 12.6 liter 24v engine. It was the first major modification of the 1987 95-series.
Yes, the brazilian market is similar to the argentine market in many ways, but they are also different in others, which is why some models are seen on one side and not the other.
Don’t remember ever seeing a DAF truck in Argentina, maybe there will be some but very strangely. The most popular truck brands here are Mercedes, Scania, Iveco and Volvo. Those 4 have almost 95% of the market. There are some Ford Cargos, but they are in the minority.
…’The most popular truck brands here are Mercedes, Scania, Iveco and Volvo. Those 4 have almost 95% of the market’…
Which confirms cabovers are not a typical ‘Euro-thing’.
Nice trucks to drive, DAF make a very capable truck, typical NZ stock truck.
I like that configuration, an 8×4 truck, towing a five-axle full trailer. Is that a 60 tonnes combination?
Glad to see these trucks again.
DAF is among the top 5 truck brands in Europe, is it true or am I wrong?
There are eight manufacturers (brands) of heavy trucks and tractors active on the Euro-market: DAF, Volvo, Scania, Mercedes-Benz, MAN, Renault, Iveco, and -to a lesser extent- Ford (from Turkey). There are multiple specialists too, like Sisu (Finland) and Tatra (Czech Republic), but these don’t build the usual on-highway trucks and tractors.
DAF’s market share in Europe is around 15 to 16 percent.
In NL, Scania, Volvo, and DAF are considered the ‘premium’ brands (as in most liked by the drivers).
There was a skinny F198 version too. It was inexplicably short-lived, being replaced by the ‘Club of Four’ cab rather quickly.
The CF cab was a long-lived and remarkably timeless design; probably because it seems to have taken inspiration from Patrick le Quément’s equally timeless Ford Cargo.
The development costs of the new range (plus indigestion caused by swallowing Leyland) just in time for the 1990s recession caused ‘Old DAF’ to fail & the Dutch Government to phoenix it into ‘New DAF’. The bits were reunited under PACCAR.
The 95/XF can was originally developed by the ‘Cabtec’ consortium; you’ll find Spanish Pegasos and British Seddon-Atkinsons with the same unit. Only DAF persevered with it in the end, as ENASA was swallowed by IVECO. As was the Ford Cargo…
The Argentine & Brazilian markets have produced some interesting oddities – the Borgward B611 van went there to die and VW do Brasil produced an odd-looking heavy with a VW LT/MT van cab. Probably not quite so odd if you remember similar 1960s Dodge trucks in the US.
I’ve long admired how a small Dutch trailer manufacturer managed to borrow some Leyland bits to make trucks and gradually became so successful and well-regarded. It’s not really very far from Lancashire to Eindhoven, but the difference could not be starker!
Ah yes, the 1981 Ford Cargo. Maybe it had the most timeless truck cab design ever. If you said it was a late nineties’ design, I would have believed it! But frankly, I don’t see the inspiration for the 65/75/85 (apart from their timelessness).
PACCAR took over DAF more than three years after the latter’s revival, when it was a highly profitable truck maker again, with a modern line of trucks. Otherwise the Pigott family wouldn’t have showed any interest, I guess…