Tilt cab or Luton??

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OliveOyl

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I'm hoping to change my lorry this year. My present lorry has a tilt cab and no luton, which whilst not the prettiest lorry at a show has been very useful to gain speedy access to the engine, for example when the soundproofing carpet next to the cab caught fire
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Am considering going for Coachbuilt, with luton next time, but how quickly can you get to the engine then? My last lorry mechanic person used to moan and whinge about how long they take to even get to so you can start work on them. Not so bothered from a general maintenance point of view, but if we end up needing Rescue services on the side of the motorway, for example, then the quicker they can patch us up and get us going again, the better.
Experiences please
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rescue came to me last week and we were ok because we have a luton that you can lift the base on and tip cab but he said if they can't tip it the lorry just gets towed to the nearest garage or back home, so be careful. we only use the luton really to put everything on we could sleep on it but i would rather sleep on camp bed on floor even if it is in horse part
 
Friends had non tipping cab & when the lorry required work on the gearbox the whole engine had to be dropped out and it cost BIG money not to mention 2 weeks out of action!!!

Would always always go for a tipping cab!
 
I have always been warned against horseboxes with tilt cabs, apparently horses don't travel as well in them (something to do with lateral movement??). I've got no idea if that is true or a load of rubbish.

None of our lorries have ever had tilt cabs and we have never had a problem.
 
Blimey, I don't want to be towed back home all the while, specially not if we break down on the motorway. . .

Thanks for the replies. Based on this, I think I'm definitely going for a tilt cab again.
 
Also you have to remember - that hourly rates start when the mechanic looks at your lorry, most mechanics are extremely well built men and crawling through the wheel arches/ hole in teh floor with mean that every job takes much longer so your labour rate is higher in proportion to your parts bill. A tilt cab for me every time
 
we have a brand new coachbuilt lorry on a 2003 man chassis without a tilt cab, and its absolutely no problem at all, infact our mechanic ( we have a haulage company) was incredibly suprised at the fabulous engine access we have without the tilt, this is my 3rd lorry with no tilt cab and on one vehicle we had a gearbos change done no problem.
 
I suppose then it depends on the vechile. I have to say I was moaned at about the Ford not having a tilt. It cost a fortune to get the tilt fixed on the Man because the previous mechanics/owner did not fix it & cut a hole in the floor!!
 
Personally prefer tilt- well OH insists on it if possible.Only thing I would say about tilt is check that it will tilt as cost a friend a fortune once as tilt had not been used in a long time and took garage ages to get open,it had stuck for some reason or other.Garage had to call in someone else to help.Ours luckily have not been that bad to get open.
 
It is very much easier to work on a horsebox with a cab that can be fully tilted.

Although the more reputable manufacturers of horseboxes who do not do tilt cabs will put in an inspection cover it still will not provide anywhere near the access one gets with a fully tiltable cab.

The method of tilting the cab can either be a simple matter of the base of the luton being hinged and lifted (after removing some retaining bolts) to a complete bulkhead and rubber seal which allows the luton to tilt forward with the cab. The latter is far stronger and robust but will add about half a ton of weight to the vehicle.
 
Get one with a tilt cab, saves you so much time and money. My mechanic refuses to take on a big job with a lorry without a tilt as he tries to do all work at the yard to save him having a proper garage etc so therefore keeps his costs down.

Great mechanics are hard to find so try and keep onside of yours! (esp if you are a female as most garages see you coming a mile off and try and over charge you)
 
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