Fresh food transport in Africa is a business where the truck has to be simple enough to fix far from a dealer, strong enough for roads that change surface without warning, and cheap enough that the fuel bill does not eat the margin. The Foton Aumark EST-M 4X2 177HP 22T Cargo Truck is pitched squarely at that job, listed for Cameroon and Nigeria with coverage across much of West and Central Africa. It is a 22-tonne 4x2 with a 7.2-litre Yuchai, 900 Nm, and a Euro II emission standard — and that last item is either the reason it is affordable or the reason you cannot buy it, depending entirely on your port.

The Euro II question comes first

This Aumark is built to Euro II with no emission after-treatment route. That is why it comes in at a lower price than the Euro IV and Euro V units on the same site, and it is genuinely the right answer for markets where that level is still acceptable. But it is also an absolute limit, not a technicality. If your country has moved to Euro III or above for imports, this unit will not carry the certificate.

There is a second, practical upside worth weighing. With no SCR system and no particulate filter, there is no after-treatment to poison with high-sulphur fuel. In markets where diesel quality varies by region — and where a tank of bad fuel is a real operational risk — a mechanically simpler, after-treatment-free engine can be more robust than a technically cleaner one. Settle your port's requirement first, then treat the simplicity as a bonus rather than the reason.

Driveline: 900 Nm and a 4.875 ratio

The engine is the Yuchai YC6A240-33, a 7,225 cc diesel rated at 177 hp with 900 Nm of torque. Note the discrepancy in the listing: the product copy describes the output as 177 kW while the specification table shows 177 hp. Confirm the rating on the unit you are quoted before you plan around it. Torque at 900 Nm is the number that matters here, and it is published, which makes this easier to assess than most trucks in the class.

That torque drives through a Fast Gear 8JS105TA 8-speed gearbox to a 4.875 rear axle ratio, with a 5.5-tonne front axle and a 10-tonne rear axle at 22,000 kg GVW. The 4.875 ratio helps loaded pull-away, which suits intercity and secondary-road work at moderate speeds. With a full 22 tonnes and a reefer body on the back, budget for lower average speeds on gradients, and check the 200-litre tank against your daily distance — a refrigeration unit drawing fuel or a genset running all day changes that calculation.

"Euro II with no after-treatment is cheap to buy and tolerant of bad fuel. It is also unusable if your port moved to Euro III. Check the port before the price."

Building it as a reefer

The base unit carries an inner body of 7,800 × 2,450 × 600 mm. That 600 mm height tells you the standard body is a low-sided platform, not a box — which is exactly why fresh food operators specify an insulated refrigerated body to their own requirement instead. Insulation thickness, floor, door arrangement and the refrigeration unit are all chosen per order on this chassis.

Two decisions dominate the quote. The first is the required temperature range, which sets insulation thickness and therefore how much payload you lose to the body. The second is whether the unit runs from the engine or from its own diesel set. The option list includes a flange PTO on the transmission, which is what makes an engine-driven compressor possible — and like every other driveline option here it must be specified at build time, not added later.

Axles, brakes and loading discipline

Front axle capacity is 5.5 tonnes, the rear axle 10 tonnes, on a 5,750 mm wheelbase with a 250 mm frame section and 10 / 10+8 leaf springs. Brakes are air-operated, drums front and rear, with ABS. For fresh food that last item is not optional in our view: produce that arrives bruised is a rejected load, and ABS plus a stable chassis is most of the defence you have.

At 22,000 kg GVW on two axles, weight distribution matters more than on a 6x2. A reefer body puts permanent weight over the rear, and a palletised load stacked against the headboard can push the front axle past 5.5 tonnes even when the total is legal. Give your bodybuilder both axle limits in writing, ask for a weight distribution drawing, and then verify on a per-axle weighbridge before the truck enters service.

The rear axle option list includes several drum brake specifications in basic and small ratio forms, with self-adjusting arms or manual adjusting arms, some with ABS. Self-adjusting arms take a routine adjustment task out of your workshop and keep brake performance consistent between services — worth asking about if your fleet runs daily and your workshop is busy.

Tyres, tank and the supply question

Standard tyres are tubeless 11R22.5, seven in total including the spare, with optional 10.00R20 tube-type, 295/80R22.5 and 10R22.5. Choose on what your region actually stocks. Tubeless sizes run cooler and are easier to repair, but a tube-type 10.00R20 is often what a village tyre shop can vulcanise — and on a fresh food run to a rural collection point, that local repairability is worth more than the specification sheet suggests.

The 200-litre fuel tank is the one item we would scrutinise hardest. Against a 22-tonne GVW, a 7.2-litre engine and a refrigeration unit that may run all day, 200 litres may be tight for long intercity routes. Ask your dealer for a realistic range at your expected load and with the reefer running, because no fuel consumption figure is published for this model and we are not going to invent one.

"200 litres against 22 tonnes and a compressor running all day — make the dealer give you a range figure, not a promise."

Cab, comfort and what to specify early

The cab is flat roof with a half-bench seat, seating two, 2,200 mm wide, left-hand drive. Standard equipment is manual air conditioning, MP3, and manual doors, windows and rearview mirrors matched to a 2,450 mm inner width cargo box. Options worth considering are automatic air conditioning, central locking with power windows and power heated mirrors, and an MP5 system with reverse camera, navigation and a multifunction steering wheel.

Automatic air conditioning is a genuine upgrade for hot-climate work where the driver would otherwise be adjusting controls all day. Reverse camera and navigation earn their place on a refrigerated truck delivering into unfamiliar markets and yards. Both are build options here, so every one of them has to appear on the order rather than in the handover conversation.

Price and market coverage

The listed price is $23,750, and it is low for a 22-tonne chassis precisely because of the Euro II specification. Add the body, the insulation, the refrigeration unit, shipping, insurance, duty and homologation, and the real number is considerably higher. Ask for one complete landed figure for the truck as you will actually operate it, because a chassis price alone is not a business case.

Coverage is wide — Angola, East Asia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Laos, Rwanda, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mongolia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Zambia. Wide coverage is useful for parts and support, but confirm dealer presence in your own country specifically, since coverage lists and actual workshop networks are not the same thing.

How we would specify it

• Confirm Euro II is registrable at your port before anything else.
• Order the flange PTO if the refrigeration unit is engine-driven.
• Specify automatic air conditioning and heated mirrors for hot-climate or high-altitude routes.
• Choose tyres on local repairability, not on what looks best on paper.
• Get a range estimate in writing for the 200-litre tank at your load and duty cycle.

For fresh food and refrigerated work at 22 tonnes across West and Central Africa, 900 Nm behind a 4.875 ratio on an ABS-equipped air-braked chassis is a defensible specification. The EST-M 22-tonne refrigerated truck page is where you settle the emission question, the PTO and the body build.

Questions buyers ask before signing

Can a Euro II truck still be registered?

This Aumark is built to Euro II with no emission after-treatment route, which is why it comes in at a lower price than the Euro IV and Euro V units listed on the same site. It is offered for Cameroon, Nigeria and other markets in the coverage list where that level is still acceptable. If your country has moved to Euro III or above for imports, tell the dealer the port and have them quote the compliant variant instead.

Can the cargo box be built as a reefer?

The base unit carries a 7,800 × 2,450 × 600 mm inner body, and for fresh food work an insulated refrigerated body is built to your specification instead — insulation thickness, floor, door arrangement and the refrigeration unit are all chosen per order. Give the dealer the required temperature range and say whether the unit runs from the engine or its own diesel set, and have them quote the complete build.

Is 177 hp enough for 22-tonne loads?

The Yuchai YC6A240-33 is rated at 177 hp with 900 Nm, working through a Fast 8JS105TA 8-speed gearbox and a 4.875 rear axle ratio, with 5.5-tonne front and 10-tonne rear axles. The 4.875 ratio helps loaded pull-away, so it suits intercity and secondary-road work at moderate speeds. With a full 22,000 kg and a reefer body on the back, budget for lower average speeds on gradients, and check the 200-litre tank against your daily distance.