POWERTORQUE MAGAZINE Issue #90 August/September 2019

A U S T R A L I A’ S L E A D E R I N T R U C K A N D T R A I L E R T E C H N O L O G Y

Incorporating

ISSUE 90 AUG/SEP 2019 RRP: $8.95

www.powertorque.com.au

ISSUE 90 AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2019

AGM HEAVY HAUL ARGOSY VOLVO XXL + REXX MINING TRUCK + QUBE in FNQ

The HULK at ALEXANDRA TRUCK SHOW

ISUZU’S RE A DYTO-WORK RANGE #1 Traypack

#2 Tipperpack

The takeaway truck.

When you order some trucks, you have to wait around 12 weeks for a body to get built. But our Ready-to-Work models are good to drive away the day you buy them. That’s why we call them takeaway trucks. And our menu includes the Traypack, Tipperpack, Tradepack, Vanpack and Servicepack X. So no matter what your appetite or application, you’ll find a choice that hits the spot. Find out more at isuzu.com.au or visit your nearest Isuzu Truck Dealer now.

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#3 Tradepack

#4 Vanpack

#5 Servicepack X

8 At the Wheel

Warren Caves looks at the road ahead

10 Legal Torque

Severe conditions make the IVECO Trakker an attractive solution

Expert comment from Gillian Bristow

76 ProStar Potential

12 ATA Delivers New Ideas and Real Skills

82 Hino hits a Century

Comment by Geoff Crouch - Chair, Australian Trucking Association

14 AGM

AGM Heavy Haul finds Freightliner’s Argosy provides the tough credentials

18 The Long and the Short of It

Ed Higginson drives Volvo’s XXL Globetrotter

24 Getting down to Business

Brenton O’Connor joins the ProStar Road Show The 100th Hino joins the Century Batteries Fleet

88 RAM Style

It’s fast becoming the ute at the top of the wish list

94 Chain of Command

Newcold Advanced Cold Logistics slashes unloading times

30 Western Style

98 Sweet as Sugar

34 Euro Centric

Ed Higginson evaluates the growing greenery with DAF

40 Focus on Scania

The Swede toughs it out to gain market share

52 The Background to Bandana Neil Dowling meets the family behind Bandana Earthmoving

58 Going with the Flow

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93 TRAILER TORQUE

UD Trucks puts a fresh emphasis on ability.

Developing a new vehicle is all in a day’s work for Bis Industries

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74 Super Intentions

Qube Logistics revitalises an established industry

104 Hitched and Happy

JOST displays its new ideas and technologies

106 Set for Success

68

Thai-built means world-class quality for Panus Oceania

110 Close Encounters

Kassbohrer launches new ideas for low loaders

112 Trending for low tare weight Custom building is the key to success

Brisbane operator H2Flow Hire maintains a fluid approach to business Follow PowerTorque on

62 Ready and Waiting

Isuzu gives the customer what they want, when they want it

68 Heading North

Qube Logistics in Far North Queensland’s sugar belt For all editorial information and subscriptions please contact: Managing Editor - Chris Mullett Road Test Editors - Brenton O’Connor

Ed Higginson

Warren Caves Contributing Writers - Stuart Martin Neil Dowling Photography - Geoff Parrington

Torque it Up

Mark Bean Designer - Steven Foster Account Manager - Maree Mullett Editorial Division, PO Box 271AB, Airlie Beach, Qld 4802 Telephone: +61 (0) 7 4946 4658 Email: edit@powertorque.com.au Website: www.powertorque.com.au

For advertising rates and information please contact: Motoring Matters Magazine Group National business development manager: Email: edit@motoringmatters.com.au Telephone: +61 (0) 7 4946 4658 Website: www.motoringmatters.com.au Newsagency distribution by: Integrated Publications Solutions, A division of Fairfax Newspapers.

Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information the publisher will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequence arising from the reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in PowerTorque are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher.

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‘19

FORWARD

TORQUE

C H R I S M U L L E T T, M A N A G I N G E D I T O R A N D P U B L I S H E R

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he pace of progress of vehicles running with alternative fuels and offering electric and hybrid solutions is something that seems to have suddenly broken through from a position of being a discussion item for the long-term future. The importance of finding low or zero-emission solutions is rapidly becoming an option that transport operators must consider seriously for introduction in the short term.

Australian operators have yet to be affected by access bans to city centres and restrictions to daytime deliveries in urban areas on the grounds of congestion, noise and exhaust emissions. Meanwhile, their counterparts in some European cities are already changing their fleet to incorporate electric, hybrid or LPG/CNG drivetrains in order to execute supplies to the centre of major cities. Their operations are scheduled for late night deliveries, and warehousing in particular for supermarkets is able to accept incoming vehicles with staff rostered on to accept the incoming loads.

When Sydney hosted the Olympic Games in 2000 truck deliveries were scheduled for night time, reducing traffic congestion through the day. The implementation of these access restrictions worked extremely well, despite initial resistance by the loading dock staff that were not too keen on working past their usual 5.00 pm timeslot. As soon as the closing ceremony heralded the end of the Olympics, access restrictions were removed and truck drivers went back to sitting in heavy traffic congestion through the day, while loading-dock personnel went home in time for their evening dinner.

In an approach to solving traffic congestion Australian cities are going to have to consider extended opening hours for shops and offices to accept deliveries.

Operators will have to consider making those deliveries in near-silent vehicles with either zero or close to zeropollution levels to improve health and climate conditions for those living in inner-city housing.

Municipal operations will be using vehicles with electric, hybrid or alternative fuel sources for their road sweepers, refusedisposal operations and EWP (Elevated Work Platforms) that service lighting and other overhead infrastructure.

Whether you are personally an advocate for a greener and cleaner environment or prefer to remain in denial of climate change, the operational requirements for innercity vehicle transport is going to change and there’s every likelihood that change will now be rapid.

While currently it’s the customer that is driving the early adoption of Euro6 vehicles, Australia will have to follow the path of European cities to implement this level of change.

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There is no alternative of solving the problem by building more road infrastructure, as traffic congestion historically will grow to match the available road network.

The IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover last year was a showcase for alternative driveline technologies, and it was applicable across the board, from small lightdelivery vans to medium and large vans, municipal fleet vehicles and local and intrastate delivery trucks.

Contrast this display of finding solutions for future transport requirements with the vehicles exhibited at the recent Brisbane Truck Show and a visitor from Europe could easily have formed the impression that they had stepped back in time, by at least five years, to visit a nation unaware of climate change.

With Euro5 emissions vehicles still available from most manufacturers, the significance of Euro6 was left to companies like MAN, Mercedes-Benz, IVECO and Scania to illustrate their willingness to improve the environment and to reduce unnecessary pollution.

It’s the task of magazines such as Delivery and PowerTorque to report on new technologies and trends that will improve efficiency and reduce fatigue, while reducing the impact that the human race is having on the global environment. It’s the task of the Federal and State and Territory governments to oversee the environment and limit the damage caused unnecessarily and to protect its population.

From September 2015, all new vehicles sold in the EU countries must be Euro6 compliant. Australia has yet to confirm a date for reciprocity, with a suggestion of implementation being unconfirmed at 2025, a decade after Europe.

In your planning for fleet replacement, expand your horizons to include these incoming technologies and ensure that your company stays abreast of impending change. It’s ironic that while long-distance road-train operators are using Euro6 vehicles crossing wide expanses of open desert in this country, some inner-city operators are still running pre 1996 vehicles. Not only are these vehicles non-compliant even with Euro1, neither are they providing established safety standards for their occupants, with the chance of dying in a vehicle more than 15 years old being four times higher than in a vehicle less than five years old.

Australian transport operations are the envy of many countries for their efficiency and professionalism. It’s now time to take those levels to the next standard.

As always, from all our team, thanks for joining us and enjoy the drive.

MADE TO LAST.

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BUILDING AUSTRALIA To build a nation, you need a truck with real staying power. For one hundred years, Mack is proud to have stood behind our customers with trucks built to get the job done. But we never stop striving. We’re constantly innovating to improve our engineering and performance. Durability and reliability. Ensuring that you get a truck built to stand the test of time.

Mack Trucks. Born Ready.

Discover Mack’s history at macktrucks.com.au/about-mack/mack-history

AT THE

WHEEL

WA R R EN CAV E S LOOK S AT T H E ROA D A H E A D

T

here’s no denying it, it’s an exciting time to be at the wheel. New truck technologies and safety advancements are slowly but surely catching up with passenger car standards, producing a much safer and comfortable workspace for the modern-day driver of heavy vehicles.

As we venture deeper into the acronym era of truck technology - ABS, EBS, ACC, AEB, EBS, EBD, LDW, CPS and the list goes on - one could be forgiven for being a little confused by all these functions. Together they pose another question, what they do and how to correctly operate them in real world operational conditions?

Each manufacturer has its own systems (and names) for new and emerging technologies that perform, to some degree, exactly the same task or function as the competitors’ product, sometimes with a totally different name and acronym attached to it.

It’s no wonder that some drivers are in sensory overload trying to keep up with this advancing technology. As the trend continues, it would be an improvement to see some form of uniformity, making it easier to understand and match the benefits to their inclusion in the truck.

There’s also added justification for a higher degree of commonality to be carried over to in-cab operating switches and steering-column stalks.

From the perspective of the driver behind the wheel, where does the onus lie for educating and training the end user of the individual systems? This not only applies when the trucks are new and unfamiliar, but also should apply to educate or introduce drivers that are moved into unfamiliar trucks without any form of induction.

Is it fair to place a driver into a new model truck featuring the latest technology as an operational requirement, if they have no previous experience or product training on that vehicle? Anyone who has been in this game for a while will surely relate to this: I certainly can. I have been thrown into totally unfamiliar trucks and had to sort everything, coping with rocker switches where the function description has been worn off, while expected to get the best from the vehicle.

Where or how do we place the responsibility for ensuring every driver has a measure of training and familiarity with individual pieces of equipment?

It’s easy to disregard the manufacturer, and yet with a personal knowledge of the technology included in the vehicle they are possibly the best educated out there in terms of understanding its functionality to pass on that knowledge.

While it’s accepted these days that for some manufacturers - such as Mack, Volvo and Scania - a driver trainer comes with the truck to provide on the job training at the time of vehicle purchase, that’s by no means a standard benefit across the board. Despite the proof of knowing a well-trained driver will get the best result from a 8

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new vehicles, some manufactures have not yet initiated a driver-training programme within their organisation.

As an extension of the driver-trainer programme that is supplied with a new-vehicle purchase, perhaps it is feasible to additionally organise subsequent followup visits for other drivers in the company. It’s certainly a better option than hiring a driver trainer that may themselves not have personal experience and familiarity with the brand, and certainly preferable to suggesting that every truck salesman can be authorised to provide driver training. Who assesses the driving skills of a truck salesperson? As a case in point, a Mack Trident or Granite truck fitted with M-Drive automated transmissions are not exactly new models. Despite having been around for some time, they can still trap even an experienced driver that may not have had exposure to their operation.

I’m referring to the functions unique to that truck and specifically the sometimes-unknown problem of the engine brake failing to operate when the cruise-control switch is in the ‘on’ position, not with cruise control activated but with only the switch turned on.

This small but significant quirk with the M-Drive system has the potential for hugely adverse impacts to all road users. If a driver starts to negotiate a steep decline before realising the engine brake is not functioning, it’s not their best option to attempt to read the operator’s manual or to phone a friend. The same M-Drive transmission system also has the tendency over time to wear the letters off the control panel on the dash, leaving the operator guessing as to function of each button.

These instances may for some seem to be nothing more than a trivial annoyance. But on a dark night and amidst torrential rain, the fumbling around for a wiper switch with no lettering left on it, while trying to negotiate a bend on a narrow road and when an oncoming vehicles headlights in the words of Slim Dusty - “are a blinding you”, quickly and easily finding a wiper switch becomes a matter of significant importance.

Driver distraction is known to be a major cause of vehicle crashes, hence the banning of electronic devices from use while driving. Attention diverted from the road ahead, even for short periods can have dire consequences.

Unfortunately, scanning an unfamiliar truck dash for a specific control switch, which may or may not be clearly labelled, is surely just as dangerous as using a phone.

New systems and new technologies pose new challenges for drivers old and new and uniformity in terms of naming controls and features would certainly help. I understand the concept of branding with individual names for features is to create a marketing edge, but this can create confusion. Bring on the day when all critical safety functions are uniformly identifiable across all brands.

Safe Trucking, Warren Caves.

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The most spacious sleeper in the Kenworth range offers you more room to move, with improved standing room, wider bunk options, multiple storage layouts and a suite of driver comfort features. The T610, offering you more in-cab comfort than ever before.

For more information contact your local Kenworth dealer.

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LEGAL

TORQUE

GILLIAN BRISTOW PROVIDES SOUND ADVICE FOR OPER ATORS OWNER DRIVERS – NOT A LEGISLATION FREE ZONE In February 2019, I discussed Labor’s proposal to set up an independent “safe rates” body empowered to establish safe standards of work for transport industry drivers and operators. Given the May 2019 election result, this idea is likely to be shelved for the time being. However, transport operators should be aware of their rights and obligations under existing state owner/driver legislation.

In this issue Legal Torque highlights key considerations for transport operators engaging owner drivers in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. The legislation that applies in those states is: •

Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW) which prescribes the General Carriers Contract Determination;

•

Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005 (Vic) and Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Regulation 2006 (Vic); and

•

Owner-Drivers (Contracts and Disputes) Act 2007 (WA) and Owner-Drivers (Contracts and Disputes) (Code of Conduct) Regulations 2010 (WA).

It is important to understand that the definition of “owner/ driver” is different in each state.

What are the obligations of a hirer in respect of information and record-keeping?

Generally, a hirer will be obliged to provide an owner/ driver with certain information before or shortly after they commence work, including information about the owner/ driver’s legal rights and entitlements.

The hirer will usually also be required to record and keep certain information including details of the work performed and the payments made.

Are there any restrictions on the content of owner/ driver contracts?

The regime in each state imposes some requirements on the terms of owner/driver contracts. In Western Australia, a provision of an owner/driver contract will have no effect if it makes the hirer’s obligation to pay contingent on the hirer being paid by someone else. Both Western Australia and Victoria prohibit the imposition of contractual penalties on owner/drivers, and Victoria prohibits “unjust” contractual terms.

Regulations may also prescribe for what either party is required to pay. Under the General Carriers Contract 10

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Determination in New South Wales, expenses such as communication technology, uniforms and signwriting are paid for by the hirer, while the owner/driver pays for things like registration, maintenance and loading equipment.

Both Victoria and Western Australia limit the hirer’s ability to deduct amounts from payments due to the owner/driver.

What are the payment terms under owner/driver contracts?

In New South Wales and Western Australia, regulations impose 30-day maximum payment terms. In Victoria, there are no mandated payment terms, but any provision allowing payment terms longer than 30-days may be an unjust term (and therefore void). The Victorian Parliament is also currently considering the Owner/Drivers and Forestry Contractors Amendment Bill 2019, which would implement mandatory 30-day payment terms.

Are owner/drivers entitled to minimum rates?

The question of rates is addressed differently in each state but hirers do not have complete freedom to determine rates. In New South Wales, various contract determinations prescribe minimum rates that hirers may be obliged to pay.

In Victoria, there are no minimum rates. The regulations provide guidance as to how rates should be determined and significant departures from the prescribed principles may result in the relevant rates being found to be unjust.

Similarly, in Western Australia there are no minimum rates, but failure to pay a safe and sustainable rate may be considered “unconscionable” and therefore prohibited.

In Western Australia, owner/drivers must also be paid an additional amount in respect of any higher payment received by the hirer for fuel price fluctuations. Fuel price fluctuations are built into the minimum rates in New South Wales and must be accounted for in setting rates in Victoria.

How are owner/driver contracts terminated?

Legislation may limit the hirer’s ability to terminate an owner/driver contract. In New South Wales, contracts covered by the General Carriers Contract Determination must be terminated on a “last on, first off” basis. In Victoria, hirers must generally give owner/drivers one month’s notice of termination, or three month’s notice in the case of owner/drivers of heavy vehicles (vehicles with a GVM of 4.5 tonne or more).

If you have any questions about owner driver legislation, you are welcome to contact Gillian Bristow (gillian@ bristowlegal.com.au).

CLEANER ENGINES. SMART TRANSMISSIONS.

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CLEANER EURO 6 ENGINES

ADVANCED SAFETY

The Australian made Stralis X-Way range from IVECO offers some of the cleanest diesel powerplants available in Australia, meeting stringent Euro6 standards using IVECO’s unique ‘Hi-eSCR’ system. Hi-eSCR is a single after-treatment system with a passive Diesel Particulate Filter that doesn’t require driver intervention. Along with delivering superior environmental performance and lower fuel use, the latest engine range provides strong performance with outputs ranging from 310hp and 1300Nm to 510hp and 2300Nm. And matched to the impressive ‘HiTroniX’ 12-speed automated manual transmission, the package provides seamless gear changes and power delivery to make short work of intra and interstate haulage tasks. The new Stralis X-Way.

For your nearest IVECO Dealer call 1800 4 IVECO or visit www.iveco.com.au

ATA

DELIVERS

GEOFF CROUCH, CHAIR, AUSTRALIAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION ATA Delivers New Ideas and Real Skills For more than 20 years the Australian Trucking Association and PACCAR and its dealer network have collaborated to present the annual Technical and Maintenance Conference (TMC), one of Australia’s longest-running technical conferences.

Our industry is changing fast so in 2018 we were excited to relaunch as the Technology and Maintenance Conference, revising the programme to include an increased focus on technology as well as the key issues of safety, productivity, environment, costs and careers.

TMC is a must-attend event for technology and maintenance professionals in the trucking industry and brings together maintenance technicians, apprentices, fleet managers and technical fleet professionals.

Delegates will have the opportunity to embrace new ideas, while developing and maintaining real skills.

TMC 2019 will give delegates the opportunity to learn industry best practice through an interactive programme of technical sessions, compliance and information forums, job-specific presentations and practical workshops.

TMC is the ideal opportunity to build professional networks and develop relationships with suppliers, operators and technicians in the industry through exciting networking sessions and the PACCAR Parts Fun Night that is a conference highlight. In his true style of fun and frivolity, PACCAR Parts’ Trevor Dickson will take charge of the Fun Night to deliver an evening packed with entertainment.

come. TMC is also a time to celebrate industry excellence at the Castrol Vecton Awards Dinner.

Each year, the ATA recognises an individual or organisation’s technical innovation and achievement within the Australian trucking industry with the Castrol Vecton Industry Achievement Award. This award acknowledges the efforts of outstanding industry members that have improved not only their own operations, but have made improvements to industry as a whole.

The dinner also honours technical and maintenance excellence in the workshop with the Craig Roseneder Award. This prestigious award is a long-standing tradition of TMC and celebrates the professionalism of the men and women in the trucking industry’s workshops.

Each year, this award highlights the amazing calibre of people who work behind the scenes to keep our trucks safe on the road.

The winner of this award will not only receive national recognition for their outstanding achievement, they also receive a fully-paid trip to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend the US Technology and Maintenance Council’s 2019 Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition.

Nominations for the Craig Roseneder award are now open and I urge everyone in the trucking industry to nominate someone great.

There are so many amazing men and women in the trucking industry and I’m sure we all know someone who would be deserving of this award.

TMC brings together a wide range of industry suppliers and brands, displaying the latest products and services in the exhibition space. Delegates will also have an exclusive opportunity to get hands-on with trucking technology in the interactive workshop zone.

While we spend the evening acknowledging excellence, we will also recognise a very important anniversary.

Another centennial commemoration: Castrol’s 100 years in Australia. This is a momentous milestone that deserves recognition and celebration.

Whether you’re running a workshop or finalising your apprenticeship, TMC 2019 will benefit your business and your career. This year’s conference will be extra special, as longstanding ATA supporter Cummins Inc. celebrates 100 years.

TMC 2019 will be held from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 October at the Kangan Institute’s Automotive Centre of Excellence, Melbourne Docklands.

Delegates will join us in one of our plenary sessions to reflect on the company’s history and achievements over the years with shared stories, before gaining an insight into its future and what we can expect in the years to 12

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Secure your space and register now at www.truck.net. au/TMC Nominate someone great for the 2019 Craig Roseneder Award at www.truck.net.au/CR19 Geoff Crouch, Chair, Australian Trucking Association

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STORES

6

DAYS

FEATURE

CUSTOMER CONNECTION Success for AGM Heavy Haul comes from keeping the customer informed and satisfied. – Report by Chris Mullett – Photography by Mark Bean

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AGM HEAVY HAUL

A

fter 30 years of representing a major international manufacturer of mining and construction equipment, Lawrie Mills, with his wife Michelle, decided to branch out on their own to fill a need for improved customer service. It had become obvious to Lawrie that while the companies with whom he worked had excellent customer service systems in place, there were areas in the supply and delivery of products to the customer that fell short of the required standards.

“Customers were concerned over delays in the supply and transportation of equipment and these concerns were compounded by a lack of available information as to where the loads might be and when they might be delivered. While the transport suppliers were able to effectively transport the equipment, the lack of communication to the customer was a major factor leading to client dissatisfaction,” said Lawrie.

“I had a passion for trucking and heavy machinery, which probably stemmed from my father who was a truckie. I had the opportunity to move into transport and consequently bought a truck and a trailer. I knew that to be successful I had to fill the gap in the industry that always resulted in a lack of information as to the whereabouts of the plant and equipment being transported,” he added.

“We have operated Freightliner Argosy’s since we started the business and now have five in service”

Having established a high reputation with his customer base through his career with machinery suppliers, Lawrie then set about establishing his own transport operation with a focus on service and communication.

With a head office now in Newcastle, plus a depot in Sydney, Lawrie and Michelle Mills’ company AGM Heavy Haul now operates nationwide with five Freightliner Argosy prime movers and a collection of heavy-haulage plant trailers by Multi-Lynx, Top Start and Drake that includes three rows of eight quad-axle floats, three rows of four wideners and also drop-decks with ramps.

“We have operated Freightliner Argosy’s since we started the business and now have five in service. We have one 110-inch extended-cab model, three existing 101-inch models plus a further two new 101-inch cab models that have joined the fleet recently as part of our normal fiveyear vehicle replacement programme,” said Lawrie.

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FEATURE

“We started originally using the Series 60 Detroit Diesels and didn’t have any issues with them. That reliability has continued with the DD15s we use today”

The two new arrivals both feature the Cummins X15 SCR engine with AdBlue, joining one other Cummins-powered Argosy with the EGR engine. The remaining two are powered by Detroit Diesel DD15 engines. The ratings are 550 hp for the Cummins and 565 hp for the Detroits and all are running with 18-speed manual Roadranger transmissions and use Neway air suspension with conventional drum-brake systems.

“We started originally using the Series 60 Detroit Diesels and didn’t have any issues with them. That reliability has continued with the DD15s we use today. We did initially experience some problems with the earlier EGR Cummins engines, but with the new X15s that is not something we are anticipating.

“Fuel economy comparisons are always difficult to evaluate between the two different drivelines as with our GCM ratings ranging from 106-120 tonnes the loads and weights vary tremendously.

“Our analysis currently shows both engines returning similar figures of around the 1.6-1.7 km/litre mark, with the Detroits being slightly better. The X15 engines with SCR and AdBlue are still a new development for us and we need more time to evaluate the improvements that might be available,” added Lawrie.

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Maintenance on the newly-arrived vehicles is completed initially by Daimler Trucks of Huntingwood through sales executive Mario Agius who has supplied all the Freightliners to AGM Heavy Haul through its 13 years of business. The relationship between Mario and Lawrie Mills is typical of AGM’s approach to business and client/ customer relationships, with Mario this year celebrating 33 years of continuous employment at the same dealership.

“Heavy haulage requires operators that have particular knowledge and experience. Our drivers complete a very comprehensive daily pre-start check of the vehicles, trailers and equipment, because in heavy-haulage transport we have to ensure that nothing is likely to impact on the movement of the machinery. In this way we minimize any possibility of having an unscheduled stop somewhere far from the availability of roadside assistance.

“The Argosys have been particularly suited to our type of work and although they have the benefit of a larger cab for the driver, we can stay within the 19m overall length requirements (or 20m for longer floats),” he added.

AGM HEAVY HAUL

Communication between AGM and its customers provides regular updates of vehicle and load location and progress.

The communication between the drivers and head office has until now been via mobile phone links and GPS positioning but the company is currently evaluating an upgrade with NAVMAN and Verizon that will enable each driver to communicate to head office through a PDA in the cab.

If there is one concern in the heavy haulage it relates to the issue of permits, now the responsibility of the HVIA, with expected permit issue times now taking up to three weeks to authorise. This time delay is now restricting the ability of members in the heavy-haulage sector to react to more urgent short-term traffic movements. Other concerns include the continuing lack of commonality of legislation and permits between the different States and Territories.

AGM’s tyre-monitoring programme is handled by Tates Tyres of Riverstone, with the current preference for the

Argosys being to run with either Continental or Pirelli products. All vehicle and maintenance requirements are handled by STR Mechanical of Londonderry on the western outskirts of Sydney.

As a satisfied operator of the Freightliner Argosy product, Lawrie Mills is currently keen to evaluate the potential of the Mercedes-Benz 2658 and 2663 prime movers as a possible replacement.

“The warranty support of 1,000,000 km for Detroit engines and 1,200,000 km for Cummins engines governs our vehicle replacement programme to five years. We will be looking at how the 16-litre Daimler engine and Powershift transmission in the Mercedes-Benz performs in our heavy-haulage area, together with evaluating the Freightliner Cascadia when it is released in the latter part of this year,” added Lawrie.

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FEATURE

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT PowerTorque drives Volvo’s XXL Globetrotter - Words by Ed Higginson Bigger is definitely better when it comes to bunk space as demonstrated by Volvo Trucks as it officially launched its long-awaited FH Globetrotter XXL Cab at the recent Brisbane Truck Show. For those with patience, deliveries will start in June for Europe and August for our market.

The previous FH Globetrotter XXL cab had great success in Australia before it was retired when the new shape FH, series four, was launched in 2012. At the time, Volvo couldn’t justify developing a special cab just for the Australian market, but now it’s launched the cab for which Volvo fans have been waiting.

To achieve the extra 600 litres of living space, Volvo has re-engineered the Globetrotter XL cab moving the rear wall back 250 mm. It’s not just a simple cut and shut, but a fully-integrated cab with extra C-pillars to ensure it’s strong enough to meet the latest European Cab Strength ECE R29-03 which now includes roll-over simulations, plus Volvo’s own high safety standards.

The new larger design has enabled Volvo to fit a 130 mm longer and 250 mm wider innerspring mattress with an option to tilt a section of the bed upwards so you can sit up to read or watch a movie in comfort. A great idea that makes you wonder why no one else offers this.

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With a long association with the Volvo brand as a driver and fleet manager, I was keen to trial the XXL and find out just how good this will be for the Aussie driver.

We were to take the XXL for an overnight trip from Volvo’s new head office in Wacol to North Talwood, a small country town about an hour west of Goondiwindi, covering 1440 km over two days.

On arriving at Volvo’s offices, I was greeted by Matt Wood, whom you may recognise from his years as a fellow trucking journalist before joining Volvo’s team of driver trainers. Matt was to spend the next two days riding alongside me in the only XXL currently on the road, with it being the same unit displayed at the truck show.

From the outside, the cab doesn’t appear to be substantially larger than the standard Globetrotter, with the rear cab extension hidden by the larger side air deflectors.

The interior of the Globetrotter retains the standard FH16 colour scheme with lime-green touches, of which personally I’m not a fan. The fit and finish is the usual high standard you expect from Volvo, showing the XXL is a true factory build, with the cab imported from Scandinavia fully assembled.

VOLVO XXL

The lockers above the windscreen, the under-bunk fridge drawers and cabinets fitted to the back wall are no larger in the XXL, but they are still more than most drivers would need, whilst the external side lockers increase in size by 50 litres.

The most important part of the new cab, and why you’d spend the extra $25,000, is the king-single innerspring mattress, now 2130 mm by 1065 mm. On top of the mattress, Volvo has also added a thin cushion layer that is extra comfortable, plus also makes it easier to use fitted sheets.

After a quick look around the FH16 XXL, which was coupled to a set of Freighter B-double Tautliner trailers, we hit the road. Firstly, joining the Ipswich Motorway, then onto the Warrego Hwy heading West towards the long climb up the Great Dividing Range into Toowoomba.

Although this test was to review the benefits of the XXL cab when sleeping in it overnight, there is so much more to love about the Volvo. The highlight here is the D16-litre 700 hp Euro5 engine fitted with the I-Shift Automated 13-speed over-drive with crawler gear, plus the Volvo Engine Brake (VEB+).

The demo truck also featured forward-collision warning with autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping support with corrective steering, lane-change support and driver alert. The only issue was that the trailers didn’t have EBS, so effectively that omission made half of the truck’s safety features useless.

A shame with such a modern combination.

With 3150 Nm of torque between 1000 rpm and 1550 rpm, the Globetrotter picked up speed effortlessly, smoothly

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FEATURE shifting through the gears until hitting the speed limiter. In the wrong hands, 700 hp can be expensive, but with a few tips from Matt you soon learn to relax and use the cruise and EcoRoll function to control your speed.

By leaving the excellent I-Shift transmission to work with the engine’s torque curve, the truck just labours down into the lower rpm band as you hit the hills, then digs deep to pull you over the crest at a decent speed. As you head down the other side, you can then simply drop the cruise by a couple of kilometres with a flick of the thumb to let the truck control your downhill speed using the VEB+.

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At Euro5, the engine revs slightly higher than the new crop of Europeans that usually drop as low as 900 rpm, but it’s still quiet with Volvo’s excellent sound proofing. The cab also sits on airbags with gas struts set at 45 degrees to take out the bumps and the usual cab roll of old. The XXL cab is only an extra 145 kg in weight, so with the new cab suspension it rides really well, especially over the worsening inland highways.

After a quick stop at the BP in Toowoomba to check our GCM, which was 60,680 kg, we then drove to Goondiwindi and on to North Talwood. Arriving as the sun began to fade, we put the Nitro LED light bar to good use to help spot the high number of kangaroos but luckily, we managed to avoid a messy encounter.

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FEATURE After parking up for the night in an old railway siding, we walked a few hundred metres to the Talwood Hotel so we could have a decent feed and get Matt a room, before I returned to my luxury accommodation in the XXL. Climbing inside the cab, it’s easy to set up the interior for the night. Both seats have a quick release handle on the backrest so they can be tilted forward for extra room. The curtains pull around easily, and with 2110 mm of head room between the seats, its easy to get changed before jumping into bed.

Once in the bed, there is an electric switch close by that lets you tilt the mattress, so you are comfortably sitting up to read or use the remote and watch the flatscreen tv/dvd. With most functions organised from the control panel on the rear wall - such as the door’s central locking, electric sunroof, electric windows, radio channels, speaker volume, cab lights and morning alarm - there is no need to get up again till the morning.

A few improvements I’d want to add would be somewhere to hang a wet towel and a few shirts whilst driving, plus a few more USB sockets, especially on the rear wall, so you can charge your phone during the night. It would also be worth adding the microwave and coffee maker with power points in the overhead cabinets, but these are all current options with Volvo. If the I-shift control is relocated from beside the seat to the dash, a driver could also opt for a second pull-out freezer next to the fridge, so you’d never need to buy fast food again!

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I can honestly say it’s one of the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a truck. Not just because of the bed, but also the space, the layout of controls, the sound proofing and the Icepack heater/cooler. If your business is serious about fatigue management, then maximising your driver’s sleeping comfort must be your key consideration the next time you buy a truck.

Waking at about 5.45 am, it was just as easy to get dressed and reset the cab for driving, so I was ready to roll when Matt arrived at 6. Given the choice between sleeping in the truck or the hotel I’d be happy to take the truck.

After about an hour’s drive back to Goondiwindi we stopped at the Caltex for breakfast and a coffee, before heading back through Warwick and down Cunningham’s Gap towards Wacol.

On the way down the Gap, we put the I-shift into manual selecting fifth gear at which point the VEB+ was able to hold the set speed all the way down with an impressive 570 hp of retardation at 2000 rpm. Moving between Position 1 (exhaust brake), Position 2 (engine brake) and Position 3 (exhaust and engine brakes) you can control the downhill speed easily without the need to touch the brake pedal.

Over the two days, the Dynafleet driver’s report would give me a score of 89, which Matt told me was pretty good, and with an average speed of 78 km/h we achieved a 53.99 L/100 km (1.85 kms/l), which isn’t bad considering the climb into Toowoomba.

VOLVO XXL

“ I can honestly say it’s one of the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a truck.”

When the new Volvo FH was launched in 2012, it was the most modern truck on the market by some margin and helped pushed Volvo to second spot in the Australian heavy vehicle market, just behind Kenworth.

However, the competition is always pushing hard with the new Euro6 trucks from Scania and Mercedes gaining market sales, and the recent Euro6 announcement from Kenworth adding to the pressure placed on Volvo. The XXL cab has come at an important moment, now we just need the updated Euro6 version.

Positives: Driveline with 16-litre engine and I-shift, king-single mattress with tilting function, safety packages and smooth cab ride.

Negatives: I nterior cab colours, no Euro6 option and the additional cost of $25,000.

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FEATURE

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS UD Trucks rebuilds with new products and a fresh emphasis on ability

T

he UD truck brand is been renowned for reliability backed by a very strong service history with local councils and, more recently, with the container traffic operations heading into Sydney ports and with pick-up and delivery fleets.

UD made some important announcements at the Brisbane Truck Show that PowerTorque feels were overshadowed by some members of the industry that promoted the more glamorous long-haul, high-horsepower interstate operations.

The company launched the current Quon back in 2017 and as PowerTorque’s Brenton O’Connor reported at the time, it shared components with the Volvo Group, including engines, transmissions, axles and safety systems.

This commonality or similarity of technical aspects provides an advantage to operators with sharper pricing of components through the economies of scale achieved from much larger sales volumes, and the greater efficiencies that result from the investment by the whole group.

The components are selected to suit the operators expected applications, such as the Quon’s 11-litre engine that is specified to meet the Japanese emissions standards, which are slightly higher than the Euro6 mandated levels.

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Tare weight of the latest version has been reduced across the range, with UD Trucks Australia vice-president Mark Strambi confirming a reduction of “between 100 and 250 kg dependent upon the variant selected”.

The GH11TD engine is a 10.84-litre, inline, six-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled engine. For the Quon it’s available in three different power outputs ranging from 287 kW to 338 kW (390-460 hp), with torque output rated between 1750 and 2200 Nm.

UD QUON

“Provides an advantage to operators with sharper pricing”

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FEATURE

“The Croner will come with a full suite of support services”

Matching this power and torque is the sixth version of its ESCOT automated manual transmission (AMT). ESCOT stands for Easy, Safe, Controlled, Transmission and it features 12 forward and two reverse gears, including a manual mode.

Virtually identical to the industry benchmarked Volvo I-Shift, the ESCOT is the only transmission offering with no alternative manual transmission available.

The Quon is available in both prime mover and rigid specifications and a variety of wheelbase and driveline options. These options include 4x2 and 6x4 prime mover spec, 6x2 rigid, 6x4 in long wheelbase for rigid trays and curtain-siders, and as a short-wheelbase rigid for tipper bodies.

The UD Quon has a maximum GCM of 60 tonnes for B-double applications, based upon the GW 26 460 model.

However, upon specific customer application and engineering approval by UD, this GCM can be increased to higher weights. Disc brakes are fitted as standard equipment.

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Now the 11-litre Quon has a new sibling, in the form of an 8-litre variant announced just in time to preview at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show.

The 8-litre Quon is available in two models, the CD 25 360 (6x2 rigid) and the CW 25 360 (6x4 rigid). Power comes from the GH8TA engine, boasting a maximum output of 263 kW at 2200 rpm, with peak torque of 1428 Nm rated at 1200 – 1600 rpm. It conforms to pPNLT emissions requirements ranking it as a Euro6 compliant engine by using SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) with AdBlue and a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter).

The transmission is the ESCOT-VI 12-speed automated manual and the standard wheelbase is 5700mm.

The 8-litre engine brings with it a tare weight saving of 300 kilograms when compared to the original 11-litre models, allowing for greater payload while retaining the reliability attributes of the 11-litre.

Like its big brother, the 8-litre Quon includes features such as disc brakes with EBS, enhanced service intervals and support from Volvo Group’s extensive service network.

The new Volvo FH XXL Redefining the space race down under

Navigating the vast space of the Australian continent requires drivers with the right stuff, operating out of this world equipment designed to efficiently deliver their payload in safety and comfort.

The all new FH Globetrotter XXL Cab redefines interior space and comfort. Featuring one of the biggest beds in the business, the XXL takes driver comfort and fatigue management to all new levels. Beyond a bed the size of a King Single, we have added huge amounts of extra storage space to compliment our famous FH ergonomics and creature comforts.

Proudly Made in Australia and locally customized for our tough conditions, the XXL is light years ahead in the race for driver space.

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FEATURE The front suspension uses a parabolic spring, while the rear is a full ECAS system with eight airbags.

The Volvo Group reputation for safety also flows into the UD brand, with a focus on ensuring the safety of the driver and other road users. This includes: Traffic Eye Brake, UD Stability Control, and Lane Departure Warning System.

Fuel savings are also under the spotlight, with features that include an ECO mode, adaptive cruise control and ESCOT Roll. Fuel tank capacity is 400 litres.

With two major developments in its Quon product range, UD Trucks Australia used the Brisbane Truck Show to provide customers with a preview of the next new addition of the brand’s portfolio, the UD Croner that will be officially launched in January 2020.

The product and engineering team in Australia worked closely with the global UD Trucks’ networks to adapt the specifications of the Croner range to suit Australian conditions and unique requirements. That work comes off the back of the Croner range having been tested in markets around the world, covering over 1.5 million kilometres in countries such as South Africa, Peru, India, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.

From launch, the Croner will be available in two models - the PK 18 280 and PD 25 280 - for a range of vehicle applications. Front suspension is with a parabolic spring, while the rear reverts to a multi-leaf spring pack on a 4500mm wheelbase. Fuel capacity will be 255 litres with an AdBlue capacity of 50 litres.

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The Croner cab has a 2.3m sleeper that complies with ECE R29 on rollover protection, with a chassis choice of 4x2 and 6x2 configurations offering GVWs of 17.5-25 tonnes respectively and a GCW of 25 tonnes (optional to a GCM of 32 tonnes) for trailer work.

Rear air suspension will be standard, but the disc brakes of the Quon are replaced by ‘S’Cam full air brakes with ABS. Unfortunately, VGA has not taken the opportunity to introduce a Euro6 compliant engine from the launch for the Croner, with the GH8E 7.7 litre, overhead camshaft, common-rail injected diesel offering 280 hp (209 kW) at 2200rpm and 1050 Nm of torque at 1100rpm at Euro5 specification, using SCR with Adblue.

An Allison 3000 Series, six-speed double-overdrive automatic transmission will be standard fitment, with a single reduction rear axle featuring a ratio of 5.57:1 With the backing of the VGA Group of dealerships nationally, the Croner will come with a full suite of support services such as group telematics, 24 months fitted parts warranty and Ultimate service agreements.

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FEATURE

WESTERN STYLE Developing a new vehicle is all in a day’s work for WA-based Bis Industries - Words by Neil Dowling

A

Western Australian mine-haulage truck that went from concept to testing in a mere 13 months now has garnered a strong global following by specialist resources and logistics companies.

The Rexx, developed by the Perth-based Bis Industries mining and allied services group, is a 160-tonne payload haulage truck that specifically answers all the problems that Bis identified after its years at, literally, the coal face of the resources sector.

Bis, which started in 1915 as Brambles Industrial Services, initially specialised in underground coal mining equipment leasing and now has expanded into other resources including iron ore.

It bought Powertrans - the company that developed dual-powered road-train technology - in 2014 and this acquisition triggered the ability to involve itself in the design and construction of specialised equipment such as Rexx.

Now, after testing at the Murrin Murrin mine in WA’s northeastern goldfields, Rexx has completed all its trials with flying colours and promptly won the Future of Mining 2019 Innovation Award.

Though similar trucks exist, Bis wanted a machine that fitted its stringent demands.

Bis Industries’ CEO Brad Rogers told Power Torque that the company was in a unique position of being a mine haulage operator which has worked in diverse resources in different countries.

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BIS REXX “We are an experienced mining operator. We have worked for the major miners across most commodities in Australia and Indonesia so we get to see the problems,” he said.

“Rexx has been intentionally designed with some of the common features of dump trucks, so it tips and can be loaded by typical mining tools,” Mr. Rogers said.

“Secondly, we own Powertrans that specialises in minehaul trucks. So that’s our strategy - to recognise and then solve problems through the invention of bespoke equipment.

“We wanted to be assured that it could be retrofitted for tasks while also giving operators flexibility.”

“What we were aiming to solve with Rexx included the range of the truck. Dump trucks normally have a range of five to seven kilometres. On the plus side, they are a very good tool because they are fast and manoeuvrable.

“We saw a need of a dump truck that could be loaded using standard equipment but go further than a standard dump truck. This enables us to avoid stockpiling and so save on the cost of re-handling materials and the risks associated with re-handling.”

Presented with the problems, Bis engaged skunk-works methodology to create a very specialised truck to solve these issues.

The result took a staggering 13 months from discussing the problems with haul trucks to drawing sketches, designing, proving, fabricating and then launching the truck now known as Rexx.

The endeavour to make a better truck has paid off, but it’s still early days and Bis has some twists in its future plans.

“We have very good interest from around the world,” Mr. Rogers said.

“Most of the conversations have started in Australia but we have been speaking with mining companies from around the world.

“There are also inquiries from other sorts of companies because Rexx doesn’t just have to be exclusively for mining. We have looked at requests from industries including civil construction and oil sands, for example.

“Anywhere where you need a dump truck, Rexx’s flexible and manoeuvrability features can be an advantage.”

Bis is now planning the next move. It has options including local production or moving manufacture offshore. But Mr. Rogers is keen to keep the truck closer to the company’s chest with strength being given to Australian manufacture for its customers while retaining Bis as the operator.

“We could export it, but we have to look at what is the most economically sensible thing to do,” he said.

“We operate in Indonesia and have manufactured products before in Indonesia, so that helps for local content and means we don’t have to deal with import and export restrictions and costs and the logistics of moving heavy assets over distances.

“We’ll look at case-by-case positions. Initially we have to get the first Rexx into operation in Australia before we look at long-term manufacturing. That’s likely to be in Australia or South-East Asia. It makes sense for us to start production in Australia and deal first with our Australian customers.”

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FEATURE Mr. Rogers said Bis is offering Rexx through its operating company and so the truck can be provided through contracts.

“What we don’t want to do is punch out a series of Rexx trucks as an OEM,” he said, discounting mass production in Australia.

“That’s not our business model. The production model for future Rexx trucks is to line up customer contracts and then make Rexx to meet demand.”

Mr. Rogers said Bis did not receive any grants from the government.

“That is something we will look at in the future. We wanted to focus on keeping Rexx confidential and protect the intellectual property.

“We built the first one under the cover of secrecy for various reasons, so it would positively surprise the market and also because it would be protected.

“We will think about assistance going forward but the first Rexx was all funded by Bis.” Also, for the future is autonomous operation. Mr. Rogers said the design of the truck is “very efficient” and that the ability to be autonomous had already been built into its design at an early stage.

“We have spoken to customers who have automated machinery and Rexx will fit into their programme,” he said.

“In the first instance, we would want to get manned Rexx trucks into a contract and then move to automation later. We want to launch Rexx first.”

Technically the truck uses a Cummins engine and Allison transmission, but its steering and drive systems are protected by patent and Mr. Rogers would not discuss any detail.

It is an multi-axle system and has 20 wheels of more conventional size than rival dump trucks,

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Brad Rogers

promoting the reality that any fault in a rim or tyre would be cheaper to replace.

Features include its 13.6m turning circle - not much bigger than a large SUV - and its ability to run for two 12-hours shifts without refuelling, eliminating downtime.

Testing at Minara’s Murrin Murrin mine, carried out in reallife operating conditions, showed that the truck has the ability to deliver up to a 30 per cent reduction in operating costs compared with conventional dump trucks.

Mr. Rogers said one area of the savings which could be passed on to Bis customers in haulage costs was average fuel use by Rexx, which was around half that consumed by rival dump trucks of equivalent capacity.

Safety features include Bis’s fatigue management system, 360-degree view cameras and reversing cameras.

“One of the most exciting elements of the project was starting with an idea based on the problem definition and seeing that through from concept to design and subsequent redesign,” he said.

“All those stages, including patenting, fabrication and final launch were completed in 13 months.

“What our engineering team has delivered in Rexx is exceptional. They can be proud to say they have been instrumental in creating a real game changer for mine haulage. It was a lot of seven-day weeks and late nights and it was a passion project for our people,” he added.

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Ed Higginson heads to the United Kingdom to evaluate the growing greenery in the DAF CF and XF portfolios

DAF launched its latest-generation XF and CF Euro6 trucks back in mid-2017 to the European press, receiving many accolades including International Truck of the Year 2018.

It’s ironic that the brand has never mirrored the same success rate in Australia but the introduction of local assembly for some models at the PACCAR plant in Bayswater, Victoria may now re-address the balance of probability and sales performance.

As the leading seller of trucks over 6-tonnes GVM in the Netherlands, UK, Poland and Hungary, as well as holding the number-one spot for prime movers in Belgium and the Czech Republic, DAF has always focused on keeping ahead of the competition. These new Euro6 models do just that.

Last year Kenworth continued to lead the Australian heavy-truck segment, selling just short of 3000 trucks to hold 20.5 percent of the market. In comparison, DAF took 27.6 percent of the UK market, selling 15,000 units to indicate the depth of approval held by the British.

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The new-generation XF and CF trucks are a major leap forward from the current Euro5 DAF designs available in Australia. With a new cab interior and exterior design, new fuel-efficient engines, the ZF TraXon automated gearbox, improved aerodynamics, lighter tare weight and improved electronics, buyers can also expect a 35 percent improvement in cooling performance plus much more value for their investment.

The new-generation models are a winning combination as far as British and European operators are concerned, offering class leading driver comfort. There’s also a claim of seven percent improved fuel economy over the previous Euro6 model, which was

DAF FUTURE launched in Europe back in 2013, and even more over the current Australian Euro5 model.

A trip to the UK presented the opportunity for PowerTorque to spend time with the latest DAF XF105 Euro6 and to experience how the new model will fit into a highly competitive Australian market when it is launched here next year.

Another surprising difference on the new truck is a completely new and ultra-compact Emission Aftertreatment System (EAS). It looks to be around half the size of some of the competition’s Euro6 systems and is 50kg lighter than the previous DAF exhaust. The European spec’d truck has also moved the AdBlue tank to a position behind the cab, whilst the battery box and air tanks have moved to the rear of the chassis.

Joining Michael de Boer, the DAF area sales manager from the company’s head office, and Mandy Wannerton, DAF UK’s driver trainer, I was greeted with a selection of the latest DAF XF105 trucks.

These simple changes combine to make a big difference, freeing up valuable chassis space for larger fuel tanks, especially when using the short European wheelbase and expecting it to travel over Australia’s extra-long distances.

On the outside it’s clearly a DAF, with its distinctive highroof Space Cab, but when you look closely there are many differences, particularly with the front grille and logo.

Aerodynamic efficiency is now the key driving force to reduce fuel consumption, so changes have been made to all areas where air could become trapped, such as the corner scoops, and gaps between the cab and the bumpers. These gains have not been made at the expense of losing the sun visor, which, unlike some of the competitors, DAF has retained as a signature styling influence.

The new cab interior trim looks fantastic, especially with the “Exclusive” line as seen with the top of the range XF105 530hp. The Exclusive gets a distinguished cognaccoloured dash and door panels with aluminium touches or can be optioned with rustic dark wood and silver.

Most of the European interiors have moved towards the sharp straight lines, whilst DAF has stuck with the traditional dash curves, but thanks to the updates, they have made it look modern and very upmarket. The seats are also some of the most luxurious PowerTorque has seen, providing a spot where the driver can happily spend all day in testimony to what DAF calls its armchair driving.

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FEATURE Some features retain the quality PACCAR components, such as the steering wheel, transmission and retarder control stalk, whilst other areas such as the climate control, infotainment system and Bluetooth are all new, which was long overdue.

DAF’s Space Cab has long held the claim to be the most spacious European cab internally, which is why they have been the number one choice for many, resulting in the competition having to redesign their cabs to reach a similar standard. It might not have the largest mattress on the market, but it is still very comfortable and has more than enough locker space for a separate fridge/freezer, microwave, TV and the ever-increasing pile of paperwork required these days.

You need to turn the keys to understand where the biggest changes have been made. The new multi-torque MX-13 engine using SCR and EGR is incredibly quiet, better than most family cars. It also has new power ratings, now at 530 hp and with 2600 Nm of torque.

The XF105 may have been overlooked for line-haul B-double work in the past at just 510 hp, and although an extra 20 hp doesn’t sound like a lot, there is so much more to it with the new engine innovations, the ZF TraXon transmission and additional technology that make it so much more capable.

On the test routes around DAF’s training centre in England, the DAF with a single trailer was only running at 42 tonnes, but on some steep country roads and accelerating up a large incline joining the freeway, the 530 felt like it was punching well above its weight.

The last DAF XF105 PowerTorque drove was Steve Richard’s racing transporter B-double along the Hume Hwy, with the 510 hp Euro5 engine as featured in the September 2018 edition of PowerTorque. It coped easily when running at 55 tonnes, so we’ll be looking forward to trying the new Euro6 version at 62 tonnes in Australia later in the year.

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One interesting result of all this new technology which includes fully variable oil, steering and coolant pumps, a new piston ring package plus a new turbocharger, is a 200,000km service interval! This may be adjusted in Australia considering our weights, fuel quality and temperatures, but it will still be a great selling point for many.

When you get up to cruising speed, which is 90 km/h in the UK, the revs sit at just 1000 rpm, making it one of the quietest trucks PowerTorque has experienced. When operating under the new Eco Mode settings, the box lets the engine drop to just 900 rpm before changing, which takes some getting used to, especially when it’s so quiet, but you need to watch the gauges to realise you aren’t losing speed and continue to pass others.

The TraXon automated gearbox is a big leap forward from the previous ZF, with much faster upshifts and extended use of the EcoRoll function, whereby the box drops into neutral to coast while saving fuel.

In Europe the DAF is sold with Predictive Cruise Control (PCC), so it knows if the road is going to incline or descend within two kilometres in advance, changing gear or holding a required ratio to save fuel.

FEATURE PowerTorque experienced a specific example of this function during one of the routes, as the PCC showed that it recognised the upcoming terrain and predicted the appropriate transmission response more accurately than the driver. As we were entering a curve the PCC system assessed the terrain and although I expected the road to fall away and consequently wanted the box to shift up, the PCC knew best. It held the gear and when we rounded the bend and saw another incline ahead the truck just pushed through.

Technology is changing quickly with each model release, and the new-generation DAF gets a long list of driver aids to assist with safety, comfort and fuel efficiency.

At the risk of producing an almost endless list of initials, the new DAF range incorporates Predictive Cruise Control (PCC) using GPS technology to determine the expected driving conditions. It uses this information to determine the ideal speed and gear to reduce fuel consumption by three percent.

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) automatically adjusts the truck’s speed to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead. Forward Collision Warning (FCW) generates a warning sound and a visual alert on the instrument panel, urging the driver to act in order to prevent a collision. The Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) intervenes to slow the truck down in an emergency.

Additional safety features that are more readily available in the marketplace include Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), alerting the driver if the vehicle begins to move out of the lane. The electronic braking system features improved Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) also described as roll-over control, while the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System ensures continuous monitoring of the pressure and temperature of all tyres, enabling the driver to take swift action if an alarm sounds.

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Accessing all these information streams can be as testing for the driver as the systems themselves, but thankfully the new driver information panel is a lot easier to navigate for all the truck’s information and gets a Driver Performance Assistant (DPA) which includes tips for economical driving.

In recent years we have seen some major advancements in truck designs, particularly with Scania and Mercedes moving to their new-generation cab for Euro6. Although the DAF’s cab shape is still familiar, the overall changes are just as dramatic.

The new XF105 is a fantastic truck, for its cab, engine and transmission, so when supported by PACCAR’s excellent Australian dealer network it will be a real contender when it goes on sale here.

The Alternative Options

DAF

DAF’s development in the move to lower carbon emission

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ith the launch of the new trucks, DAF is also showcasing its push to lower carbon emissions. The PACCAR MX-11 and MX-13 engines can now be driven on Gas-to-Liquid diesel (GTL with five percent CO2 saving), hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO with 80 percent CO2 saving) and Biomass-to-Liquid (BTL), also with 80 percent CO2 saving.

Despite these improvements in technology, there’s still a long way to go before these latest vehicles can meet the next level of emission standards. The next step demands that all new trucks built by 2025 must produce 15 percent less CO2 emissions than the current Euro6 engines, and 30 percent less by 2030.

This tightening of emissions legislation forms the reasoning behind DAF’s major investment in using electric engines for city distribution, leaping ahead of its competitors in a relatively short timeframe.

For the rigid truck market, DAF’s LF Electric FA (at 19 tonnes) uses an E-engine producing 195 kW (peak 250 kW) and with a 220 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and claims a 200 km range, which is more than sufficient for many operations. Combined with new quickcharging stations, the recharging time is down to around 30 minutes, which is now providing a realistic alternative to diesel.

For small semi-trailer operations, again targeted at the short runs, DAF offers the CF Electric FT 4x2 at 37 tonnes.

With an E-engine producing 210 kW (peak 240 kW) and a 170 kWh battery, the CF currently gets a 100 km range, but with the speed of development this could once again be extended prior to sale.

The challenge for truck makers of vehicles at higher weights is the reduction in range, and in this area DAF is offering the CF Hybrid FT as a viable solution. With a 40 tonne GCM, the CF uses an E-engine producing 75 kW (peak 130 kW) and a smaller 85 kWh battery to provide a 40 km fully-electric range.

It’s currently anticipated this should be sufficient for vehicles entering some of the major European cities intending to ban the use of diesel engines by 2025. When the inner-city deliveries have been completed and the truck exits the city zones the CF hybrid can then revert to standard diesel fuel using the MX-11 engine.

With electric and hybrid trucks in operation in a select group of companies across Holland and Germany, DAF is well into its development phase, gathering feedback from drivers and operators, understanding maintenance in the field, range, and other challenges that may come up.

As the deadline is fast approaching for reducing carbon emissions and introducing city bans on diesel emissions, DAF is determined to offer viable alternatives. With the speed of development, we’ve seen, it’s reasonable to expect to see these new trucks going on sale in Europe next year.

With the Australian Federal Government remaining incapacitated when it comes to mandating Euro6 emission standards, the nation has to rely on industry to push for the introduction of these lower emission vehicles ahead of time. There’s certainly a place in society for the introduction of zero emissions vehicles, and the community should continue to exert strong pressure on our politicians to make the necessary commitment, sooner rather than later.

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FOCUS ON SCANIA – PART 1

YOUR FUTURE IN TRANSPORT STARTS RIGHT HERE It’s time for companies to set firm plans for employment growth with future opportunities that promote a wider range of attractive options for newcomers.

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s a company with a lot to talk about, Scania’s team of 60 personnel were kept very busy at the Brisbane Truck Show as they fielded questions about the five silver trucks on the official display stand. By the time the event wrapped up on the Sunday night the number of quality conversations regarding future truck sales was close to double that of the 2017 event.

An innovation for the show in 2019 was the HVIA’s “Jobs Hub” concept whereby job seekers in the industry could interact with company representatives. Scania’s People and Culture Director Michele Gellatly, with Trevor Davis, Scania’s P&C Business Partner as well as Scania Driver Trainer Dave Whyte were on hand to talk to prospective employees plus the 650 high school students who were bussed in to the event over the first two days.

Regular readers would recognise the name of Dave Whyte as being a PowerTorque road test editor over a threeyear period before moving to the more corporate sector with the Swedish manufacturer over the past 18 months.

With a background of driving trucks and running his own trucking business before joining PowerTorque, Dave’s latest position enables him to provide an extensive insight into the different aspects of transport, including his move into journalism.

According to Dave, one of the biggest surprises for high school students was the variety of driving jobs available.

“Their eyes really lit up when they heard you could be hauling the contents of a rock concert around one day and general freight the next, or the many different driving jobs available, and also that you meet a lot of really good people working in the industry and we all get along well,” he said.

According to Michele Gellatly, one of the highlights was meeting with a young man for whom the prospect of a job with Scania could help him get his career back on track.

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“We met a student who had fallen out of the school system a few years ago and who was struggling with his career prospects, but who has a lot of enthusiasm for an apprenticeship. With the right approach and the mentoring that is a feature of our programme we may be able to give this candidate the training that can set him up for a career as a technician,” Michele said.

“Over the weekend we saw many people already in the jobs market with a variety of skill-sets who were looking for a new challenge, and we were able to show them the 60 positions nationwide that Scania has vacant at present.

“Our website has a listing that is constantly updated, and the vacancies underline just how fast Scania is growing in Australia, as a result of the launch of our New Truck Generation and the many customer-friendly services we provide within the after-sales environment,” Michele said.

The conferences held each year by the various trucking and transport associations feature a regular discussion panel where delegates discuss the problems of attracting young, enthusiastic members of the public into the industry. Seeing a practical initiative such as the HVIA proposal to actively involve schools and job seekers has the potential to represent the industry on a series of different levels.

Technology can be a major enticement for students that look to the future and see the way the industry is embracing hybrid-drive, electric vehicles and gaspowered vehicles, plus other alternative fuels such as hydrogen, bio-diesel and ethanol.

Industry has to maintain its pressure on the newly-elected Federal Government to implement these new technologies sooner, rather than later, and to embrace all methods of reducing carbon emissions and thereby lower the rate of climate change.

It’s ironic that the progress currently made in this area for the Australian market is entirely generated by the vehicle manufacturers amidst pressure and support from their customers to establish near zero emissions standards.

SCANIA As an example of what can be achieved, Scania in Europe has recently celebrated receiving the accolade of the Green Truck 2019 award, with its R 450 truck named the most fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly commercial vehicle in its class. This victory gives Scania a hat trick for its third consecutive win in the competition.

Thirteen vehicles were competing for the title and the best economic value. The Scania R 450 won with the lowest average fuel consumption of 23.25 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres, the lowest greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) of 738 grams per kilometre, and the highest average speed of 80.42 km/h on the same 353-km test track.

Green Truck 2019 is a German comparison fuel test sponsored by trade publications VerkehrsRundschau and Trucker which focuses on the lowest fuel consumption.

Another Scania vehicle, a G 410, took the third place in the environmental ranking competition, with an average consumption of 24.02 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres

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and greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) of 762 grams per kilometre. Scania’s market share in Europe has also seen success, with a record high 19.1 percent reached during first quarter of 2019.

While the Europeans evaluate the potential for vehicles operating at under 500 hp, in Australia of course there are major gains to be made in terms of efficiency and reduced fuel consumption by our road train operations where one higher output engine can haul up to four trailers, something that is not possible in Europe.

With Daimler Trucks North America cancelling out of the global platooning experiment on the grounds that testing has proven it not to be a long term viable and beneficial option, Scania’s continued development of its V8 portfolio of engines has brought further benefits to the quest for greater efficiencies for those where high horsepower and torque is the solution.

This year Scania’s V8 celebrates its 50th anniversary, dating back to the late 1960’s when Scania’s engineers released its 14-litre V8 diesel with a maximum power output of 350 hp. This engine formed the association of the company with the V8 philosophy, one that today results in the latest V8 engine design operating at a range encompassing 520 to 730 hp, with full Euro6 exhaust emissions compliance.

Today’s Scania V8s only share the basic design and the modular principle with the first generation. The engine 42

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used from the first 14.2-litre version in 1969 weighed 334 kg. Thanks to improved materials and technology, the 16.4-litre version of today is equal in weight, despite being bigger, almost twice as powerful and equipped with many more advanced and demanding auxiliary systems.

The first V8 needed 1500 rpm to deliver 1245 Nm, while today the 730 delivers 3500 Nm from 1000 rpm.

Today’s low rpm with high torque-engines only use two-thirds of the revs required by the engines in the 1970s. Emissions control was not a priority then and it was not until 1993 that Euro1 became mandatory. Now in 2019, the actual emission standard is Euro6d (from September 2019 in Europe) and a Euro7 regulation is already a requirement for the future.

When Euro1 was introduced, NOx levels of 8.0 were permitted. Today, the level is 0.46.

The latest V8 edition for Scania was introduced in 2017, and is available at 520, 580 and 650 horsepower. It offers fuel savings of 7-10 percent for customers that have vehicles with high combined truck and trailer weights, and for with higher average speeds. All Scania’s Euro5 and Euro6 V8s can run on HVO and the 580 can also run on up to 100 percent biodiesel such as FAME/RME. As can be seen by our following pages of Focus on Scania, the future will rely on improved fuel efficiency and aim for zero emissions. Undoubtedly, it’s going to produce an interesting time for anyone involved in the transport industry.

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FEATURE

FOCUS ON SCANIA – PART 2

RAISING EXPECTATIONS It’s all down to ease of access with the new breed of Elevated Work Platforms

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he mining industry has been the catalyst for the development of new and unique equipment that improves overall efficiency. In the big budget world of mineral exploration, finding a faster, safer and more efficient solution can, in some cases, result in significant cost savings and it’s in this area that Australian companies are renowned for class leading technologies.

To assist a major mining operation undertake safe maintenance of its largest machinery, Victorian-based Safetech of Moe, East Gippsland, rose to the challenge of creating an elevated work platform (EWP) that was highly manoeuvrable on rough surfaces and capable of remaining in position long enough to undertake significant onsite maintenance requirements.

Whether you refer to a shorter scheduled service time as a reduction in downtime or an increase in uptime, the overall result is the same. If the maintenance team can have specific equipment serviced and functioning at peak performance for longer periods, without affecting production, the mining operation is the overall winner.

The challenge for Safetech was to create an elevated work platform able to move a service crew up to height of 11.0 metres. When operating at its maximum elevation, the 7.5-metre-long platform had to be able to traverse 3.0 metres, offering a solid base position from which to complete servicing or repair work on a variety of machinery or installed infrastructure.

Scania has been kicking some substantial goals since the introduction of its New Generation truck range, with the off-road segment catered for by the XT model. It was into this particularly tough operating environment that a Scania XT was selected, reinforced by the brand already operating in support and service roles on-site.

The EWP has been configured to be able to lift a payload of up to 1.5 tonnes. For maximum stability at this operating height the unit is positioned by outriggers that descend directly from the chassis, rather than extending outwards, giving the platform a more compact footprint.

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The front of the truck is elevated off its wheels, while at the extreme rear a pair of hydraulic outriggers support the truck as it sits on its rear wheels, or they can be deployed to lift the entire truck off the ground. Electronic adjustment allows the truck to be levelled out perfectly for greater stability before extending the platform upwards.

According to Chris White, Safetech’s Business Development Manager, this is the largest EWP that Safetech has built to date that is mounted directly onto a vehicle, having also used 4WDs, light commercials and underground mining vehicles as the base for smaller EWPs. The benefit of the Scania-based EWP is that the large platform can allow several technicians to work simultaneously, again improving efficiency.

SCANIA “One of the benefits for the mining operators is that while working on the large mining excavators and haul trucks the technicians no longer have to physically climb up the access ladders to reach the service areas, while carting all their gear and the service components. The EWP platform will lift them directly to the correct height, so there will be less potential for slips, or strains,” he said.

“This has been an intricate build,” Chris said. “We had to engineer the ladder system, the vehicle self-levelling system as well as the platform traverse system, the on-board controls and the hydraulics, so it has required a broad set of skills. However, we design, engineer and build many similar examples for use in mining and other markets.”

“We have designed the safety gates to have a sufficiently wide opening so that a fork lift can load a pallet onto the platform. The platform can be left in an elevated position all day if necessary, allowing the maintenance crew to leave their tools and equipment in place if working on a particularly long job.”

The Scania P 380 XT is fitted with a Day Cab and uses a 6x4 chassis configuration, powered by a Euro5 compliant, six-cylinder engine.

The build took about three months and was assisted by a high degree of preparation by the Scania factory to ensure the chassis was ready to accept the Australian body, including for example, the correct power-take-off installation.

The truck weighs about nine tonnes with the platform and associated systems adding about a further six tonnes, easily allowing for a payload on the platform of up to 1.5 tonnes. In addition to tie-downs, control panels and safety gates, the platform also features compressed air lines on retractable spindles and work lights, as well as a non-slip extruded aluminium floor.

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WINNING RECOGNITION Safetech was announced as Manufacturer of the Year in the Medium Business Category in the 2019 Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards, presented by ABC host Virginia Trioli.

The Victorian Manufacturing Awards are judged by people involved in manufacturing and the winners are companies that have demonstrated sustained excellence in performance.

The Awards involve manufacturers, manufacturing consultants and the government agencies associated with business development – all of whom work in manufacturing and understand the challenges, the global competitiveness and what it takes to succeed in manufacturing.

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“To receive this honour from our peers is especially rewarding,” said Toni Wakefield, Safetech’s commercial services manager.

“It’s a team win – this award recognises the engineering and manufacturing excellence of Safetech over many years. Our focus on customers and delivering the best, most innovative products and supporting them after the sale is at the heart of our success.

Safetech hoists and custom lifts are installed in some of the most iconic locations in Australia including the MCG, Sydney’s Star City, Parliament House in Canberra, and Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.

FEATURE

FOCUS ON SCANIA – PART 3

POWER TO THE PEOPLE When 650hp becomes a normal part of life on the road – Words by Brenton O’Connor, Images by Geoff Parrington

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t PowerTorque we like to be first with the news and, thanks to our hardworking test team and equally busy production department, we usually manage to keep our record.

This month Brenton O’Connor has been behind the wheel of the latest New Generation Scania for the first opportunity to evaluate Scania’s 650 hp V8. It provided an ideal opportunity to experience at first-hand how the latest Euro6 engines perform and more importantly, it enabled PowerTorque to put it into a fleet in a real-life working example.

By integrating the Scania V8 into the fleet it provided the opportunity to form a direct comparison of the New Generation model against the other prime movers used in a typical weekly operation. This real-world testing enables us to cover some of the many aspects considered when purchasing a prime mover, such as fuel economy, tare weight, cabin access, driver comfort, ease of maintenance and overall truck performance.

The truck tested was the R series cabin, which has a minimal engine tunnel, rather than a full flat floor such as the S cabin. The engine tunnel is by no means obtrusive, and this cabin would be the preferred choice as it has three steps for entry compared to four.

The cabin is available in three different roof heights, low, normal and high. This drive was centred on the normal roof height version, which was ideally suited to the tippers being towed and also is the most visually appealing when compared to the other two cab height options.

The 650 hp Euro6 V8 is Scania’s highest output engine without the need for EGR technology. The higher output 730 hp version brings together SCR and DPF technology in order to meet the Euro6 emission standards and this additional exhaust management system, together with EGR technology, adds further weight to the steer axle.

In Western Australia, with higher steer axle legal weights, the 730 hp variant works out to be a highly viable proposition. But for the east coast, with 6.5-tonne steer axle weights, the non EGR 650 hp V8 is the weapon of choice.

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The V8 is Scania’s all new common rail DC16 650 engine, which is a 16.4-litre single turbocharged V8 engine. Power is 650 hp (485 kW) at 1900 rpm, and maximum torque is a whopping 3300 Nm (2434 lb/ft) from a very low 950 rpm through to 1350 rpm.

The gearbox is Scania’s own GRS0925R 14-speed overdrive, which includes Opticruise automated shifting, with a two-pedal configuration. Scania remains the only manufacturer to offer an optional clutch pedal, which can be used “on demand” or left alone, when the truck is driven as a true two-pedal arrangement.

SCANIA It would have been most interesting to test this feature as I see it has significant benefits in fine operations where an automated clutch can make life more difficult, rather than being able to use a conventional manual clutch.

For example, when reversing your A-trailer to hookup to the B-trailer and also, in this particular operation, when operating a sliding A-trailer. It’s much easier, and more gentle on the equipment, to control the sliding process through a clutch pedal and avoid the risk of banging the locking pins.

Fuel economy was exceptional, with a figure of 2.04 km per litre (49 litres per 100 km) overall average recorded for the two weeks of testing. This included some local distribution, but by far the majority of travel was high weight B double work at 68.5 tonnes, loaded both ways.

The fuel capacity of the truck was ideal with 1030 litres of diesel, however the AdBlue tank with only 73 litres (underbelly) wasn’t enough, particularly given the higher rate of AdBlue consumption this truck uses due to its Euro6 emission standard.

Performance of the big V8 as expected was good, with the truck keeping up with anything on the Hume highway that wasn’t empty (given the test was undertaken at full legal mass weights of 68.5 tonnes).

Unlike the previous generation Scania, the exhaust brake operation is integrated into the five-stage retarder stalk, a difference when compared to the old truck, which had a button on the floor for exhaust brake operation. This feature was missed whenever heading unladen down the steep gravel track into the quarry, as the retarder would detect a slight bit of wheel slip on the corrugations and back off retardation, enabling the truck to surge forward.

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Cabin access, for a full 2.5-metre cabin would have to be amongst the best on market, with three steps rather than four. The steps themselves are positioned in a line (also cascading) which makes entry and exit both safer and easier. As expected, grab handles are well positioned.

In our experience with the previous model the exhaust brake was adequate to hold the truck back empty in these situations. Scania has since advised that the truck can be programmed so that the first stage of the retarder stalk is exhaust brake only, and then stages 2-5 are a progression of the retarder, which would be ideal.

Specific applications often raise interesting questions and on the topic of sliding an A-trailer it was frustrating the Scania didn’t have a trailer brake hand piece, providing just a button that fully applies the trailer brakes. Typically, when sliding the A-trailer in order to tip it, the driver would begin the process by engaging reverse gear, then fully releasing the clutch pedal, idling back and then applying the trailer brake lever progressively.

Without a graduated trailer brake lever the driver needs to fully apply the trailer brakes by pushing the button, then slide back the A-trailer on the clutch. This practice can cause premature clutch wear and a clutch overheat warning, as the clutch is working hard pushing the loaded trailer back against what is effectively a dead load with the trailer brakes being locked on. A solution is available, and it all comes down to correct vehicle specification at the time of ordering, with Scania able to option the truck with a trailer brake hand piece, making this operation much easier.

The updated transmission in the New Generation Scania is outstanding. With the addition of the lay-shaft brake, gear changes are almost instantaneous and undetectable, displaying incredible smoothness. The truck’s software is tuned in a such a way that it was hard to fault the decisions the truck was making in terms of both upshifting and downshifting gears. This meant that manual mode was not required, with only the occasional manual override to downshift when climbing big hills in order to pickup the engine revs to increase road speed.

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The built quality of this cabin is outstanding from the way the doors close (more akin to a luxury passenger car than a truck) through to the quality of materials and the design.

For example, the door trims are a standard above what one would expect in a truck. This theme carries across to the dashboard, which is well laid out, and with the switches and controls all of an extremely high quality.

In-cabin noise levels are extremely low, and again, this would have to be one of the quietest trucks on the market, with just a faint V8 rumble in the background. The Scania inbuilt infotainment system provides a large colour touch screen easily accessible from the driver’s seat. This unit contains all AM/FM radio, DAB radio, Bluetooth audio streaming, truck specific navigation and telephone functionality through Bluetooth. The navigation system allows the driver to input the specifics of the rig, e.g. height, width and length, whereupon the system then navigates a route that is appropriate for the size of the vehicle.

Being one of Scania’s flagship demo models the seats were trimmed in leather and were air-ride for both the driver and passenger seat.

Spending two nights in the cabin of the new R-Series gave me a unique opportunity to test the living accommodation for the driver and pleasingly to report, all is fine in that department! The bed at first glance looks rather narrow, but upon sliding out, it becomes one of the widest and most accommodating European sleepers on the market.

The only downside of this is the need to slide the seats forward, which makes it difficult to get out of the truck during the night if one needs to visit the amenities. The mattress was comfortable, and the full wrap around curtains were effective in blocking out the light.

The Scania R650 is an impressive unit and with its frugal fuel economy, ease of cabin access and high cabin build quality, it’s sure to be popular with drivers and fleet owners alike.

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FEATURE

THE BACKGROUND TO BANDANA Neil Dowling meets the family behind Bandana Earthmoving

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inning isn’t everything but for one Western Australian earthmoving company, it’s a sure-fire way of getting you noticed. And getting noticed is key to an industry that has become intensely competitive where people and contracts come and go, prices get chopped, businesses close down and yet where the trucks relentlessly drive through.

Winning the Alexandra Truck Ute and Rod Show’s 2019 Rig of the Show award, a glass flame-shaped sculpture that fills one corner of Bandana Earthmoving’s office, doesn’t appear to be about the business of carting soil.

Yet it represents an acknowledgement that the truck can be an extremely effective calling card.

“People know us because of the trucks,” said Ky-lee Demasi. With her husband Ryan - who started the business with a truck and bobcat in 1999 - she’s been acutely aware of the need to stand out from the plethora of trucking businesses.

“We get lots of Facebook likes, people now know who we are, and we get attention when we’re on the road or on a job,” Ky-lee said.

“It’s good marketing and that’s good for business.”

Bandana Earthmoving, named after the time when a younger Ryan Demasi wore a bandana, has an 11-truck fleet. The business operates from an outer, northeastern Perth suburb on an acreage where the dominant residential flatlands meet the hills, placing the office which is attached to an impressive family home - on the rise to give it elevation and sweeping views of the suburbs to the west. The business end of the company is below, a set of buildings on the flatter ground.

Pride of the fleet is the Hulk, the Kenworth T 904 that Ryan took from a working-class hauler of his fleet to a fully refurbished and painstakingly painted machine that took the Rig of the Show title in Victoria in June, the trophy and some cash.

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BANDANA EARTHMOVING Ryan visited the Alexandra show in 2018, impressed by the vehicles on display and determined to win the top prize. The Kenworth, already in his fleet, was fingered for the job and underwent a full makeover with all the work done in Bandana’s sheds. That included the fabrication of the bars, acres of chrome and clever details like the KW logo profile used for the mirrors, cab stanchions and within the steps.

The work is all about detail. Look closely and the grille’s openings are all the same KW profile, stamped into the metal plate that is then chromed for the Hulk’s dominant “face”.

“I don’t have the final figure and to be honest, I don’t want to know… but thousands of hours were spent on it.”

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LED lights for night time were added along the rear bumper line and up either side of the rear of the cabin, making the truck appear to be soaring in the darkness. In the day, that job of creating height and power to the truck is done by the chromed exhaust stacks.

The cabin was sent out for upholstery work, including labour-intensive diamond tufting to the door inserts and headliner and then flowing into the sleeper. The precision of the tufting and upholstery work is enhanced by the gloss timber dashboard panels, steering wheel and refurbished gauges and controls.

The engine and drivetrain were also refurbished with attention to making the Cummins as clean as possible and to showcase the turbocharger and manifolds, with stainlesssteel braided oil lines and brushed and polished ancillary components including the alternator and water pump.

It was then painted in the sheds and final work was the detailed airbrushing featuring the Marvel Comics Hulk character on the bonnet flanks and - to light-heartedly represent the cost of the exercise - floating images of $100 bills cascading over the rear deck.

The artwork centres on the Hulk punching a hole in the side of the bonnet surrounded by a few extra $100 notes.

“The previous show truck I had was a Ford LTL 9000 Aeromax that was on the cover of Truckin’ Life magazine in 2003,” Ryan said.

“I painted that Tiger Mica which was the same colour as the Commodore SS and used from VT through to VZ models.

“I loved those early Commodore colours so when the idea was to make a new show truck, I looked at Hothouse Green and then added a bit more lime to come up with Bandana Green.”

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RAMTRUCKS.COM.AU ^With 3.92 Axle Ratio.

FEATURE

The colour is now worn on six Bandana Earthmoving trucks, one being the Kenworth Hulk and the rest are Western Stars from 2006 through to 2013. The Aeromax literally wore the show paint away in the line of duty and is now repainted a plain white.

The cost of the Hulk, and indeed the cost of the work that followed as the rest of the fleet adopted the Bandana Green livery, isn’t known to Ryan.

“I don’t have the final figure and to be honest, I don’t want to know,” he said.

“I know there have been thousands of hours spent on it.”

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Despite being a show winner, the Hulk is not the favourite truck. “I drive a Western Star,” Ryan said of his 2006 model that has distinctive serpent artwork on the bonnet.

“I’ve been very happy with Western Star - we have five trucks now especially the older ones of around 2006, 2007, before the emissions gear was added.

BANDANA EARTHMOVING

“This era of Western Star was a much, much better truck than the latter ones with the emission equipment.

“I know that keeping emissions down is best practice. But we have two almost identical Western Stars - one before the emission gear and one with the gear. On exactly the same job, driving together, the older one uses 50 litres a day less fuel.

“That’s a lot of money to burn for a business and I can’t see much benefit to emissions with the newer truck if it’s using so much more fuel.”

Bandana Earthmoving mainly operates in the Perth metropolitan area with the tippers involved in the construction sector though Ryan said they cover all work from residential to roads. The prime movers are used for towing singles and side tippers.

The earthmoving equipment includes front-end loaders, excavators and Posi-tracks.

“Trucking is an extremely competitive business,” he said.

“The trucks actually cost me money - it’s the earthmoving work that keeps the business going.”

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GOING WITH THE FLOW Brisbane operator H2Flow Hire maintains a fluid approach to business

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unning an efficient fleet takes a variety of different skill sets ranging from mechanical aptitude and understanding, the introduction of specific programmes to initiate the checks and balances that control the fleet and a strong understanding of customer service.

Having taken that company from concept stage to culminate in a successful public stock issue, the three partners - Scott Beioley, Paul Ryan and Mark Broekman - were looking for a new venture and realised that the effective and efficient supply of water to various industries could become their next collective challenge.

One attribute that is generally not up for discussion, except possibly in the coach-travel sector, is a high degree of understanding of the tourism industry.

“We started H2Flow Hire with three second-hand trucks and from the outset we brought in a mechanic to work through the fleet and bring everything up to the correct standards so we could progress the business,� said Scott.

The three equal partners involved in H2Flow Hire, the Brisbane-based specialists in the supply of water and fluid-based distribution services, did in fact all work together for many years building up tourism accommodation businesses.

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H2FLOW HIRE “Interestingly, the same mechanic is still with the company as Fleet Service Manager, but the fleet has now grown to over 100 vehicles and 80 trailers.”

The H2Flow Hire truck fleet operates in both wet and dryvehicle hire, providing the transport of water and associated services through its fleet of truck-mounted water tankers ranging in capacity from 6000 litres to 28,000 litres. For cartage of smaller literage volumes there are water-tank trailers available for hire of 1500 litres upwards.

The supply of domestic quality approved water requires each potable tanker to be licensed under similar regulatory control to the restaurant industry, and in this category H2Flow Hire can supply rural landowners that require water for domestic use in times of drought, or for inner-city operation the same quality water can be supplied for swimming pool installations and refills.

The entrepreneurial skills of the three partners have enabled H2Flow Hire to continue its planned expansion into other water supply areas, such as civil earthworks and excavation sites to assist with soil compaction or dust control; regular horticultural watering programmes such as required for the creation of gardens and lawns, or to reduce erosion during the development of new housing and industrial estates.

“A new area we have recently entered is for soil erosion prevention where we use a polymer to provide stability by spraying banked areas bordering major road development.

We also can provide a polymer-based spray that assists in soil retention, and erosion avoidance during the development phase of a major earthworks project.

“It’s areas such as these that are ideal for the Hino 500 Series bogie-drive as a 15,000-litre water truck. This has a side-mounted cannon and a 15m-wide boom spray for polymer spraying. This level of performance enables us to complete these types of tasks quickly and effectively,” added Scott Beioley.

The company has grown from its original depot at Sumner Park to include a new head office and depot at Beenleigh, plus further depots at Mango Hill and Griffin on the northside of Brisbane.

The company fleet of approximately 100 vehicles comprises bulk water cartage, water blasters, vacuum trailers, solar-powered fuel tankers trailers and also, in a new development, tanker trailers for the supply of AdBlue to vehicles operating away from the usual truck stop depots. Also available are mini-tippers and relocatable site tanks of 28,000-litres and 56,000-litres capacity.

Forging a good relationship with Hino Trucks Australia has resulted from the specific needs within the company for vehicles able to travel and maintain slow running speeds while spraying water through truck-mounted water cannons and chassis-mounted spray bars.

“We have standardised now on the Hino 500 Series for our medium and larger weight vehicles. With an Allison torque-converter automatic transmission, the driver and operator is able to select a suitably slow speed and maintain that without the risk of excessive clutch wear,” said Scott.

“An automated manual transmission (AMT) simply does not have the right level of control when travelling at very slow speeds, or while operating a power take-off to pressurise the spray systems. We found excessive clutch wear and varying degrees of speed control when trialling AMTs. “Since ordering our first Hino 500 Series fitted with an Allison automatic transmission, we have repeatedly ordered more examples with a further four new trucks currently being supplied through Sci-Fleet Hino. Bodies are supplied by Peak Engineering Transport Services of Peak Crossing, QLD, with bodies for civil use supplied by STG Global of Ormeau on the Gold Coast.

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FEATURE “We work closely with Hino for parts supply and also when specifying vehicles. Hino has been very good when it comes to supplying engineering charts to the bodybuilders. This assists in the correct placement of bodies to maintain excellent weight distribution. On our latest Hino 500 Series, when fully laden to GVM, it was exactly one tonne under maximum weight limits on both the front and rear axles.

“On the pump side we use the Truck Master Series by Finsbury and Hatz motors to drive the pumps on the larger trucks. We have YANMAR stationary diesel engines for the smaller trucks and water tankers. Hatz motors are more expensive than other makes but they are superior in terms of reliability and longevity.

“We maintain our fleet efficiency by servicing on a timebased interval, rather than distance, as our vehicles do not travel high kilometres through the year. We have full NHVAS accreditation for our larger vehicles and each piece of plant or equipment undergoes a regular A, B or C-service, supported by an independently completed full annual three-day examination protocol that coincides with the C-Service.

“Our maintenance requirements for the past 7-8 years with our larger vehicles have been completed through M.K. Equipment Services of Rocklea and since the move to fully automatic torque converter-equipped transmissions, clutch repairs are no longer a feature of our service and maintenance regime.

“We incorporate telematics where there is an advantage. As an example, all our pre-check protocols are completed by the drivers using their mobile phones prior to the start of their working day. As soon as the drivers have completed their pre-start check it is visible on our management system. It also monitors the visual inspection of the vehicle including tyre condition,” added Scott.

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Scott Beioley

The company has established a tyre-maintenance programme with Bridgestone Tyres, which supplies all vehicles with a standard steer-tyre pattern and a standard drive-tyre pattern, which is consistent across all vehicles throughout the fleet.

The standard reverse camera system fitted to Hino trucks makes additional camera fitment for forward left-hand side vision much easier and are simply added to the incab digital display.

“We see reverse cameras as essential. The installation of front left-hand side camera vision is also a major safety benefit for operators working on horticultural watering. It displays the position of the water cannon and spray bar effectiveness on the screen in front of the driver, without restricting vision of the road ahead.

“The automatic gearbox with Hino is a better proposition for our type of work. Our 9000-litre mid-range Hino 500s with single axles carry a load exceptionally well, providing zero trouble with the gearbox. We see our future certainty with Hino and the good experience we have with the 500 with a similar experience extending down to the 300 Series,” added Scott.

The Hino 500 Series is available in 4x2, 4x4, 6x2 and 6x4 configuration with the choice of a standard cab or wide cab. Power options cover the spectrum of 215–350 hp with peak torque ratings from 673-1422 Nm. It’s the safety features of the 500 Series that are of particular interest, with the inclusion of vehicle stability control and reverse camera, ABS, traction control, ECER29 cab rollover protection and front under-run protection on all MY17 Wide Cab models, with the addition of Hino Pre-Collision System with pedestrian detection, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and lane departure assistance all fitted to the new MY19 500-Series Standard Cab models.

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FEATURE

READY AND WAITING Isuzu gives the customer what they want, when they want it

S

ixteen years ago in 2003, the US space shuttle Columbia disintegrated and crashed; the US went to war with Iraq; the US, EU, Russia and the United Nations agreed on a roadmap for peace in the Middle East; Cristiano Ronaldo debuted for Manchester United; and the Concorde supersonic aircraft made its last flight.

It was also the year that Isuzu Trucks Australia released a pre-bodied, factory-backed work truck to customers for the very first time.

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ISUZU Perhaps the Isuzu Trucks’ initiative didn’t make the global news scene, but for the Australian market its significance has maintained a lasting effect, resulting in many other truck OEMs following the lead of the company that can claim 30 consecutive years of being the largest supplier of commercial vehicles in our market.

Times change of course and while Phil Taylor, Isuzu’s local head of operations and responsible for leading the team throughout that period, has this year passed the conductor’s baton over to his successor Andrew Harbison as Chief Operating Officer, the success of the ready to work vehicle programme, and other marketing initiatives, indicates the forward thinking of the company in a world of competitors that chose to follow, rather than lead.

Population growth equates to a stronger economy, providing a larger domestic market for businesses and increasing the size of the Australian labour force. What the transport industry has to manage is the expanding task of future transport logistics to service this growth, which is only as good as our freight and supply chain networks and of course, the equipment available.

With the arrival of Isuzu’s Ready-to-Work range, Aussie truck buyers were no longer required to wait weeks, if not months, for their new purchase to go through the truck body-building process. Until Ready-to-Work options, the exhaustive wait times for truck builds had simply been a part of truck procurement; a necessary element of upgrading your business’ transport capacity.

Over the next 30 years, Australia will grow by an additional 10 million people. Three-quarters of this growth will occur in our four largest cities - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

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FEATURE Isuzu Trucks has kept close tabs on the evolving needs of the Australian transport industry and has specifically designed its latest version of the N Series Tradepack, the NPR 45/55-155, to suit the requirements of trades operating in a rapidly changing construction backdrop.

Based on the NLR platform and powered by the Isuzu 4JJ1-TCS engine (110 kW at 2800 rpm and 375 Nm at 1600 - 2800 rpm), the Tri-Tipper has a GVM of 5500 kg (which can be de-rated to 4500 kg so it can be driven on a car licence) adding to the overall package.

The short wheelbase model includes a 3.45-metre-long heavy duty aluminium tray, whilst offering a tighter turning circle than many best-selling utes. Meanwhile, the medium wheelbase model’s tray at 4.5 metres long, offers greater storage capacity and overall efficiencies.

Bigger jobs need bigger tools, and Isuzu’s tipper range was extended through the addition of the FSR 140-260, with a GVM range up to 14,000 kg, a maximum level internal volume capacity of over 5.2 cubic metres and a payload in excess of 7500 kg.

The next rung up the tradies ladder brings us to the Traypack range. Here there are two new additions to the line-up in 2019, the independent front suspension NNR 55/45-150 AMT Traypack and the optional crew cab version, complete with automated manual transmission.

By 2016, Isuzu Trucks had identified an opening in the Australian market for locally-designed, built and bodied field service trucks.

Not long after the 2003 NKR Tradepack was introduced into Australia, Isuzu Trucks moved on its next landmark Ready-to-Work venture – a lineup of factory-backed, prebodied tippers. Isuzu’s heavy-duty, all-steel construction and durable plate thickness equate to longer lifespans, even in the harshest of environments.

In mid-2017, Isuzu Trucks launched the NLR 55/45-150 Tri-Tipper. Its Japanese factory-built tipper body tilts to the left side, right or rear of the truck – adding a new era of flexibility and adaptability for trades of every kind.

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With its first host vehicle being on the NLR 45-150 platform, the popular Servicepack range has since been extended across key N Series models up to and including the 7500 kg GVM NPS 75-155 4x4. This unit provides a perfect, go-anywhere solution for larger mining, council and machine field servicing operations.

The Servicepack concept is a gift that keeps on giving for Tradies, as the range has now evolved through the introduction of several new models. Starting with the brand new NLR 45-150 Servicepack X and including the NLS 45-150 AWD Servicepack X and NPS 75-155 4x4 Servicepack X, it delivers a more functional, lockable “workshop” space within the body cavity itself.

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FEATURE The powder-coated steel body construction features new vertically opening rear storage lockers with a variety of configurable internal shelving systems (available at extra cost). The flexibility of the design makes it suitable for a wide variety of onsite service provision, parts and component maintenance, while providing direct access to stored tools and field service gear. It’s also possible to tow braked trailers with a maximum weight of 3500 kg or 4500 kg (dependent on model rating) by using a stepped tow bar.

For general road work go for the 4.5 tonne GVM 4x2 NLR model, or if requiring off-road ability, choose the 4.5 tonne GVM all-wheel-drive NLS model. For more demanding offroad access there’s also the go-anywhere NPS 75/45-155 4x4 fitted with Isuzu’s automated manual transmission (AMT).

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The introduction of the Vanpack in 2017 resulted from market demand dictating locally-developed last mile delivery solutions - for a local freight task.

Isuzu’s NNR 45-150 AMT Vanpack fits the bill with a GVM of 4500 kg and an Isuzu 4JJ1-TCS engine that produces 110 kW at 2800 rpm and 375 Nm at 1600 - 2800 rpm.

Fitted with an Australian-designed and assembled 18.5 cubic metre van body, it features four tethering points per side, double rear barn doors, rear grab handles and nonslip rear steps. It also has LED clearance lights and interior work light.

ISUZU In this light rigid van market there’s always a concern of lack of driver familiarisation with the size or height of the vehicle. As Melbournians will know well, there are several bridges within the CBD that are essentially too low for high commercial vehicles to negotiate. By limiting the overall height of the body, the designers maximised internal dimensions within a controlled exterior measurement than enables the Vanpack to pass under a bridge with a 3.0-metre height restriction.

The available options of the ready to work models continue to expand the range and for 2019 the latest model to join the range is the brand-new Ready-to-Work F Series Freightpack range.

Launched at the 2019 Brisbane Truck Show, it moves the buyer up the weight rating to the medium-duty market segment.

The Ready-to-Work Freightpack models are available across the Isuzu F Series chassis’ in 10 pallet, 12 pallet and 14 pallet curtain sider configuration with the FRR 110240 AMT, the SR 140-240 AMT the FVL 240-300 AUTO. These are not minimum spec’ models, with each build including selected features such as rapid release latches on all curtain siders (saves about 90 seconds per load, equating to 15 minutes per day), LED interior strip lighting and step halo lights, Isuzu “safety yellow” grab handles and steps and a three-year truck and body warranty for all Ready-to-Work models. Satellite navigation is standard on all new F Series.

In the transport world the ability to source off the shelf specialised vehicles to satisfy a new or expanding contract can make the difference between winning or losing a customer. Isuzu may have started a trend that others have followed, but by reassessing the industries requirements on a regular basis, it still maintains a valuable lead over its competition.

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FEATURE

HEADING NORTH

PowerTorque’s Warren Caves profiles the work of Qube Logistics in Far North Queensland’s sugar belt. Images by Torque it Up

T

he introduction of the latest European technology often takes its time to filter to the north of Queensland, where traditional preferences for truck purchase have tended to stay with conventional bonneted trucks rather than cabovers.

The catalyst for change in the area supporting the Queensland sugar industry around Mossman and the Cairns region has been the influence of Green Energy, opening up the question of turning to more renewable energy sources and minimising exhaust emissions from the transport industry.

Keeping the environment foremost in its operating culture is Qube Logistics. Through its parent company Qube Holdings Ltd, the company operates a national fleet of in excess of 1300 prime mover trucks and associated trailing equipment.

In its Far North Queensland operation, Qube Logistics supplies services to the sugar industry ensuring safe and efficient delivery of sugar cane crops to various mills throughout the region on a seasonal basis.

The sugar cane harvest season traditionally runs from May to November, with harvested crops totalling in excess of one million tonnes. While some of this harvest is transported by the familiar sugar cane trains to various mills for crushing, a large number of crops are not serviced by rail infrastructure and need to be transported by road on trucks.

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Qube Logistics has recently placed into service 14 Mercedes Benz Actros 2646 trucks with a matching number of TEFCO Multi-lift semi-trailers to replace its ageing fleet of long serving conventional prime movers to supply harvested cane to the MSF sugar Mill in Arriga (commonly known as the Tableland Mill), just outside Mareeba in North Queensland.

For over 150 years, sugar cane crops, trains and the spectacular sugar cane fires have been a familiar sight in North Queensland. Due to the seasonal nature of the “crush” some of the local infrastructure had become a little dated and in need of a degree of modernisation, opening a challenge both for the transport operation and some of the processing mills.

QUBE LOGISTICS The relatively new Thai-owned MSF Tableland mill is an exception to this aging process, with its more modern facilities operated by MSF, a forward-thinking company driving innovation in the sugar cane processing industry.

In a bid to future-proof its business and to combat fluctuating global sugar cane prices, MSF is investing in Bio-technology and environmentally sustainable projects to diversify its interests.

Nearing completion at MSF’s tableland Mill is a unique green energy power generation plant, which will process bagasse. Bagasse is the biomass waste fibre left over at the end of the sugar cane crushing process.

When fully operational, the $75 million-dollar power generation plant will have the capacity to produce 24mW of base-load energy, all derived from what was essentially a waste product. The company plans to provide 17 MW of base load, green power to the national grid, 24 hours a day, 50 weeks per year, equating to around 142,000 MegaWatt hours annually. The remaining 7MW will be allocated

by MSF to supply the operational power needs of the mill.

As well as Bagasse, the company is experimenting with alternate agricultural bi-products and purpose grown crops which can be harvested in the off-season to supply the power generating natural fibre required, providing a year-round supply. Current experimentation is looking at woodchips, peanut shells and cultivating a Mexican cactus called Agave, however the Agave plant takes five years to reach maturity, so results will take some time yet.

Central to the success of the bold MSF plan for the efficient and reliable delivery of sugar cane to the mill for processing is the introduction of the 14 new Mercedes Benz Actros trucks and TEFCO multi-lift trailers, with the last of the 14 trucks entering service in mid-June of this year.

The M-cab Actros prime movers are powered by the 10.7 litre, M470 Daimler engine producing 460 horsepower and 220Nm of torque, whilst complying to the not yet mandated, Euro6 emissions standard.

The 6X4 trucks utilise the 12-speed PowerShift transmission, incorporating a crawl function which will undoubtably come in handy in the heavy sugar cane paddock ground regularly encountered.

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FEATURE Qube Logistics has an extremely strong focus on safety for its drivers. The specification of the latest Actros brings the best of current safety technologies to the sugar cane industry by installing guardian infra-red fatigue detection, dash cameras, satellite tracking and real time alerts for speed and fatigue incidents. Geo-fence speed zones have been installed in the MT Data systems at recognised danger points throughout the regular routes and all vehicles are speed limited to a maximum 95 km/h.

According to James Naughton, Qube logistics’, North Queensland’s Regional Manager, these monitoring technologies have modified driver behaviour and reduced incidents, dramatically.

Depending on daily crop requirements, a varying number of the MSF mill-owned transport bins are positioned by the Actros prime movers on the ground at each location being harvested throughout various cane fields. The bins are then filled directly from a harvester.

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When several bins are filled, Qube Logistics will dispatch a truck to deliver another empty bin and return with a full bin to the mill. All these movements are electronically tracked to ensure just in time deliveries to the mill on a ratio of one truck every six-eight minutes. During harvest season these trucks are worked around the clock by a mixture of local drivers and a seasonal workforce coming in from the cold southern states for the winter.

The bins are loaded in the paddock by farm implements which have load weight monitoring equipment, but to ensure accuracy and prevent overloading the trucks are weighed on the tip point at the mill. Any potential oversights are recorded, with the farmer then notified to enable the adjustment of the overall total average weight.

“At season end the weight tally is scrutinised by TMR (Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads) for compliance. This is a great way to ensure compliance without the need for punitive measures from authorities,” added James.

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FEATURE Braking for the Actros trucks and TEFCO trailers, comes by way of drum brake technology. Resisting the option of incorporating disc brakes.

“We chose to take the tried and tested drum brake path due to the arduous dusty and muddy conditions the trucks encounter on this contract. The Actros trucks do however feature, EBS, incorporating ABS, stability control, traction control and a hill hold function,” said James Naughton.

“An Actros demonstrator truck had been supplied to us by RGM Maintenance, North Queensland’s Daimler distributor for evaluation over a season. That truck performed well and ultimately led to the company’s final purchase decision.

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“The previous trucks on this contract were returning fuel economy figures of 1.7 km/L on average. We based our figures for the contract using the Actros trucks on 2km/L as this was the figure achieved by the demonstration unit.

“We have been pleasantly surprised by the 2.2 km/L we are currently seeing. The most logical explanation for this economy gain is the chosen tyre size. We wanted to get the overall height and centre of gravity a bit lower and spec’d the fleet with 305/70 22.5 tyres, in contrast to the 11R tyres of the demo unit.

QUBE LOGISTICS “Given the average seasonal return trip for the trucks is 45 km from mill to mill and involves driving on sugar cane farm tracks, 2.2 km/L is quite respectable,” said James.

Adding to the appeal of the Actros trucks on this task is the 300kg tare weight advantage over the previous outgoing conventional prime movers, plus the expectation of reduced fuel consumption with the added safety benefits as part of the standard specification.

Driver acceptance has been positive, even from hardened bonneted truck devotees. The spacious cab and comfort levels have swayed many an American -based, bonneted

truck purist to the European ways of the Actros, with some of the Qube Logistics drivers reporting reduced levels of fatigue at the end of their 12-hour shifts.

Qube Logistics has entered into Daimler’s Agility Service Plan for the Actos trucks, with routine maintenance, brake adjustments and the like performed by the Qube Logistics workshop, under the maintenance management scheme.

At seasons end, all unutilised trucks and trailers are deregistered and stood down to minimise costs, this also provides the opportunity to attend to any servicing and maintenance required.

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FEATURE

SUPER INTENTIONS Off Road and into severe conditions make the IVECO Trakker an attractive solution

C

hanging application from on-highway to off-highway brings us to Mark and Sandra Robinson, owners and founders of Robinson Spreading of Mount Gambier in the south-eastern corner of South Australia.

As its name suggests, Robinson Spreading is a fertiliserspreading business and Mark and his wife Sandra recently purchased their first-ever new truck, an IVECO Trakker 360 4x4. “Our work takes in all types of broad land properties, including dairy farms, cattle farms, sheep farms, and so forth. We cover a large area around lower south east, south Australia and western Victoria,� Mark said.

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IVECO TRAKKER Geographically, Mount Gambier is known for its limestone, volcanic landscape and crater lakes.

“Those working in the fertiliser-spreading business in this part of the world require vehicles that can handle harsh off-road conditions,” said Mark.

“We’ve been in business for about 12 years now and, up until recently, we’d always used second-hand trucks.

When we realised it was time to buy another vehicle, we decided to consider all options, both new and used.”

Mark and Sandra chose an IVECO Trakker 360 4x4, which they purchased from Adtrans Truck Centre in Laverton North, Victoria.

“After looking around we realised that the Trakker had all the features we needed and provided great value for a truck of its size,” Mark said.

Mark carries all types of fertiliser in the vehicle – compost and lime sand, as well as granular fertilisers such as blends and ureas.

“The Trakker’s low-tare weight means that I get excellent payloads. When on the road, the legal limit is 6.0 to 6.6 tonnes, but in the paddock, I’ve found I can load as much as 10 tonnes without a problem,” he said.

With centre front and rear differential locks as well as permanent all-wheel-drive to all axles, the vehicle maintains excellent off-road traction, augmented by its parabolic leaf-spring suspension and high-tensile steel chassis that provide excellent axle articulation over rough terrain.

“On the road it’s easy to drive and performs just as well as off the road. I spend a lot of time around Drik Drik, which has some pretty large hills, so I definitely require a vehicle with plenty of power and torque,” Mark said.

Powered by IVECO’s Cursor 8, six-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine, maximum power is 360 hp (265 kW) with peak torque rated at 1106 ft lb (1500 Nm). Fuel economy with the new Trakker has improved by comparison with his previous vehicle by 20 litres of fuel a day.

Mark Robinson

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FEATURE

DIRECT LINK The Iveco’s Stralis feet with Direct Freight Express now reaches 15 units

B

ack on the highway and for leading road transport companies such as Direct Freight Express, a breadth of service offerings means that goods may need to be delivered just down the road, across the country or anywhere in between.

Power for the Stralis comes from the Series II Cursor 11 engines that produce 460 hp and 2100 Nm of torque.

The driveline is completed by a 12-speed Eurotronic AMT with a four-bag ECAS (Electronically-Controlled Air Suspension) at the rear.

This can lead to a wide range of equipment on fleet, from vans and light trucks right through to line-haul B-Doubles and even road trains, but it’s the middledistance deliveries into the major eastern seaboard capital cities where IVECO has proved itself with Direct Freight Express.

“These trucks normally operate towards the top of the weight ranges (up to 44 tonne GCM) but have more than enough power to do the job,” Jason said.

The company recently added a further 10 IVECO Stralis 4x2 low-roof AT models to its intrastate fleet to haul a range of palletised goods, bringing the total number of Stralis in the fleet to 15 units.

“We’ve operated Stralis for a number of years now in single-trailer work around town and have been impressed with how they’ve performed,” said Direct Freight Express National Operations Manager, Jason Elliott.

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“They also have a fantastic turning circle which is important for deliveries around town. They are well equipped with safety features and are really comfortable to drive in city conditions, our drivers really like them.”

....... TECHNOLOGY ......... SAFETY ......... PRODUCTIVITY ......... ENVIRONMENT ......... COSTS ......... CAREERS .......

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FEATURE

PROSTAR POTENTIAL Brenton O’Connor joins the ProStar Road Show to see the reaction of local operators at first hand Following its launch at the 2017 Brisbane truck show, its fair to say the International ProStar has not yet achieved its expected sales performance with the total sales figure for 2018 reaching 61 units, plus a further 28 sales for the first six months of this year (YTD VFacts).

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To create a greater emphasis for the International truck brand in the Australian market, the management team at Iveco Trucks Australia - including managing director Bruce Healy, head of Fleet Sales Scott Slater and the head of retail sales Steve Heanes - decided additional resources and personnel were required. They needed to get the ProStar product out in front of customers and to do this they engaged the assistance of the dealer network to host a road show throughout the country.

INTERNATIONAL With his extensive knowledge of the heavy truck industry, Paul Dinicol, as brand manager for the ProStar, has been the driving force behind initiating the road show programme. Key to its success was the organisation of three immaculately presented ProStar’s on the road to attend pre-arranged dealer events.

At events such as these both existing and potential customers get to see and drive the ProStar and are able to chat with Paul, engineering manager Adrian Wright and product support manager John Drakopoulous. A representative from Cummins on-highway engines would also attend to help support the brand and answer any engine-specific questions.

Three trucks were built up in unique configurations in order to best demonstrate what the truck can do for its potential customer. The specifications of the three trucks were: 1: ProStar with 40-inch sleeper cabin, Cummins X15 550 hp, 2050 lb/ft torque, Eaton UltraShift PLUS with 3.79:1 rear axle ratio, coupled to a Tautliner. This truck was displayed with a gold wrap which was to celebrate 100 years of Cummins engines using the originally Cummins corporate colours.

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FEATURE 2: P roStar with 40-inch sleeper cabin, Cummins X15 520 hp, 1850 lb/ft torque, Eaton 18-speed manual with 4.1:1 rear axle ratio, coupled to a Tautliner. This truck was displayed in a blue and white livery, which attracted significant attention wherever it went.

3: ProStar with extended cabin, Cummins X15 600 hp, 2050 lb/ft torque, Eaton 18-speed manual, coupled to a flat-top semi trailer. This truck was presented with a red wrap that was to represent CNH’s sister brand, Case IH (tractors). This truck was tested comprehensively in the February edition of PowerTorque.

The presentation of these three trucks was outstanding and a credit to the team, with the paint jobs and overall presentation of the vehicles showcasing the ProStars to their full potential. All three trucks were loaded with ballast to approximately 41 tonne in order to simulate loaded conditions and to make the test drives more worthwhile.

PowerTorque met up with John Drakopoulos and Paul Dinicol at Sydney Truck and Machine centre (STM) on the first day of our travels together as we begun the trip back to Melbourne.

Upon leaving STM we headed down the infamous Mount Ousley to a large operator of American trucks in Wollongong which predominately runs Kenworth, Western Star and Freightliner. The fleet manager, along with his key workshop and drivers, had a thorough look and drive of the ProStar and seemed impressed.

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Listening to their buying criteria was most interesting, together with learning of their experiences with current product. The good news for the guys from International was the interest shown in the product from this fleet and as such, a subsequent long-term demonstration of a suitable ProStar has been arranged. Furthermore, the key personnel of this fleet commented “we haven’t seen these trucks before” which helped reinforce the importance of this roadshow and getting the trucks out and in front of customers for their assessment.

Our next stop was at the Nowra dealer Truck and Tractor where we met dealer principal Ron Arthur and salesman John Monaghan. They represent CNH for the south-coast region including International and Iveco trucks, as well as Case and New Holland tractors and New Holland earthmoving equipment.

According to John Monaghan, the ProStar has been selling very well in his PMA, with all the units sold featuring the UltraShift PLUS transmission. Given the

INTERNATIONAL steep terrain in the area - as whichever way you head out of Nowra involves a steep climb - a 4.3:1 diff ratio is the preferred option.

On the Saturday, the team at Truck and Tractor organised an open day at the dealership for customers to come in, inspect and drive the three ProStars in loaded configuration.

On hand were key personnel from the dealership, as well as a representative from Cummins. Together with John and Paul from International, they were able to discuss the finer points of the ProStars with about 20 local operators.

It was obvious that this type of direct sales and marketing activity was beneficial as it got the truck out in front of the customers and gave them an opportunity to drive it in loaded configuration on roads familiar to them. For those serious about going further with the ProStar, longer terms demonstrations could also be arranged.

Leaving Nowra, we drove the three roadshow trucks back to Melbourne via the Hume Highway which meant heading back to Wollongong and then across to the Hume to head south.

The ProStars have consistently impressed me with their build quality, with an absence of rattles or squeaks. It was interesting to note the most fuel-efficient truck was the 520 hp manual with the 4.1:1 rear diff ratio, which was not only more fuel efficient, but produced much quicker trip times compared to the 550 hp/2050 lb/ft truck with the 3.79:1 rear axle ratio and UltraShift PLUS gearbox along with Adept technology.

The programme of the UltraShift PLUS was designed to be very conservative, with upshifting at 1400 rpm and downshifting at 1000 rpm. This is very similar to the transmission-shift programming seen in many of the latest Europeans from Volvo, Mercedes and Scania.

The 520 hp engine ProStar with the manual transmission and 4.1:1 diff ratio achieved an overall fuel advantage of .02 km/litre to achieve 2.247 km/litre, versus the 2.27 km/litre of the UltraShift Plus equipped Prostar. All combinations were laden to 41 tonne.

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FEATURE

HINO HITS A CENTURY The 100th Hino joins the Century Batteries Fleet – Words by Chris Mullett.

Images by Sarah Barnsley

B

atteries are heavy, and when they don’t work there’s not much you can do to fix the problem other than by replacing them. Not only does the battery manufacturer have to produce a wide range of different types of battery to suit the prevailing operating conditions it has to endure, it also has to maintain a comprehensive distribution service to ensure the right type of battery is where it’s needed, pretty much on a 24-7 basis.

“We distribute batteries to retail and wholesale outlets, plus individual mechanical repair and maintenance shops Australia-wide, across every state and capital city. Part of our fleet is also configured as fork lift service trucks and are fitted out with a hydraulic crane and a tray back to service the batteries used in fork lifts. These batteries are particularly heavy, and the crane removes any effort during loading or unloading.

For Century Yuasa batteries, the task of making sure the right battery ends up in a convenient location is down to the company’s national fleet manager and group reporting accountant David Blackburn.

“Our fleet comprises 50 trucks and is universally based on Hino products.

We run 35-40 Hino 300s, plus Hino 500 FC10-22s with battery payloads of 4.5 tonnes and Hino 500

As you can imagine from his combined title, David is very much in tune with operating costs and when aligned with transport his choice of vehicles in the company fleet is based on effectiveness, efficiency and of course economy of operation.

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CENTURY BATTERIES GH 1828s that carry battery payloads of 11 tonnes. The Hino range of trucks is also used in our New Zealand based fleet operation.

“Now we are adding our 100th Hino to the fleet. This is a 700-Series 6x4 FS 2848 rigid that pulls a three-axled dog trailer and will be used to supply and service our new agency in Toowoomba, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Northern NSW, from our head office and manufacturing facility here in Brisbane.

With a tare weight of 11,810 kg and a GVM extending to 28,300 kg, the 700-Series is powered by the Hino turbocharged and intercooled, six cylinder 13-litre E13C VG engine which produces maximum power of 353 kW (480hp) at 1800 rpm, with peak torque of 2157 Nm rated at 1100 rpm. The emissions system uses EGR and SCR to conform to Euro5 requirements.

The driveline features a ZF AS Tronic 16-speed automated manual transmission with a diff ratio of 3.9:1 which enables the engine to operate at 100 km/h at a low engine speed of just under 1700 rpm, promoting excellent fuel economy. With a semi-elliptical leaf sprung front suspension, the rear suspension features the Hendrickson HAS 460 airbag design.

“Fatigue management and reduced driver stress are very important factors in our vehicle selection, so we specify automated manual or fully fluid automatic transmissions throughout the fleet with very few exceptions.

“Just as the general public are moving to automatic transmissions in their cars, the transport industry is moving into this space and our drivers appreciate not having to constantly change gears manually, especially with a high amount of their daily work being in city suburbs.

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FEATURE “When you compare the advantages of the Hino 500-Series, the gear shift pattern Allison six-speed automatic transmission is a case in point, the gear shift pattern of the Allison automatic transmissions in the Hino 500 Series is superior to any alternative truck on the market. With full power shifting differentiating it from an automated manual gearbox it means the vehicle can cross a junction without a delay and maintain progress with traffic flow.

“From a driver comfort perspective, the ISRI 6860 870 seat used in the GH and FS is fantastic, and the ISRI 6860/ NTS2 seat used in the 500 FC Is even better again. Driver comfort is very important to us.

“Every vehicle in our fleet is monitored by a mapping service so we know where they go and wherever they may happen to be at a given time. We have the ability to track and monitor our vehicles using Tom Tom and the system is customised to provide alerts such as engine idle time, start/stop time and door open and closed time.

Each vehicle also features forward facing dash cams and reverse cameras, fitted by Sci Fleet HINO prior to the vehicle entering service.

The company fleet management programme results in replacement of the Hino 300s in a four-year cycle, during which time each truck will have travelled in the region of 120,000 km,

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with up to 240,000 km for the 500-Series. It is anticipated the 700 Series will operate on a five year replacement cycle with a total distance travelled of approximately 900,000 km. The 28 vehicles operated in New Zealand run under a slightly different replacement programme, due to lower average distances travelled each year.

Maintenance requirements are completed on a 10,00020,000 km basis, dependent on the vehicle type and duty service. Each service is completed at the closest appropriate HINO dealership to the vehicle operating location, such as SciFleet in Brisbane or CMI HINO in Adelaide.

Carrying batteries requires a particular design of fully welded, all-steel bodywork and this is completed by MiniBody Engineering of Acacia Ridge in Queensland. In the unlikely event of any potential acid spill the design of the bodywork provides for its complete containment. Any acid spill can be neutralised with soda ash to prevent any corrosion and the resulting mixture is washed into a tank on the vehicle for subsequent further treatment and disposal.

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FEATURE The Right Charge When it comes to replacing a battery for your truck, van or ute, do you head for the cheapest unknown brand or do you ask advice from a battery specialist?

If the answer is to go for the lowest price option, then you probably buy Chinese tyres and reckon you know more than the fleet operators. Cheap to purchase. doesn’t necessarily mean cheap to operate, and you’ll find out the perils attached to this form of fleet management when your truck is sitting parked up somewhere remote because of a tyre or battery failure.

It’s fair to believe that a tyre or battery specialist knows considerably more than you do about the products available. Just because one is black and round and the other product is black and rectangular and different brands look relatively identical from a casing perspective, doesn’t mean that what’s inside is the same level of technology.

PowerTorque asked Johnny Kennedy, the technical guru at Century Yuasa batteries in Queensland to explain the answers to the questions you’ve probably never asked.

“At our manufacturing facility in Carole Park, Queensland, we produce around 1.1 million batteries per year and are in the process of investing $6,000,000 to increase production with the implementation of new equipment to raise that production level to 1.3 million,” said Mr. Kennedy.

If you thought all batteries were equal, time spent with the technicians at Century Yuasa will soon convince you otherwise.For truck operators there’s a different battery design for short haul, around town delivery trucks, compared to a battery for long haul interstate work in multi-trailer B-double and road train configurations.

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Batteries that supply the internal power requirements for in-cab heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems require a battery design that can specifically handle long periods of supplying constant power without recharging.

These deep cycle batteries are a totally different design from a typical auto battery.

In Europe batteries need to be able to cope with minimum temperatures as low as -18c. In Australia the upper limit of temperature tolerance for Century batteries is +80c.

Commercial vehicle batteries can be subjected to pretty torrid conditions. Not just extreme hot and cold temperatures, but endless corrugations and bumps while on road. These conditions create havoc for batteries, attacking critical internal components, which, for batteries of inferior design, can lead to early failure.

Century Batteries has addressed this with thicker full frame cast plates improving the strength and durability of the battery. Additionally, the company’s exclusive Platelock™ Technology uses an adhesive that binds the battery plates securely together to provide superior vibration and impact resistance.

This is a vastly different construction from that of your normal “No-Name” brand retail battery, and essential if you want reliable power in your truck on typical rough roads to combat vibration, as well as high ambient temperatures while providing exceptional performance and longer life in heavy haulage applications.

Manufactured using some of the toughest internal components and materials available in the battery industry.

Century Heavy Duty batteries are designed and built tough to provide superior power and performance in Truck, Bus and Heavy Equipment vehicles.

CENTURY BATTERIES In long haul, on-highway interstate truck operation the Ultra Hi-Performance Severe Service battery is designed to cater for starting and semi-cycling for onboard accessories. The design is highly resistant to vibration and features a Full Frame cast plate design with Platelock technology, glass mat separator and Labyrinth lid technology. It is backed by an 18-month warranty.

Century Hi-Performance Truck, Bus and Heavy Equipment batteries are designed to provide short haul, off-highway intrastate truck drivers with dependable performance and reliability. Manufactured using Calcium plate technology, this range of Hi-Performance batteries feature higher cranking capacity, lower self-discharge as well as reduced water loss. It is backed by a 12-month warranty.

In operating conditions where short haul, off-highway vehicles require extra starting power Century recommends the Ultra Hi Performance battery for its greater resistance to vibration. The construction design uses cast positive plates, expanded negative plates, PE Separators and labyrinth lid technology.

It is backed by a 24-month warranty.

Finally, the Century Hi-Performance battery is designed for short haul, off-highway vehicles where vibration is reduced.

The design incorporates expanded positive and negative plates, PE separators and labyrinth technology and the HiPerformance battery is backed by a 24-month warranty.

Century’s typical research and development programmes involve testing units such as the Overlander 4x4 battery at 75oC. It subjects the battery to much higher temperatures

than the universal battery test standard of 40oC, which is far more realistic to the under-bonnet temperatures of Aussie commercial vehicles.

Being able to resist the effects of extreme heat or cold are just part of the features and benefits of a Century battery.

The double layered lid and advanced labyrinth lid design assists in the retention and condensation of water vapour that is produced in the battery during operation and charging. It prevents leaks during tilting and vibration and if the battery is overcharged the excess gases it produces are safely discharged by the integrated central venting system.

The design incorporates an integrated flame arrester to prevent the risk of a reaction between oxygen and hydrogen.

Water loss is reduced by 40 percent and this in turn extends the service life of the battery by up to 30 per cent.

Century has been making batteries in Australia for 90 years. The company’s in-depth knowledge of the climatic and operating conditions that are unique to our country have been instrumental in the final designs of the batteries it makes here for our use.

When it comes to specifying a replacement battery PowerTorque Magazine has no doubt that the specialised research and development work completed by the Century team has produced a range of battery products that stand out from the crowd, and from the competition that simply imports units from overseas.

In celebrating 90 years of quality production the company can rightly congratulate its workforce for its achievements, and in particular for its recycling programmes that enable 98 per cent of the products they make to be recyclable.

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FEATURE

RAM STYLE It’s fast becoming the ute at the top of the wish list. Find out how the RAM 1500 compares with the 2500 in the choice of petrol V8 versus diesel straight six

W

hen it comes to making a decision to purchase a new top spec’ ute the market has been redefined recently by the arrival of RAM Trucks to Australia. Those looking for something special have seen the price of a typical Japanese-style ute rise to equal that of a luxury car, while the ride and handling and interior standards of luxury have not matched the escalating cost.

The difference with the RAM Trucks Australia product is well illustrated by the use of the term “remanufacturing” rather than “conversion”. Everything involved in the remanufacturing process has been developed by a highly qualified engineering team and then validated to the same standards as those of a typical research and development group working within the confines of the vehicle manufacturer.

The long-standing king of the upper echelon, the Land Cruiser dual-cab tray back now has a price tag that by adding a bit of bling can top the $100,000 mark, and yet the interior is extremely basic and nothing much to get excited about.

Each RAM model remanufactured to suit the Australian market features between 350 and 400 new parts, the majority of which are Australian-produced. Local companies involved in parts supply for RAM Trucks include Socobell, which produces the all-new dashboard, and HiSpec Australia for brake line components, air conditioning lines and high- and lowpressure fluid transfer hoses and tubing. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Ford’s 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged Ranger and its running mate the Raptor are similarly expensive at the top end of the pricing structure, hotly pursued by the up-market HiLux models and those of the Colorado from Holden.

The appeal of the RAM models is twofold. For those that want something special and don’t aim to go severely offroad and climb the rockiest mountain slope it’s the comfort and high specification that draws the praise. The other factor to take into consideration is that of towing high-weight trailers legally and safely. RAM offers that solution - the Japanese styled utes don’t.

The Ateco Group is the sole authorised importer and distributor of RAM Trucks for the Australian and New Zealand markets, with each model imported directly in lefthand-drive and then remanufactured to right-hand-drive on a purpose-built production line in Melbourne. These RAM models are produced with full volume import approval, meaning they are fully compliant with all Australian Design Rules and benefit from being sold and supported by an Australian and New Zealand-wide dealer network.

Until the creation of RAM Trucks Australia, private buyers could only purchase vehicles through independent importers controlled by stringent quotas, who subsequently undertook a conversion to right-hand-drive either in Australia, or in some instances the Philippines or New Zealand. In our experience, the conversion quality was often limited by a restricted cost on development, with subsequent quality control and durability issues in the finished product.

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RAM 1500 Laramie with 5.7 litre V8 Hemi engine

RAM LLC and, in particular, the RAM International team, have also provided invaluable support and assistance, as has AusIndustry in its programme to assist companies and staff as other car makers ceased Australian production.

Alex Stewart, General Manager of RAM Trucks Australia, explains: “The entire RAM Trucks project was set up, engineered, designed and developed in Australia

by Australian experts. It shows what this country is capable of and how we can produce a world-class product.

“In short, it is clearly something of which everyone involved should be extremely proud and which, in the form of the RAM 1500, 2500 and 3500, has provided Australians with a new and unique choice when it comes to vehicle buying.”

The introduction of volume production and on-line manufacturing techniques has brought down the cost of owning an American-styled ute quite substantially. At the same time, the rise in the pricing of highly specified Japanese-styled utes to levels around $75,000 to $85,000, has reduced the gap, with the pricing structure increasing some examples to well over $100,000.

A major factor in favour of optioning up to a RAM is the ability to tow 4500 kg trailers. This legalises the towing of caravans, boats and horse floats that collectively exceed the standard ute manufacturers’ average weight limits of 3000 kg to 3500 kg.

Police forces and state motor vehicle registration authorities are increasingly concerned over the number of motorists towing trailers that exceed the legal limit for the towing vehicle. It becomes a matter of safety, not only for the driver and passengers of the towing vehicle, but for all other road users with which the illegal combination shares the road. The situation now is that on-the-spot inspections are resulting in hefty fines for those thinking the regulations don’t apply to them.

Such is the rapid acceptance of the RAM brand that the production line at the company’s Melbourne manufacturing facility in Clayton South is now operating 24 hours a day, five days a week.

The new production line is 130-metres long and 21 vehicles are worked on simultaneously, with less than 24 hours needed for each vehicle to run the length of the line. Total production has jumped to an expected 16 vehicles per day in order to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for an alternative to the now highly priced Japanese-styled ute.

Having experienced a RAM 2500 at first-hand through running it on our vehicle fleet for 18 months and 50,000 km, we’ve established the typical operating costs for the 6.7-litre Cummins-powered 2500.

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FEATURE Rated capable of towing 3500 kg (on a 50mm towball) or 4500 kg (on a 70mm towball), the RAM 2500 and its heavier-duty RAM 3500 sibling gave the punters what they wanted in providing the perfect tow vehicle. When fitted with a pintle hook, the towing limit rises to 6.9 tonnes.

Our RAM 2500 arrived in July 2017 and from day one was used for long-haul driving that regularly clocked 3000 to 4000 km a week. In answer to the first question ever asked by a passer-by – “How thirsty is this big Yank?” – we could always show captures of the onboard diagnostics and record-keeping that indicated an initial 9.9 litres per 100 km (9.9L/100 km) for a 1200 km run from Airlie Beach down to Toowoomba.

Longer distances and higher speeds fitted in with the running-in of the engine and driveline, and with more weight on board the fuel economy settled down to average 10.4 – 10.8L/100 km, while in genuine mixed driving, fuel consumption figures of 13L/100 km were more typical.

Towing a four-wheeled close-coupled trailer of 2.0-tonne kerb weight brought fuel consumption up to 13.4L/100 km, suggesting the large-capacity 6.7-litre Cummins diesel engine that produces 1084 Nm of torque is actually very frugal when mated to a six-speed, double-overdrive automatic transmission.

The onboard engine diagnostic system monitors oil quality and oil life, fuel filter life and also the amount of engine idle time as a percentage of the overall driving time. In the tropical climate of North Queensland there’s a tendency to keep engines idling for longer periods to run the airconditioner while waiting for someone or something, and this is also logged in the data storage. The 50,000 km of total distance travelled over 18 months equated to a total engine on time of 807 hours, of which driving time was 738 hours and idle time comprised 69 hours.

the standard expectation of parts replacement − a fuel filter/water separator ($273.42), sump plug ($39.56), air filter ($101.10) and oil filter ($62.43). Oil drain intervals are slotted in at 24,000 km periods, and with 11 litres of engine oil, that can add a further $143 at dealer mark-up.

It’s worth monitoring the extended oil drain intervals to maintain 24,000 km as dealerships are prone to replace every 12,000 km as a standard practice. Topping up the 27-litre AdBlue tank is necessary only at 12,000 km intervals and it’s just like refilling a windscreen washer reservoir.

Turning to the topic of tyre life, the RAM 2500 came shod with Nexen Rodian AT PRORA8 light truck tyres sized as LT275/70R18. At the 50,000 km mark we ran our depth gauges over the tread of each tyre finding a very even wear pattern across the width of the tread area of 6 mm depth on both front tyres, and 7 mm tread depth on each of the rear tyres. These figures result from regular tyre rotation at 12,000 km intervals, together with a full wheel alignment and balancing. The original tread depth figure is 11 mm, showing that there is plenty of life left to come.

Having enjoyed the RAM 2500 tremendously, we have the opportunity to now subject its sibling, the 1500, to the same in-depth scrutiny, to report on how a petrol V8 of 5.7-litres can compare to the exceptional strength and fuel efficiency of the Cummins 6.7-litre.

As our fuel consumption figures take into account total operating hours it’s interesting to note that real time economy is actually almost 10 percent better than our figures show if excluding idle time from the equation. This provides considerable justification for the increasing fitment of idle stop/start systems in modern vehicle design.

It was to be expected that as a new vehicle entering a vast country, there would be a series of vehicle upgrades completed by dealerships around the country, usually timed for completion during regular service intervals.

These included a revised front-left suspension strut that provided improved adjustment for toe-in, camber and castor angle that refined the straight line and cornering ability; plus, there were several electronic upgrades that improved durability, such as a tailgate lock actuator replacement. The only non-scheduled warranty upgrade was the investigation of an airbag warning light that illuminated, together with the replacement of the original water pump as a component upgrade under warranty – not the result of a failure.

A three year/100,000 km warranty is complemented by general servicing at 12,000 km intervals including 90

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RAM 1500 Ecodiesel 3.0 litre

RAM Fresh on our vehicle fleet is a RAM 1500 Laramie supplied through Alan Mance RAM of Footscray, in Melbourne’s west. There we met RAM Trucks sales specialist Leo Parisi, who provided a very effective and comprehensive handover of the vehicle before we hit the road for its first challenge, departing Melbourne for Sydney and then heading north, bound for Queensland and Airlie Beach.

The initial reaction was certainly one of familiarity, with the interior of the 1500 Laramie dual cab providing a virtual replica of the 2500 Laramie − just more compact, due to the lower overall height and 200 mm shorter overall length.

At this spec’ it’s leather throughout, plus heated and ventilated seats, power assisted everything, sat/nav, an excellent sound system and the clever fold-flat rear floor that flips out when the rear seats are raised.

RAM Boxes, plus a tri-fold tonneau cover, are a unique part of the RAM spec and provide a genuine advantage with space for shopping, tools and emergency gear within easy reach by opening the side lockers. Another plus is the rear cargo barrier that can be used to separate

sections of the cargo area or extend the deck length out to the edge of the tailgate when opened, capturing the load and preventing it from moving.

With a tare weight of around 2650 kg, the 1500 Laramie is basically 1000 kg lighter than our 2500 Laramie, 200 mm shorter and slightly narrower through a lack of necessity for wheel arch extensions. It shows its svelte ability by being more responsive off the mark, thanks to the characteristics of its 5.7-litre petrol V8 and an overall lighter feel.

There’s no commonality in chassis design between the 1500 and 2500, but the cabin is identical in the Laramie versions. The dual-cab Express option on the 1500 is shorter in depth (mainly between the ‘B’ and ‘C’ pillars) and lacks items such as leather seats and other high-end equipment inclusions. The lighter 1500 has a bed length of 1712 mm, and a height to the roof of 1917 mm. The 2500 dimensions come in at an increased bed length of 1939 mm, a width of 2009 mm and a roof height of 1974 mm.

The big appeal of the RAM comes for those wanting to take a legal and safer approach to towing. If you tow a big, and I mean BIG, boat or a plant equipment trailer then you’ll probably be doing so with a pintle hook connection where you can take advantage of a towing capability of 6942 kg with the 2500, or the conventional 50 mm towball connectivity for 3500 kg or stepping up to a 70 mm ball for towing 4500 kg.

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FEATURE

If you want to hit the 4500 kg towing mark with the 1500 you’ll need to spec up for the higher (numerically) diff ratio of 3.92:1. If you are not going to tow over the 3500 kg limit you’ll be opting for the 3.21:1 ratio diff that will improve fuel economy by a claimed 2.3L/100 km for the combined cycle at 9.9L/100 km versus 12.2L/100 km. In our first introduction to the 1500, we ran up the Hume Highway from Melbourne to Sydney returning 12L/100 km.

The subsequent trip from Sydney to Airlie Beach returned 11.2L/100 km. The total journey distance was 2771 km with an average journey speed of 91 km/h.

At this point we need to make it clear that although the 1500 offers the same tow ball rating capability of the 2500, there’s a real difference in the construction of each model.

Although both feature a tow haul option to alter the shift ratio patterns through the automatic transmissions (sixspeed on the 2500 and eight ratios on the 1500), only the 6.7-litre diesel can offer the benefit of an exhaust brake to control downhill speed independently of the service brake system. If you are shifting big weights, it’s a great benefit to have on board. The additional tare weight of the 2500, or its larger stablemate the 3500, does enable a towing combination to sit better on the highway.

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The lower GCM of the 1500 means that the higher weight capability of using a pintle hook connection as available with the 2500 and 3500 does not apply. Your options with the 1500 are strictly for use with a 50 mm tow ball at 3500 kg or a 70 mm tow ball at 4500 kg.

With the tare weight of the 2500 being around 1000 kg heavier than the 1500 there’s an obvious advantage that comes with towing high weights consistently to option up to the 2500. The big Cummins B-Series diesel with its 1084 Nm of torque just accomplishes the task of towing higher weight braked trailers so easily, while offering a payload of 913 kg. The 1500 offers a payload of 800 kg and with a torque rating of 556 Nm it still creams the competition from the Japanese-styled would-be contenders for top dog in the ute stakes.

As the comparison continues, we’ll supply you with all the right reasons why justifying a RAM on your fleet makes a highly sensible purchase decision. We’ll also bring you an update on the next model to join the RAM raid, with the 3.0-litre diesel version of the 1500 model just starting to appear at dealerships.

The RAM Box option is amazingly useful, whether you like to pack guns, fishing rods or toilet paper

THE LATEST INNOVATIONS IN

TRAILER TECHNOLOGY

TRAILERTORQUE

CHAIN OF COMMAND

Cutting unloading times to under 10 minutes is the key to greater efficiencies for Newcold Advanced Cold Logistics

The transport industry is constantly finding new and better ways to service its customers. This quest for improvements in logistics management has resulted in Melbourne-based Newcold Advanced Cold Logistics installing an advanced docking system to work with a new fleet of International ProStars operated by Ryans Group.

The Ryans Group fleet contract provides the opportunity to put six new International ProStar models in day-cab configuration to work in Victoria, hauling frozen products around the metro Melbourne area and further afield to Ballarat. This is an exciting proposition for Ryans Group as it places the ProStars in the forefront of impressive time-saving technologies that minimise loading and unloading times.

The ProStars haul refrigerated, quad-axle single semi-trailers with steerable rear axles to allow easier manoeuvring into loading docks at the Newcold Advanced Cold Logistics facility, as well as those of Peters and McCain Food Service Solutions.

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THE RYANS GROUP The refrigerated semi-trailers for Newcold Advanced Cold Logistics were custom built for this specific contract by Graystar Trailers of Preston, Victoria, and feature roll-on/rolloff chain-drive floor systems. With turnaround times between loading and unloading reduced from an average of 40 minutes to a timeframe of under ten minutes, this keeps the fleet moving while also reducing congestion at the loading docks, enabling the trucks to get back on the road faster.

The roll-on/roll-off loading system incorporated in the trailer floor and replicated in the floor of the loading dock area has been developed by ANCRA Systems of The Netherlands.

Loads for each arriving trailer are pre-allocated to a specific loading dock within the warehouse facility, where they are placed on a shuttle or skid that replicates the floor space area and cubic volume of the trailer interior.

Laser-guided mobile units index the complete load onto the skid, which is then stored on a buffer conveyor rail system adjacent to the selected loading dock access door in advance of the truck and trailer arrival.

When the trailer arrives at the loading dock area, the IT system provides the driver with a door number and pin code. After the trailer has reversed to access the nominated loading dock the driver connects the communication cable to the docking system and enters the pin code. This code verifies that the correct trailer is located at the correct dock and starts the unloading process.

The chain-drive system embedded in the floor of the trailer and on the loading dock then discharges the load. When secure on the loading dock the IT system then moves the load from the trailer sideways to an empty rail line, shifts the new load into position to access the loading dock door and then powers the new load into the waiting trailer. The loading dock door and trailer doors are then closed and the communications cable is disconnected.

Each procedure can be completed in under ten minutes, enabling the prime mover and trailer to return to the road.

By reducing the time spent on the loading dock mechanised options such as the ANCRA System improve the efficiencies of the warehouse and should enable the rigid time-slot approach to become more flexible and more responsive to fleet variations through the working day. In turn the drivers are subjected to less fatigue and can manage their on-duty time more effectively.

David Gray, founder and managing director of Graystar Trailers, told PowerTorque that the design of the trailers resulted from extensive consultation with Newcold over a 12-month programme to create a custom-built option for the customer. “The use of high tensile steel enabled us to keep tare weight to a minimum and incorporate extensive safety features such as WABCO roll-over stability and Electronic Braking Systems (EBS),� said David Gray.

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TRAILERTORQUE “Axles and suspension systems were supplied by BPW and feature disc brakes throughout, with a self-steering feature on the fourth (rearmost) axle. The refrigeration units are provided by Carrier Transicold.

“I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of building a customdesigned trailer solution that proves to be a better alternative than was previously available.

“The roll-on/roll-off flooring system was sourced from ANCRA Loading and Unloading Solutions of The Netherlands after extensive consultation with our customer, and our team trained with representatives of the supplier who joined us from Europe to ensure the installation was completed perfectly. We are very particular about the high quality we maintain and are very pleased with the final result,” he said.

Ryans Group manager, David Howell, said that the ProStar’s specifications were also a strong fit for the application.

“The ProStar provides a solid overall package. Depending on the route, the trucks are on-call around the clock and will be travelling around 5000 km each per week in metro conditions as well as some highway work.

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The ProStars are currently operating on single trailer work under PBS. With a 90 tonne GCM they can also undertake B-Double and even two-trailer road-train work if required, providing additional fleet flexibility.

Drivers in the Ryans Group ProStars are provided with handheld ‘Epod’ devices, a technology system that was developed in partnership with Honeywell and Peacock Bros which are two businesses with extensive expertise in productivity and scanning/mobile computer technologies.

“The drivers certainly appreciate the automated transmission, especially considering the amount of time they spend in traffic”

“All of the new ProStars vehicles are equipped with Cummins X15 engines rated at 550 hp (410 kW) and 1850 ft lb (2508 Nm), coupled to Eaton’s intelligent UltraShift Plus automated manual transmissions (AMT). The drivelines are also specified with ADEPT technologies, integrating the engine and transmission protocols to create the best case scenario for power application, gear shift performance and improved fuel economy,” said David Howell.

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“They have a proven driveline and they’re hearty trucks, so we have every confidence that they’ll stand up to the rigours of the job,” he said.

The Epod devices provide the drivers with real-time job information and delivery ETAs for the recipients of the goods, allowing them to better schedule their workflow. Drivers can also photograph the load once onboard and secured. This information is processed via the Epod gateway computer at the Ryans depot and easily available if required via a website, using a consignment number.

“The drivers certainly appreciate the automated transmission, especially considering the amount of time they spend in traffic crossing from the east to the west of Melbourne,” said David Howell.

“It’s a comfortable cabin environment and the visibility is excellent, which again is an extra benefit in city conditions.”

The ProStars were purchased from Adtrans Truck Centre, which will also handle maintenance of the vehicles.

From L to R: Newcold Site Manager, Cameron Traum; Ryans Group Melbourne Deport Manager, Ben Hopgood and Adtrans Truck Centre, General Manager, Marcus Prato.

CONNEX ST ™

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HXL7® Wheel Bearing Package Hendrickson Extended-Life wheel-end system boasting a five-year, 1.2 million km on-highway warranty.* *Contact your local Hendrickson representative for complete warranty terms, conditions and limitations.

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For more information, email: sales@hendrickson.com.au Hendrickson Asia Pacific Pty Ltd 32-44 Letcon Drive Dandenong, Victoria 3175 Tel: 03 8792 3600 www.hendrickson.com.au © 2019 Hendrickson USA, L.L.C. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks shown are owned by Hendrickson USA, L.L.C., or one of its affiliates, in one or more countries.

TRAILERTORQUE

SWEET AS SUGAR

Qube Logistics introduces new methods to revitalise an established industry – Words by Warren Caves, Images by Torque it Up

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QUBE LOGISTICS railer design has evolved to greater levels of efficiency by forward thinking and vision from both manufacturers and designers, but one thing that can really restrain design progress is the end-users’ facilities.

Where a logistics company is contracted as a third party to these facilities it can result in a major influence on available transport solutions. This is when trailer builders can have their hands tied to some degree in designing modern-day trailers to cope with ageing infrastructure at the delivery destination in order to lift productivity to present-day aspirations.

For Qube Logistics, this contrast of necessary trailer design is evident in the company’s North Queensland sugar operations.

Qube Logistics provides transport solutions to several sugar-mill operations in North Queensland and recently invited PowerTorque to visit the Mossman Sugar Mill, (owned by Mackay Sugar) and the Thai-owned MSF Sugar Mill in Arriga, just outside Mareeba.

The MSF Arriga Mill is a much newer facility having been built within the past 20 years. A modern approach to design and handling of harvested sugar cane deliveries at this mill is the tipping of cane into a hopper directly from a trailer. This necessitated a very specific type of trailer with Brisbane-based TEFCO Trailers designing and manufacturing a fleet of rear multi-lift trailers to suit the end-users’ facilities.

Bins capable of transporting 25 tonne of harvested sugar cane are owned by the sugar mill and these are loaded onto the elevated multi-lift trailers by a hook fixed to a hydraulic-slide frame. The hook lift pulls the bins to the front of the trailer while simultaneously lowering the chassis. Empty bins are then delivered to the farm paddock and placed on the ground at a designated loading pad. A fully-laden bin is then loaded onto the trailer for transport back to the mill where it is tipped into a hopper and conveyed into the mill for crushing.

This delivery process is completed on a “just in time delivery” basis with trucks working around the clock during harvest. The loading and unloading of the bins on the trailers and final tipping requires minimal input from the driver apart from operating the controls within the cabin of the prime mover. The only physical aspect of the process for the driver is the need to walk to the rear of the bin to open and close the manual tailgate lever, and to check for hook alignment at the rear of the trailer when picking up a bin from the ground.

This level of design scope available to TEFCO Trailers when working with modern end-user facilities, allows the design and construction of trailers with operational efficiency and safety as a prime consideration.

The TEFCO Multi-lift tri-axled trailers used

by Qube form part of a 14-vehicle fleet upgrade to replace existing trucks and trailers with a more modern and efficient alternative.

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TRAILERTORQUE Richard Brown, managing director of TEFCO Trailers, said the fleet replacement programme enabled the relocation of all hydraulic controls originally mounted externally on the trailers, to a new and safer position within the cabins of the prime movers.

“The older trailers have been updated over time by the fitment of Hendrickson axles, brake kits and HXL7 wheel ends,” said Richard.

“The 14 new tri-axle Multi-Lift tip-over-axle trailers must work effectively with the site unloading facility as well as operate separately in the cane fields where they are picked up and deposited on the ground. The trailer specification features Hendrickson INTRAAX suspension with HXL7 drum brakes and Knorr-Bremse EBS and RSS with TIM’s modules. Hydraulic hoists are supplied by EDBRO with chains by Tsubacki and gearbox motors by Brevin.”

A little further north in Mossman, Qube provide logistics to the 123-year-old Mossman Sugar Mill. As one might expect, a sugar mill built in 1896 (the first crush was in 1897) has facilities that were not originally designed to accept modern-day transport technologies and concepts.

The Mossman Mill still receives sugar cane predominantly via the familiar sugar locomotives used quite literally for 100 years.

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This rail-based delivery system removes the need for hundreds of truck movements through Mossman itself, as the mill is located near the centre of the town.

While Mossman residents no doubt appreciate that high numbers of B-Double truck movements are not running through the centre of town 24 hours a day during harvest, the rail-delivery system does create the need for transfer hubs outside the town to double handle the cane bins from truck to train.

To support this different type of transport challenge Qube Logistics at Mossman uses a combination of both Freighter single trailers and B-Double sets manufactured

by MaxiTRANS. The Freighter trailers are of a push/pull design to handle cane bin transfers from paddock to rail hub for final transfer to mill by rail.

Cane bins are picked up on loaded trailer sets from paddocks or from cane stands located on cane farms.

Trailer sets are loaded directly from a farm “Haul-out” either while the driver waits (live loading) or dropped and swapped if there are loaded trailers waiting at site.

Picking up from cane stands involves taking out empty bins and placing those on the stands (pushing) within the farms and loading full bins (pulling) that have been filled by the harvester. The Freighter trailers have hydraulic rams which locate in a square cut-out on the underside of the cane bins to push or pull the bins from the trailer along its angled slide rails to cane stands and vice versa.

TRAILERTORQUE The multiple square cut-outs are positioned along the main centre rail at intervals requiring four to five ram extensions to complete the movement of bin to stand or bin to trailer.

Upon arrival at the freight-forwarding hub the trailers are pulled alongside a small rail platform at a very close distance. The bins must then be aligned with only a small tolerance for alignment (sometimes assisted by a ramp assistant or “Rampy” via radio communication) to match up with the rail bogies for transfer by way of the trailer’s rams. The loaded rail bogies (once a full rake or platform is complete, usually numbering around 18 bogies), are railed the short distance into the mill by a loco after it deposits empty bins onto another rake for onforwarding.

The Freighter trailers manufactured by MaxiTRANS for this task are fitted with EBS, with BPW ECO Tronic trailer electronic-braking systems using drum brakes.

The main benefits of BPW ECO Tronic trailer EBS systems are the activation of brakes via an electronic control signal, trailer-roll stability, anti-lock braking, electronic load sensing and the option of trailer monitoring. The Trailer Monitor Unit can provide a trailer-mounted display of information that includes odometer, trip meter, service intervals, roll stability events, the load weight in kilograms, air pressure and voltage.

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Brake performance monitoring gives an onboard indication of braking effort applied by both the truck and the trailer. This effectively identifies problems such as overly aggressive application of truck or trailer brakes or overuse of the trailer-brake hand control.

The hydraulic double-acting rams fitted to each trailer were supplied by Eureka Engineered Products of Ballarat, Victoria. The design called for a custom-built dual ram with a compound cylinder to maintain the hook in an upright position at all times and to prevent the hook from rotating. This was achieved by coupling two smaller cylinders together with what has proven to be a highly durable and reliable design.

The trailers have manual air-ride height-control valves located near the hydraulic ram controls to enable the operator to adjust the height of the trailers to align with the rail bogies or cane stands for loading and unloading. Load lighting is fitted to the underside of the trailers around the ram area for night operations and cameras are located in the same area assist in lining up the bins to the rail bogies via an in-cab screen.

QUBE LOGISTICS As some of the sugar cane comes from the Atherton Tableland into the Mossman Mill for crushing, a round trip of up to 250 km for some farms, this requires the B-Doubles to negotiate the steep tight “Rex Range�. The Rex Range with its steep descent and 82 corners of varying alignment required special attention to tracking when designing the trailers. With that in mind the Freighter design incorporated BPW steerable rear axles fitted to both the A and B trailers on the combinations.

Payloads of around 40 tonne per load are achieved with the B-Double combinations, and as the trailers are unique to these operations, they are only road registered for the duration of the season. Single Freighter trailers are used on some farms where access is limited in much the same way as the B-Doubles.

The variances of location, access and existing infrastructure between these mills obviously impacts significantly on the transport logistical challenges faced by the operators, with ongoing implications for productivity and time management.

Whilst delivery to the Arriga Mill is far more streamlined and time efficient, even when operating single trailers for the task, it contrasts with the requirements for different strategies when working within the infrastructure constraints of the century old Mossman mill.

At Mossman the operation of the push/pull trailers and the unavoidable double handling of the cane is physically more demanding, as drivers need to enter and leave the truck cabs more frequently to oversee different aspects of loading and unloading. There is also additional maintenance required as the trailer slides must be greased more frequently.

Despite the transport objectives for Qube Logistics being identical in terms of transporting exactly the same products from the similar locations, the contrasting solutions clearly highlight the point that end user facilities have a huge influence on equipment design, requiring innovative trailing equipment solutions to cater for differing delivery destinations.

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HITCHED AND HAPPY T

ruck Shows are fine for showcasing new technologies but the problem comes when those attending find that when there’s a good news moment there are so many other people amassing round the display booth that finding out all the background information has to sometimes be left until after the initial dust has settled.

This is particularly the case for component manufacturers and suppliers, where a selection of new products can be overshadowed by a neighbouring stand displaying a completely new truck.

For JOST Australia the Brisbane Truck Show was a hive of activity but with dedication and a firm resolve, PowerTorque did find the right people to discuss some of its displays which attracted the most attention from passers-by.

Available in grease or greaseless versions, the height options include 150 mm, 170 mm, 185 mm, 220 mm and 250 mm with bolt-on or welded pedestals. These new models are also available as a fixed assembly, low profile ball race and double row ball race assemblies.

Features of the new assemblies include a new four-bolt wear ring for added strength with the JSK 37 CX and JSK 37 CXW being suitable for PBS applications as well as tankers, livestock and fridge vans and other high centre of gravity and arduous applications. Both products feature a 50 mm king pin to cater for an imposed load of 24,000 kg with a D-value of 240 kN and a CRN of 45374.

One of the best-known products from the JOST Australia stable is of course its range of fifth-wheel assemblies.

The JSK 37 CXW is ideally suited for arduous Australian applications including tanker, stock crate, off-road, container, logging and multi-trailer combinations. The design of the fifth wheel coupling plate provides extra load capacity so making it an ideal solution for PBS applications requiring additional imposed load ratings.

The JSK 37 CX and 37 CXW are the new heavy-duty version of Australia’s most popular fifth wheels forming the JSK 37 product range.

In addition, the JSK 37 CXW is E-coated for highest corrosion protection to achieve longer performance life in particularly harsh applications. JOST E-coating process

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JOST uses highly-efficient coating systems with a zinc phosphate pre-treatment and high-edge paint optimised for highest corrosion protection on all surfaces.

Customers can also choose to have JOST central Lube-Tronic greasing system fitted as an additional cost option. In 2020, JOST Australia will be releasing the JSW 42 WKS (AUS) sensor-coupling system. This unit will provide operators with a secure coupling solution with remote visual display combined with a pneumatic coupling release system controlled from the driver’s cab. The fifth wheel locking position and coupling status is monitored using three sensors that are visible via a remote display in the driver’s cabin or within the dashboard. The JSK 42 WKS (AUS) coupling is opened pneumatically by a remote control for a safe and quick operation. JOST offers a variety of lubrication solutions for fifth-wheel couplings that can help reduce time and expense by extending the service intervals. This fifth wheel will come standard with the JOST central Lube-Tronic greasing system.

Adding a more instantly visible appeal on the JOST Australia stand was the new range of EverShine wheel rims.

With a five-year finish warranty, these super lowmaintenance wheel rims require only soapy water or a truck wash to have them gleaming on every axle.

The surface treatment for these premium forgedalloy wheels provides protection from harsh transport environments and the extensive range provides considerable weight savings over conventional steel rims.

No mention of JOST Australia expertise would be complete discussing the latest new products from the Rockinger range of towing hitches. The brand has built a solid reputation for versatility and reliability, winning multiple European industry awards.

Advanced RO500 product alternatives give customers the option of a pneumatic coupling release combined with sensor technology that provides operators an in-cab display of both coupling status as well as a turn-angle “jack knife” warning.

Available in a wide range of 13 popular rim sizes, buyers can expect weights of 23.6 kg for 22.5 x 8.25 10/285 (26 mm) sizing, ranging down to just 17.0 kg for a corresponding EverShine 19.5 x 7.5 8/275 (32 mm) rim.

Evershine has successfully exceeded 240 hours in repeated Copper Acetic Salt Spray (CASS) testing to ISO 9227. It is a special treatment executed to the wheel during the manufacturing and finishing process that helps to prevent pitting, blistering, corrosion and coating breakdown.

Complementing the already high-corrosion resistance of the existing base 6061 alloy, EverShine will resist most environments experienced in the Australian heavy-duty transport industry.

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SET FOR SUCCESS Thai-built means world-class quality for Panus Oceania Rapidly becoming known as the Detroit of Asia, Thailand is the centre of excellence for automakers and is recognised for its manufacturing and supply of the majority of utes that are sold onto the Australian market.

When a nation is focussed on using the latest production techniques to create a product build quality that ranks highly on the global market, it’s a logical progression to enlarge the engineering base to encompass heavier vehicles such as trucks and trailing equipment.

As with many of the automotive assembly plants in Thailand, Panus Oceania uses state-of-the-art technology, blended with quality components purchased from leading Australian component suppliers, to create unique, robust and enduring products that are ideally-suited to the local Australian market.

Technology transfer, plus local innovation, imagination and government support and nurturing has seen the industry blossom over the past 20 years. Free Trade Agreements with a variety of trading partners, including Australia, have helped stimulate exports to Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

With overall vehicle production breaching two-million units, half of which are exported, Thailand is the sixth largest

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commercial-vehicle manufacturing nation in the world, the fifth largest automotive manufacturing country in Asia and the 12th largest in the world. It hosts production facilities for 23 automotive and eight motorcycle brands. And the 21st Century focused “Thailand Automotive Industry 4.0” plan looks to the imminent development of electric vehicles and further sustainable innovation.

Knowingly or not, Australians have developed an unquenchable thirst for Thailand’s products, largely due to the Kingdom’s massive production capacity for doublecab utes in all shapes and sizes from many brands.

Vehicles manufactured in Thailand accounted for 27 percent of all sales in Australia in June, and 26 percent year-to-date.

The 32,139 Thai-built vehicles fell only just short of Japan’s contribution to June’s Australian market sales (at 35,286), and well ahead of third-placed South Korea at 17,322 units.

Cars, SUVs and trucks of all types aren’t the only automotive products manufactured in Thailand. Aside from a very healthy local content industry to service the needs of the manufacturers and assemblers of self-propelled vehicles, Thailand has an active and advanced industry producing key equipment for the transport industry.

PANUS Panus Assembly is celebrating 48 years as a Thailandbased trailer manufacturer, as well as the creator of a range of well-established ground-support equipment for airports and light-duty military vehicles.

With a modern factory employing computer-controlled laser welding and the latest techniques in building trailer bodies, Panus trailers for Australia are equipped with Australian-supplied running gear sourced from top-tier component suppliers.

The Panus assembly factory produces more than 3500 trailers per year (10 per day, but in reality a higher rate given weekends and holidays), and has the capacity to grow even further. Trailers are exported across South East Asia and have been coming to Australia in modest numbers over the past six years.

“Australian demand for these vehicles has been all-but insatiable over the past five to 10 years, and there’s never been any pushback from the market as a result of consumers discovering their vehicle is made in Thailand.

Speaking to PowerTorque from the Panis Oceania Australian head office in Melbourne, general manager Ron Gysberts said the company was setting new standards for build quality and sophistication in the Australian trailer market.

“The Thai industry globally has earned its rock-solid reputation for quality and innovation over the past decade, as it engaged in a pro-active programme to achieve world’s best quality.

“Thailand is a modern, global-scale vehicle manufacturer, a fact that is often overlooked. It is building around two million vehicles a year there, a number that dwarfs Australia even in its manufacturing heyday,” said Ron. “Double-cab utes are among the biggest selling vehicles in Australia and the vast majority of them are built in Thai factories belonging to Ford, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Isuzu.

“The fact that Thailand is home to manufacturing plants for Mercedes-Benz and BMW, as well as Harley-Davidson motorcycles, gives a clear indication of the ability and quality commitment and achievement of Thai production plants,” said Ron. Panus has been making large strides in its manufacturing culture to continue its leadership in technology and assembly quality.

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The steel the company uses in trailer manufacturing comes from the same high-quality sources as that of the car makers, and with computerised control of major cutting and welding processes, the Panus products are consistent, accurate and extremely hard-wearing.

“In some cases this can be in the same week as the order is received. While this may be unusual for the Australian market, it does give trailer buyers the ability to be able to say ’yes’ to their customers if they suddenly get the green light on a new contract with a short start-up period.

“By adopting a business model for Australia that sends all the running gear components to Thailand to be fitted into the Panus trailer chassis for this market, we are not only ensuring the reliability and suitability of our trailers for Australian operators, but we are also supporting the local component industry,” said Ron.

“Also, for any transport operator that suffers significant damage to a trailer, for example as the result of an accident, we can have them back on the road with a replacement trailer in a very short space of time.

“From a customer’s perspective, too, regular wear items such as brakes, air fittings and bearings,and so on, can easily be sourced right around Australia when it is time to refurbish them, and the replacement quality of the service items will match those of the original equipment,” he says.

“The Panus advantage for Australian customers is that we have a broad range of equipment on offer and, with the volume of product rolling out of the factory, we are able to keep stock on hand for immediate delivery.

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“Given the competitiveness of the Australian market, time is most certainly money, and with Panus providing this level of customer support, we can shave weeks or months off the traditional replacement or delivery times for trailer customers,” Ron added.

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TRAILERTORQUE

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Kässbohrer launches new ideas for low loader container transport

K

ässbohrer designed its first low-loader models in 2008 to meet growing global demand, from the two-axle semi-flatbed trailer with rigid axles, to the eight-axle model with hydraulic steering.

A decade later, at Kässbohrer headquarters in Adapazari, Turkey, in 2018, the company opened its new low-loader factory with an annual build capacity of 2500 units to specialise in the manufacture of trailing equipment for large-capacity and heavy-duty transport.

Today’s production capabilities, with its laser-cutting systems, welding robots and automated surface technology, provide many more options for designers.

Twenty years ago, a low loader was a one-of-a-kind piece with hundreds of hours of work spent on mechanical processing and corresponding labour costs. In 2019 the same low loader is a unique piece constructed through automated production technology processes that benefit from greater precision, providing more variants and therefore more customer benefits.

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Kässbohrer currently offers nine versions of a semi-low loader, with rigid or telescopic models and up to six axle lines with trailing-steering axles. There are five versions with three to eight-axle lines and which from have three to six hydraulically-steered axles.

The latest series are low loaders with two or three-steered air-sprung axles and a retractable gooseneck. Although the main demand is for two or three-axle low loaders, because the suspension in the rear was designed as a module it is easy during the production process to add further axle lines.

The basis of the K.SLL is a hydraulically steered, two or three-axle tailwheel unit with air suspension. It is designed so machines can be loaded from the rear via ramps, rather than accessing via the gooseneck.

The standard version of the K.SLL is designed for frontaccess loading through a retractable gooseneck, with wedges available to assist with loading equipment

KĂ„SSBOHRER on small-diameter wheels. The drop bed is almost seven metres long and can be telescoped in 500 mm increments to 5.5 metres. By ordering the unit fitted with four ISO twistlocks, the low loader can also be used as a transporter for 40 foot (12.2 metre) containers.

capacity of 800 tonne. In the low-bed there are seven rows with load capacities of 800 tonne and four with 480 tonne.

For the chassis there are two rows rated at 800 tonne and three rated at 600 tonne. It is also equipped with fold-out cross beams, extending the loading width to three metres.

In the standard configuration, the platform is 200 mm thick and welded to the unit. As a further option for different loading requirements, Kassbohrer offers platform heights of 225 mm and 250 mm, plus the option of weld joint or a bolt connection for customers that prefer the use of add-on platforms.

An advantage of the low-bed is the wooden floor. This is divided into three segments and can be removed and installed with four traction rings each. This is a big advantage when carrying pipes or boats, as the low loader is multifunctional and can be used as a machine transporter for long loads, for small-scale construction site equipment, or for a construction container.

With one or two intermediate tables any long equipment can also be driven onto the deck. The table is designed for 15 tonne of charge pressure and is plugged into one of the 50 mm by 100 mm stake pockets on the outside of the main frame, with six stake pockets on the low-bed and three on the undercarriage.

When it comes to load securing, the K.SLL high bed features a welded pair of lashing rings, each with a load

In terms of functional safety the low-bed of the SLL provides 300 mm to 340 mm ground clearance. The eight hydraulic cylinders for the lifting and steering systems are certified to US ASTM B117. Accordingly, the piston rods are protected against corrosion for 1000 hours. In addition, the hydraulic lines and cylinders designed for 250 bar operating pressure are tested with 1000 bar peak pressures.

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TRENDING FOR LOW TARE WEIGHT Custom building is the key to success for specific applications

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ustralia’s trailer manufacturing industry seems to be extremely buoyant at present, with many local builders suggesting that the next six-month production slots are rapidly becoming booked out, well ahead of previous projections.

Interestingly, this optimism for full order books in the run into 2020 is not shared by all the truck OEM’s, with some suggesting that truck sales may well be heading for the doldrums.

This brings the old phrase to mind about not putting the cart before the horse. But on closer examination the sales prophesies for truck OEMs seem to correlate exactly with the degree of marketing expenditure and publicity for the respective brands through 2019.

Truck makers that maintained a high public profile did well in such sales performance, while those that cut back on effort and expenditure suffered from a loss of visibility in the marketplace, which subsequently led to a lesser performance at dealership level.

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Both the truck and trailer manufacturing sectors have the attribute of being able to develop new markets and generate sales through custom building their products to suit a specific application. This has led to several interesting examples featured in this issue of TrailerTorque, one of which is well illustrated here by a new contract awarded to K&S Freighters.

Scania Australia has delivered eight new truck-generation G 500 prime movers to K&S Freighters in Newcastle for use on a contract to move alumina or coke from the port to the Tomago Aluminium smelter 20 km away.

The trucks will run around-the-clock for six days a week, across two 12-hour shifts, so reliable uptime was a key decision-making factor in the K&S Freighters’ specification process.

PANUS The eight Scania’s G 500s have been specified exactly for the task and will pull eight new TEFCO B-double tipper combinations running on HML mass-management certification. Both the prime movers and the trailers are custom built to exacting standards to ensure excellent productivity and efficiency for the duration of the contract.

“Trailers are driven onto a split-axle group weighbridge, then loaded via hoppers in sequence to achieve maximum payloads. All trailer operations are completed from within the Scania cab. All hatches in the trailers must line up exactly with the loading hoppers, fit on the weighbridge and load correctly,” said Richard.

The Scania G 500s are powered by 500 hp 13-litre, sixcylinder Scania engines with Euro6 emissions compliance and are fitted with a rear axle ratio specifically calibrated for the loads they will be pulling over the mostly flat haul route.

The fixed tip A-Trailer and the tip-over axle B-trailer have aluminium bins with aluminium lids. The A- Trailer is fitted with three air-operated sliding hatches, while the B-Trailer has four air-operated sliding hatches. Both have two separate programmes for different product loading. A rounded fixed tailgate assists in guiding the product out of each trailer through heavy duty, air-operated gates with PVC socks.

Being able to maintain a low tare weight was another specification requirement, which led to the selection of the shorter day cab, complete with fridge and LED headlamps, and the selection of a single 400-litre fuel tank, sufficient for a full day’s work.

The Scania prime movers and the TEFCO B-Double trailer sets feature a fully-integrated EBS (Electronic Braking System), to provide faster brake actuation and consequently shorter overall stopping distances. The G500s are also fitted with the latest Scania 4100 retarder, providing the drivers with additional safety margins when hauling 68.5-tonne gross, while simultaneously extending service-brake wear intervals.

Richard Brown, managing director of TEFCO Trailers explained the product carried by the fleet is extremely abrasive and the bins must therefore be built to heavyduty standards and be waterproof.

With a common floor thickness of 8mm, each trailer features Hendrickson INTRAAX suspension with Low-Ride on the A-Trailer and Top Mount on the B-Trailer, together with Hendrickson MAXX22T HXL7 disc brakes all round.

The MAXX22T brake calliper uses WABCO single-piston technology for higher reliability and reduced weight, matched by the extended life warranty of the entire suspension and HXL7 wheel-end braking system.

“The safety features throughout the fleet are highly impressive,” said Richard.

“In-dash alarms indicate whether the lids and grain doors are open or closed and whether the bodies are raised or lowered. The WABCO EBS braking system includes RSS, Smartboard and EBS connected safety light. The lighting system throughout the trailers is by Hella Australia, the hoists are supplied by ROC and each trailer runs on Bridgestone tyres with Alcoa aluminium rims.”

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TRAILERTORQUE The TEFCO trailers complement the already impressive standard safety features of the entire NTG Scania range.

The G 500s are equipped with side curtain roll-over airbags, unique to Scania, and with passive and active safety systems such as adaptive cruise control and advanced emergency braking. Additional equipment, such as dashcams and reversing cameras are fitted by K&S and the trucks also feature MT Data connectivity for geofencing and navigation.

“We have undertaken a very detailed specification and build programme for K&S Freighters for this contract,” said Steven Alberse, Fleet Sales Manager for Scania Australia.

“First, we discussed with K&S Freighters exactly what the task was that the trucks were required to undertake, acknowledging the need for uptime and excellent endurance over a typical working week.

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“With the client undertaking their own servicing we were able to structure a bespoke parts supply and pricing solution to fit the duty-cycle profile of the vehicles, again to maximise their uptime,” he said.

DROP DECK CURTAINSIDER

FLAT-TOPS, DROP DECKS, SKELETAL, PBS COMBINATIONS Contact us: 1300 467 268 sales@panusoceania.com.au VIC – NSW – QLD

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Photographs are representative only and may not reflect actual vehicle colours, accessories or option packages. Please check with your dealer regarding colour order and timing for delivery.