Editorial

WHAT COST A LIFE?

There’s something inherently false about a person who needs self-adulation, someone constantly looking for affirmation, to prove their worth. You get the feeling that, beneath the shiny surface, all is not as it’s made out to be. You know the type.

Conversely, some people go about their business without fuss or fanfare, just quietly, efficiently and effectively working away, getting the job done. You know the type, too.

When it comes to government agencies, regulatory bodies and the like, there’s really no place for the former. Just get on with the job and spend taxpayers’ money to our benefit. Do it properly, and there should be no need to keep us looking at the surface to convince us otherwise.

Which is why I’ll add my voice to all those who have already done so and denounce Waka Kotahi’s current $4.74 million Road to Zero advertising campaign as utter garbage.

Speaking of voices…

In the four weeks since the June issue of New Zealand Trucking magazine went to print, approximately 12 individual accidents involving trucks were reported around the country. The most serious of them was also one of the most recent, the tragic collision involving a family of nine on SH1 outside Picton. Another was that in which a 19-year-old Tauranga Boys’ College student was killed on SH2.

Several voices have come out over the past weeks, especially in the wake of the Picton accident. Invariably, despite the facts and the circumstances, it’s the truck that lands up being demonised. Regardless of who was at fault, we need to get trucks off the road, they cry.

And it’s amazing how many of them are missing the point. It’s not unsafe to drive on New Zealand’s roads because of trucks – it’s as unsafe for trucks as it is for anyone else. It’s unsafe to drive on New Zealand’s roads, because New Zealand’s roads are unsafe.

Unfortunately, the risk of something going wrong each time a truck driver hits the open road is reduced to just another ‘hazard’ of the job – expected to be managed and mitigated by health and safety and filling in a log book. The problem, it bears repeating, is that a truck driver’s workplace is not confined by the walls of their depot or the cab of their truck. It’s every road between Cape Reinga and Bluff. In that regard, should the state and roading authority not assume some responsibility for every accident that occurs?

Operators do what is required to keep their gear in mechanically fit condition and stay ahead of that date on the COF sticker. Drivers do what’s required to ensure their load is correctly secured and they’re in a lucid enough state to complete a journey hundreds of kilometres long – likewise, the average motorist. For the most part, at least, the requirement for a WOF should mean the vehicles on the nation’s roads are mechanically sound. And, to paraphrase one commentator, reasonable people don’t hit the road to put themselves and others in harm’s way. Granted, the key word there is ‘reasonable’ – i.e. sober, rested, calm, focused.

The sad reality is that there’s no way to guarantee that – and when things go wrong on narrow, winding, poor-quality roads, they tend to go wrong quickly.

‘New Zealand Roads are not like other roads.’ Whoever came up with that line is right; they’re not. Kiwi roads are from a bygone age when their design was constrained by topography. When the number, type and size of vehicles that used them were vastly different to today. When life was slower, and people were less distracted. And except for a handful of some admittedly good motorways and bypass projects, little has been done to change that.

The fact is, Waka Kotahi needs to stop wasting time and millions on patch-job repairs, innovation funds, ideological roads to nowhere, and shiny advertising campaigns that make a mockery of the shocking reality and actually get on with the job of creating a national roading infrastructure suitable for the demands of today’s freight and traffic.

TRUCK & LIGHT

Gavin Myers Editor

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K220 ENTERS THE FRAY

After hundreds of social media pics, speculation and teasers, the atmosphere was almost palpable when Kenworth, at last, played its latest K-model hand – the K220 – to a crowd of more than 500 dealers, customers and industry partners.

At first sight, there’s an apparent ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ theme in the K220. But beneath the familiar lines of the launch trucks is the continued evolution of arguably trucking’s greatest model dynasty.

The project began in late 2018, and Ross Cureton, director of product planning, says its development was driven by high levels of customer and driver input.

“We consider this to be a pivotal part of our development programme, ensuring operators get what they need.”

Says chief engineer Noelle Parlier: “Customers were able to give us several areas for product improvement. It became apparent our focus should be applied to greater driver comfort and technology integration.”

From the outside in

“Reassuringly familiar” with “streamlined, purposeful contours” is how the press release described the K220. There’s no question that revolution was off the project table for the COE this time around. But refinement? Most definitely.

The two biggest visuals are the new grille, which works with a more efficient fan to optimise cooling, and the loss of Kenworth’s iconic – and that’s not a cliché in this context – vista windows on the high-rise sleeper, allowing improved sleeper insulation and, therefore, more easily maintained cabin temperature.

That ties in with the “new wind-cheating roof profile” designed with the aid of computational fluid dynamics, said to improve aerodynamic efficiency by 4%.

New LED headlamps with integrated indicators and daytime running lights can be paired with bright-look bezels.

With GCMs from 97 to 250 tonnes and beyond via application approval, the latest K is available in 6x4, 8x4, 8x4 tandem with a lazy axle, 8x6, 10x4 tandem with a lazy axle, and 10x6.

The cab work undertaken on the outside does mean more cab on the inside, with increased headroom and triple the overhead storage space. A lot of work’s gone into the HVAC system, which Kenworth says “vastly” enhances interior comfort in any weather with a 60%-plus increase in the airflow.

Big changes come in the cockpit – specifically, the dash. A 15” high-definition instrument panel reduces distraction, says Kenworth, by allowing the driver to control how much information is showing when operating the truck. It’s customisable from driver to driver and trip to trip. Aside from vehicle parameters, intervention warnings allow the driver to respond quickly.

Button-actuated pre-start system checks, as well as post-shift vehicle and trip summaries, are all part of the new package, the latter providing statistics such as average fuel burn, idle time, cruise control usage, and any potential mechanical issues.

There are new SmartWheel and stalk-mounted controls with an expanded range of vehicle functions at the fingertips, plus an 8” audiovisual navigation (AVN (infotainment)) interface in the wrap, which can be incorporated into the SmartWheel controls, allowing

the driver’s phone to be left on a charging pad, or stored in new dash pockets. The AVN can also be intelligently integrated with up to six external cameras.

There’s “meticulously considered” switchgear, which we hope means the same family of big, easy-to-find-anduse toggles, à la T410 and 610.

The interior is more spacious, and quieter, with improved storage, including in and around the new dash, as well as more footwell space via pedal repositioning and increased seat travel.

Soft, plush upholstery in the traditional studded pattern and an updated palette of trim colours bring the 220 into line with the Kenworth’s 2.1m cab range.

The cabs come in 1.7m day cab, 2.3m flat-roof sleeper, 2.3m Aerodynamic roof sleeper, and 2.8m Aerodynamic roof sleeper, with a 2.8m king-single bed option also.

All cab options are available with side extenders, and the 2.3m and 2.8m Aerodynamic roof variants are available with roof fairings.

Safety and coms

Equipped with the same electronic architecture as that available on new DAF models in Europe and Kenworth and Peterbilt in the United States, allows the K220s to move with the times. At launch, the truck has the largest range of active and passive safety options offered by Kenworth Australia, adding multi-lane autonomous emergency braking and stopand-go functionality to a growing list of systems.

Every K220 will be fitted with PACCAR Connect, the company’s proprietary telematics system. It allows live tracking and monitoring of the vehicle, driver, and fleet performance. There are fully customisable dashboards, and reports come in easy-to-read formats.

Powertrains

Powertrains are looking ever more ‘ADEPT’ for the job. Cummins X-15 Euro 6 and 5 variants in both efficiency and power series are available with manual or the new 18-speed Eaton Endurant XD Pro AMT. (Note: the efficiency series is only available with the AMT.) Emissions are achieved via SCR and DPF through a single-module after-treatment system.

The Endurant XD Pro utilises Eaton’s extreme-duty clutches designed for increased durability and improved noise and vibration, with higher thermal capacity for enhanced low-speed manoeuvrability.

Having the Endurant AMT available in GCMs up to 97 tonnes (for the time being) changes the AMT landscape for prospective customers. A purpose-built AMT, it sheds the shortcomings the Eaton UltraSHIFT suffered when compared with Europe’s high-end auto-shifters, providing the K220 real AMT firepower in terms of speed of shift, smoothness, and gear selection.

Cummins states the ADEPT suite of advanced electronic engine-control

Above: An ongoing evolution. Kenworth’s K model is surely one of the great dynasties of truck design. The famous vista windows are no more. features matched to AMT THE ALL NEW1) New dash with digital binnacle and AVN in the wrap. 2 & 3) 2.3m and 2.8m (single bunk) Aerodynamic sleepers. transmissions can enhance fuel efficiency by up to 6%.

Summary

“It is a development path forged by an amazing collaboration between Australian transport operators and a dedicated and determined team that has spanned more than five decades. Nowhere in the world does such a close relationship exist between end-users and designers,” says Brad May, sales director at PACCAR Australia. Highly anticipated and eagerly awaited, the K220 has THE BEST arrived on the ground over the ditch, opaque roof and all. We can hardly wait to get our mitts on one and to see just how far down the road this latest ‘K’ IN THE BUSINESS will take the bug. “We expect the K220 later this year,” says Richard Smart, general sales manager at Southpac. “Being that we are JUST GOT BETTER predominantly 8x4, it takes a little longer to engineer. Our launch plans include a product roadshow nearer to spring/ summer, with a few big crowd events such as the Bombay Truck Show and Wheels at Wanaka playing a part.”

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Adam McIntosh 027 603 1023 Andrew Haberfield 027 4798 588 BAY OF PLENTY-GISBORNE Andrew Haberfield 027 4798 588 Adam McIntosh 027 603 1023 HAWKE’S BAY – MANAWATU – WANGANUI – WELLINGTON Mark O’Hara 027 2466 954 TD30737

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Adam McIntosh 027 603 1023 Andrew Haberfield 027 4798 588 BAY OF PLENTY-GISBORNE Andrew Haberfield 027 4798 588 Mike Gillespie Chris Gray Steve Herring 027 4322 491 027 2816 840 021 377 661TD30737

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