Transport & Trucking issue 107 Feb-Mar 2016

Transport FOR ROAD TRANSPORT & COMMERCIAL VEHICLE PROFESSIONALS

& Trucking Australia

www.truckandbus.net.au Issue 107 Feb /Mar 2016

$8.95 incl. GST

M-B ZETROS TACKLES THE ROUGH STUFF

SHINING EXAMPLE CUSTOMISED FREIGHTLINER WINS BUSINESS AND ADMIRERS ISSN 2206-1495

9 772206 149005 >

07

IVECO PLOTS A STABLE FUTURE

PRACTICAL TIPS ON A DAILY BASIS

VW’S NEW LIGHT COMMERCIALS

INTELL

RUNS IN T

THE INTELLIGENT TRUCK ALTHOUGH WELL KNOWN FOR THEIR RELIABILITY AND UNMATCHED RANGE, ISUZU TRUCKS ARE ALSO A BRAINY

ISUZU, YOU’LL SEE THAT INTELLIGENCE IS

GPS upgrade*. And DAVE is Telematics ready

A FAMILY TRAIT.

so you can add the option of automatically

For example, every Isuzu comes equipped

tracking* the truck and the driver in real-time.

with a DAVE (Digital Audio Visual Equipment)

If you spend all day in your truck being

ONE OF THE SMARTEST THINGS YOU CAN DO IS PUT ISUZU

unit, featuring MP3/CD/DVD, video playback,

comfortable is a very smart thing and that begins

AT THE TOP OF YOUR SHOPPING LIST. BECAUSE ONCE YOU

digital radio (including live recording), and

with 90˚ opening doors that make getting in and

SEE ALL THE CLEVER THINKING THAT GOES INTO EACH

hands-free Bluetooth – you can also opt for a

out super-easy. Once in the cab, you’ll find an

BUNCH. SO IF YOU’RE IN THE MARKET FOR A NEW TRUCK,

*Available at additional cost. † These features may not be available on all models. See your nearest Isuzu Truck Dealer for more information. F•S•A/ISZ10318

IGENCE

HE FAMILY.

ISRI air suspension seat (standard on all F Series †

twin driver and passenger airbags† on most models,

To really get a good idea of how an Isuzu will help

models), electronic cruise control , a tilt / telescopic

plus large heated and powered exterior mirrors

boost your business’s IQ, visit isuzu.com.au or see

adjustable steering column, integrated air-con, or

incorporating spotters. You’ll also be protected with

your nearest Isuzu Truck Dealer.

automatic climate control † and stacks of storage space.

three years of 24/7 roadside assistance thanks to

Every Isuzu is full of safety smarts, too, like double

Isuzu Care, Australia’s most comprehensive truck

†

side-intrusion bars, traction control , seatbelt

customer care programme. But that’s just a quick

pre-tensioners and load limiters, cornering lamps,

introduction to the family.

Transport

CONTENTS

FOR ROAD TRANSPORT & COMMERCIAL VEHICLE PROFESSIONALS

& Trucking Australia

46 CONTACT DETAILS PO Box 35 Lindfield, NSW, 2070 www.truckandbus.net.au admin@transportand Enquiries 02 9938 6408 Follow us on Twitter #truckandbusnews Follow us on Facebook at Truck and Bus Australia Editor in Chief Allan Whiting nofibspublishing@bigpond.com Features & Technical Editor David Meredith dvm@bigpond.com.au Art Director Luke Melbourne www.groeningdesigns.com.au Advertising Sales Paul Franks Mob: 0419 149 358 pfranks@mshmedia.com.au Editorial Contributors Barry Flanagan, Mark Bean, Howard Shanks, Glenn Torrens

FEATURES

16

PRACTICAL TIPS

24

SHINING EXAMPLE

32

HITTING THE SWEET SPOT

38

THREE POINTED ARMY

46

COVERING ALL THE BASES

54

VW LOOKS TO CLEAR THE AIR

58

TRANIST AUTHORITY

61

COMPANY CAR

Allan Whiting checks out the new Iveco Daily, with factory-fitted three-way tipper.

Victorian operator Michael Bransgrove’s Freightliner Coronado is an outstanding showcase for his business as we found out recently.

We head to the cane fields of Far North Queensland to check out a fleet of automatic Isuzus up to their cabs in the sugar harvest.

Allan Whiting had some fun slip-slidin’ the civilian version of the Mercedes-Benz Zetros range on bush tracks around a damp Anglesea proving ground.

Iveco’s had its challenges in Australia in recent years but with Case New Holland management now in charge there is some evidence stability may have returned to the Italian truck maker.

38

Volkswagen has suffered a whole lot since last September when the ‘Emission Scandal’ broke it is now looking to get some clear air with its new Transporter and Caddy ranges as Jon Thomson reports

Ford’s Transit van is a stand out in the light van market but its excellence has failed to deliver in the sales charts.

In a new section we look at some of the latest ‘little wheel’ offerings including Chrysler’s Hot Rod 300 SRT Core and Ford’s new Everest

Transport & Trucking Australia is published under licence by Grayhaze Pty. Ltd. and is distributed to road transport professionals, fleets, business professionals and the industry throughout Australia.

All material contained herein including text, photography, design elements and format are copyright and cannot be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Grayhaze Pty.Ltd. is a member of the Copyright Agency Limited (1800 066 844).

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24 DEPARTMENTS

04

BACK TRACKS Musings from the Editor

06

HIGHWAY 1

News and info from all over

64

MONEY

Paul’s latest advice on finances

hino.com.au

BACK TRACKS ALLAN WHITING DON’T GIVE IT ALL AWAY

L

ast month, I reflected on the way trucks have improved and this month it’s time to look at our underappreciated operating conditions.

Leo Sayer, Pommie cult singer of the 1970s and now Aussie resident, wrote a song about ‘giving it all away’: “Just a boy…giving it all away”. Leo was no truckie, but he knew how easy it was to lose rights that previous generations had gained through blood, sweat and tears.

Rod Stewart struck a similar chord, citing: “the glad rags and the handbags that your poor old grand-dad worked so hard to buy”.

There’s great danger that today’s truckies may give away the hard-earned productivity gains that yesterday’s generation struggled to win.

It’s not so long ago that ‘heavy trucks’ tipped scales full at 32.8 tonnes and were restricted to 90 km/h. (Back then, most were flat out hauling more than 33 tonnes and getting to 90 km/h, but that was the law, anyway, across most of the country.) When the industry was granted six-axle semi combinations and 38 tonnes GCM many operators thought it couldn’t get any better than that.

Heavy trucks moved into the Big Time when B-Doubles were approved, but it took years of careful operation before tri-tri B-Doubles replaced the original tri-tandem units and the speed limit was increased from 80 km/h to 90 km/h and, finally, 100 km/h – the same as single-trailer combinations.

Speed limiting was introduced in the 1980s, to curb high-horsepower trucks, but the introduction was received with hostility by the

bulk of drivers, who set about finding ways to bypass electro-mechanical speed controls.

‘Foolproof ’ electronic speed limiters came with full-authority electronic engines in the 1990s, but the speed freaks soon found ways of getting around them.

It seems that the threat of losing their B-Double permits kept most operators away from fiddling the speed limiters in their B-Doubles, but by the late 1990s many large combinations were exceeding 105 km/h.

Now, on most highways, the principal speed offenders are B-Doubles.

The practice ignores the fact that nowhere in the world are large combination vehicles allowed to travel at such speeds. In Sweden, where 60 tonners are permitted, the speed limit is 70 km/h.

In Europe the speed limit is a statutory 80 km/h, but 85-90 is tolerated, and the maximum weight is 42 tonnes. In the USA 100+km/h is permitted, but the maximum weight you can run on the Interstate Highways is 36 tonnes. Moves to increase US truck weights to a modern global productivity level have met with strong resistance from road authorities who can’t replace aged bridges fast enough and from the owner-driver lobby that reckons 40 tonnes would ruin their rigs.

As for driving hours; we get away with hours that would never be tolerated in other OECD countries. In Europe it’s eight hours – maximum.

Also, Australian truckies have the ability to drive in any lane on a multi-lane highway: try doing that in Europe and you’d cop a

massive fine. Euro trucks can overtake one another only on three-lane sections and must travel at the slowest truck speed in the righthand lane (left-hand-drive, remember) until there’s such an opportunity.

We have the most lenient truck operating conditions in the world and, it seems, some members of the road transport industry are determined to abuse them.If a public backlash comes, it could mean more draconian laws.

This issue is fully loaded with a terrific array of features including my road test of Iveco’s very practical and flexible Daily threeway tipper and my road test of Mercedes Benz’s capable Zetros off road truck.

We also take a look at a Victorian operator who has built his business by running a distinctive and always immaculate Freightliner Coronado. It is a business rationale that more owner drivers could copy if they want to succeed.

Iveco’s management instability has been the talking point of the industry for several years but after attending a recent media briefing there is some confidence that the brand might have embraced some stability, but only time will tell.

In Queensland we visit a fleet of Isuzu FYH automatics working in the cane fields near Ayr. The automatics were purchased in a bid to make the trucks easier to driver and aid in driver recruitment.

At the light end of the market we review the new Volkswagen range of Transporters and Caddys. We also take a look at Ford’s Transit van, which really is a ripper in many ways.

Until next issue take it easy.

IVECO TRIUMPHS AT THE DAKAR 2016

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FINAL RANKING: POS. 1.

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1st VEHICLE

Iveco Powerstar Kamaz Iveco Powerstar MAN Iveco Trakker Renault Trucks Kamaz Tatra MAN Iveco Trakker Tatra Scania

44:42:03 45:52:30 46:22:58 47:05:04 47:13:02 47:46:10 48:21:26 48:36:33 48:39:55 49:37:07 49:43:09 49:57:44

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3 IVECO in the top 5 Gerard de Rooy, the leader of the Petronas De Rooy Iveco team, is overall winner.

AFTER EUROCARGO, TRUCK OF THE YEAR 2016 IVECO TRIUMPHS AT THE DAKAR 2016, THE WORLD’S TOUGHEST RALLY.

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AEB MOVE / IVECO WINS DA KAR

UD TO OUTSOURCE MEDIUM DUTY TO ISUZU? High cost of meeting new emission standards could see rebadged Isuzus sold as UDs JAPANESE MANUFACTURER UD has signalled that it may outsource the design and production of its medium duty trucks to rival Isuzu in an effort to economically meet strict new Japanese pollution rules.

The UD bombshell was reported in its its home country by respected

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Japanese business publication Nikkei Asia Review which stated that UD will stop manufacturing medium duty trucks in Japan, instead turning Isuzu to supply its mid size models as the company channels its resources into the development and production of larger trucks.

The Volvo owned brand said in a statement to the Japanese press that it has entered an original equipment manufacturing agreement with Isuzu from 2017.

Locally Volvo Group Australia told T&TA in a statement that it is still early days but confirmed that UD Trucks

Corporation had established a master Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) agreement with Isuzu Motors Ltd to prepare for the next-level emission targets, with the provision of mediumduty products.

The statement went on to say that the details of the final agreements are still

being discussed in Japan and that for the time being, UD Trucks Australia will continue to supply the current UD Trucks medium-duty model range in Australia and New Zealand.

“UD Trucks Australia is committed to meeting the demands of current and future customers with competitive product offerings,” the statement said.

The Japanese press reports following UD’s announcement in Japan said that the vehicles will be based on what Isuzu call the F series in Australia will be supplied from Isuzu’s Fujisawa plant.

UD’s venerable Ageo plant will apparently cease production of midsize trucks next year with the company.

The Ageo plant will continue to manufacturing large trucks.

The arrangement is not a new one for UD nor Isuzu with the pair previously having a manufacturing agreement covering small trucks, which began in 1995 but was terminated in 2014 as UD switched the procurement source to Fuso.

The move is tied to the tightening of truck emission rules by the Japanese transport ministry, with new trucks released after the middle of this year having to meet new standards.

UD, which holds only about six per cent of the Japanese domestic midsize truck market, has clearly decided to source the vehicles from another

manufacturer rather than going through the added expense of developing a new model by itself.

The move will according to UD allow it to focus on raising its domestic share in large trucks from tis current 17 per cent to around 25 per cent as soon as possible.

UD only sold just a little more than 2,000 midsize trucks in Japan in 2015 which was less than a quarter of the company’s sales for large trucks.

UD says that it aims to bolster its efforts to cultivate emerging markets by manufacturing trucks aimed at those markets targeting them in Thailand.

Japan’s combined sales of midsize and large trucks rose 1.4 per cent to

89,321 units in 2015, which was the sixth consecutive year of growth for the industry.

Demand has been robust from the construction and distribution industries, which have benefited from building projects related to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the growing popularity of online shopping, respectively.

UD, which traces its roots to Nissan Diesel Motor but which has been under the control of the Volvo Group since 2010, has struggled to rise from its bottom market position, as three truck makers ahead of it have more extensive service networks.

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THEY’RE RACING!

Freightliner re commits to BJR in truck motor sport sponsor fest FREIGHTLINER IS CONTINUING and further leveraging its sponsorship of the Brad Jones Racing V8 Supercar team.

Most of the leading truck brands are now involved in V8 Supercars at various levels including Hino, Kenworth, Iveco, Freightliner, MAN, Western Star, Volvo and Mack, however one of the few exceptions at the moment appears to be market leader Isuzu T&TA visited the BJR workshops in Albury to see the new liveries on the Freightliner Argosy prime mover and its B-Double rig and to take a ride in the truck with team ‘truckie’ and tyre man Paul Eddy.

It’s continuing a tidal wave of truck makers becoming involved with motor racing sponsorships and comes 12 months after Freightliner became the naming rights backer for one car in the BJR stable. Last year that was driven by Fabian Coulthard, but he has since left to join the Penske DJR team and his place at BJR has been taken

008 www.truckandbus.net.au

by Tim Slade.

According to Freightliner Australia general manager, Stephen Downes the sponsorship of the BJR operations is a lot more than having stickers on the cars and its trucks.

“Our partnership with Freightliner Racing is so much more than a few stickers on a race car. The on-track exposure and media coverage is extremely valuable for our brand, but the benefits go well beyond that,” said Downes.

“Our dealers are able to host their most valued customers at V8 Supercar meetings and give them money-can’t-buy experiences at the track,” he added.

“Beyond traditional hospitality, they are treated to pit tours, grid walks and are able to meet the drivers. A select few are even taken for a hot-lap in the actual race car.”

“The feedback from customers after our first season was that they loved coming to the races and had an absolute ball,” he said.

As well as its on track activity Downes cites the fact that the BJR Freightliner Racing team also visits dealerships in the area of each race to meet and greet staff and allow them to be a part of the V8 Supercar journey.

For team driver Paul Eddy, life with BJR Freightliner Racing is a lot easier than his previous job as a line haul driver doing interstate work. Paul has been with the team for eight years as its lead truckie and also handles the task of looking after the team’s racing tyres and wheels when he gets to the track.

Eddy covers about 40,000km a year and usually allows about 3 days to reach the far flung rounds in Perth and a bit more getting to Darwin, often staying in motels by night and only driving during the daylight hours. Its a lot less taxing than line haul work but Paul just loves driving. he admits on the highway the high profile transporter makes him a bit of

a ‘rock-star’ with other truckies cheering him on on the CB and car drivers racing ahead to get photos on the side of the road, or stopping to engage him in a chat at truck stops.

“I love the Freightliner, I suppose you’d expect me to say that but I have been a Freighliner fan for a long time and when Brad and Kim told me they had done a deal with Freightliner I was over the moon, its certainly better than the other trucks we have had,” said Paul as he piloted the 58 tonne rig down the Hume for a short jaunt.

According to Stephen Downes a lot of the attraction for Freightliner was the dynamic personalities of the team’s two owners.

“Brad and Kim Jones are really switched on when it comes to sponsor activation and go out of their way to help us make the most of our involvement,” said Downes.

So it seems that for truck makers in particular the V8 Supercars seems to be the biggest show in town.

Hino Chairman Steve Lotter shakes on the deal with V8s COO Shane Howard

AND HINO GETS ON THE MOTOR RACING BANDWAGON Hino becomes the key truck brand for V8 Supercars HINO HAS BECOME the latest truck brand to embrace motor racing as a key marketing platform, announcing it has taken on a major sponsorship of V8 Supercars and will now be the official Light and Medium duty Truck and Bus sponsor of the Australia’s premier racing category.

Hino takes over that role from rival Fuso after the Daimler owned brand opted out for 2016 after close to ten years in the category.

Hino confirmed it signed on with V8s for the next three seasons with one of the key television assets being something entitled, the ‘Hino Hub’ previously known as the ‘Tech Centre’. The Hino Hub will provide regular race information and statistical updates throughout Network Ten free-to-

air and the Foxtel TV broadcasts.

The company announced the sponsorship at its National Dealer Conference and Annual Dealer of the Year dinner at Sydney Town Hall on Saturday night and from all reports the dealer network has applauded the move. This is believed to be Hino’s first major sports sponsorship in more than 50 years in the Australian market.

As part of the V8 sponsorship Hino will also participate in a number of activities on-track ride and pit walk programs intended to introduce new commercial fans to the sport.

Hino enters the sponsorship after recording a 10 per cent growth rate In 2015, the highest sales growth of Australia’s top 10 truck companies having

delivered 4443 trucks.

“V8 Supercars has been used effectively by truck companies for brand exposure, but we see it as having even greater relevance as a means of bringing direct benefit to our customers,” Steve Lotter, Chairman and CEO of Hino Motor Sales Australia, said.

“Connecting with our customers, whether live at the track or through TV and online, has to be meaningful as well as entertaining.

“Both V8 Supercars and Hino operate in a fast changing business environment and I’m certain that Hino will learn from the involvement with V8 Supercars over the next 3 years ” Mr Lotter said.

“In many respects we share the same customer base and we are undertaking a

similar rate of technological change.”

“As Australia’s third most-attended sport and fourth most-watched sport on TV, through Foxtel TV and Network Ten free-to-air, V8 Supercars provides a substantial platform for Hino.”

“The V8 Supercars partnership will present a platform designed to enhance the Hino Advantage position. There is an opportunity to undertake communications that are extremely innovative.”

Hino’s multi-year initial with the V8 Supercars Championship comes into effect at the opening round, the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on 3 March with the truck company vowing to be prominent at all 16 V8 events in 2015, including the Australian Grand Prix which is a non championship event.

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SCANIA AIMS TO REDUCE ACCIDENTS WITH AEB SCANIA AUSTRALIA HAS announced it is fitting Advanced Emergency Braking as standard to its stock prime movers with outputs of 440 hp and above.

The company says it is continuing its push to help reduce death and injury on the roads with the adoption of Advanced Emergency Braking on most of its prime movers. The technology has been fitted to stock vehicles imported into Australia since the start of the third quarter of 2015.

Scania is the first heavy vehicle importer in Australia to offer this new generation safety equipment as standard on high output prime movers with 440 hp or more.

The Advanced Emergency Braking system is part of a safety upgrade that includes Lane Departure Warning and Adaptive Cruise Control. AEB integrates the radar and camera functions of both systems to provide autonomous emergency braking warning and intervention, to prevent two moving vehicles colliding, or the Scania truck running into stationary traffic.

This potentially life-saving technology is now fitted to all stock prime movers destined for regular line-haul and distribution work, with engine outputs of 440 hp and above, across the full P, G and R-series ranges of cabs. The Advanced Emergency Braking system can be specified for the majority of other on-road vehicles in the Scania truck range, where it is not fitted as standard.

“We wanted to offer our customers this potentially life-saving feature and so we made it standard on stock vehicles with outputs of 440 hp and above,” says Ian Butler, Scania Australia’s New Vehicle Technical Support Specialist.

“We also engineered a full size bull bar locally that is compatible with the system’s radar, in association with Advanced Herd Bars, one of our national suppliers.”

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The AEB system is able to autonomously slow the truck or bring it to a complete stop, if for some reason the driver fails to respond to circumstances that may lead to a collision.

“We believe this could be of significant benefit in preventing a possibly fatal accident occurring, should the driver fall asleep or be incapacitated for some reason,” Ian Butler says.

Scania’s AEB is a driver aid only, and does not remove the responsibility from the driver for safe control of his vehicle.

In line with the company’s policy of offering customers tailored specifications, Scania vehicles may still be ordered without AEB, should customers elect not to provide this safety system for their drivers.

When activated, the Advanced Emergency Braking system offers three stages of protection: Initially, when the system detects the possibility of a collision with a vehicle in front, it will sound an acoustic signal and illuminate a red warning light on the dashboard.

If the driver does not react, and the risk remains, the AEB system begins to apply the brakes gently.

If there is still no response, for instance if the driver has fallen asleep or has been incapacitated, then the AEB system applies the brakes with full force in order to attempt to avoid an impact with a slower moving or stationary vehicle that it has detected.

The driver can interrupt the warnings or braking by pressing the AEB switch on the instrument panel, or by applying the brake pedal, or alternatively if he judges it safer to take positive action, he may apply the accelerator pedal, including activating the kickdown, and steer away to avoid the impact. AEB is active at speeds in excess of 15 km/h.

ACHIEVE SIGNIFICANT FUEL REDUCTIONS.

GREG GOODCHILD

GREG’S MEAT TRANSPORT

“Scania driver training is excellent. A guy who’d been

working here for 26 years did the course and straight off his fuel economy was 10% better.”

So contact your local branch or authorised dealer to find out how a Scania Total Transport Solution can work for your business.

VICTORIA Scania Campbellfield Tel: (03) 9217 3300 Scania Dandenong Tel: (03) 9217 3600 Scania Laverton Tel: (03) 9369 8666 SOUTH AUSTRALIA Scania Wingfield Tel: (08) 8406 0200

NEW SOUTH WALES Scania Prestons Tel: (02) 9825 7900 Scania Newcastle Tel: (02) 9825 7940 K&J Trucks, Coffs Harbour Tel: (02) 6652 7218 NJ’s of Wagga Tel: (02) 6971 7214

QUEENSLAND Scania Richlands Tel: (07) 3712 8500 Scania Pinkenba Tel: (07) 3712 7900 Spann’s Trucks, Toowoomba Tel: (07) 4634 4400 RSC Diesels, Cairns Tel: (07) 4054 5440

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Scania Kewdale Tel: (08) 9360 8500 Scania Bunbury Tel: (08) 9724 6200

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TRUCK MAKERS ANSWER THE DAKAR CALL

Iveco wins outright Hino takes another class win

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WHILE MOST OF the major truck manufacturers are getting involved in sponsorship and support of V8 Supercar racing, some truck makers have been going that little bit further by participating in the world’s toughest motor sport event, the Dakar Rally.

Two truck makers who have announced direct involvement in this year’s V8s also achieved ultimate success in this year’s Dakar. Iveco claimed outright victory in this year’s Dakar while Hino took the under 10-litre class win yet again, making it seven under 10 litre category wins in a row for the Japanese brand.

The overall victor, piloted by Dutchman Gerard De Rooy, pounded the Iveco Powerstar over the 9,000 km course through some of Argentina and Bolivia’s most inhospitable terrain, finishing an hour and ten minutes clear of the second placed competitor.

De Rooy took the Powerstar to three stage wins across the two week event to claim the win ahead of the Russian Kamaz of Ayrat Mardeev with Argentinian Federico Villagra, in another Powerstar, with a further two Ivecos placing in the top ten.

It marked the 38th running of the Dakar which this year featured \ 55 trucks competing on 13 stages in extreme temperatures over sand, rocks and mud.

The Powerstar and Trakker models in this year’s event were powered by race-prepared Iveco Cursor 13 engines

pumping out an impressive 900 plus horsepower.

Meantime Hino’s Team Sugawara claimed title honours in the Under 10-litre truck class as the Japanese maker marked its 25th year in the Dakar.

It was the only Japanese manufacturer to enter in this year’s rally.

The stalwart of the Hino Sugawara Team is the venerable 74 year old Yoshimasa Sugawara, who along with co-driver Mitsugu Takahashi took second in the under 10 litre class and 31st outright. Yoshimas’s son Teruhito Sugawara claimed the class win and brought his Hino home in 13th.

While it was Hino’s 25th consecutive entry in the Dakar it was Yoshimasa’s 33rd straight start in the torturous rally and he shows no sign of wanting to hang up his helmet.

“I’d like to acknowledge the team for delivering a solid performance this year again. I’m very grateful to the entire team and for all the support that we’ve received,” Yoshimasa said.

“We know what we need to do next, so I think this was a great race also in terms of development going forward.”

The two Dakar Hinos used 8.9 litre direct-injection turbo and intercooled engines mated to six-speed direct-drive gearboxes with two-speed transfer cases and part-time four-wheel drive.

Hino Team Sugawara plans to continue development this year and compete again in the 2017 Dakar Rally.

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COOL MAN Keeping food and drink cool in a hot truck cab has never been easier thanks to portable fridge freezers such as this one from Waeco

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With the threat of global climate change and the prospect of longer hotter summers the task of keeping drinks and food cold in truck cabs, to ensure drivers are able to get through a long shift at the wheel with the sort of palatable fuel and cooling fluid required is a OH&S demand as much as anything.

With that in mind well known fridge maker Dometic Australia has recently debuted its latest WAECO portable compressor fridge/ freezer CFX-28 offering efficient, lightweight and compact design enabling it to easily fit into just about any truck cab.

WAECO claims its new CFX-28 is the perfect size for an extra on-board fridge/ freezer when on the road with compact and lightweight dimensions and a generous capacity of 28.2 litres with fridge/freezer capability.

The company says the CFX-28 is purpose built to fit in trucks comfortably with the capacity to fit up to 43 cans and upright soft drink bottles. The CFX-28 is also designed with its dairy shelf at the back so it is more practical for drivers to reach in and grab food or beverages whilst on the road.

Along with all the great features of the existing CFX range, the CFX-28 has a genuine high performance WAECO compressor with integrated AC electronics suitable for solar operation and has three stages of battery protection. A new custom designed quick release fixing kit accessory is also available and it has a small footprint, no tie-down straps, fast release mechanism and the fridge can be used remotely, without removing the adapter feet.

A fitted protective cover for the CFX-28 can be purchased separately and it can be run on either 12 or 240volts and operate at up to 50 degrees below ambient. It weights in at just 13.1 kg and measures 342mm wide x 425mm high . 552 mm deep It comes with Waeco’s full three year warranty and has a recommened retail price of $999.

BREAKER, BREAKER! Uniden launches new range of UHF and AM CB radios aimed at the truck market

UNIDEN HAS LAUNCHED a new range of radios and accessories aimed squarely at long distance transport operators.

The company claims that the new range offers reliable performance and is designed for truck drivers with rugged construction to cope with the harsh Australian environment.

The new five-watt UH5050 and fourwatt PRO5050 AM CB mobile radios easily fit within standard DIN slots, for quick and easy mounting inside the vehicle.

Uniden says it offers users high performance on the road with access to up to 80 channels and connectivity to up to 60 programmable RX

channels to store favourite listening frequencies (between 400-520mHz).

Its continuous tone coded squelch system and digital coded squelch block out unwanted conversations for clear dialogue while other practical features deliver an enhanced performance. These include a front mounted speaker for optimal sound clarity and volume.

The company also claims that the built-in Automatic Volume Stabiliser (AVS) detects narrowband and wideband

transmissions, automatically adjusting incoming audio to comparable levels.

Range extender (duplex) capability also allows the UH5050 to operate using a local repeater station to retransmit signals over a wider area. Dual watch operation allows drivers to monitor a priority channel for activity and another channel simultaneously. This model also has busy channel lock-out which disables the transmitter while activity is detected on the channel.

While UHF frequency remains as

one of the most popular ways to communicate many truck operators still prefer to use AM CB mobile radios and Uniden has also launched its PRO5050 AM CB with access to up to 40 AM channels.

It features a large LCD display showing the current channel in use while an auto noise limiter and noise blanker reduces unwanted noise for better reception.

Both Unidens also feature a signal strength and RF power (S/RF) meter. Â Both the UH5050 CB and the PRO5050 AM CB have a recommended retail price of $299.95 and are available now through a variety of outlets available now while Uniden tells us there is an expanded line-up of UHF antennas and accessories which can tailor the CBs to a variety of vehicles.

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Operator

PRACTICAL TIPS Anyone needing a light tipper would be nuts not to check out the new Iveco Daily, with factory-fitted threeway tipper, Allan Whiting reckons.

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1. Three-way tippers should be much more popular in Australia.

2. Flash interior with comfy suspension seat, armrest and great ergonomics.

3. Bulldog frontal appearance imparts tradie cred’.

4. Tipper control could hardly be simpler.

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he Daily’s equipment levels read like a fast-hatch brochure: fourwheel discs; telescopic steering column; large touchscreen with navigation and reverse camera image; Bluetooth, DAB and USB; steering wheel controls for media and cruise control; multiple airbags; cornering lights; climate control aircon and heated seat options.

The mechanical specifications read more like a sports ute’s than those of a light truck: 170hp/430Nm common rail, variable-geometry turbo-diesel; ZF HiMatic eight-speed automatic transmission; smart alternator; ABS, EBD, traction control, stability control and trailer sway control; rear axle diff lock and suspension driver’s seat.

Get down to the nitty gritty of light truck operation and the Iveco Daily Tipper ticks

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all the boxes: hot-dip-galvanised tipper floor with polyester powder coating and recessed tie-down points; drop-sides and tailgate formed from 1.8mm steel with EC-compliant corrosion treatment or aluminium box section; galvanised-steel tailgate and drop-side locks; hot-dipgalvanised sub-frame with polyester powder coating; electro-hydraulic tipper pump driving a ram with chromed-surface cylinders and, to top it all off: a simple hinge-point system that allows tipping to both sides and to the rear.

Three-way tippers have never really taken off in Australia, despite their widespread popularity in Europe. The reason may well be that we have more manoeuvring room for rear-action tippers to unload in Australia than the Europeans have in their crowded communities, but that situation

is changing rapidly. Higher-density living in Australia’s cities means more restricted truck access.

Of course, side-tippers are commonplace out in Australia’s road-train territory, allowing large windrows of substrate to be laid beside road construction sites. Reartipping a triple or quad just isn’t viable in most circumstances.

Various designs of three-way tippers have been built, but the most common modern system employs a centrally-positioned telescopic ram, a sub-frame with four pivot points at its extremities and a tipping body with locks at all four corners.

The operator chooses the desired unloading direction and locks the two pivot points that are in that direction. As the ram lifts, the body hinges at those two points.

“The mechanical specifications read more like a sports ute’s than those of a light truck“

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After early experiences with hydraulically-reshaped bodywork the locking systems of today ensure that the operator can’t accidentally choose diagonally-opposite pivot points!

The test truck Our evaluation vehicle was an Iveco Daily 50C17 model, fitted with an Italian-made Scattolini Bison three-way tipping body.

The body can be specified with steel or aluminium drop-sides and tailgate: ours had aluminium panels.

Body tare was around 800kg, giving the Daily tipper a payload of about 1.5 tonnes at car-licence GVM and 2.2 tonnes at 5.2 tonnes GVM. The tipper model is a specific shortwheelbase (3450mm) version of the Daily lineup. Although it shares the range’s

torsion-bar independent front suspension and live rear axle the tipper version has multi-leaf rear springs, not the taper leaf or air suspension choices that are fitted to general purpose vehicles.

The tipper model also comes with standard rear differential lock, for improved traction on sites.

List price for the truck and tipper body as tested was 70 grand, plus on-road costs.

The truck was very easy to get in and out of and daily checks were also easy, after I located the cunningly hidden underdashboard bonnet release: paint it yellow, please, Iveco.

Three-seat accommodation is standard, with the driver sitting on a suspension seat and two passengers on a shaped bench with lap-sash seatbelts. The driver’s seat has a fold-down armrest and the centre seat

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“The Scattolini Brothers have been making three-way tippers for many years and this latest model is as foolproof as you can get.“ 1. Walk-through interior features a seat-back desk.

2. Daily checks are easily done.

3. Tipper becomes tray-top with little effort and recessed tie-downs are standard.

4. Drop-sides can hinge from the top or the bottom.

5. Pivot point and drop-side locks are idiot-proof.

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converts to a work table with paper clip.

Beneath the passenger bench is a cavernous storage space and there are document recesses on the dashboard, large door pockets and drop-down door bins.

A plastic toolbox is mounted on the chassis and it’s fitted with an aluminium locking bar. The fuel tank is also moulded plastic.

The Scattolini Brothers have been making threeway tippers for many years and this latest model is as foolproof as you can get. The pivot-point locking pins are different diameters to make incorrect positioning impossible and there are sliding blocking bars to prevent diagonal placement.

There’s a wire tether to prevent over-extension of the tipping ram and a piercing beeper persists while the body is raised. A prop is provided, to support the raised body for maintenance work.

Tailgate opening with a top-hinge action is automatic, but the drop-sides need to be manually unlocked before top-hinge tipping to either side.

Alternatively, the tailgate and drop-side top hinges can be unlocked and all three panels can hinge at their lower edges: ideal for low-density bulky freight that won’t flow under a top-hinged tailgate or drop-sides.

The Scattolini tipper kit includes an electrohydraulic pump unit with integrated oil reservoir.

The ram has chromed barrels.

Operation of the bright yellow control box is easy: a red button unlocks the control system and two big arrow buttons show ram direction.

The truck proved to be an excellent performer that had no trouble keeping up with car traffic at 4495kg GVM. It would handle the optional 5200kg GVM without any performance issues.

Shift quality from the ZF eight-speed auto box was car-like and cruising at motorway legal maximum speeds saw revs below 2000rpm.

Economy averaged an impressive 12L/100km on

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our part-loaded, part-empty test route, with its mixture of motorways, secondary roads, dirt and site manoeuvring.

I checked out the truck’s versatility by removing the drop sides and loading it with some prefabricated building panels. The tipper floor was dead-flat, allowing the load to slide on and off easily and the recessed tie-down points were useful in securing the load.

Tipping in all three directions was simple and the diff lock provided ample traction when a sidetipped load blocked the rear wheels.

Ground clearance is more than adequate for the tipping task, but small fallen branches on bush tracks might cause some harm to the underbody air-conditioning condenser fan.

Vision all around was excellent and the steering lock was tighter than that of many utes. The only issue when manoeuvring in tight spaces was the semi-bonnet protrusion: drivers used to cabover-engine Japanese tippers need to make extra allowance for the Daily’s snub nose.

The test truck suffered an engine computer issue during my evaluation: the only sour note in an otherwise faultless performance. Electronics have brought many benefits to the trucking world, but it’s frustrating that it’s very difficult to diagnose and repair faults without the aid of a workshop computer.

Given its relatively low RRP the Iveco Daily Tipper deserves market success. For little more than the price of a ute you can have a proper three-seat truck with an auto box, rear diff lock and factory-fitted tipper.

The Daily’s snub-nose design should have more aesthetic appeal than a cab-over to the tradie market and it’s a plug-and-play purchase that needs no extras. All the kit is warranted and the whole vehicle is an Iveco one-shop business for any in-service issues.

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Operator

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SHINING EXAMPLE Many months of detail work and customisation has turned Victorian operator Michael Bransgrove’s Freightliner Coronado into an outstanding showcase for his business and the hard work is paying dividends as we found out recently.

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ost small transport operators buy a truck, take delivery, put their business name on the door and swing into action with a stock colour scheme, just getting on with earning a quid.

For Traralgon truck owner Michael Bransgrove however, a stock standard prime mover was never going to be on the agenda.

For him it was important to stand out in the ultra competitive owner-driver transport market, it was, a branding exercise, if you like, to use a laboured expression of our time.

Four years after striking out on his own, after a 20 year stint driving for his father, Michael Bransgrove has a solid transport business with a good reputation and regular clients in the industry, with a truck that is ‘quietly different’ from anything else out there.

“It really reflects my outlook on life and business,” said Michael. “You can’t afford to look like everyone else and you need to

do something different to stand out from the crowd and to be competitive in the industry these days,” he added.

The Bransgrove name is well recognised in the transport business in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland area near Traralgon in Victoria, where Michael’s Dad, Norm has run BransTrans for many years. In fact Michael drove for his father for almost two decades up until 2011 when he figured it was time to start his own operation.

“When I finished school Dad told me that I had to do get a trade and that I couldn’t expect to just climb behind the wheel and drive trucks for him, so I got an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker, but I always had the belief that I would drive trucks for a living, it was in my blood,” he added.

The skills he learned through his apprenticeship have certainly come in handy for teaching him the hands on skills need to customise his own truck, even though it

didn’t involve any timberwork!

“I taught myself to weld and paint and the principles are the same, good preparation and a plan in the end,” Michael added.

In 2011 Michael took the big leap and purchased a new Freightliner Argosy, although his heart was always set on a bonneted conventional truck. The Argosy was an end of year run out model but was still a brand new truck. While it was a big commitment -and Michael admits his hand was shaking as he signed the purchase papers - buying a new truck was absolutely the right decision.

“When you are starting out in a high risk business like trucking you have to keep an eye on your costs, with a new truck you get a five year warranty so there is a degree of certainty. You know that there won’t be massive extra unforseen costs for repairs, you know your costs and you can budget to build your business,” said Michael.

“You can’t afford to look like everyone else and you need to do something different to stand out from the crowd and to be competitive in the industry these days,”

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“You are never sure of how much work you are going to pick up when you go out on your own so the Argosy was a safe buy, it wasn’t exactly what I wanted but it could handle B Double, a float or a single trailer and offered plenty of flexibility.

“The longer I had the Argosy the more steady the work became and after two and a half years I was able to commit to a bonneted truck with a single trailer, which was always my preference, it is more comfortable and a better option,” he added.

“You have to look at all the costs and all of the potential hidden costs like repairs and while it is a big expense to buy a new truck I reckon it is a better option in the long run and will save you money through better efficiency, less down time and the security of a warranty.

“I know is a big risk buying a new truck, as I said I was shaking when I signed the contracts but it’s worked out well and I

1. A proud Michael Bransgrove with his customised Freightliner Coronado 2. The Bransgrove Freightliner is familiar sight on the Princes Highway between Traralgon and Melbourne

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1. The Freightliner proudly bears the Bransgrove Truckin moniker 2. Michael purchased this single tri-axle trailer from his father and has refurbished it.

3. The Coronado’s imposing grille gives it a striking presence on the road

wouldn’t do it any differently,” said Michael.

In late 2013 Michael bit the bullet and traded up from the Argosy to the Coronado to create his preferred business model, a bonneted truck pulling a single trailer.

Recently he picked up a single tri-axle trailer from his father, refurbished it to the same high standard and now has one of the most stylish and eye catching rigs on the highway.

While he took any work he was offered back in the Argosy days with regular trips to Newcastle as well as longer routes, these days Michael has a lot of regular work from the Latrobe Valley to Melbourne and back.

Michael is in Melbourne most days and sometimes makes two trips to the big smoke.

He usually leaves home base around 4am and is back home each night depending on the work available. It is a neat and tidy schedule that has also enabled him the time to complete the customisation of the Coronado.

Virtually from the day he brought the Coronado home Michael started its make over, to customise its appearance and make it

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stand out from the crowd. It was plain white prime mover when he drove it out of the dealership but within months he had used his skills and creativity to make it into the vision he had always had.

“I am fairly stingy when it comes to spending money and I didn’t want to go to the expense of painting the entire cab, I wanted to incorporate some of the colours Dad uses on his trucks and after a weekend of drawing pictures with my kids my daughter came up with the eventual colour scheme.”

“The cab was already white, so I just had to paint the lower half with black and the light stellar blue stripe which was the tie back to my Dad’s fleet colours,” he added The Bransgrove’s live on a rural block near Traralgon and have the room for a large shed where Michael can work on the truck.

Fortunately his wife Karen’s cousin Stephen is a spray painter so he handled the painting across a weekend.

Most of the work was handled across weekends so that Michael was able to keep

the truck on the road earning money Monday to Friday. The weekend after painting he and Stephen spent two days rubbing the paint job back before buffing it to a brilliant shine. The colour scheme was topped off the following weekend with scrollwork and sign writing. This was handled by Total Fleet Imaging where an old school artisan, known only as ‘Old Baz’ did the work. The result is a stunning finish complete with a tribute to Michael’s late brother Danny, who was killed while driving a truck 20 years ago.

The tribute simply reads ‘Respect- Danny’s Dream – 1970-1994’ and is centred across the back of the cab.

The cab customisation is equal parts subtlety and bling with an emphasis on practicality.

First up Michael removed the wheel arches and added 7.5 cm to ensure the line of the arch aligned more closely with the radius of the wheels, then he fabricated drop down panels all the way along the bottom of the cabin and around the sleeper to line up with

“The cab customisation is equal parts subtlety and bling with an emphasis on practicality.” the end of the fuel tanks. He then made new back wing panels that wrap around the cab following the shape of it and inserted LED lighting down their entire length as part of the trucks spectacular light package.

“I have a friend who is a fabricator who does a lot of custom work and he was happy to let me use his machinery including a steel folder and a roller which enabled me to create all the various panels with relative ease,” Michael added.

Sick and tired of trying to keep polished aluminium looking shiny and clean Michael attacked the standard front FUPS panel \ adding a steel bumper which he painted black and incorporated a laser cut stainless steel insert into which he placed more LED lighting and the prime mover’s number plate.

“The problem with the aluminium bumpers is that they look good for a couple of days after they’re polished and then they get plastered with bugs and dirt and they look terrible,” he said.

Michael swapped two of his fuel tanks with

a mate who had a new truck and wanted the longer tanks, making up new brackets and wrapping them in mirror stainless while painting the ends black to match the bottom of the cab, chassis and front bumper. He also added a row of LED lighting along the bottom and top steps on either side of the tanks.

Next he fabricated a retro style air scoop on the roof of the cab as well as creating a mirror stainless steel visor along the top of the windscreen, both of which feature more LED lighting while also shortening the exhaust stacks and making eight inch mirror stainless steel covers that protect them “The exhaust covers might seem like overkill, but they don’t get hot and it makes it easier to clean the bugs off while the original exhausts were way too long so shortening them makes the whole thing look neater and better proportioned,” Michael added.

“I had in my mind what I wanted for the various parts and it would have cost a fortune to have it farmed out, so I just worked it out

for myself and to some extent coming from a different trade made it easier because it gives you a broader perspective and enables you to be open to using different things for different jobs,” he said.

At the back of the Coronado, Michael created a beautiful end piece by bending some pipe to deliver a profile between the wheels and then fabricated sides and a top to it which was then welded and again dressed with the obligatory LED lights. It has created a neat and quite elegant end plate to the truck. In addition he has also spent many hours fabricating a very neat bar on each side at the rear which take an array of tail lights while in the middle is a stainless number plate frame again with obligatory LED lighting highlighting the entire look.

Not content with the appearance of the utilitarian Jost turntable Michael even worked his magic on that as well, spending a day labouring hard to grind away and remove the rough casting marks and other blemishes from it and then finished it in matching

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paint. It is a work of art and it’s a pity its hidden beneath a trailer most of the time.

It does however underline his enormous attention to detail.

Similarly an entire weekend was spent by the whole family sanding and painting the chassis to a brilliant black finish while also fitting and wiring the rear lights and panels mentioned earlier.

“It was a big weekend but one that was very satisfying. I had to pack it into weekend because during the week the truck had to be out on the road working hard and earning a quid, but it was a big weekend,” said Michael.

The Coronado was finished off with imported chrome alloy rims which Michael purchased to replace the DuraBrights, fitting the same alloys to the trailer he purchased from his Dad to create a uniform look right across the rig.

“The alloys are a lot easier to look after you can wash them and they look good all the time,” he added. “We run Kumho tyres

on the truck because they have proved to be very reliable and very economical on a cost per kilometre basis, they are not the cheapest and they are not the most expensive, but they have been very good.”

“Its been a team effort, you can’t put something like this together without the help of mates and the family and they enabled me to do this on weekends and keep the truck on the road earning,” said Michael.

“If I had taken the truck off he road and did it in one hit it would have been laid up for three of four months, but it is my only truck and my only source of income, so it has to keep working.”

Back at home base Michael’s wife Karen runs the office looking after the accounts and admin while his eldest daughter Natalie was until recently in charge of truck washing, however she recently started uni and that task has fallen back to the owner driver, mean while his son Ashley drove for Dad over Christmas, allowing his parents the chance

for a couple of weeks break for some R&R. Even though he’d only been ‘out on his own’ for about two years and was purchasing his first brand new truck.

The former cabinetmaker’s eye for detail and aesthetics has driven him to customise his rig putting the big conventional on a level that generates lots of comment on the road as well as winning him plenty of regular work. It has been a sound business move as a well as satisfying the perfectionist side of Michael’s personality.

Michael takes time out from his schedule to do a couple of truck shows each year giving him the excuse to ensure the truck is always up to scratch.

“It’s a big investment and I always keep it pristine because it is my brand and trademark and I enjoy the respect that it brings as well as the work it generates,” said Michael.

It’s hard to argue with his rationale and it’s a pity more owner-drivers don’t follow his lead.

“I know is a big risk buying a new truck, as I said I was shaking when I signed the contracts but it’s worked out well and I wouldn’t do it any differently,”

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\ Paul Jukes Victorian State Manager, Hertz Truck Rental

Efficiency for hire Australian Truck and 4WD Rentals, the Hertz Truck Rental franchisee for South Australia, NSW and Victoria, has decided to replace all of the manual trucks in its fleet with Allison fully automatic equipped trucks.

Paul Jukes, Victorian State Manager, Hertz Truck Rentals, reckons that since adding Allison equipped UD Trucks to the Hertz fleet they have delivered lower maintenance and repair costs as well as saving money when it comes to operating costs.

“Our Allison automatic trucks are easier on clutches and brakes and that means we save money, not to mention the reduced down time,” says Paul Jukes.

Hertz customers can now enjoy improved productivity through full powershifts, with faster acceleration and increase fuel efficiency in city, and suburban applications thanks to Allison.

Fully integrated, sophisticated electronic controls enable precise, smooth shifts and provide expanded prognostics and diagnostic capabilities which reduce driver fatigue, enhance safety and make the truck more reliable and efficient to operate.

Make the smart choice…. Allison automatics

© 2015 Allison Transmission Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Operator

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Automatic trucks are taking off all over the country in a range of operations but few would have expected to find them in the cane fields of Far North Queensland. Barry Flanagan looks at one cane fleet that has shifted to automatic Isuzus. www.truckandbus.net.au 031

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very year up and down the Eastern Seaboard from Mossman in Far North Queensland to Grafton in Northern NSW the giant task of harvesting Australia’s sugar crop is carried out.

The Australian cane crop produces up to 4.5 million tonnes of raw sugar a year along with about one million tonnes of molasses and ten million tonnes of bagasse (the dry pulpy residue left after extraction which is used as a biofuel and building material) annually, all in all it means a lot of sweetness.

Approximately 85 per cent of the raw sugar produced in Queensland is exported

generating close to $2 billion in export earnings from more than 4400 cane farms growing sugar cane on a total of 380,000 hectares the produce being channeled through 24 mills up and down the coast.

It is a big and vital industry and the task of moving the cane to the railheads and to the mills is one of the biggest challenges for cane farms and the milling companies.

As a long time sugar producer based near Ayr, owner Richard Galea has seen significant advances in technology. From heavily labor-intensive manual cane cutting by teams of men wielding long knives to today’s fully automated harvesting with modern automatic diesel trucks to transport

“The automatics allow us to hire drivers that might not be as experienced or skilled.“

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the cane, efficiencies have greatly improved.

Richard runs Green Acre Harvesting, a long-standing and highly efficient operation based in Ayr, South of Townsville. During the cane season which runs each year from June until November Green Acres harvested more than 146,000 tons of sugar cane from close to 2000 hectares of farmland. As an innovative and efficient operator Green Acre is always looking for an advantage and improved efficiency, which is what prompted the company to buy a new fleet of automatic Isuzus ahead of the 2015 harvest.

In heavy cane hauling trucks the thought of having an auto on the fleet would have been unimaginable even a few years ago, however

the efficiency advantages the new generation of automatics can offer these days won Richard Galea over.

Another big factor for Galea, in an era when it is increasingly difficult to find highly skilled drivers, was the ability to recruit a wider spectrum of drivers to pilot the automatic trucks.

Green Acre purchased three new twin-steer Isuzu FYH trucks equipped with Allison 4430 six-speed fully automatic transmissions particularly to simplify driver recruitment but also to improve transportation efficiency for its cane harvest.

“One of our biggest challenges is recruiting drivers,” said Galea. “The automatics

allow us to hire drivers that might not be as experienced or skilled. We can train them and will not have to worry about damaged clutches and drivelines, which was a problem with our old manual trucks.”

Until recently, success of the heavyduty Isuzu rigids with the Allison 4000 Series automatics had primarily been in construction, concrete mixer and road tipper applications. However, the use of the Isuzu FYH automatic in transporting harvested sugar cane underlines the versatility of the overall package and its ability to be adapted for a number of vocations.

The Green Acre Isuzus replaced three ageing manual Volvo F7s and in the 12

months since coming on line each of the FYHs have travelled more than 50,000 km and logged more than 4200 hours of operation.

“They’re fool-proof,” said Galea. “In the past, we have had problems with clutches and drivelines coping with maintaining a slow speed while tracking alongside the harvester in the paddock, but that is not a problem with Allison Automatics.”

During the harvest the trucks work seven days a week, from 3 a.m. through to 2 p.m., in a relentless sweep of the paddocks, driving alongside the automated harvester, which loads directly into the cane hoppers on the back of each truck.

The cane hoppers are fitted with rail wheels and are winched onto the back of the trucks and secured at the rail siding. The truck then travels back to the paddock with the empty hoppers

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“We can just sit the Isuzu on 1200rpm,

3 1. Green Acre driver Ivan Rehvein says the new Isuzus have made his job much easier.

2. Once the truck is at the rail siding the driver backs up to the rails on a ramp and releases the full hoppers at the back of the truck.

3. The big Isuzu FYH is often more at home as a concrete agitator or in construction work, but has clearly found a sweet niche in sugar.

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The cane hoppers are fitted with rail wheels and are winched onto the back of the trucks and secured at the rail siding. The trucks then travels back to the paddock with the empty hoppers and catches up to the harvester. With three trucks the harvester can continuously move through the cane, slowing briefly as one truck is filled and another moves under its loading spout to continue cutting and removing the cane.

Once the hoppers on each truck are filled, it drives back to the rail siding where the full hopper carriages are backed up to the railway line and released onto to the line to be hauled away by a cane train later in the day. The driver then winches two more empty carriages onto the back of the truck and heads back to the harvesting area for yet another load.

It is a demanding schedule, but necessary in order to meet the local sugar mill’s appetite for raw sugar cane. According to Green Acre driver Ivan Rehvein, the new Isuzus have made his job much easier.

“The ground has been covered by twometre-high cane for many months, so it is often a bit soft and boggy. The new

automatics make maneuverability much easier,” said Rehvein. “They are a godsend when you’re backing up and turning. It is so much easier than operating a manual and that makes the work a lot less stressful.”

Concentrating on keeping pace with the harvester, while not having to worry about selecting the correct gear when tracking through the often soft-soiled cane paddocks, has made the driver’s work less taxing.

“On a typical day we made close to 1,300 gear changes in the old manual Volvos, which meant you were constantly working the gearstick, but now with the new Isuzus we don’t have to worry about that and we are a lot less fatigued at the end of an 11- or 12-hour shift,” he said.

“We can just sit the Isuzu on 1200rpm, push the button and hold the gear. We drive alongside the harvester without having to worry about slipping the clutch or being in the wrong gear, because the Allison Automatic does all that work for you,” said Rehvein.

When T&TA visited Green Acre during the can harvest the unrelenting nature of the process struck home. There is a never-ending

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push push the the button button and and hold hold the the gear.“ gear.“ 5 4. The driver helps the carriages down the siding to be parked before being hooked up to the cane train for the trip to the local mill.

5. The empty cane hoppers being winched into place on the back of the truck ahead of the journey back to the harvest paddock.

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stream of cane being pushed out of the top of the mechanical harvester as it runs up and down the rows of the crop.

Alongside the Isuzu’s catch the output in their cane hoppers. There are two hoppers on each truck and as one is filled the driver head off the few kilometres to the rail head and one of the other Isuzus drives into position alongside the harvester to re-start the process. With three trucks the harvest is never delayed save for the few seconds when the machine pauses for the next truck to

replace the full one that just departed.

Hour after hour the trucks run their loop from the harvest through the paddocks to the rail head and back. Visit Far North Queensland any time during the middle part of the year and the frenetic activity going on across wide swathes of the flatlands to the East of the Great Divide is captivating. The harvesters and trucks, the narrow gauge cane trains the steam from the mills all combine to underline how important it is to get the cane harvested before the heat and rain of

1. 1. Ivan Rehvein at the wheel of the Green Acre Isuzu FYH. 2. The Isuzu FYH is very much at home in the rough and tumble of the FNQ canefields.

3. The harvest is unrelenting as one truck is filled another slides in beneath to allow the machinery to keep running

the summer starts to come in November.

“We have no time to waste, there is an awful lot of cane to cut and only a few months to do it so you have to have efficient machinery to make that happen,” said Ivan.

“We haven’t done any direct comparisons with the old Volvos but I can tell you the Isuzus with the autos are much quicker not to mention easier to use, I am sure we get a lot more harvesting done because of the ease and speed of the autos,” he added. “ They’re sweet I reckon,” Ivan says with a smile.

“We have no time to waste, there is an awful lot of cane to cut and only a few months to do it.”

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Road Test

THREE POINTED ARMY Unashamedly military in appearance the civilian version of the Mercedes-Benz Zetros range is aimed at the Australian mining, exploration and fire-fighting sectors. Allan Whiting had some fun slip-slidin’ away on bush tracks around a damp Anglesea.

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1

H

aving been trained as a military vehicle demonstration driver

by Volvo Truck in my past life, I have a fondness for purposedesigned machinery. Army trucks have to function in a life and death environment, as do those that operate in remote areas.

No matter how well a maker off-roadmodifies an on-road vehicle, the result is never as good as a clean-sheet-of-paper design exercise. (Look at the miners and construction companies who’ve tried various brands of popular medium 4x4 utes for heavy duty work and have had to go back to the ‘old fashioned’ LandCruiser 70 Series.)

The case for a purpose-designed off-road

“The design concept was capability, so each Zetros comes fully equipped for off-roading,“

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truck is even stronger, because the loads are greater and the price of failure is much higher.

The Truck The Zetros was launched in 2008 as a family of 4x4 and 6x6 trucks, sharing common cab, engine, transmissions, drivetrain, chassis and axles. The design concept was capability, so each Zetros comes fully equipped for offroading, with three-seat air-conditioned cab, a manual synchro box or Allison auto, ample ground clearance, deep-reduction gearing and multiple mechanical differential locks.

All that gear on a limited-production vehicle doesn’t come cheaply: the 4x4 1833 sells for $222,000 + GST, and the 6x6 2733 for

$240,000 + GST. There is an options list, but it’s confined to things like a ROPS structure over the already impact-tested cab, or a roof-top hatch with machine gun ring!

For a brand like Mercedes-Benz that has been associated with COE trucks for many years a bonnetted ‘Benz may seem a retro step, but the cab style is for function, not fashion.

A bonnetted configuration moves cab weight behind the front axle, for optimum front axle weight and also reduces overall height. A lower-height cab – under three metres - with chamfered top sections lets a military Zetros fit into air and road transports and in civilian life allows mechanical ladders, water jet monitors,

2

1. Allison’s torque converter auto is a wise choice for the Australian market 2. Purposeful grille, three-piece steel bumper and a snorkel are all standard

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 The driving station is straight from the Axxor on-road truck.

“The front axle has a nine tonne concrete pump booms, crane jibs or drill-rig masts to stow above the cab.

The Zetros is built on a single-skin chassis, with a sizeable rail thickness of 9.5mm and reinforcing sections behind the cab and at the front of the chassis. The loaded truck can be lifted clear of the ground at the front, using reinforced chassis points.

The frame is designed to twist in off-road conditions and bodywork bracketry allows 500mm of diagonal movement. A threepiece steel bumper is fitted up front.

Planetary hub reductions are fitted to all axles, giving two-stage final drive gearing and allowing a smaller diff bowl in each axle housing. The front axle has a ninetonnes rating and each rear axle, 13 tonnes.

Long, taper-leaf springs are fitted, for optimum ride quality and wheel travel. The 6x6 has an inverted-spring, six-rod tandem arrangement. Brakes are practical drums.

The standard wheel and tyre package is singles all around, but for most Australian applications the Zetros will be specified with duals at the rear, to maximise legal payload. Our test truck was shod with 385/65R22.5s up front and 315/80R22.5

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rears, for a maker’s GVM of 25 tonnes.

The test truck carried a 10-tonne concrete block and weighed in around two tonnes under GVM. Power to move all this comes from a Euro V OM926LA, 7.2-litre six, with outputs of 240kW (326hp) and 1300Nm from 1200rpm to 1600rpm. There’s a choice of a manual nine-speed, synchromesh transmission or an Allison 3000P six-speed, torque-converter automatic. The test vehicle had the Allison. (‘Benz has its own auto, but the Allison is a better fit with many off-road customers’ fleets.)

There is a choice of engine power take offs and a range of Allison PTOs. Drive goes into a Mercedes-Benz VG1700 two-speed transfer case with a low ratio of 1.69:1 and centre differential, allowing full-time all-wheel-drive. There’s also an inter-axle differential in the leading rear drive axle.

The cab is an extended type, providing storage space behind the three seats.

Outboard seating is suspended and the central perch has a fixed base. The dashboard is straight from the Axxor COE truck.

There are folding footsteps on the bumper and friction-surface wear pads on the top of the steel mudguards and the steel tilting bonnet. This allows easy clambering onto the bonnet, for access to a roof rack or any equipment that may be overhanging the cab.

A nice touch is a positive lock on the raised bonnet, so it can’t drop down unexpectedly.

Another maintenance item I liked was the electrical arrangement, with traditional fuses and circuit breakers and individually wired circuits – not a CAN Bus system that requires diagnostic equipment.

The Test Daily checks of chassis componentry are easy, because the tall rubber and raised suspension puts everything at chest height.

Physical engine checks require a climb, or the driver can rely on the truck’s electronic check program.

Getting in and out would be easier if there were external grab rails behind each door.

Once aboard I found it very easy to adjust the seat, steering wheel and mirrors, while the engine warmed up. The spring parking brake was a Euro-style graduated-release

1

2

1. 2733 means 27 tonnes GVM and 330hp.

2. You’d notice it even without the signature number plate!

3. Hub reductions allow small diff banjos

3

rating and each rear axle, 13 tonnes.“ type, making smooth lift offs on a steep grades a doddle.

Vision over the raked bonnet was very good and large mirrors revealed gaping pedestrians and motorists behind. The Zetros 6x6 certainly has presence!

The truck was easy to drive around town and although the box didn’t have an optional retarder, engine/exhaust braking was powerful enough to slow the loaded truck effectively.

Performance was on a par with roadgoing rigids and mechanical noise was commendably low: three of us could chat easily.

Bitumen-road and gravel-road grip was good; steering predictable and light and high-range gearing allowed easy cruising up to 100km/h.

However, the real fun began when the roads turned to fire trails.

I don’t know if you’ve driven in the bush around the picturesque Victorian seaside town of Anglesea, but this Bass Strait frontage is usually freezing cold or blazing hot and clouds are either soft, fluffy white or forbidding grey and scudding at ground

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“The ‘Benz took steep uphill and downhill sections in its stride and engine braking was much stronger than I expected.“ level.

We had the latter. (I know the photos show dust, but they were shot the previous day.)

The topography is hilly, with weather resistant tea-tree scrub and hardy eucalypt forest rooted in sandy soil and clay. There had been just enough light rain on the tracks to turn the powdered-clay-dust surface to something akin to soggy soap.

Mercedes-Benz’ Special Vehicles manager Philip Leslie showed me how all the bits worked and then assumed an advisory position in the left hand seat.

Manoeuvring a 23-tonnes machine around narrow fire tracks on a slimy surface brought back memories of doing demo drives for Australian Army evaluation in Volvo C306 and G88 vehicles, back more years than I care to remember.

I appreciated the ease of control of the big Zetros, with a T-bar auto box lever, wand for engine braking, a simple dial for lowrange selection and all diff lock functions progressively arranged on another rotary dial.

Click One on that rotary switch locked

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the centre diff and the tandem-axle power divider, meaning that all three axle diffs had to rotate at the same speed.

Click Two locked the two across-axle rear diff locks and Click Three locked the front across-axle diff lock.

Diff lock action was quick, with no ‘blocking’ or ‘hang-up’ that plagues some systems and makes safe manoeuvring difficult.

It was brought home to us just how slippery the tracks were when we came across Old Mate in his Range Rover Sport, towing a dirt bike trailer. He was ruefully inspecting some expensive mudguard damage, caused when this capable machine had slid sideways on a cambered bend.

He and his white-faced kids were finding it difficult just to stand up on this slimy surface.

Being nice blokes we offered to tow him out.

Despite its compromise bitumen-gravel tyres the big Zetros steered accurately most of the time, with only heavily cambered sections forcing sideways slips into the gravel gutters.

The ‘Benz took steep uphill and downhill sections in its stride and engine braking was much stronger than I expected, making an expensive retarder option unnecessary.

When it came time to return to the gravel and black top, the two rotary switches had us instantly back in on-road mode. Control familiarisation shouldn’t be a problem for owners.

Conclusion It’s not a big market, with only 1108 new 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 van and truck sales in 2015, but the off-road truck business is interesting and, as with the road train market, image building. A bonnetted 4x4 or 6x6 truck sends a message of brand strength.

Mercedes-Benz has been knocking at the off-road truck door for many years, but the Unimog is too expensive and too complex for most customers, and the COE ‘Benz models have tall cabs that restrict many applications.

The Zetros 4x4 and 6x6 pair could just be the ticket.

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Industry

COVERING ALL THE BASES 046 www.truckandbus.net.au

Iveco has had its challenges in Australia in recent years but with Case New Holland management now in charge there is some evidence stability may have returned to the Italian truck maker. A recent media event gave T&TA an insight into where the Dandenong based maker is headed.

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“Just about the entire Iveco product line up was on show at the event“

A

sk anyone in the know in the Australian truck market about the Iveco brand and most will tell you that the revolving door at the front of the building has for some time been sucking corporate leaders and executives out almost as soon as they get comfortable at their desks. Such has been the turnover and attrition rate of senior managers, a factor that does nothing for a company as it battles in a highly competitive market.

Retiring exec and now brand ambassador for the company, the long serving Lloyd Reeman has been one of the constants but in the past 20 years he has seen something like 10 different CEOs running the company, not to mention the marketing, admin and finance execs who have passed in and out of the Dandenong HQ. Iveco hosted Australia’s trucking media at the Norwell Performance Driving Centre

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north of the Gold Coast this week and there is some confidence that the revolving door may have been chocked and that stability may have been installed at the Dandenong truck maker.

Control and responsibility for Iveco these days comes under the Case New Holland Industrial operation or CNHI, to make the unwieldy title more useable. CNHI is also part of the labyrinthine corporate family that is the Fiat Group but control of Iveco has moved away from Fiat to the massive agricultural and industrial equipment maker in the group.

MD of Iveco is now former CNHI exec Michael Jonson, while marketing is under the aegis of a former Kodak exec, Darren Svenson. Unfortunately Michael Jonson was a scratching from the media event due to a family commitment. It will be interesting to sit down and chat with him at some stage in the future to discuss his plans for the future

at Iveco.

While Iveco had a sales fillip from its updated and popular Daily vans and light truck chassis last year, its overall market performance in 2015 saw it drop 4.4 per cent to register 1395 sales across all segment.

That puts it marginally behind Swedish rival Volvo with 1476 registrations. With such a diverse and multi-faceted range Iveco should be selling more, however time will tell whether new cohesiveness and stability at HQ will help it achieve that goal.

While there wasn’t much news at the media event there appears to be a resolve to cement things down and bring some stability to the truck maker with a longer-term view and a broad product range to cover just about all bases.

Just about the entire Iveco product line up was on show at the event, which was, piggy backed onto the company’s annual dealer conference.

The Australian truck media had the chance to sample the entire Iveco product line up both on road and off road

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2

The line up has a strong skew to the off road range which allows Iveco to cover just about every niche from the light duty Daily 4x4 to the giant 8x8 Astra while the on road offerings ran from from Daily tipper and van to the range topping Stralis ASL hauling the Red Bull Racing B-Double race transporter.

The Norwell facility owned by Morris family and run by past Bathurst 1000 winner Paul Morris gave Iveco the chance to showcase the stability package of the Daily with a testing course on the skid pan and the chance to give it its head on the 2km Norwell test track.

The off roaders were sampled on a simple but surprisingly testing little off road track while the on highway trucks were able to be taken around a simple little 20 km loop from Norwell to Yatala and return.

The on highway test hardly gave a true indication of performance, - apart from highlighting the capability of the suspension on the choppy tarmac through the local canefields. The fact that several of the

DAF and MAN in the under-90 tonne GCM, single trailer / B-Double market.

Also on test was the Stralis 8x4 featuring IVECO’s ‘Clear Back of Cab’ design. The test truck was configured with twin-steer giving higher load carrying capacity over the front and giving operators the ability to fit cranes or to carry additional payload on the tray.

Unfortunately the 8x4 carried no load at the media day.

It is capable of carrying a payload of up to 11-tonnes within the gross weight limits with a 14 pallet capacity thanks to the weight distribution over the four axles. It was powered by the 500 hp Cursor 13-litre with the 16-speed Eurotronic automated manual A Stralis 6x4 prime mover, using a Cursor 10-litre with a 12-speed automated manual, was hauling a flat top semi with a single Holden Racing Team Commodore racecar mock up strapped to the back. Again a very capable feeling truck but it hardly broke a sweat with a 1500kg car as its only real payload.

“The line up has a strong skew to the off road range which allows Iveco to cover just about every niche“

3 1. The Stralis 8x4 was configured with twin-steer giving higher load carrying capacity over the front but unfortunately it carried no load at the media day.

2. The new new Iveco Trakker 4x4 is the the biggest 4x4 in Iveco’s burgeoning. off road offering, boasting an 18 tonne GVM and power by a 7.8litre 265 hp Cursor.

3. The ASTRA 8x8 delivered impressive axle articulation and amazing traction from its cantilever suspension, 16-speed Eurotronic A/MT, diff locks and hub reduction.

4. The Trakker 4x4 offered impressive axle articulation and traction on the of road track

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trucks carried no load, and in the case of the recently updated ACCO, not even a body, made it difficult to get a feel for the true ability of the vehicles. It is difficult to get the feel of a working vehicle if its not hauling a workload at the very least. It is a pity because in this writer’s view the Ivecos proved quiet, comfortable and in the brief encounter highly capable.

The Stralis AS-L Series II featured the updated Cursor II 13-litre engine, which first broke cover at last year’s Brisbane Truck Show. Of the on highway test trucks on test, it was probably closest to its fighting weight hauling around 40 tonnes.

The flagship Stralis prime mover can now be had with either 560 or 500hp rated 13 litre engines both offering an impressively flat torque curve boasting 2300Nm over a wide 700rpm range. The test truck had the higher rated 560hp configuration with the 16-speed Eurotronic automated manual.

A fully air-mounted cab is now used along with upgrades to the interior styling and trim in a bid to put it on an equal footing with its European counterparts from Volvo, Scania,

Also in the on highway test fleet were a nine speed manual 5.9litre 275hp Eurocargo, a 6400 Powerstar with the bog Cursor 13 560 hp option and 16-speed A/MT and the venerable ACCO, this one running totally bareback with no body or load and using the Cummins ISL 8.9 litre with an Allison 6 speed auto.

On the off road track the all wheel drive fleet saw Iveco’s heavy-duty off-road toughie the Trakker 6x6 along with its new little brother the Trakker 4x4. This is the biggest 4x4 in Iveco’s burgeoning off road offering, boasting an 18 tonne GVM and power by a 7.8litre 265 hp Cursor with a handy 1500Nm down to around 1100rpm, ideal for inching through tough offroad conditions. It used the standard 16 speed Eurotronic A/MT bus also can be had with an optional Eurotronic 12-Speed automated transmission which would be very handy in tricky off road running and would be our choice.

The all-new 4x4 version of the awardwinning Daily was on display but off limits for a drive, with its launch planned around mid-year. In its stead we had the superceded

4

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Daily 4x4 with its impressive double low range transfer case and six speed manual transmission which offers 24 speeds overall and an incredible 1:120 final drive ratio, not quite enough to climb a brick wall, but it could tackle a near vertical obstacle built cover a shipping container on the off road course. One could only assume the new Daily 4x4 will be even more impressive when it arrives.

The new Daily 4x4 was on static display but as mentioned was off limits was just a prerelease look but don’t touch preview.

The ASTRA 8x8 was the heavy hitter in the off road line up and with impressive axle articulation and amazing traction from its cantilever suspension, 16-speed Eurotronic A/MT, diff locks and hub reduction this feels like a truck that could go just about anywhere even with a GCM of 70 tonnes.

Only its weight would stop it in deep mud one suspects.

On the test track Iveco showed off the ESP and handling capabilities of the Daily van as well as showing off the new factory built

1

three way Daily Tipper.

The Tipper (which is featured in a a full road test in the Feb March issue of Transport & Trucking) is a versatile adaptation of the Daily chassis and will no doubt give some of the light duty Japanese tippers a run for their money particularly with the added versatility of the three way tipping mechanism and its ability to be driven on a car licence. Its hand-held cable remote control also gives the operator more safety and versatility.

The Daily van has not only won critical acclaim since its launch in 2015 but as mentioned also delivered a 50 per cent

boost with sales of 869 van and light truck configurations registered since its launch mid through last year. That means the Daily accounted for 64 per cent of Iveco’s Australian volume last year making it an important component in the mix.

The impressive ESL safety package of the Daily was given a strong workout with Iveco giving us the challenge of two timed laps on the wet skidpan. With competitive journos trying to outdo each other the van was pushed to the limit and didn’t put a foot wrong, as was the case when we dashed it around the race circuit.

As we said time will tell if the new management stability and cohesiveness at Dandenong will translate into improved sales performance. Certainly with the model mix and the breadth of range there is no reason why Iveco shouldn’t climb the sales charts in 2016 especially with more new product on its way. It seems to have all bases covered but it might need more than that to score more runs.

“Time will tell if the new management stability will translate into improved sales performance.“ 2 1. The flagship Stralis prime mover can now be had with either 560 or 500hp rated 13 litre engines.

2. The venerable ACCO was on show unfortunately without a body or load

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LCV

VW LOOKS TO CLEAR THE AIR Its fair to say Volkswagen has suffered a whole lot of negative attention since last September when the ‘Emission Scandal’ broke across the globe. In the commercial arena it is looking to get some clear air as it pushes its new Transport and Caddy ranges as Jon Thomson reports

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V

olkswagen which had been vying to become the World’s number one vehicle manufacturer has taken a fair hit in recent months, but like the massive behemoth that it is, the good ship VW has sailed on riding out the waves of media criticism and alarm.

It was with this background that Volkswagen launched the latest versions of its light van range with the latest model Caddy and Transporter previewed to the Australian media in December last year.

The big news with the latest Caddy are the price drops with the workhorse model starting from $28,190 for the manual TSI220 with a more powerful turbo-petrol TSI engine, but no diesel just yet, that will come when some of the company’s emission challenges are sorted, later in 2016 it says.

The Caddy also receives updated

infotainment systems and better standard driver assistance and safety items.

As well as the fourth-generation Caddy VW also debuted the new and much anticipated T6 Transporter, the sixth generation of the iconic Volksy van/people mover since its inception in 1950.

The new ‘kombi’ boasts increased refinement and efficiency as well as a powerful new twin-turbo diesel with a whopping 450Nm of torque and spans Transporter, Multivan and Caravelle all featuring various driver assistance systems, adaptive chassis control and upgraded multimedia systems.

The new T6 models are impressive using a suspension with front struts and rear semitrailing arms servo-assisted rack-and-pinion steering with just 3.3 turns lock to lock and an impressive and compact 11.8 metre turning circle for the front drive models.

A new adaptive chassis control uses electrically adjustable shock absorbers to offer normal, comfort and sports settings while an optional sports chassis which lowers the body over revised rate coil springs and firmer suspension dampers is also available.

VW is offering three versions of its impressive two-litre (1968cc) turbo-diesel engine, the TDI 340 version uses a single variable-geometry-turbo producing 103kW and 340Nm while the middle variant, the TDI 400 single turbo to produce 132kW and 400Nm. The new top shelf TDI 450 engine features a sequential biturbo to conjure 150kW at 4000rpm and that whopping 450Nm of torque from 1400 to 2400rpm. This hugely under stressed and effortless engine apparently returns 6.5 to 6.8L/100km, but we will confirm this once we have tested it.

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Caddy Maxi Crewvan is a very practical option sitting between the van and people-mover versions offering as they do sliding rear side windows and easily changeable rear seating.

1.Based as it is on the VW Golf, the Caddy offers truly car like comfort and amenities in the cockpit.

2. Caddy is an increasingly popuylar name plate in teh small van sector.

3. The rear entry is 1134mm tall while cargo height is 1259mm and max width is 1559mm and 1170mm between the rear wheel-arches.

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“The new Caddy certainly has a sharper T6 comes equipped with six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatics while the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system is available for the Transporter TDI400 and Highline TDI450 versions.

The BlueMotion system is employed to achieve the fuel-consumption figures, while SCR (selective catalytic reduction) is used to reduce NOx emissions, a factor VW is probably wishing it had pursued for its other smaller diesel models given the current fracas.

The standard wheelbase T6 Van delivers 5.8 cubic metres load capacity with a 1.236 tonnes payload and a maximum load height of 1290mm through the standard tailgate with a maximum load width of 1700mm or a pallet-friendly 1244mm between the wheel-arches.

Load capacity goes up to 6.7 cubic metres in the medium roof version Or 7.8 cubic metres in high roof form.

The LWB high-roof version delivers a load capacity of 9.3 cubic metres.

A reversing camera is an option on the Van and Crewvan models, while a Composition Colour audio unit with a 5.0inch screen and Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity is standard in the Transporter.

The T6 range opens with the $36,990

Transporter TDI340 Van with a six-speed manual and a single kerbside sliding door.

Crewvan variants priced from $43,490 add three removable rear seats side-by-side and a roadside second sliding door, which is also available in a dual-loader option for the van while there are also three-seater single-cab from $44,690 and a six-seater dual-cab utility version from $45,290.

Meanwhile the fourth gen Caddy offers swag of safety inclusions (despite its lower pricing compared with the outgoing model), which aren’t always expected in small vans including side/head airbags and side curtain airbags, in people-mover versions.

It also boasts post-accident-protection Multi-Collision Braking system and a Fatigue Detection system that works with a variety of sensors to monitor the driver, both as standard across the range.

New Caddy also boasts an optional Front Assist system that helps lessen stopping distances and a standard City Emergency Braking system at speeds under 30km/h.

A reversing camera is available as an option in the workhorse variants, but is standard in the people-mover models.

The new 5.0-inch touch-screen Composition Colour multi-media unit is offered on the Trendline and van models

The new T6 models are impressive using a suspension with front struts and rear semi-trailing arms servoassisted rack-and-pinion steering

look although it retains its familiar shape.” while and a 6.3-inch Composition Media unit that features neat finger-proximity sensors for inputs and App connectivity for both Apple Car Play and Android Auto is offered on the Comfortline variants.

The new Caddy certainly has a sharper look although it retains its familiar shape.

The 1.4-litre petrol turbo four-cylinder produces just 92kW at 4800rpm along with a pretty fair 220Nm from 1500 to 3500rpm and is matched to either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

VW’s BlueMotion automatic stop-start and brake energy recovery enables various Caddy models to achieve fuel economy of between 6.0 on the combined cycle.

Caddy continues with a leaf-sprung solid rear axle along with struts up front with anti-roll bars front and rear coupled with electromechanical steering.

There are short and long-wheelbase variants with the Maxi versions featuring a 2249mm wheelbase along with an additional cubic-metre of cargo space when compared to the 1779mm SWB version.

The van’s cargo area features a pair of asymmetric barn doors, which open 90 degrees on latches, or 180 degrees when disengaged or you can option a lift up

tailgate.

The rear entry is 1134mm tall while cargo height is 1259mm and maximum width is 1559mm and 1170mm between the rear wheel-arches.

It comes standard with a single kerb-side 700mm opening sliding door while you can option a second drivers side sliding door.

Caddy Maxi Crewvan is a very practical option sitting between the van and peoplemover versions offering as they do sliding rear side windows and easily changeable rear seating which seats up to three across as well as boasting a maximum capacity of 3590 litres with the seats folded forward, growing to 4130 litres with the seats removed entirely.

Caddy Vans start at $28,190 for the sixspeed manual TSI220 or $28,990 with the DSG auto while the Maxi Crewvan is priced from $29,690 for manual or $32,690 for the DSG while the Maxi van kicks off at $31,190 with DSG as standard.

VW is offering a raft of options packages that are grouped together and best explored on the Volkswagen website.

Transport& Trucking will have a full rundown on both Caddy and T6 Transporter in coming months with full road tests and details in upcoming issues.

4. A Composition Colour audio unit with a 5.0-inch screen and Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity is standard in the Transporter.

5. This is the sixth generation of the famous ‘Kombi’ or Transporter tracing its lineage back to the early 1950s.

6. The standard wheelbase T6 Van delivers 5.8 cubic metres load capacity with a 1.236 tonnes payload.

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LCV

TRANSIT AUTHORITY Ford’s Transit van is a stand out in the light van market but its excellence has failed to deliver in the sales charts, an anomaly that is hard to explain as Jon Thomson found after a week in the Ford cargo carrier.

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week in a cargo van was not something we were necessarily looking forward to prior to picking up the Ford Transit Custom. However after seven days its practicality, drivability, character and good manners had won us over and we would quite happily have one of these as a daily drive, despite the fact that it is a workhorse cargo van.

Ford’s Transit Custom is one of the newer competitors on the medium van market down under. The new look for Transit first arrived here back in early 2014 presenting a relatively compact, practical front-drive van powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel across all variants. It produces 92kW of power and 360Nm of torque and our test vehicle featured an easy to use and very nice six-speed manual – unfortunately there is no auto at the moment.

As well as the short-wheelbase 290S we tested the Transit is also available in the long-wheelbase 330L size in a number of different variants.

The interesting thing about our week with it was just how much we used the load capacity in the well-isolated load area behind the cab. Mrs. LCV found a reason to go furniture shopping and to purchase a new sideboard, which fitted easily and securely in the load area. She then realized there was some extensive pruning and gardening to do generating a vanload of green waste, which was easily carted to the local council recycling centre. This was followed by a massive clean out of unused household items and rubbish, which of course brought another trip to the recycling centre/tip. To top it all off we were able to use the Transit as a mobile office/nerve centre for a car club motor sport event using the wide opening rear doors and sliding side door to not only to cart a van load of equipment but then to position a desk in the rear as the event HQ. Did I say the Transit is versatile?

Its always a balancing act with a commercial van, bottom line is it is a workhorse so the essential elements a really good payload, durability, purchase price and

short of the 4500rpm redline.

In sixth gear at highway cruising speed of around 100km/h the engine is ticking away at around 1600rpm, meaning it is hardly overstressed and is not using much fuel. In fact during our test we were able to record an average of 8.2 litres/100km, which is a handy figure, more than the 7.1 litres/100km quoted by Ford but with loads on board and some spirited driving it is still a pretty good return.

Not only is the performance good but also the ride quality and the handling of the Transit are excellent, particularly with a load in the rear of the van. We found the ride smooth and compliant with sure-footed as well as confident handling and road holding.

Although there is no manual available the six-speed manual is a nice to use, with easy shifting and hill-hold assist making it easy and smooth to start on steep slopes.

Nice tight and light steering shows Transit’s European heritage where sharp steering and precise handling are an essential element of any vehicle -

“Not only is the performance good but also the ride quality and the handling of the Transit are excellent” Ford’s approach to the commercial vehicle market locally has been a bit patchy at best, however with the stellar performance of the Ranger ute and the much improved Transit not to mention the poor performance of its passenger cars someone has clearly thrown the switch to get serious about commercials again at the Blue Oval.

Maybe it’s a hangover from the days when Transit meant asthmatic English sourced V4 petrol vans or later lead tipped arrows fitted with a heavy local 4.1litre six sitting out over the front axle delivering wheel chirping torque and all the road manners of a shopping trolley, but Transit has struggled to win buyers locally despite being a very competent and accomplished work horse.

The Transit came to us with high recommendations with the Custom having oupointed the market leading Toyota HiAce and Hyundai iLoad in various van comparisons on automotive websites and in other publications even if it has yet to trouble the market leaders on the sales scoreboard.

running costs while increasingly buyers are looking for creature comfort, safety features and easy operation Ford seems to have struck a pretty good balance with the Transit. There are cheaper vans but few could match the drivability and comfort of this handy Ford. In terms of comfort and safety it is hard to beat the Transit. It also has a long list of standard features that ad to its practicality.

One thing that is almost certainly doing the Transit harm in the sales race is a lack of an automatic transmission. Given an increasing demand for self-shifters in big fleets, mainly due to OH&S demands, this puts the Transit at a distinct disadvantage.

Sluggish sales may be one thing but the Transit Custom is certainly no slouch on the road with the performance being about as good as it gets for a van.

In terms of refinement and comfort the Transit is very good indeed, thanks largely to its terrific little 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine which delivers lively performance above 2200rpm all the way through to just

commercial or not. It turns on a dime with an impressive 10.9-metre turning circle, making for easy maneuvering. This is helped along by an optional ($1500 CityPack) reversing camera and parking sensors aiding maneuvering enormously.

Stopping power is handled extremely well by four-wheel disc brakes coupled with ABS and again this is another confidence building aspect for anyone driving the Transit.

Creature comforts in the cab make for a good environment for anyone using the Transit as their day-to-day workspace. The seats are trimmed in dark cloth which seems hard wearing while the seats are comfortable and deliver excellent support and has good adjustability, which coupled with the tilt and reach adjustable steering wheel enabling just about any driver to get comfortable.

There is masses of storage around the Transit cockpit with the large double deck side door pockets being particularly versatile These work along with the well designed and positioned cup holders and the secret dash-top bin on the driver’s side making

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LCV

it easy for regularly needed valuables and documents to be easily accessed. A 12-volt socket and dual USB/3.5mm inputs are also fitted here making it simple to stow and use your phone in tandem with the vehicle’s Bluetooth compatibility.

Along with all that underneath the two passenger seats there are huge storage bays, which you can reach by simply tilting the seat, cushions forward. However the real piece de resistance for a working van is the foldout work tray with document strap and two more cup holders when you tilt the middle passenger seat base forward.

One of the things that always worried me with vans is the security of loads in the back when it comes to accident situations, however in the Transit the all steel bulkhead inspires enormous confidence, not only separating the two areas but also helping to reduce cabin noise levels In terms of load space and capacity the

Transit’s 1032kg payload is a little on the light side but still pretty good. However with 5.9 cubic metres of load capacity it is amongst the best in class as is the excellent towing capacity, which is rated to 2500kg (braked).

The load bay has a handy side grab rail as well as eight sturdy tie-down anchor points and two lights while there is insulation and protection along the side walks and the floor is fitted with a tough plastic liner all of which helps to reduce noise and drumming in the capacious cargo area.

The load bay measures 2470mm long by 1800mm wide and is 1450mm high, with a standard 1350mm pallet width between the wheel arches.

There is also a hugely practical hinged hatch, which is held shut by magnets but can be opened up giving extra load length for tubes, pipes and ladders etc. Once the hatch is up you simply slide them forward into

the void beneath the front seats, ensuring you don’t get impaled in a major rear end collision, very clever.

In terms of safety Transit has a five star rating in the Euro NCAP which is not exactly the same as an Aussie NCAP rating but it will be just as valuable in an accident. In addition the Transit comes with a three-year/100,000km warranty plus 12 months roadside assistance and an 84-month/100,000km capped-price service scheme and service intervals are pegged at 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first so maintenance costs for a fleet would be exceptionally low.

We enjoyed our time with Ford’s Transit and in every way it deserves better sales than it has scored here so far. An automatic would make it a much more attractive package but it is a very likeable and live-able van and if word spreads of its charms, we should see more on Aussie roads.

“We enjoyed our time with Ford’s Transit and in every way it deserves better sales than it has scored here so far.”

FORD TRANSIT CUSTOM PRICING AND SPECIFICATIONS: PRICE: $37,490 (plus on-road costs) ENGINE: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel OUTPUT: 92kW/350Nm TRANSMISSION: Six-speed manual FUEL: 7.1L/100km (ADR Combined) CO2: 186g/km (ADR Combined) MAX. RATED PAYLOAD: 1032kg

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Transit Custom is certainly no slouch on the road with the performance being about as good as it gets for a van.

Company Car

SCALING NEW HEIGHTS With Ford moving rapidly to a new role as a pure importer in the Australian vehicle market the need for an SUV to replace the Territory has seen the Blue Oval design the all new Everest here for manufacture in Thailand

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t around the same time we had the Everest on test it had a mixed week in the press with a News Ltd journalist having one burn to the ground while almost at the same time Fairfax pronounced its Car of the Year.

The fire was apparently down to a loose battery lead, the Car of the Year vote generated plenty of heat as well with many questioning the decision.

Despite that the Everest is a good machine and offers refinement that belie its Ranger Ute origins.

It’s a seven-seater which also boasts rugged off road capabilities and as a design exercise it is a vehicle we can be proud of.

This is a vehicle that has a hefty sticker price of $60,990 for the Trend and a whopping $76,990 for the Titanium flagship.

While it is based on the Ranger the Everest does have a different rear suspension and powertrain tune. It is easy to see the difference particularly if you drive the Ranger and Everest back to back.

Naturally there are many common features including many of the internal cab and dash features.

The centerpiece of the Everest is its very good eight-inch touchscreen using Ford’s SYNC 2 multimedia system and voice control.

It is well designed and is easy to use once you

are familiar with it and boasts things such as digital radio and one of the best and clearest reverse-view camera views.

The Everst Trend we tried featured 18-inch alloy wheels, an electric tailgate, chrome grille, running boards, auto high-beam headlights, dual-zone climate control, twin four-inch digital instrument displays and rain-sensing wipers. In short its very well equipped, but for the price.

The Everest is a big unit by local SUV standards and in fact is 70mm longer than Isuzu’s MU-X/ Holden Colorado.

The Everest really shines on tarmac or gravel. The rear suspension setup, uses a coil-over strut design with a Watt’s linkage and a solid axle. It does a superb job of controlling the tail, it handles the bumps, is well-mannered, quiet and very settled. It is the benefit of having Australian engineers designing vehicles for our market.

Driving is supple and controlled, it doesn’t wallow or float and isn’t flustered by mid corner bumps. It feels like an SUV of much higher quality and price and it is at this point that you forget the high price tag.

The Trend offers seating for seven with a third row of seats which are accessed by clambering behind the second row. It is not an easy task and one best left to agile children.

The third-row seats fold flat into the floor

giving a very usable 1050L of cargo space but with the third row in use that is reduced to just 450 litres. You can also fold the middle row flat, which gives a massive 2010L of load space.

The electric-assisted power steering is light but quite sharp and nicely weighted and is also easy to use when parking.

The Everest four-wheel-drive system has with a 60 per cent rear axle torque bias, however extra torque can be sent to either end on demand. There are also four off-road modes along with a lockable diff and low range to complement hill-descent control.

Under the bonnet is the familiar 3.2-litre in line five-cylinder diesel producing 143kW of power and 470Nm of torque which measures up well compared to say Toyota’s 130kW/450Nm 2.8-litre Prado and Fortuner. It pushes the big SUV along well and it is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission as standard.

Everest’s maximum towing capacity is 3000kg, which is 500kg less than its commercial sibling but its still pretty good for an SUV. Ford claims fuel economy of 8.5 litres per 100km but we could only achieve 10.3 /100km during our test from the 80 litre tank.

We were impressed by the Everest and in many ways Ford Australia has scaled new heights. It remains to be seen if the Blue Oval can convince Australian buyers to pay the high price!

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Company Car

CORE STENGTH Its big, its brutish, its looks are polarizing but there is something hugely endearing about the top of the line Chrysler 300 SRT Core.

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hen T&TA got behind the wheel of the latest $59,000 hotrod from Chrysler for our new Company Car section we had to admit we were already fans of the big American.

Under the bonnet its massive 6.4-litre V8 engine produces 350kW of power and 637Nm of torque so there is no need for super or turbocharging, this is a big engine that delivers smooth seamless, tree pulling power and torque from zero revs.

The big hemi headed V8 is mated to an

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ultra sophisticated ZF eight-speed automatic, which replaced the previous five speed. The result is shifts that are almost imperceptible and a pure joy in terms of smoothness and responsiveness.

With all that grunt the stopping power is equally impressive, thankfully. Chrysler has fitted huge four-piston Brembo brakes with slotted rotors on all four corners with massive serving platter sized the 360mm discs at the front and slightly smaller 340mm units at the rear.

Of course it is a big mass for those stoppers

to retard with the 300 Core tipping the scales at 1946kg but we are here to say that they do a fabulous job instilling security and confidence in the driver.

Company Car took the Chrysler 300 for an extended test run from Sydney to Bathurst over a weekend and whether in city traffic, on freeways or backcountry roads the 300 is a remarkable car. Part of it must be sheeted home to the platform which was derived from Benz’ E class sedan, albeit in the days when Chrysler was married to the German giant.

The latest 300 has had its suspension tune

The new T6 models are impressive using a suspension with front struts and rear semi-trailing arms servoassisted rack-and-pinion steering

revised suspension and electrically assisted power steering has been added, making the entire package a joy to drive.

The SRT button on the dash allows you to select Street, Sport or Track modes each delivering a different suspension and engine tune, as well as less stability control intervention, greater steering weight and altered gearshift points.

Big 20-inch satin black finish alloy wheels sit at each corner adding to the car’s aggressive stance The well-priced SRT Core gives occupants cloth trim and an 8.4-inch infotainment screen but satellite navigation is an option.

However you do get dual-zone climate control, automatic windscreen wipers and bi-xenon headlights.

The six-speaker audio and infotainment system also gets the latest tech DAB+ digital

radio streaming, Bluetooth with audio streaming, USB connectivity and auxiliary input, along with.

The 6.4-litre Hemi V8 is an amazing unit and despite its massive power is easy to use thanks to the electronics built in while the 300 chassis ensures very good traction in wet or dry, always predictable and easy to manage. There is also adjustable launch control mode that guarantees almost drag racing friendly stall starts.

The onboard trip computer can give you acceleration, g-forces and lap timing just in case you want to use your SRTY Core at increasingly popular track days.

300 SRT offers good ride comfort despite its performance car attributes is excellent, even on uneven tarmac and on choppy roads, thanks largely due to the selectable street mode in its electronic package.

Fuel consumption is the SRT Core’s Achilles Heal and while the claimed fuel consumption figure is 13L/100km with some spirited driving delivering a wallet sapping 19.5L/100km, admittedly with the Welly firmly and often plants hard on the loud pedal.

Chrysler has done an awfully good job at turning out this superbly priced and capable sport sedan and along with Holden’s SSV Commodore few cars of this level of refinement; performance and value live in the sub $60,000 sector. With the passing of local production at GM and Ford the big Chrysler will be on a more equal footing with what ever its bigger opponents decide to import here in the future.

If you’re after a for a blindingly quick sports sedan with all the fruit you’d go a long way to beat the 300 SRT Core.

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MONEY MATTERS PAUL CLITHEROE PREPARING FOR VOLATILE TIMES

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ow does a 60-something financial planner hailing from Griffith claim success in one of the world’s toughest ocean races? The answer is with careful planning. It’s the same key ingredient for successful investing.

Let me explain. Last Boxing Day when most Australians were polishing off leftover ham and turkey, I was with the rest of the crew on board my yacht Balance as part of a 100-strong fleet contesting the Rolex Sydney-Hobart yacht race.

The conditions out on the water were incredibly volatile. A number of boats didn’t even make it out of Sydney Harbour, and the first night saw the entire fleet smashed by a solid southerly buster.

If you’ve never been out on the open water at night during a fierce storm, believe me, it can be truly frightening. The boat bangs

for less than 1 per cent.

There’s a wide selection of exchange traded funds (ETFs) listed on our Securities Exchange, which let you invest indirectly in specific asset classes, geographic regions or even individual countries. Better yet, the fees are tiny, in some cases as low as 0.05 per cent.

Another important way to manage volatility is by surrounding yourself with experts. It was a big contributing factor to the success of Balance in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart race.

Extensive practice and experience had made each crew member an expert on the boat, and when the pressure was on, that expertise really shone through.

A reputable financial adviser can work with you to chart a course for volatile times.

Having a tailored financial plan in place can provide a valuable focal point during periods of uncertainty, and help you stay on track to

history of debt defaults from their credit record. You may come across claims that these firms can ‘clean’, ‘fix’, or ‘wash away’ default listings. Others offer to negotiate with creditors and debt collectors.

The thing is, an investigation of the debt repair industry by the government’s money watchdog - ASIC, shows there are issues to be wary of.

ASIC found debt repair firms don’t always spell out their fees and costs clearly. This makes it difficult to assess what you’re getting for your money.

Consumers may face high pressure sales tactics and be asked to pay fees upfront. Most worrying, ASIC noted some debt repair firms had a poor understanding of the relevant law and the consequences of particular strategies.

In other words, you could find yourself worse off.

“Investors need to make their own preparations to navigate what could be a challenging period.” and crashes up and down waves. Everyone gets soaked and several of the crew copped a dose of sea sickness.

And yet, a few days later, we sailed into Hobart finishing 7th on line honours and winning the race overall on handicap.

Now I have to admit that in yachting, as in life, a fair degree of luck helped us along. But we would not have survived the exceptionally volatile conditions without considerable preparation.

The investment world is also dishing up volatile conditions this year and investors need to make their own preparations to navigate what could be a challenging period.

The most effective solution is diversification.

Regular readers will know I’ve been banging on about the merits of diversification for years. The good news is that it’s never been easier to achieve portfolio diversification ñ and at remarkably little cost.

If you’re happy to track index returns, fund managers like Vanguard can provide exposure to Australian and global equities

achieve your long term goals.

On a different note, but on a similar tack - as we enter turbulent times debt could be a drag on your ability to negotiate the potentially troubled waters ahead.

Over the last 30 years household debt in Australia has skyrocketed, and it’s seeing more people turn to ‘debt repair’ services.

According to a study by AMP/NATSEM, average household debt has soared from about $60,000 in the late 1980s to around $250,000 today.

For many people, a good chunk of household debt is taken up by their home loan. If you can manage the repayments, that’s not a problem - your home will grow in value as the debt is gradually paid off.

However high interest debts and regular bills can quickly mount up, and when that happens it can be tempting to grasp at what appears to be a quick fix solution. That’s exactly what debt repair firms can seem to provide.

These firms offer to help consumers facing financial hardship or who want to clear a

I realise there can be few things more stressful than overwhelming debt. But before turning to a debt repair firm there’s a lot you can do yourself at no cost at all. If you feel your credit record contains information that is wrong or out of date, contact credit reference agencies like Veda or Credit Savvy.

You have a right to challenge any incorrect details.

If you’re struggling to meet repayments, a range of financial counselling services and community legal services are available to help at little or no cost. Or, if you have a dispute with a lender, phone company or power provider contact one of the independent ombudsman services before you start handing over cash to a debt management firm.

Paul Clitheroe is a founding director of financial planning firm ipac, chairman of the Australian Government Financial Literacy Board and chief commentator for Money magazine. Visit www. paulsmoney.com.au for more information.

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