A growing number of refrigerated vehicle operators are turning their backs on 7.5-tonners in order to avoid driver shortages and digital tachographs, according to Wiltshire bodybuilder Trumac.
MD Jarvis MacDonald tells Motor Transport that while 20% of those moving away from 7.5-tonners "are doing the job properly," and opting for 12- or 13-tonners, the other 80% are buying 3.5-tonne chassis cabs.
He says this wouldn't be a problem if they were replacing every truck with two vans,
but apparently some are simply trying to do the same job with just one van. As a result he estimates that a number of them must be running about 500kg over weight, and believes the issue will only get worse in the next couple of years.
Coupled to this is the fact that vans are getting heavier anyway. MacDonald cites the latest Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Volkswagen Crafter and Iveco Daily as prime examples. He says the new Sprinter is heavier than its predecessor, and that he believes that Mercedes-Benz is losing market share in this sector as a result.
Trumac always aims to produce 3.5-tonners with payloads of well over 1,000kg, but MacDonald says this is getting increasingly difficult. "We are having to reduce the weight of our bodies to compensate," he says.
Currently the most productive from a weight point of view is the Ford Transit, which can carry 1,150kg.
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