Sea the Stars? Well you would if you were a driver for Brian Yeardley Continental as the Featherstone, West Yorkshire-based international logistics operator has just bought six Volvo FH-480 Euro 5 low-height tractors in order to run with a fleet of brand new Krone 'mega' trailers hauling ADR freight, white goods and chemicals on Yeardley's full load and groupage service to and from the Continent. And here's one of them...
You know I've never quite worked out why more domestic operators aren't interested in low chassis height tractors. Yes the Continental boys need them for the 4.0m height limit - but there are other advantages to having a lower chassis height too, not least in terms of better aerodynamics as there's less air to swirl around undeneath the truck and hit fuel economy. I remember that Volvo always used to punt up low height FH tractors for the TRUCK TransEuro Test. So what's stopping their use in the UK? Speed humps? Coupling problems? Price? You tell me. Perhaps JC can give us a learned dissertation on the pros and cons! Meanwhile, click through here for more...
The left-hand drive 4x2 artics were supplied by Crossroads Truck and Bus and are all on 48-month Volvo Contract Maintenance contracts with the Dealer's depot at Normanton.
Scheduled maintenance is carried out at weekends and Brian Yeardley tells BLB: "They are prepared to work with you," citing a combination of reliability and competitive pricing as further incentives to do the deal with Volvo. Reliability in particular is of paramount importance to the company he says: "International transport is a highly competitive sector and we need to guarantee the highest levels of service and reliability to our customers and European partner companies."
Most of the new Volvo's are fleet replacements with a couple of additional trucks, says BY: "We decided to bite the bullet and update the fleet with Euro-5 compliant trucks before it's required this autumn. Operating Euro-5 early also helps with the Maut tolls and when transiting Switzerland."
Specification of the new FH's includes I-Shift automated gearboxes and Globetrotter cabs with single, rather than double bunks, fridges and climate control. "We talked to the drivers," says Brian, "and they preferred single bunks and additional storage."
Sensible blokes!
HI Brian,I think the uk general operator does not a)know the benefits of low height trucks and trailers b) second hand value would be less(unless everbody was using them).I think Royal Mail should have looked at this with there 16'2" saftey concept trailers,they could still have the same interal height but with an 850cm chassis height bringing the over all height of(4.5 metres) 15'0" which is over a foot shorter meaning less fuel consumption and less risk of bridge bashing.But they never ask the staff about good ideas do they.Paul
Hi Brian, They used the exclusive characters of Mercedes-Benz in the words "sea the stars". A job for the MB lawyer!