Recently in Truck mixers Category

Now here's a smart looking motor---but then Biglorryblog is used to seeing well-turned-out mixers from Cambridgeshire-based Spanners Mixer Hire and this one, liveried in Bardon's colours is clearly not exception. Spanners is also a big fan of BIG cab R-series eight-legger mixers and it does look impressive. However, the reason for blogging on this truck is that since fitting the Monityre tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to one of its mixers Spanners is more than happy with its performance.

SMH's Peter Spooncer tells Bigloryblog: "Monityre is certainly an impressive piece of kit and will ensure that we run the truck at the correct tyre pressures at all times. The system has great potential, fits neatly into the dashboard of the cab, and is working well so far. Safe Europe's Monityre system has been fitted to the above R420 8x4 equipped with an 8cum Liebherr mixer body, working on a long-term contract with Bardon Aggregates. Now click through here for more...

Yes it's one of theose clever extending concrete conveyors....Meanwhile, Biglorryblog never fails to be pleasantly surprised (and humbled) by how helpful people can be whenever I call them out of the blue as part of the 'day job'. Take Fahey's Concrete for example.

Last June it took delivery of this Daf CF 8x4 mixer with a French-made THEAM TDL 16.5m reach double telescopic conveyor. And I was sent a press release (without pictures of the actual truck) and it's been kicking around my in-box since then as I've been loathe to delete it on the grounds that sooner or later it might come in use.

Well it happened that needed a story in a hurry to fill a couple of extra pages on Commercial Motor  so I thought I'd do something on it. But first I had to check out a few things with Fahey's and having got their telephone number on the internet I called them up in Cornwall. Now they don't know me from Adam and have no reason to tell me anything (especially when they're running a busy concrete business) but sales office supervisor Barry Schofield couldn't do enough for me explaining all about their new bit of kit and how it's panned out and answering all my questions.

"Although we already had four 10m conveyors people always wanted us to get further," Barry tells me. The 16.5m conveyor was part of a £150,000 package that included the Daf CF85 chassis and mixer barrel which typically holds around 6.5cum of concrete. And according to Barry: "It has done extremely well. It's proving to be very popular although at first it took a bit of pushing. But once people see it in action they want it. It's used a lot on strip foundations--it can stand at the end of a site and reach pretty much everywhere, it's got a good reach. It's radio controlled, so the operator can be right at the discharge to see what's happening."

Now click through here for a couple more shots...

Not, as you might think, the result of a dodgy sat-nav sending this poor mixer driver down a one-way country lane in Dartmoor....but the latest Volvo FL 16-tonne mini-mixer with a 3.5cum barrel on the back delivering for ML Johnson (Haulage), which as St. Ives Mini-Mix, based near St. Ives in West Cornwall has been delivering concrete to hard-to-access domestic locations since 1992. And according to company owner Mark Johnson: "The FL has a short wheel-base chassis which gives increased manoeuvrability. It's ideal for getting into awkward access areas such as driveways and around farm buildings. With its narrow cab and track, the FL is ideally suited to the roads in Cornwall with their traditional high hedges and banks." As you can see above. And not just in the country--here's a shot of it going for a tight gap in town too.

Mark tells me he's also very happy with the FL's payload. "It has a genuine 3.5 cubic metres with 700 kgs of tolerance, even with a full tank of fuel, driver and full water tank, which is fantastic for a 16-tonner. You can't even get this sort of payload with some 18-tonners! Simon Thomas Engineering supplied and fitted the 3.5 m³ mixer unit to the Volvo chassis and everything fits perfectly." It would need to on those roads...now click through here for an even tighter squeeze in St Ives...