Cumbria-based Thomas Armstrong Group has taken delivery of the first DAF XDC tipper fitted with a steel loadmaster tipper body from Thompsons.
Transport director, Ian Morrison, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to take delivery of this very first vehicle. We’ve been big fans of both Thompsons and DAF products for many years now. Whilst this has been a vehicle combination that has worked really well for us in the past, we nonetheless expect the new truck to deliver a step change in performance, economy and overall productivity.
“The original loadmaster was almost indestructible, and there was nothing it couldn’t carry but today we find that the latest lite version offers all the strength and durability we need for the loads we carry, yet also being much more productive by offering a significantly higher carrying capacity. The latest DAF chassis and its Thompsons body complement each other perfectly. Both are totally modern, up to the minute designs. Together, they make our XDC the best tipper out there.”
The lite version is single skinned and offers up to 1-tonne extra payload. Thomas Armstrong also specified a lightweight Binotto front end tipping gear, front to rear cantilever sheeting system, on-board four point weighing and galvanised steel wings, side and rear under protection. The truck has an unladen weight of 12.5-tonnes and a payload of 19.5-tonnes.
James Sanderson, sales development manager at Thompsons said: “The full loadmaster specification, which Thomas Armstrong previously operated, features double skinned side panels to provide ultimate strength and durability when carrying things such as rock armour boulders and materials from site work and demolition. Today though, thanks largely to ever greater material quality in the steel we use, the lite version with single skin side panels provides more than enough strength for everyday tipper work such as carrying stone, aggregates and building products.
“Yet whereas loadmaster lite’s steel bodysides might usually be built in 4mm thick Hardox panels, in this instance we went for the very latest and even more abrasion - resistant Hardox 500tuf material which allowed us to reduce side panel thickness to 3.5mm, thereby offering a further weight saving. As these panels don’t actually carry the weight of the load, there’s no real issue here about panel strength. In a tipper body it’s the floor that takes the real punishment, and here we have used industry - standard Hardox 450 in a 5mm thickness to provide years of trouble - free service.”
