Toutes Directions has purchased a pair of 66-plate Mercedes-Benz Actros, an 1824 ClassicSpace 4x2 rigid and a 2545 StreamSpace 6x2 tractor unit.
The used trucks, which were supplied by City West Commercials in Bristol with a year’s MoT, have covered 56,000km and 65,000km respectively.
Explaining the decision to buy pre-owned, transport manager Tom Harrison, said: “In addition to specialist transport, we carry a fair amount of time-critical air freight. The vehicles assigned to this work can quickly rack up substantial mileages, and over five years we can easily put one million kilometres on them. So, we prefer to pick up a nearly new chassis, on which someone else has taken the initial hit.”
The new additions, which will be maintained in-house, have been painted in the Sheffield-based haulier’s distinctive blue and silver livery.
Toutes Directions has also placed an order for a new generation Actros, following a successful week-long trial of a demonstration vehicle. Although Oliver Harrison, Toutes’ garage manager, revealed that some of the drivers weren’t overly impressed with MirrorCam, it has still been specified on the new truck. He said: “They struggled to get their heads around all of the technology in the cab, and MirrorCam proved hard to use at night, as car LED headlamps would flash in the screens, proving a distraction.” But Oliver is confident that they will soon get used to the new technology, stating: “It’s a new thing on the market which we haven’t seen before, so it’s going to be a shock at first.”
