TV and white goods supplier Hughes has taken delivery of a pair of 7.5-tonne DAFs, having first toyed with the idea of moving up in weight.
Commenting on the LF 180 box vans, Hughes’ distribution manager Andrew Tucker, said: “We need to maximise payload, because many of the individual units we move from warehouse to store are quite heavy. We could have looked at 12-tonne vehicles, but we have drivers who operate our 7.5-tonners based on grandfather rights to their licence, so that would have given us a new headache. Then, with many stores in quite restricted town centres, we needed trucks that could take the loads yet still be manoeuvrable in those urban environments.”
The trucks, which meet Hughes’ 2.5-tonne payload requirement, were supplied by Dawsongroup on contract hire for a fixed five-year term. The package includes full R&M including annual MoT, national roadside assistance/recovery, replacement vehicle for MoT and unexpected VOR situations, tyres and road tax.
The cabs are well spec’d, with two-pedal transmissions, air conditioning, air deflectors and side collars, while at the business end are DAFs own 20ft box bodies with tail lifts.
“At the end of it all,” said Tucker, “we wanted just two things, the right trucks and the right economics. I was very happy with the vehicle specs and our finance director was happy to give me the thumbs-up on the overall deal. It all makes sense. We have, in the past, tended to buy vehicles outright, so this is something of a departure for us. That said, with the right payload, quality trucks, livery already done, lots of extras and even a driver training package thrown in for good measure, it is something we would certainly look at again.”
