Nuneaton haulage, muck-away, recycling and aggregates operator, KSD, has ordered ten new DAF CF 410 FAD 8x4 tippers in case of a no-deal Brexit scenario which, it claimed, could see prices of new models increase by 20%.
The new units feature twin-steer front axles with half fitted with Boweld’s Steel Taperlite HD bodies operating with Edbro tipping gear, while the remaining will run with Marshall’s Hardox steel bodies. All come with DAF Warranty Plus which includes two-year vehicle warranty and a third year for driveline cover.
Glenn Waterfield, fleet manager at the firm, said that DAFs are “excellent trucks, and we can’t say we haven’t tried other marques back in the day, but we just keep coming back to DAF”.
KSD has, within its 55-strong fleet, 15 MAN TGS tippers that were purchased back in 2015. However, Waterfield stated that the backup the company received was poor, so they decided to go back to the Dutch manufacturer.
Working in and around the centre of Birmingham, KSD also required vehicles that meet the Clean Air Zone requirements introduced at the end of 2018. With some DAFs having operated with it for over 12 years, they needed to be replaced with Euro-6 compliant trucks.
While awaiting the arrival of the new units, 15 DAF tippers from 2006 were put up for sale, 14 of which “sold straight away”.
The drivers, Waterfield stated, are “very enthusiastic and it shows in the very good fuel and overall performance we get so consistently. We believe we are giving them the best trucks for the job, but after that those things are all down to the drivers using the capabilities of those trucks to the best of their abilities.”
He claimed that on average, the new CFs achieve 8.5mpg when compared to the previous generation’s 7.5mpg, so over the course of a year, “the savings do add up”.
Maintenance carried out on the DAFs takes place in-house courtesy of three technicians, a tyre-fitter and two apprentices. But they work in conjunction with sales backup provided by the local dealer in Leicester, Ford & Slater.
“We’ve known Ford & Slater for many years, in fact I worked for them myself a long time ago, so we have a very solid relationship and get all the back-up help we need, as and when we need it,” Waterfield explained.
“Our own technicians are very good, but they rely on the dealer for parts and advice, and we often see the parts van here three or four times a day when we’re really busy.”
