Moreton C Cullimore increases Scania content on tipper fleet

Moreton C Cullimore, the Gloucestershire tipper operator, has ordered a batch of trucks for delivery this year.

Seven Scanias have been purchased direct from Scania (GB); two have arrived, with the remaining five due within the next four months. These are 8x4 P370 XT 8x4 construction heavy-duty tippers. Long lead times at Cullimore’s traditional body supplier Thompsons means these come with Boweld single-skin heavy-duty bodies with air tailgates and Edbro CX15 tipping gear. Three more tippers are imminent, with 410hp, which will revert to the Thompsons Stonemaster X20 steel body with automatic hydraulic tailgate and Edbro CX15 gear. These trucks represent Cullimore’s first use of automated transmissions. All come with the normal day cab, which Scania described as a “compact sleeper cab for short trips”.

MD Moreton Cullimore, the third generation of the family firm, said: “The cab makes them look quirky but there is significant advantage inside the cab.”

Justifying the use of the slightly heavier and more expensive XT specification, Cullimore said: “A lot of our vehicles go off-road; our muck lorries are tipping in former quarries and are frequently up to their axles in mud, the XT gives that little more clearance and that much higher front bumper, which is angled away. “We also service a lot of pop-up sites and quarries that have the temporary wheel washes that can have steep inclines on the ramps and weighbridges, so again the higher bumper gives us that room. Previously we have found the modern front bumpers getting lower and these get knocked about a lot in the work we do.”

The remaining pair will be P360 6x4 mixers without XT spec, fitted with McPhee equipment, appropriate as Cullimore is now that brand’s regional agent.

The Scanias mark a significant reduction in the number of Sandbach products in the traditionally Foden fleet. Cullimore said: “We are trying to increase the fleet a little but will take a view when the vehicles arrive if we replace or add. We have some 2004 and 2005 Fodens that need a rest, and one in particular [56 plate] that I want to restore and keep for historical purposes as it was our last Foden and one of the last off the production line.”

The new arrivals will follow the Cullimore tradition of all vehicles and plant being named after Dickens characters. The two latest tippers are Sir Leicester Dedlock and Ernest Defarge. For the benefit of enthusiasts, Cullimore explained: “Sir Leicester Dedlock’s name came off a previous 51 plate Foden, which served us very well. He was the owner of the Chesney Wold and head of an influential family. He was only a baronet, but there is no mightier baronet then he. He comes from a long bloodline that is infinitely respectable and the world would be done up without the Dedlocks. So no more apt a name on our truck in my opinion.

“Ernest Defarge is a name we have not used in a long time. He was a Parisian wine shop keeper who served under Dr Manette after his release from the Bastille. Ernest and his wife took a prominent part in the revolution following their support of Manette. So we hope this truck is going to lead the way with the Cullimore revolution.”

• Tip-ex Tank-ex, taking place in Harrogate from 30 May - 1 June 2019 is the UK's must-attend event for operators in the dry bulk and liquid tanker sectors. You can register free on the website.