Truck & Driver UK – July 2019

SCANIA V8 CALENDAR TRUCKS

Truck & Driver July 2019^55

white stripes across the grille

struts and pinstriping on the

grille, bumper, cab sides and infill

panels between the wheels. The

cab front quarters and the bottom

of the doors bear a curly-wurly

flourish and the company’s 50

year logo takes pride of place

above the doors. There are alloy

wheels, naturally, and a

personalised plate.

Finishing the job off is vivid

orange signwriting on the sides

with a red drop shadow to

emphasise the letters and

numbers, the Burns name large

on the front of the Highline cab

and the truck’s own name –

‘Yankee Clipper’ – emblazoned in

orange beneath the Scania

badge on the grille.

All in all, the effect is dramatic;

ultra-clean lines simultaneously

defining the cab’s form and firm’s

identity in a dramatic, head-

turning truck.

The vehicle is one of three

Scanias in the firm’s fleet, the

others being a G410 eight-wheel

tipper and an R580 Topline from

Scania’s previous truck generation.

Edinburgh dealer

Plated at 44 tonnes, the new

R-series tractor unit has a 6x2

wheelplan and 580 horses under

the bonnet. It was supplied to

Burns by Scania’s Edinburgh

depot, which also looks after the

vehicle under Scania’s three-year

repair and maintenance package.

“The guys in Edinburgh service

it on their back shift, which is

great for us as it means the truck

is available to us during the day,”

says David Stewart.

Although its Highline cab

provides a massive living space,

most of Burns’ work is relatively

local. “We tend to run in and out

of local quarries and farms,

carrying aggregate and grain,”

says David. “We do go further,

and, of course, we’re

happy to run anywhere

• in fact, we’ve started

A go-ahead haulier

Not only does David W Burns run pretty trucks, it’s a pretty

impressive company too. A couple of years ago the firm

became the first small haulier in Scotland to achieve FORS

Silver accreditation, no mean feat and something for which

Sandra Stewart won the Scottish Fleet Manager of the Year

award at the annual Transport News Scottish Rewards event.

David W Burns himself won a Lifetime Achievement award at

the same event – which impresses us all the more, as on the day

we visited we found him out in the yard sweeping up leaves!

A workhorse, not a show truck: but the R580 is still good enough for Scania’s 2019 calendar!