FUSO CANTER
(^90) Summer 2019 Truck & Driver
CF six-wheeler is far too
big to get through such a
gate and up the narrow
drive. “It would have been quickly
craned off,” he says, “but I would
have been forced to leave the
drop on the roadside.”
Many hands make light work
of unloading the material,
complemented by the usual
banter. It’s no surprise Ryan
knows the two guys as he’s been
delivering to the Penrith area for
over 16 years. It was back in
2002 that James Lund and Gary
Dudson joined forces to launch
Penrith Building Supplies on
what had been an old garage
forecourt on the town’s Scotland
Road, the two Penrith founders
selling out to Huws Gray in April
- “When I started,” says
Ryan, “there were only four
others on the payroll and I’m
sure all we had was a small
Transit pickup for deliveries.”
A second-hand crane wagon
eventually arrived (with its driver)
and Ryan says the company put
him through the HGV six-wheel
rigid (Class 2) test to eventually
drive the heavies.Time out
“I have had a mix of motors,
including Scania, Volvo and
Foden. And while all came to me
second-hand, we’ve also always
had smaller 3.5-tonners and7.5-tonners to ensure we can
always deliver to places like this- it’s been part of the service.”
As we join the A66 and head
west towards Keswick, the
distinctive mass of Blencathra
comes into view, our next drop
being a farm/holiday cottage
complex on the side of this hill.
The Canter shows off its great
steering lock as Ryan contorts it
backwards to where the 35 bags
of cement are to be stored. I
Diminutive size of the Fuso is ideal for negotiating residential locations