Summer 2019 TRUCKING 47The two competing trucks
weigh virtually the sameNew Gen Scania
cab is the best in
the business
Edward Thorny is the current
transport manager at the Coates depot
and is responsible for the vehicle
purchases. The company fleet renewal
and size change policies are pretty
organic, but over the next five years, he
says: “We will be looking to increase our
fleet with more tucks and update some
of our older trucks.
“The work is pretty varied. We will
travel anywhere if it pays right; we move
a wide range of products such as
aggregates, coal, scrap, top soil, sugar
beet, but we’ll also move animal feed,
combinable crops, stock feed, ash and
recycled products. However, we don’t
do general haulage.” Moving plant is
another part of the Thory portfolio.
Currently the Scania is delivering
about 7.8 mpg while the DAF is slightly
behind, typically posting figures of
about 7.2 mpg. That is not a bad
result for the work the company
does, some of which is off-road and
a lot of it is away from dual-
carriageways and motorways.
The Scania also wins on weight, but
only just, tipping the scales at 8600 kg
unladen. The DAF is a shade heavier at
8640 kg, so in that respect there’s
nothing to really separate them. As
mentioned, though, Thory does have
some of the lighter CF FTP DAFs
which can be a shade under 8000 kg if
spec’d right.
Overall, both the Scania and the DAF
offer a 28,700 kg payload which is very
good in this line of work, although that
does obviously depend on what trailer
and weighbridge is being used.
Ed says it’s “too early to say what the
dealer [TruckEast at Ely] back-up is like
for the Scania”, and says DAF dealer
Ford & Slater “is like most dealers; it has
its ups and downs.”
He adds: “The Scania has the better
build quality, that is true – but you have
to pay for it. We plan to keep each truck
as long as possible, at least five
years-plus, until they start giving us
issues. We buy all of our trucks outright.
“We don’t only buy new; if the work
is about and we need some trucks, we
will get what’s needed – and that
means dipping into the second-hand
market from time to time.”
It’s too early for Ed to say whether
he prefers the Scania or the DAF, and
the company’s future purchases will be
a case of waiting “to see what the price
is at the time!” Workload and truck
price will dictate what models are
bought, and when.Operator ’s
verdict:
Edward Thory