SCANIA V8 CALENDAR TRUCKS
(^56) July 2019 Truck & Driver
David Stewart, one of the three directors of this well-established family firm
And one more thing...
Do you drive over the Queensferry Crossing, the latest bridge
across the Firth of Forth? Well, next time you’re there, tip your
hat to David W Burns – the company carried a substantial
quantity of the aggregate used on that bridge over the course
of the massive five-year construction project.
Photo: John, Wikimedia Commons
doing that over the past
year – but historically it’s
true to say that we’ve
mostly operated locally.”
Why the V8?
So why go for a V8? “I have to be
honest, Scania first came our way
by chance,” says David. “We had
won a contract and needed a
truck quickly to haul a trailer we
were buying to do the job. No one
could help, so I phoned Scania
and its sales guy, Paul Smith,
found me the R580 Topline.
“It was about 9.30 on the
Friday night when Paul called me
to say he’d secured it, but it was
in Milton Keynes. I said let’s go
for it, and by Tuesday they’d got it
to their Edinburgh depot, where it
went straight into the paint shop.
They also fitted a wet kit, and it
started work the following week
- impressive, eh?
“Most of all, our V8s have the
ability to deliver,” adds David
Stewart. “Reliability, durability
and driveability are all key for us
and, of course, there are always
people looking to buy a good
used Scania V8. I also like the
leather seats and the swivelling
passenger seat Scania has
added in the new generation,
that’s a great touch.Load it up
“But, more than anything, the
Scania V8 is happiest when it’s
loaded heavily. There’s so much
power and torque, it’s as good if
not better than any other truck on
the road. Today’s congestion
means you’re forever slowing
down then speeding up again –
and the way this vehicle
accelerates, you won’t find
anything out there to beat its
journey times!”