FH16 750 IN NEW ZEALAND
(^64) Summer 2019 Truck & Driver
and kangaroos to contend
with, but the biggest
thing Damien has hit is a
bird – and it wasn’t a kiwi.
There are a lot of sheep
though; in fact, they seem to be
everywhere we look. Apparently,
New Zealand has 30 million of
them. That’s 20m more than
Wales, and works out at one for
every seven humans. And, on the
subject of Wales, the view through
the windscreen reminds us of
Snowdonia, only without the rain.
Twisty blacktop
Around every corner there’s
another picture postcard view,
but we can’t enjoy the scenery as
much as we would like as we’re
concentrating hard on the narrow
and incredibly twisty blacktop
that’s stretched out ahead of us.
But one thing we don’t have
to worry about is the trailer,
which we’re pleased to see is
tracking us perfectly. It cuts in a
bit on really tight bends but
generally behaves impeccably. In
New Zealand it’s referred to as a
‘dog trailer’ because it’s so
obedient and goes exactly where
you lead it. HPMVs are permitted
only on set routes, so much so
that in the event of a road closure,
trucks are parked up until the
New Zealand Transport Agency
gives permission for a deviation.
While tackling these
challenging single-carriageway
roads with such ease, we start to
wonder whether this sort of
combination would work on set
routes in the UK, in particular
motorways. Now there’s a thought.
In Europe we tunnel under
mountains but in New Zealand
they build roads over them.
Consequently we’re really
making those 750 horses work
for a living. We’ve driven
numerous FH16s in the UK but
only ever at 40 or 44 tonnes. It’s
a pleasure to experience what
the truck was actually designed
for. At home it’s rare for one of
these to downshift on a hill; here,
the I-Shift ’box is dropping several
gears on the steepest inclines.
We’re finding the truck to be
not overly responsive, with more
turbo lag than we expect. And
then it occurs to us why. The
Euro 5 model had a single
turbocharger, and these days
we’re used to driving the Euro 6
version with its twin turbos.
There are one million people
living on New Zealand’s South
Island, and most of them appear
to be queueing behind us, mainly
driving Ford Ranger pickups and
Chinese-built LDV Maxus vans.
Every so often we see a sign
advising slow-moving trucks to
be courteous to other road users,
and pull over in order to let
impatient traffic pass. That’s all
very well, but the few laybys large
enough to accommodate a 23m
truck seem to be full of tourists
pointing cameras at sheep.
Although he’s relaxing in the
passenger seat, Damien still
regularly reaches for the CB
radio. He explains that CBs are
vital in this part of the world. In
addition to warning other truck
drivers about potential hazards
- such as approaching wide
loads, for example – striking up a
conversation is a great way of
fighting fatigue.
For a truck to survive in New
Zealand, it has to be tough. The
hills and additional weight take
their toll, and by the time the
average truck has clocked up
1.2 million kilometres, it’s
definitely ready to be retired.
This is one of the few markets
in the world where European,
North American and Japanese
trucks rival each other – another
being Australia. There are close
to 20 marques competing here,
including three from the Volvo
Group - Volvo, Mack and UD; all
four from Daimler - Mercedes-
Benz, Freightliner, Western Star
and Fuso; Paccar’s Daf and
Kenworth brands; Scania and
MAN of the TRATON Group,
owned by Volkswagen; market-
leader Isuzu; Iveco; and even
Dennis Eagle. The Chinese are
also attempting to compete with
the Sinotruk brand.
Busy on the hills
Between the towns of Cromwell in
Central Otago and Omarama in
North Otago is the Lindis Pass. It
lies between the valleys of the
Lindis and Ahuriri rivers and, with
an elevation of 971m, is the
highest point on the South
Island’s state highway network.
Needless to say, the scenery is
amazing but we’re too busy
tackling the hills to admire it.
Knowing what’s up ahead,
Damien tells us to switch to
manual mode, choose an
appropriate gear and stay in it.
“Otherwise you run the risk of the
gearbox fighting with itself,
selecting too low a gear and
dying,” he says. “Pick a sensible
gear and let it climb steadily.”
Our ‘sensible’ choice is ninth,
which seems appropriate for