89
FUSO CANTER
Ryan’s normal ride is a Daf CF. Here he checks into the Canter’s tacho
strong, branch manager Kevin
Dudson tells us they try to keep
a one-driver, one-vehicle policy.
Although the 18-plate Canter
that came new last September is
allocated to driver Dan Betcon,
his presence was needed
elsewhere at the last moment.
Instead, Ryan Charlton
volunteered to jump into the
warm seat to take us for its run
round the northern part of the
Lakes. Ryan’s normally at the
helm of a 66-plate Daf CF
six-wheel crane wagon but, as
this motor was due for an
inspection at next-door Solway
Daf, his day would otherwise
have been spent helping out in
the huge warehouse. Ryan has
been with the company for about
17 years and has driven every
load-shifter used by the firm
during that time, so his views on
the latest addition to the fleet are
worth listening to.
There are to be five drops,
which includes everything from
bags of cement to some long
plastic edging. The Canter’s body
is only 13ft long but that’s not the
maximum length it can carry; a
stack of 20ft timbers is, with
practised ease, forklifted into
position, projecting over the cab.
Ryan adds a few straps to hold
things in place, and we like the
‘home-made’ timber protectors
placed round the insulation
board to avoid any damage.
One of the many pleasing
points of the Canter is the ease
of access to and from the cab.
This Fuso can accommodate
three with reasonable ease and
it’s also easy for Ryan to adjust
his seat, although a mite more
time is needed to check how this
motor’s tacho is operated.Five gears
We leave behind the bustle of
Penrith as we head west on the
scenic route through Greystoke
to our first drop at Motherby. The
Canter is quickly up to speed as
Ryan shifts up to top (5th) gear
of the manual gearbox.
“Our old Canter used to have
the six-speed Duonic automated
’box,” he says, “but of the two, I
much prefer this.”
Ryan isn’t familiar with our
first drop, but the presence of
builders’ vans and scaffolding is
a clue. The Canter can be driven
almost to this house’s back door
to ensure the handballing of the
delivery is over as short
a distance as possible.
Ryan admits that his Daf