Jack Cotterill Tree Services has made the switch from vans to light trucks with a trio of Fuso Canters.
Sourced via dealer Mertrux Truck & Van’s Derby outlet, all are 3.5-tonne 3C13 models with specialised arboricultural bodies – featuring large lockable toolboxes and high-sided tippers – by Brooks Engineering of Darley Dale.
Jack Cotterill explained the rationale for the new fleet: “We’d been running a pair of van-based vehicles and a 4×4 pickup but they had become unreliable, so I was looking to replace them with something better suited to our work. I already knew the Fuso Canter was a popular choice in our industry and when I came across some adverts on my phone I could see it was exactly what I was looking for.
“It has the rugged ladder-frame chassis I wanted and although I also considered another model, the Canter’s cab-forward design, which allows for a smaller overall footprint, was a clear advantage.”
Cotterill also highly rated the speedy and efficient service from Mertrux sales executive Tom Hall who quoted “a very competitive price without a prohibitively long lead time” and also handled all the liaison with the bodybuilder.
“The result is that we have trucks built exactly as we wanted them, with the benefit of cover from a dedicated national network of commercial vehicle specialists, and the price for vehicles of this quality is unbeatable.”
The three new vehicles all feature 3.0-litre turbo diesel engines producing 130hp and 350Nm of torque while meeting the EURO 6 – Step E emission standard.
“The trucks are every bit as well suited to our needs as I’d hoped,” added Cotterill. “They’re often loaded up to maximum payload, and pulling another 3.5 tonne on a trailer, but are never short of power. They’re super-manoeuvrable too, which makes life easier as the sites we have to work on often have tight access points. I’m delighted with the choice we made, and would not swap these trucks for anything.”
