When the group’s Tool Hire Division was looking for alternative vehicle specifications for certain delivery schedules, it was Isuzu Truck that came up with an innovative solution, using the Isuzu Forward N50.150 5.02 tonne 4×2 chassis cab, fitted with a purpose-designed aluminium beavertail body.
Andy Ray, group fleet manager at the Travis Perkins Group, explained: ‘Historically, we have run 3.5-tonne trucks on this operation, although we sometimes use 7.5 or 12-tonners at some of our larger centres. With the 3.5t trucks, we have to make four journeys to deliver and collect a digger and a dumper on a one-day hire. The larger trucks obviously make fewer journeys but they run and operate at considerably higher costs. The new 5.0 tonne Isuzu plugs the gap perfectly. It enables us to achieve a 2-tonne payload on the chassis cab with the ability to tow a trailer with another 2.8 tonnes of payload, effectively reducing the number of journeys we need to make by half. For many of our operations this specification is ideal because the Isuzu 5.0 tonner can undertake some of the jobs a 7.5 or 12-tonne truck can do, but at a fraction of the cost.’
As a result, the Group has taken delivery of 15 of the Isuzu 5-tonners in the past 12 months from its local Isuzu dealer, Westons Car & Commercials Ltd, as the Tool Hire Division increases the adoption of these trucks into its national fleet.
On average, the new 5.0 tonne Isuzus are covering 35,000km per annum, although the first one that was supplied has now broken the 90,000km milestone.
The Travis Perkins Group estimates that each 5.0 tonner will have a vehicle life of approximately eight years and the initial batch of 15 vehicles is working predominantly in the South West, where they are particularly well suited for the road networks of Devon and Cornwall.
