Winterfield's new Scania R730

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Owner/Driver  /  October 24, 2016

Winterfields Float Hire was so impressed with its new Scania R730 that Matt Winterfield has ordered another

Matt Winterfield has climbed in and out of second-hand Kenworths more times than most people have had hot dinners. So the Kenworth lover raised a few eyebrows when he traded in a 2004 Kenworth K104 for a new Scania R730.

His driver, Peter O’Dea, has been driving the Scania since July, and Winterfield spent a month in the truck recently while O’Dea was on annual leave.

They love the comfort, easy access, visibility, power, 12-speed Opticruise, safety features and retarder.

"The first one was going so well that the second one was just an automatic decision, really," says Winterfield who expects his second Scania R730 to arrive soon.

Winterfields Float Hire is based at Mount Gambier, South Australia.

The company’s two trucks use Drake steering widener low loaders with self-tracking rear axles to cart logging, earthmoving and farm machinery.

Most of the work is within a 300km radius of home but the trucks also travel as far as Adelaide, Melbourne and occasionally Queensland.

The business previously ran second-hand Kenworths. Increasing maintenance costs prompted the decision to buy a new truck.

"We looked at every single truck that was on the market and we test drove everything," Winterfield says.

"We had our little track picked out down here that we used to take every single truck on, so it was [comparing] apples to apples."

He says the Scania was "by far and away the best".

"We’ve gone for the full maintenance and repairs package, because that was the main reason why we’ve done what we’ve done."

Winterfield is a qualified diesel mechanic but now spends less time in the workshop thanks to Scania’s Maintenance and Repair Plan.

"All we’ve got to do is put fuel and tyres on the truck and put some grease in it," Winterfield says.

"We know exactly what our repairs and maintenance [costs] are going to be every 12 months."

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