De Bruyn adds Macks to fleet

[kscarbel2]

Prime Mover Magazine  /  September 28, 2017

Tasmania-based family business, De Bruyn Transport, has added five new Mack Granites to its 110 vehicle-strong fleet.

According to Mack, the new Granites are set up as pneumatic tankers, hauling stockfeed, cement and lime, across Tasmania.

According to Managing Director, John de Bruyn explains, tare weight is a major consideration when running tankers.

“Our loads are measured and paid for by the kilo, so every bit counts,” said De Bruyn.

"We have to set our tankers up to get the maximum gross mass on the vehicle.

“Normally with a bonneted truck it’s hard to get the turntable in the correct position. With the Front Underrun Protection System in place you can get 6.5 tonne on the steer axle, but to do that you need to move the turntable right forward. Some trucks don’t cope with that too well, but we can do this with the Granite and be confident that truck will handle the roads we have down here.”

Over the last few years, De Bruyn has been gradually replacing the trucks in the fleet with Macks, Volvos and UDs.

“Everything we’ve bought in the last few years has been one of those three brands through Websters," De Bruyn said.

"Each of the brands offers trucks that have a specific role to play in our fleet, but we do a lot of our own servicing, so commonality across the trucks is important.

“Obviously there are differences, but there are lots of similarities between Macks and Volvos now. From a parts and service perspective, and purely for familiarity, it’s a lot easier to have all our trucks from the same group. It also means we can deal with the same people and get a consistent level of support.”

.