DAF XF105s for Moorhouse
Long established Yorkshire operator Tom Moorhouse & Son Ltd has replaced a dozen DAF XF95’s with a baker’s dozen of its ‘Truck of the Year’ successor, the XF105.
The 13 XF105s were acquired on a five year contract hire deal through Hill Hire when a similar contract with them for the 95s came to an end. The supplying DAF dealer is Chatfields of Leeds and fleet sales manager Bob Bosco said that he is delighted to have supplied the trucks through Hill Hire to such a highly regarded operator.
Financial Director Mrs Josie Galloway, who runs the 123 year old company with her brother, Managing Director Chris Moorhouse, said that the good performance of the 95s, particularly on fuel, made the 105 a natural successor.
“The DAF 95s proved very reliable and were liked by our drivers,” she said. “With the new added features of the XF105 version they are even more satisfied and having satisfied drivers behind the wheel is very important to us as a company. If the drivers are happy it goes a long way to ensuring that the customers are happy.”
Mrs Galloway added that the company had also found the arrangement with Hill Hire to be very successful. “It has given us good visibility over our costs throughout the five year period, which helps with the financial management of the business. Hill Hire also take care of all the routine inspection and servicing issues in a way that ensures we have optimum availability of the trucks at all times.”
The new DAFs are mid-lift axle FTG models featuring the 12.9 litre DAF MX engine rated at 460 bhp (340 kW). This is 30 horsepower more than the 12.6 litre XE315C engine in the 95s, but the MX is more fuel efficient and Euro 5 compliant so should be cleaner too as well as delivering an element of ‘future proofing’ to meet the requirements of operating in the London LEZ or others that may follow.
Moorhouse has again opted for the AS-tronic automated transmission following good experience in the 95s. Chris Moorhouse says that this transmission has proved itself over the 500,000 kilometres that each of the 95s has covered,
“It’s contributed to good and consistent fuel economy, has proved trouble free and removed the issue of clutch changes and other related maintenance issues. I’m confident that automatics must also support safer driving, allowing the driver to concentrate on the road and traffic ahead without having to think about gear changing.”
The new trucks are Space Cab models featuring a full air management kit, large fuel tank and a sliding fifth wheel. The trucks were delivered to Hill Hire in white and have been fully vinyl wrapped in a more contemporary version of Moorhouse’s traditional red livery with white lining.
“We went for this fresh approach rather than conventional painting as a way of showing that whilst we are long-established, we’re a progressive company,” explains Josie Galloway. “It may also make it easier to revert back to a plain white colour at the end of the contract hire period without the need for a respray, which could help towards better residual values.”
Moorhouse will use the trucks on their general haulage operations throughout the UK covering around 100,000 kms a year. They’ll normally run with tri-axle curtainsider trailers carrying a range of products for blue-chip customers in the construction materials, foodstuffs and electrical industries.
“We have worked with Chatfields of Leeds and Tom Moorhouse & Son Ltd for a number of years,” explained Adam Fairbotham, Operations Director of Hill Hire. “It is a great achievement for us to win this repeat business with a company like Tom Moorhouse & Son. We feel that the combination of the high specification vehicles from DAF, coupled with our excellent service and maintenance offering provides the best all-round solution for our customers.”
