New DAFs help keep the lights burning in Wigan

With 40,000 street lights and illuminated signs to maintain, the street lighting maintenance team at Wigan Council need all the help they can get.

Enter four new DAF-based maintenance trucks with hydraulic platforms and now the team is better equipped than ever to achieve its remarkable record of keeping over 99 per cent of the Council’s lights in working order at any one time.

The 7.5 tonne DAF LF45s have been specially designed for the job and act as both a base for the hydraulic platform and a mobile workshop and parts store. The Gardner Denver TDA145 hydraulic platform at the rear of the truck provides safe access to a working height of 14.5 metres high. Power is from a gearbox mounted PTO, which is also used to power the stabiliser legs mounted midway down the chassis.

If parts need to be replaced these are stored in the enclosed work area at the front end of the truck, where minor repairs can also be undertaken. This has large sliding doors and a full length translucent roof to provide good natural light in which to work or find parts. It’s fully racked and carries items such as transformers, bulbs and capacitors. Anti-slip flooring ensures safety, especially when working in wet weather.

The 4.3 metre wheelbase DAF’s are fitted with a two person passenger seat for situations where a full crew has to be carried. They were built just up the M6 at the Leyland Assembly Plant where they were finish-painted in Golden Yellow. From there they were despatched to Gardner Denver in Bradford for the platform and other related items to be fitted and for the body to be fitted.

John Derbyshire, Fleet Manager at Wigan Council, said that the DAF’s were chosen both because of their suitability for the role and to support standardisation across the fleet for vehicles in this weight range.

“We have a number of light and mid-weight DAFs in the fleet, including small tippers, road sweepers and grounds maintenance vehicles,” he says. “As we do our own servicing it makes sense to standardise as much as possible as this enables our fitters to become familiar with the product and it makes parts support easier. We are well supported by our local DAF dealers in terms of warranty work and any parts that we need.”