DAFs XF105s support ‘five a day’ campaign

The success of the ‘five a day’ campaign led by celebrity chefs, supermarkets chains and government health czars to promote healthy eating is keeping eight DAF XF105s now in service with vegetable suppliers Huntapac increasingly busy.

The company is using the mid-lift axle FTG XF105s to collect vegetables in bulk from farms throughout the UK. Once processed at its state-of-the-art packing plant at Tarleton in the heart of Lancashire, the produce is delivered direct to the Regional Distribution Centres of some of Britain’s leading supermarket chains.

For collection work the trucks run with aluminium Weightlifter tipping trailers and two of the DAFs have been fitted with wet kits to operate with these. For delivery, tri-axle refrigerated trailers are used, mainly Chereau. To cope with different kingpin positions the 105s have a Jost sliding fifth wheel.

Huntapac’s new 105s are being worked hard covering an average of 200,000 kilometres a year, some on double-shifting. To strike a balance between having plenty of power to maintain good journey times and achieving a high mpg, the company has opted for the 460 horsepower rating of the 12.9 litre DAF MX engine to the Euro 5 emissions standard. Although it’s early days, Huntapac is already seeing an improvement of 0.62 miles (1 km) per gallon from the DAFs over the trucks they replaced.

According to Transport Manager, John Bell, part of the improvement in fuel consumption is down to their decision to move to automatics for the first time. The 105s have the AS-tronic gearbox and this is removing the effect that driving style can have on fuel efficiency. “It’s also helping to increase the safety of our drivers,” says Mr Bell, “ as they can concentrate solely on road positioning and traffic hazards without having to consider gear changing.”

Lancashire DAF, Preston supplied the 105s under a three year contract hire arrangement funded by PACCAR Finance. This is a full package covering all repair and maintenance, which is carried out at the dealer’s premises at times to suit Huntapac’s operational needs. Although the deal is based on each truck covering 200,000 kilometres a year, all mileage is pooled so that there are no penalties for any truck that exceeds the contractual limit.

Huntapac also chose the DAFs because of the availability of good back-up through DAFAid and the UK dealer network. “Should we have a problem I know that response times will be good and the DAF fitters will always endeavour to get a truck fixed at the roadside,” says Mr Bell.

The company’s drivers spend an average of four nights a week in the DAF sleeper cab and are reported to be very pleased with the amount of space and level of comfort. Along with a fridge, there’s a radio/CD player, electric door locks with remote control, and ample storage space.

The 105s were built at Leyland, just five miles up the road from Huntapac’s head office. They came finished painted, leaving only the application of the company’s logos and lettering. A full-width external tinted sun visor and full air management kit complete the stylish appearance of the trucks.