After 10 years’ service working as mobile traffic management vehicles for the national road surface treatment company Road Maintenance Services Ltd (RMS), two incumbent Isuzu 7.5 tonne rigids have recently been replaced within the company’s transport fleet by two brand new Isuzu 12t Euro VI Forward rigids.
Explaining the move up from 7.5t to 12t, RMS depot manager Chris Barlow said; “Over the past few years, we have seen significant changes in the legislation regarding the signage needed to be compliant for road surface treatment schemes. We now require much larger capacity vehicles to carry the increased amount of signage necessary to meet the current legislation. As a result, we chose to specify 12 tonne Isuzus for these replacement traffic management vehicles, based on the excellent performance of the Isuzu 7.5t predecessors.”
Both of the 12 tonners have been supplied by local Isuzu Truck dealer Warrington Vehicle Centre, long term suppliers of new vehicles and after sales support to RMS. Earlier this year and prior to going into service for RMS, one of the new Isuzu F120.240 4×2 rigids formed the centrepiece of the Isuzu Truck stand at the 2015 CV Show, when ITUK launched its brand-new Euro VI 12t range for the first time at this annual event held at the NEC.
“The two Isuzu 7.5tonners have been excellent performers within our fleet for such a long time now. Their proven reliability has also been complimented by the first-class service and support that we get from our local Isuzu dealer, as and when we need it. This made it a logical decision to replace them both with two new Isuzu 12 tonners,” commented Chris Barlow.
The two Isuzu F120.240 Euro VI 4×2 rigids have 4990mm wheelbases and feature multi-purpose, 4-section, Brit-Tipp bodies designed specifically for signage vehicle applications within the highways maintenance operation of RMS Ltd. With an overall body length of 7000mm and accommodating a high level of detail and features, these particular Isuzu 12t rigids have an impressive payload of 6350kgs.
Other features of the new Isuzu 12t range that appealed to RMS were the truck’s compact overall size and small cab dimensions, together with a low chassis height that offers great versatility. The Isuzu F120.240 chassis/cab provides excellent manoeuvrability and is also specified with Isuzu’s Easyshift semi-automated transmission as standard making them really easy to drive. With Isuzu’s Euro VI four-cylinder 5.2 litre diesel engine producing 240PS power and 765Nm torque, the truck’s power unit enables RMS to benefit from superb fuel economy and productivity.
RMS’s new 12 tonne rigids both work on national contracts, either directly for local authorities or for long term maintenance contractor providers. According to RMS, they anticipate that the vehicles will have an eight year working life. This is because the trucks will only be operating for six months of the year as the specialist road surface treatment work in which they are involved can only take place between April and August each year.
“The RMS specification of the 12 tonne Isuzus clearly demonstrates the flexibility and versatility of the Isuzu product range. Within this specification, the customer has been able to meet the operational requirements to cover the variations within its business needs, whilst retaining the prime benefits of payload, performance and long-term reliability – all of which are attributes long-associated with the Isuzu truck brand,” commented Keith Child, marketing director, Isuzu Truck UK.
The full range of Isuzu trucks can be viewed on the company’s website www.isuzutruck.co.uk
