A northern NSW council regularly covers large distances on some of Australia’s harshest roads in the comfort and safety of its Hino trucks.
Inverell Shire Council recently added two new heavy duty 700 Series trucks to its gravel re-sheeting fleet after enjoying many years of trouble-free service from its earlier model Hinos and current fleet of light duty Hino 300 and medium duty 500 Series trucks.
Inverell Shire Council Fleet Manager Greg Schuman said the decision to buy the two 700 Series trucks was an easy one, and they are proving to be a favourite with staff.
“All our drivers just love the Hinos – we started buying them many years ago, and when we get a good run out of something we like to stick with them,” Mr Schuman said.
“The Hinos are more reliable than anything else we’ve used and the prices are very favourable – that helps a lot.”
The Council’s Hino 300 Series trucks are used for carting rubbish and overburden from sites and the 500 and 700 Series trucks are used for carrying heavier loads of rock and gravel, with some fitted with road patching units on the back – taking up to a 13-tonne payload.
Mr Schuman said that the specification of the Hino trucks, including safety features such as ABS brakes and vehicle stability control as well as the fully adjustable ISRI 6860 Series driver’s seat, make for a car-like driving experience despite the harsh roads in the region.
“The Hinos are covering up to 1000 kilometres per day every day, five days a week, at an average of 100 kilometres per hour for over eight hours a day, fully loaded on some of the rougher roads you’d see in Australia,” he said.
“The braking and stability of the Hinos is very noticeable – I’d compare pulling up in one of our 13-tonne gravel-laden trucks to pulling up a car, it’s that good.”
The Eaton RTLO 18-speed manual transmission was specified on their 700 Series trucks as it suits its intended use.
“Our trucks do a lot of pit work, including a lot of hard climbing, which requires using the bottom gears and the manual transmission allows that,” he said.
Mr Schuman’s praise for Hino extends to the service on offer from their dealer, Tait Hino of Inverell, who took the time to find out the council’s vehicle needs.
“They asked us how we were going to use the truck, how much we needed to carry and they spec’d it up for us,” Mr Schuman said
“They were very good to deal with, and as a result we’ve got the right vehicles for the job.”
Inverell Shire Council is located in north-east New South Wales near the Queensland border and serves a district population of 18,000 people.