Roger Dyson gives Fillongley artic a second life 05 July 2010

It worked for five years as a standard 6x2 Scania R420 tractor unit, but has now been transformed into a Commander heavy recovery truck for Fillongley Garage.

Specialist bodybuilder Roger Dyson did the conversion for the Coventry-based operator, which purchased the tractor from local Scania dealer Keltruck.

The unit was sent straight to Roger Dyson's Droitwich workshop and emerged 12 weeks later as a Dyson Commander CL500HP, with fully-liveried stainless steel bodywork, a 30,000lb H30 hydraulic winch and a Commander low-line underlift, capable of extending to 3.9 metres.

As well as lengthening the truck's wheelbase, Roger Dyson removed Scania's standard second axle and added a smaller Pioneer rear lift axle, to allow optimum lifting capacity, axle loadings and manoeuvrability. The engine's power rating was also upgraded from 420 to 480hp.

The new unit replaces a Dyson Commander that Dyson took back in part-exchange from Fillongley. "That truck gave us no trouble at all," recalls managing director Eric Hammond.

Fillongley Garage runs a fleet of 17 recovery vehicles, almost all of which were supplied by Roger Dyson. They range from Enforcer two-wheel lifts and Hydraloader slidebeds to an NRC 9430 sliding and rotating heavy recovery unit.

"When you buy a vehicle from Roger Dyson you just know it's going to be right," comments Hammond. "He spends a lot of time working out the details, such as the way the lockers are designed and installed. This may sound quite trivial, but it can make the lives of our recovery technicians a great deal easier when they're out on a live job. "

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Roger Dyson Ltd
Scania (Great Britain) Ltd

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