Supplied by Mercedes-Benz dealer Bell Truck and Van, the Middlesborough-based operator’s new additions are all 3.5-tonne 3C13s with Comfort day cabs. They are powered by 130bhp, 3.0-litre engines, producing 300 Nm of torque at low revs.
Half of Greencroft’s Canters have 3,400mm wheelbases and platform bodies by Robinson Truck Bodyworks, of Gateshead, on to which are fitted single-temperature refrigerated box bodies built by the operator itself. The vehicles have roller shutter doors on both sides and deliver milk and other dairy products to stores, bakeries, caterers and nursing homes.
The rest of its Canters have short, 2,500mm wheelbases and RTB dropside bodies, and are rented out to franchised, self-employed milkmen.
All vehicles are equipped with the Idle Start/Stop function and engine brake as standard. Other features include a dashboard-mounted gearstick for easy cross-cab access and a safety package which includes ABS anti-lock brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, the ESP anti-skid system and a RISE (Realised Impact Safety Evolution) safety cell.
Greencroft had to replace its fleet when its previous supplier decided not to build Euro 6 versions of the model in use.
“We quickly settled on the Canter,” says Greencroft’s managing director Mick Doyle. “It’s a proper little truck and definitely more substantial than the vehicles we were using previously – yet it’s also compact and manoeuvrable enough for operation on residential estates, where our milkmen make many of their deliveries.”
Another deciding factor, he says, was the Fuso Canter’s links with Mercedes-Benz. “This gave us the confidence to place our first order with Bell Truck and Van, and we haven’t looked back since.”