GEM Contracts already had a Thompson-bodied vehicle in its fleet, which has been “absolutely fault free”, says Gary Morgan, director. So, when the time came to add more trucks with more versatility to the fleet, he approached Thompsons Edinburgh for a bodywork solution.
Thompsons designed and built two bodies for the pair of sleeper-cabbed G500 Scania 8x4 chassis, which use both alloy and steel.
The Tarmac-liveried trucks feature a 3.2mm-thick steel Hardox floor liner for added durability. Although this adds weight, the trucks have been specified with alloy wheels and a lightweight Edbro CX15 front-end cylinder. The trucks have an unladen weight of 12,400 kg, enabling a carrying capacity of over 19.5 tonnes.
“Now equally suited to carrying tar, aggregates and heavier stone products, these new Thompsons bodies significantly extend the range of what our trucks can do,” says Morgan.
“What’s ultimately important to us is a tipper’s whole-life cost. This latest body spec promises an increased capacity for work over a pure alloy design, but without the risk of extra maintenance costs or unplanned downtime.
“Residual values are important, too, so we are now investing in trucks that should give us the maximum possible return when we come to sell them.”
GEM has already ordered a fifth body from Thompsons for its next new vehicle, due for delivery in September.