“This vehicle is a bit different from our usual tippers,” says Grange director Stuart Dodd. “Harsh now has a significant presence in Scotland, and we deemed it the right time to try its equipment out as part of a higher overall specification. The finished tipper is certainly impressive, particularly in terms of the wider range of work we can put it to.”
What Dodd is referring to is the ability of the new truck to easily handle every type of work that his company undertakes; these ranging from everyday aggregates jobs through to delivering lime to farms or ultra - heavy duty tasks such as tipping rock armour for sea defences.
“First and foremost, we want tippers offering the maximum possible versatility to cover the full spectrum of our duties,” says Stuart’s brother and operations manager Robbie, adding, “and, of course, without carrying unnecessary weight.”
The vehicle has been fitted with a Harsh HFT32 combined ram and tank front-end cylinder.
Complementing the Harsh tipping cylinder is another new introduction to Grange, this time a specially-built version of Thompsons’ Loadmaster Lite body featuring a super heavy - duty 6mm thick floor and 4mm sides. This particular body also features a dual-purpose rear door that can work either as a standard top-hinged tailgate or else in a barn door configuration to provide a completely open rear end that avoids any potential damage when tipping out large rocks or bulky loads.
Topping off the whole vehicle is the retractable front-to-rear ‘Slide n’ Cover’ sheeting system. With the sheet compressed behind the front bulkhead and the body open, loading is equally easy from either side of the vehicle. Additionally, there’s the further advantage of a minimal chance of incidental damage to the sheet from shovels.
When fully extended and the body covered, the ‘Slide n’ Cover’ sheet also offers complete weather protection.
“I’d have to say that this new vehicle takes our tipper fleet another step forward,” says Stuart Dodd.