“The fuel figures this new Volvo can potentially give us are exciting,” says owner Brian Easey. “Our drivers can be away for up to two weeks on long European journeys, so keeping the fuel costs down as much as possible is very important to us. We like to use top quality trucks and this one certainly looks like it will be a great addition to the fleet.”
Brian Easey Transport took this latest order after trialling two demonstration vehicles. Joining a mixed fleet of 23 trucks, the new Volvo is built on a 4,000 mm wheelbase and is expected to cover roughly 130,000kms a year. The Globetrotter cab is specified with a one bed living package, and includes a media pack with navigation and a Drive+ package for added comfort.
“The driver loves it,” says Easey. “This is a replacement for an older model from a rival manufacturer and to say he is pleased with his upgrade is an understatement. People usually get these turbo compound Volvos with a 460hp [454bhp] engine, but I like high-powered trucks and insisted to Alan that I wanted it as 500hp [493bhp] so that’s what he delivered. It’s a great looking bit of kit.”
The FH Lite with I-Save includes the Long Haul fuel package with an updated map-based I-See system – Volvo Trucks’ predictive cruise control – that analyses and adapts to gradients ahead and includes gear-shifting software optimised for long-distance applications. Its D13TC turbo-compound engine features pistons with a patented wave-shaped interior, improving combustion and increasing efficiency by guiding heat and energy to the centre of each cylinder. Excess energy in the exhaust gases are recovered to power the fly-wheel via an additional turbine in the exhaust flow, known as the turbo-compound unit. The combined efficiency gains of I-Save can generate fuel savings of up to 7% compared to a standard D13 Euro 6 Step D engine.
The new truck is covered by a Volvo Gold Contract repair and maintenance agreement and is expected to be in service for at least five years. The firm’s blue and white livery was added by Feenix Signs & Graphics and the tanker hydraulic wet kit was supplied by Harsh.
The FH Lite with I-Save was supplied by Alan Didwell, Transport Solutions Executive at Volvo Truck and Bus Centre East Anglia, and the company has also received driver training from the dealer’s Fuelwatch Manager, Jonathan Warby.
Founded in 2000, Brian Easey Transport specialises in a wide variety of UK bulk transport work that includes moving liquid and solid wastes, biofuels and aggregates using its high-spec trucks and a versatile trailer fleet that includes ADR tankers, walking floors, vacuum tanks and open top tippers.