News

Brian Yeardley Continental chooses DAF XF105s for fuel economy

Tractor Units
Based on fuel returns from a pair of DAF XF105 heavy trucks that went into service last year, Yorkshire operator Brian Yeardley Continental has now purchased another three.
As a result, the company says it is expecting to cut its annual fuel bill by as much as £50,000. Brian Yeardley is running its DAF tractor units with low-ride Mega trailers out of its Featherstone headquarters and Ashford depot on long-distance work across Europe. A four month exercise, in which fuel performance of the two DAF tractor units bought last year was compared with the best performing equivalent competitor vehicles in Brian Yeardley's fleet, showed an average for the DAFs of 9.8 mpg compared with 8.66 mpg from the two other trucks. With each truck covering an annual mileage of around 130,000, this additional 1.14 mpg should deliver a saving of around £10,000 per year, per truck. Further savings come from specifying both a 400 litre and an 800 litre fuel tank on the trucks, according to Brian Yeardley managing director Kevin Hopper. He explains that this allows them to take advantage of the best fuel prices and discounts in the countries through which they run and where they have arrangements for bunkering. All five DAFs are the two-axle FT variants with two of the newest being left hand drive. All are powered by the 12.9 litre MX engine, rated at 510bhp at between 1,500 and 1,900 rpm (and 2,500Nm torque from 1,000 to 1,400 rpm), and matched to the 12-speed AS-tronic automated gearbox. The trucks are equipped to enable automatic generation of toll charges under the German LKW-Maut system. And, as the MX engine is both Euro 5 compliant and meets EEV standards, this should ensure that toll charges are at the lower end of the scale. Brian Yeardley Continental also went for top of the range cabs, recognising that its drivers are typically away from base for up to a month at a time. "This is another reason for choosing the XF105," states Hopper. "The large amount of internal space that the DAF Super Space cab offers means that even the tallest of our drivers can move about easily, get changed without stooping or having to sit down, and can enjoy a good night's sleep," he explains. "Being able to provide a premium cab like this can be very helpful to us in recruiting and retaining good drivers," he adds. Other specialist kit includes DAF's lane departure warning system, reverse warning bleeper and side camera system. "DAF trucks are real value-for-money products, offering us great customer service, reliability, safety and economy and at the same time keeping us as 'green' as we can be," states Hopper.

Related content