Supplied by Thomas Hardie Commercials, the 6x2 medium height chassis was specified with a 6.1m wheelbase and a hydraulically-steered, single tyre tag axle.
Rear air suspension, along with a bogie load distribution of 11.5 tonnes on the drive axle and 7.5 tonnes on the tag axle, will cater for Hollingsworth’s plant movements up to 13 tonnes.
Powered by a Volvo DK engine rated at 316bhp, the FE also features a 12-speed, I-Shift automated transmission system feeding a drive axle with a ratio of 3.36:1.
A Day cab sits in front of a factory-fitted vertical exhaust stack and the Sterling Cheesewedge plant transporter body, complete with a comprehensive fall arrest system.
“We have operated around five Volvo Trucks in the last ten years or so, and our FMX eight-wheeled tipper has clocked up three years of reliable service,” says Paul Hollingsworth, director.
The driver’s previous vehicle was an 11-tonne rigid, but driver training from both the dealer and bodybuilder “has made a big difference”, adds Hollingsworth.