When Palmer and Harvey rolled out its nationwide van sales food service last month (April 2013), under the P&H Direct banner, it did so on 50 Isuzu Forward N75.150 7.5t rigid vehicles.
The addition means Palmer and Harvey's national vehicle fleet now incorporates more than 110 Isuzu trucks covering a range of distribution applications, all at 7.5 tonnes gvw.
These latest Isuzus all feature the manufacturer's Easyshift transmission, while Hull-based bodybuilder Paneltex was chosen for all the bodywork.
Each truck has an extra-long Paneltex Ecofont S dry-freight body, which has an interior length of 6,100mm. Although designed for ambient products, there is provision for chilled products via a mobile refrigeration unit in each truck.
Mounted on castors, the container has a capacity of 500 litres and has been fitted with a top-mounted fridge that can be plugged into either 12 V dc or 240V ac supply.
There is a single, centre rear door with double-folding step, and the body also has a Penny Hydraulics Load Lift 250 platform at the rear for loading and unloading of roll cages and trolleys up to 300kgs.
According to Huw Davies, managing director at P&H Direct, these new Isuzu trucks will each have a working life of seven years covering approximately 20,000 miles per annum operating as sales vans working on a localised geographical area.
