Rigid and drawbar combination exceeds haulier’s expectations 07 June 2011

The first of two new Volvo FH 460 6x2 rigids has entered service with Devon-based haulier M R Horn Transport, which is using the truck with a tri-axle drawbar trailer at 44-tonnes gtw.

Managing director Martyn Horn says the Volvo Globetrotters – which join his fleet of Scania and DAF vehicles – have been engineered to provide maximum deck space for loads of hay and straw, and for transporting heavy farm machinery.

"These are the first Volvo trucks we have ever operated," he says, adding that the performance of the FH diesel is already "so much better than vehicles with EGR".
"I had always been against the idea of AdBlue. It just seemed like another unnecessary complication," comment Horn. "But the performance is noticeably better and now we are hoping for an improvement in fuel consumption compared to our other trucks too."

Horn says he was attracted by the quality of the Volvo truck and by the co-operation he received from the sales team at Truck and Bus Wales and West and at Volvo HQ in Warwick.

"The choice of options was overwhelming, as was the number of safety features on the Volvo," comments Horn. "The sales engineering team at Volvo Warwick spent hours with me to ensure that I got exactly the vehicle I needed. They even agreed to build my trucks with a non-standard wheelbase. That's the sort of thing that convinces potential buyers they have made the right choice."

Horn's new Volvo trucks are equipped with air suspension on all three axles, a feature that is put to good use when the trucks are required to enter or leave the fields in which they often work, or when entering tight farm entrances. And Volvo says the adjustable air system also ensures improved stability for the unusually high loads.
Meanwhile, power is provided by a 13-litre 460hp engine and the gearbox is the popular two-pedal automated Volvo I-Shift. "We had our first automatic box in 2004, another in 2006 and the third in 2008," enthuses Horn. "At the time, we thought that they were all OK, but the Volvo I-Shift is simply streets ahead of everything else. It is exceeding all our expectations."

The new trailers were supplied by Turners Commercials of Bruton in Somerset and M R Horn Transport built and installed its own bespoke bodywork.

Author
Brian Tinham

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