Operating nationwide carrying a mix of agricultural produce and aggregates, T&J’s high mileage, 44t artic tippers are often away the whole week, and therefore, issues of vehicle performance and reliability are right to the fore.
Owner Trevor Walker said: “What we want are trucks that are easy to drive, efficient to operate and economical to own. Tractors used on tipper work aren’t standard - spec vehicles, which therefore places great emphasis on the reliability their extra, specialised equipment.
Whilst all the basic operating issues of the Scanias are well proven, we‘ve become equally impressed with the performance of the Harsh wet kits. As such, they complement the tractors perfectly.”
For T&J, ease of installation is important as all their trucks are fitted out in the company’s workshop at its headquarters in Clitheroe.
“We fit all the hydraulics ourselves,” Walker added, “simply because we have highly experienced staff who know exactly what they are doing. We also like to be fully responsible for our own equipment. We just order everything we need from Harsh - there’s no delay in delivery, everything is straightforward and easy to fit, and we can get parts as and when we need them, all without difficulty. That’s the way we like to work.”
According to Harsh, overall productivity is further enhanced by keeping unladen weights as competitive as possible. Lightweight mid-lift axles, Dura-Bright aluminium wheels and the highly efficient Harsh wet kits all help to reduce the kilos. Running with plank - sided Wilcox aluminium trailers, payload capacity is typically a clear 29 tonnes.