Far more than six new Scania/Thompsons 8x4 tippers specified with Thompsons curved floor steel Multimaster bodies, which were recently delivered to the Alnwick, Northumberland-based company.
KW Purvis has been running Thompson-bodied Scania tippers for years, and selected a top-spec, all-steel Loadmaster for its refurbished Scania T-cab.
“Our T-Cab tipper is special, not only because it’s a very rare truck in the UK, but also because we’ve had it from new,” explains company owner David Purvis.
“It’s already earned its keep through a 16-year working life, but I really want to keep it going for many more years to come,” he continues.
“As well as being a really rugged and reliable vehicle, it’s also a key part of our company heritage. And being a highly individual truck, it also creates lots of recognition.”
All chassis and cab work was undertaken by truck restoration specialist Ian Bone & Sons, of Carlisle. Adding the Loadmaster tipper body means the T-Cab’s future life is now almost indefinite, according to Purvis.
“This has been a unique project for us,” comments Thompsons sales manager Ian Chaplin, who oversaw bodybuilding at the firm’s Blackburn factory.
“We always appreciate the opportunity to do something a bit special, and this truck certainly is,” he continues.
“The body is [different to] standard Loadmasters too, not only because it’s much shorter, but by also because it has a dual-purpose automated tailgate, which can operate either as a conventional top-hinged design or as barn doors for demolition work.”
As for KW Purvis’s latest Scania tippers, these were all specified with the trucks’ larger G-cab and the 450bhp engine. They have been fitted with auto tailgates, electric sheeting, underfloor tipping gear and alloy wheels. They tare off at 13,100kgs.