Supplied by local Mercedes-Benz dealer Euro Commercials, the new Canters are 3C13 models specified with Comfort day cabs and the 3.0-litre 130bhp engines, delivering 300Nm of torque at low revs as well as start-stop.
The new Canters have been mounted with bodies by Dragon Fabrications, of Newport, and have locking cupboards behind the cabs, for storing power saws and equipment.
One, which at 2,500 mm has the shortest of the four available wheelbases, has a high-sided tipping body with ladder rack, while the other takes the 2,800mm wheelbase and has a dropside body.
TR33 runs a fleet of 16 vehicles, most 3.5-tonners – although only three are now Canters.
Founder David O’Brien says the original Canter has been very reliable. “She was involved in an accident early on but came back from that and has never let us down.
“Even now, we’ve only taken the Canter off active duty – it will still be useful as a spare and as a yard vehicle,” he continues.
“Unlike the majority of 3.5-tonners, the Canter is not a van but a proper little truck... The fact that it does not have a bonnet meant we were able to specify the bodies we needed yet restrict the overall length of the vehicles.”
O’Brien also praises the Canters’high towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes: “We’ll regularly tow trailers with push mowers, strimmers, blowers and sprayers, as well as chippers and stump grinders, so this is another very useful feature.”