Ask Chris Tuck, driver for Stoitses’ Transport in Albury
what he thinks of the latest DAF 85CF he uses to collect and
distribute milk through the high country of NSW and you’ll
get an earful.
“They outperform, outdrive, outsteer and outbrake anything
else I’ve driven,” said Chris. “And that comes
from a driver that was dedicated to American products,” he
added.
It’s a well known theory in transport that if a driver is
happy then the job gets done faster and more efficiently and
that’s certainly evident at the Pauls Dairy in Albury
NSW.
Brian Haberfield, Manager of the Albury depot has also been
impressed by the brace of new DAFs that joined the fleet some six
months ago.
“They work in a tough environment running into off road
situations collecting milk from farms. We need the technical
ability of cross and inter-axle diff' locks just to get in and out
of some of the farms we visit,” said Brian.
The DAFs start out with the right specification. With 430 hp, a
16-speed ZF synchro' gearbox, 46,000 lb. diffs and eight airbag
suspension they are a heavy duty truck with European standards of
ride comfort.
“Bonneted trucks don’t turn or manoeuvre in the
tight, boggy farmyard conditions we encounter every day,”
Brian said. The DAF cabover gets the traction it needs off road but
provides the comfort levels a driver expects these days when on
road,” he added.
The daily routine for the Stoitse DAF duo is no easy local
drive. One DAF runs two trips daily to Bendigo, notching up over
200,000kms within its first six months. Meanwhile, the second DAF
85 heads for Strathmerton, Finley or Tumbarumba to Biggera,
returning to Albury through Corryong to jointly shift an estimated
50 million litres of milk per year.
This year celebrates the 70th anniversary for the Haberfield
Dairy since Jock and Anne Haberfield founded their company in 1931.
Originally just a milk delivery run, Jock and Annie started with a
1928 Model “A” Ford truck, some crates and bottles, all
purchased for 300 pounds.
Although members of the Haberfield family still work in the
business today, ownership passed to the Parmalat Australia company
in 1996 with the company also purchasing the Pauls operation in
Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The responsibility for collecting and distributing milk for
Permalat Albury today lies with contractor Peter Stoitse Transport
Pty Ltd. of Welshpool, Victoria.
Managing Director Peter Stoitse said he had been extremely
pleased with the way the DAF’s had so far stood up to the
tough job of farm and highway work.
“The route these trucks travel is no easy freeway
drive,” said Peter. The severity of conditions in accessing
some farms is similar to that of running gravel trucks. You also
need really good cab access for the driver and very good visibility
as you are often working in very confined areas to reach milk
silos,” he added.
“They run out fully laden at 42.5 tonnes, carrying 26,000
litres at maximum weight and have to cope with mountain country
complete with snow in winter. Although one way running is unladen,
we’re very happy with fuel consumption figures that are as
low as 37 l/100 kms.
“Reliability has also been very good without any
maintenance problems surfacing so far,” Mr. Stoitse
added.
Both the new DAFs are powered by the DAF XF 12.6 litre,
turbocharged and intercooled, 24-valve six cylinder diesel which
produces maximum power of 430 hp. Peak torque of 1,900 Nm is rated
at 1,050-1,500 rpm.
The specification includes Kenworth Airglide 200 suspension for
the bogie drive axles and long travel parabolic springs for the
steer axle. The transmission is a ZF 16-speed all-synchromesh
unit.
All DAF trucks come with a 2 year / 500,000 kilometre warranty
covering the complete chassis and driveline and both units for
Stoites Transport were supplied by DAF Melbourne, Victoria.
DAF Trucks Australia is a division of PACCAR Australia. PACCAR
Inc is a worldwide manufacturer of heavy and medium-duty trucks
under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, DAF and Foden nameplates.
For further information contact:
Neil Willox
Marketing Services Manager
PACCAR Australia
Phone: (03) 9721 1500
Email: neil.willox@paccar.com