A year in the life...
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SLEEPMASTERS’
Fuso Canter
For 2011, we’re following the progress that a new Euro-5 Fuso Canter is making at Sleepmasters. There will be updates every quarter.
Sleepmasters’ Fuso Canter is bedding in nicely, having joined the company’s delivery fleet based at its headquarters at Huncoat Industrial Estate, Accrington, late last year.
The truck is now hard at work delivering beds and mattresses to customers across the north of England, with vehicles leaving on daily runs from the Huncoat site to travel as far afield as Newcastle, Carlisle and Stoke-on-Trent.
CM visited Sleepmasters to see the Canter 7C18 at work, and to meet drivers Andrew Holden and Stuart Lonsdale. As we arrive, the truck is loaded and it’s time to hit the road, with a list of 18 drops to be made before clocking off.
First comes a quick hop to the nearby village of Whalley. It’s a short journey, but as he guides the Canter through the school-run traffic, Lonsdale notes how its compact exterior dimensions make his life easier.
“Compared to a traditional 7.5-tonner, this is much easier to steer through the narrow residential streets and around parked cars, which certainly makes our lives less stressful,” he says.
With the delivery successfully ticked off, it’s back in the cab and back on the road, with just 17 more drops to go. The day takes Lonsdale and Holden on a mix of motorway, town centre and open country roads as they weave their way through the once-great cotton town of Burnley and head over the open moors into Yorkshire.
“It’s a great little truck and takes everything in its stride,” says Holden. “We spend all day in and out of the cab and we couldn’t be happier with it.”