"Overall the 400 and the 420s have been very
Page 30
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
reliable" Martin Benton 111 Benton Bros is a family firm based in Lincolnshire with depots at Sibsey and Boston. Managing director Martin Benton supports a warehousing and general haulage operation with 56 tractive units and r52 trailers which are equally divided between curtainsiders, flats with twist locks and coil carriers. Leyland Daf 95 and 85 Series make up the core of the fleet but Benton also runs seven !veva EuroTech 42os, one MAN and 28 Scanias, of which 21 are 4-Series. Most of these are 400 or 42ohp models but one cabover and one bonneted 460 are powered by Scania's 14-litre V8.
"We took our first 400kip 4-Series on R-reg and took the 420 green engines as soon as they became available," says Benton. "We knew they were better on tax and we were told that they would be better on fuel as well, which has proved to be the case. The 4005 return 8.6rripg while the 420s are just a couple of points better at 8.8mpg, but every little helps the bottom line.
"We're running on six axles at 41 tonnes and with a curtainsider we can load up to 25.8 tonnes," Benton adds. "We replace between six and ro trucks a year. The Scanias cost a little bit more but we expect to get a good deal. We keep them for five years: past experience has shown that is when servicing costs and downtime are likely to start to increase. We haven't sold any yet so it's a bit early to talk about residuals but they are still quite good. Scania is selling more into big fleets now and the number in the used truck market is beginning to increase. In time this will bring the resale values down.
"The backup service we get from Scania is as good as we get from Leyland Daf dealers," says Benton. "Although we have our own workshops the Scanias were bought with five-year maintenance contracts because of the electronic management systems—the dealers won't sell us the diagnostic equipment to use ourselves. Even if they did we would have to send our mechanics away for training, and once equipped with the knowledge they would take it to new pastures.
"The R Series are specified with the high cab but not the Topline model," he says. "Our drivers find they are big enough. Otherwise the spec is fairly standard except that we specify twin fuel tanks to carry roo gallons.
"On domestic work there is little need to buy fuel outside. We had one or two minor teething troubles to begin with but overall the 400 and the 4205 have been very reliable. Tyres are lasting slightly longer than on either the Leyland Dafs or the Ivecos."