1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182 
HAPPY FLEET With the exception of one 26-tonne Renault Premium
Page 61
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
rigid, all the trucks on the Sparks fleet are articulated. A long-standing Scania fan, Sparks was possibly the first firm in the South-West to operate the Swedish marque, having started in 1968. Before that, the fleet cornprised AECs but experienced newvehicle supply problems. Today, most of the fleet's units are plated at 44 tonnes on three axles, with a very small number of 40-tonne two-axle units to go over the water.
In recent years, there has been a brief flirtation with Volvo FHs and a single Actros because DaimlerChrysler provided one for a six-month trial but Sparks is now increasing its number of Premiums.
"Our first was on an S-plate," Jon Sparks recalls. "We had to ring Renault to find out what was available, but the buy-back was good. The S-reg wasn't a particularly reliable truck, but we gave Renault a second chance with a 51-registration truck. and they've kept on coming. The Premiums do the job, and the drivers find them acceptable."
Sparks' policy when purchasing trucks and trailers is to buy outright, and the method of finance depends on, as Jon obliquely puts it: "How we feel at the time." The units are depreciated over five years; trailer preference is for Schmitz Cargobull.
In retrospect, says Jon, it would have been better to specify all the Volvo FHs with I-Shift rather than just the one, but Sparks prefers to let innovations reveal their worth in the market before jumping in. His experience of automated shifts is: "There's not such a big fuel difference as some people say."
Jon points out that a driver using a manual box hard may still do the same with an automated shift. "The throttle pedal doesn't need six feet of play any more. It's best to use cruise control with an auto box -drivers need to apply intelligence." The Scanias now come with Opticruise, a retarder and, since 1998, air-con. The cabs are mainly Toplines and, although modestly powered at 42Dhp, Jon, who occasionally drives CI still like itgood stress relief!") believes this power output is sufficient. However, there are V8s for the Italian job: "You need to stand out a little for Continental," Jon admits.