Volvos for Russell Davies
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• As part of a planned investment programme worth more than £500,000, Russell Davies Haulage is currently taking delivery of ten new tractive units and 35 trailers.
The company is investing to improve its service to the container shipping industry and the emphasis of the new acquisitions has been on fuel efficiency. The current RDH fleet is heavily biased towards Volvo, Scania and blew and the latest tractors are from the Volvo FL7/FLIO range with 4x2 FL7s for the lower weight category and 6x2 ELlOs for the top end of the market.
Around 20 new 32.5 tonne tractors will be needed for January 1987 registration it is company policy to buy new vehicles every 2-3 years — and this time RDII will be looking wider than its traditional suppliers.
The 35 newly-acquired trailers are lightweight skeletal units from Crane Fruehauf. Twenty are for 12.2m or 2x6 1n container haulage at a maximum 38 tonnes. The remaining 15 are 7.3m trailers for 6m containers running at 32.5 tonnes. A further aspect of the investment programme is the on-going refurbishment of 50 trailers, mostly 6.1m and 12.2m tandem-axled skeletals but including five tri-axled 12.2m trailers. Each trailer is being stripped completely, shotblasted and repainted. Electrics and hydraulics are also being replaced. The company operates a pool of 450 trailers based at depots in Felixstowe, Barking and Manchester.