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DAF LF45 12-tonner user•
Rosefox Paper
Established in 1982 by current MD Gale Spibey, Rosefox Paper is a family-run paper merchant that is based in Preston, Lancashire.
It operates 12 vehicles delivering paper and printing supplies on a daily basis to printers, stationers, schools and local authorities throughout North West England. Director Tony Spibey says: "Although we have always run lveco and Mercedes-Benz on the fleet Lancashire DAF opened a state-of-the-art facility within walking distance of our premises. We felt it was time to give another manufacturer a try, and DAF ticked all the right boxes."
Rosefox Paper took delivery of its two '09-plate LF45 12-tonners last May, and Spibey reports: "They have been very reliable, giving us very little trouble. Any odd hiccup that has occurred has been dealt with quickly and efficiently, and has certainly not deterred us
from any future purchases. The LF45 12s we run are the lightest on the fleet and are returning a respectable 15mpg on an average days load. The spec of the cabs provided our drivers with a higher level of equipment than they were used to on the Ivecos or Mercs."
The DAFs are the first SCR trucks in the company's fleet, and Spibey reveals: "AdBlue was a new development as far as we were concerned, When we buy trucks, they are bought to last, so the last purchase before this was in 2005, and those vehicles didn't have AdBlue. It's obviously something that's required for the trucks but, unfortunately, another expense for an already-exhausted haulage industry. Meanwhile, I have little to compare it to at present."
Despite that, Spibey is currently happy with the two new recruits. He says: "The DAF LF45 12 has fitted in well as a good all-rounder. Our deliveries consist of a lot of multi-drops, often delivering to printers who can be situated in awkward places, where bigger vehicles would find it difficult to gain access. Paper is a very heavy commodity, so a 7.5-tanner vehicle would reach its [total] payload very quickly, whereas the 12-tonner gives you that bit extra without going overboard. We run two 13-tonne Mercs to fit in with the 12-tonne DAFs and two 18-tonne lvecos that do a lot more of the bulk jobs. We seem to have a good balance."
Spibey adds: When we purchased the latest DAFs, we transfer all our maintenance to Lancashire DAF. They have been excellent. Problems do occur from time to time with the other vehicles regarc parts etc, but the DAFs have been very little trouble. All breakdow have been assisted by DAFAid, and its service has been spot-on. The [DAF] running costs fall inline with other maintenance contrac Rosefox has stuck with a traditional transmission on its two 12-tonners and, so far, the cab has stood up to the rigours of the ji "The cab doesn't see a lot of action other than the drivers main duties," notes Spibey, "so they both seem in very good order. The only complaints at the beginning were the fact that there was very little storage space compared with the Mercedes-Benz 1318."
Based on his experience of its LFs, Spibey concludes: "While it early days I think to be talking about the durability of the chassis, its certainly holding up to the stresses and strains of daily life in the paper business. They have proven to be a good truck. I will certainly be looking at them when we are due to change the lvecos, and, hopefully, DAF will play a part in the future of Posefox Paper."
Eclipse Recovery
Eclipse Recovery s a predominately a vehicle roadside assIstance and recovery specialist,but also runs a multi-car transportation fleet. It operates throughout Europe from its HO in Canterbury and satellite depot in Dover and its fleet consists of 52 vehicles capable of dealing with the recovery or transportation of anything from a motorcycle up to a 44-tanner, including plant and machinery.
Eclipse director for recovery and commercial transportation Chris Hoare says: Our present range of DAFs includes LF45, CF75, CF85 and XF95. We bought our first LF45 12-ton nor sleeper-cab in 2002, put it into service on our recovery fleet and sold it in early 2007 with 700,000plus km on the clock. During that time it had one clutch and, apart from routine maintenance, no other major repairs whatsoever. It was replaced with another LF45 12-tonner" Hoare adds: "We now operate three LF45 12-tonners. which are '06, '07 and 58-plate registered; two are operated on the recovery fleet with tilt-and-slide steel beds and second car-lifts. The third is a covered twin-deck transporter, which we use for prestige vehicle movements throughout Europe."
Eclipse's experience with the DAF middleweight has so far been positive. "All three vehicles have behaved impeccably throughout their lives to date," reports Hoare. "Our normal vehicle life expectation is between three and five years, dependent upon operation and mileage, but, having said that, we have stretched that out a bit. Due to the nature of the work. i.e. winching etc, fuel economy is difficult to monitor precisely. but they return an average of 12-16mpg.
"They are all on manual gearboxes. The only autos we run are on our multi-car drawbar vehicles at 38 tonnes to 40 tonnes. We have tested auto boxes on the smaller vehicles, but were unimpressed."
Hoare has no complaints over the LF's build quality. He notes the lack of a factory-fitted crew cab. "All the LF45 12-tanners are sleeper cabs, the interior has stood up well to wear and tear, especially when you consider the recovery vehicles are in 24-hour use with different drivers in them. Unfortunately. DAF does not make a crew cab vehicle, but we have a LF45 7.5-tanner with a T-Vac crew cab on a '56 plate."
The LF45's extra payload at 12-tonnes is appreciated, although Hoare comments: "We opted for a 12-tonne chassis to get a reasonable payload (5.25 tonnes), which can be hard to achieve when you consider the steel slide-beds that we have fitted."
Hoare goes on to explain about maintenance: "It is all carried out in-house, with the vehicles being run into our local DAF dealer, Channel Commercials, for the odd warranty jobs, which have been few and far between. I am not a fan of AdBlue. which has increased the running costs considerably, especially on stop/start work, but having looked closely at the alternative marques, I prefer to stay with our existing suppliers."
Summing up, he says: "We operate a mixed fleet of DAF, Volvo, Renault and lveco and, in comparison, the DAFs fare very well, with superb back-up from Channel Commercials and DAFaid."