"Our policy is to run them for seven
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years, and sell them for export." Chris Long Over four generations J Long and Sons (Haulage) of Leeds has progressed from one horsepower to 430. The company dates back to 1918, when its founder, returning from the Great War, resumed business with horse and cart as a coal merchant and general carrier. The coal side of the business died out with the introduction of smokeless fuel in the 19705, but the company continued to adapt to market conditions and pursued new opportunities with manufacturing industries. Today it is based on a six-acre site at Cross Gates to the east of Leeds with easy access to the MI, from where it provides road haulage, storage and distribution services throughout the UK.
Director Chris Long, grandson of the founder, joined the company in the mid-197os after completing an apprenticeship as a vehicle
mechanic. He reports that the company runs a fleet of 90 trucks on general haulage. Most are Dafs, but he runs one
Volvo and five Mercedes-Benz. We ran the 95 Series with the Super Space Cab. It gave us a good image and was ultra reliable. When the XF came along we took one 48ohp Space Cab model as a seed vehicle, but the rest are 43 os. The Space Cab on the XF is as wide and deep as Daf's new Super Space Cab so it has plenty of living space but not quite as much headroom.
"The 43ohp engine has ample power and torque for the work we do and fuel returns are reasonable. Now we are achieving about 8.3mpg, but moving up from 41 to 44 tonnes has cost us 0.3mpg. That's similar to the Volvo FH12.42o and slightly poorer than the M-B 2543. The XF is specified to save weight, and the payload is very good. With a lightweight trailer we can achieve 28 tonnes.
"We are comfortable with tyre wear. The drive axle was averaging 200,000lcm at 41 tonnes. We are predicting accelerated wear at 44 tonnes and expect to change them at r8o,000lcm. The drum brakes are very efficient, and we have never had a problem meeting the MoT brake test requirement.
"Our policy is to run them for seven years and sell them for export. We might get a better deal trading in, but we don't provide a cheap vehicle for someone to undercut us. Depending on the deal, they come with two or three years' R&M—after that we look after them in-house. We spend a lot on maintenance and hope to replace them before any major component failure.
"Our oldest XF is now four years old and is standing up very well. There have been one or two niggling problems that Daf has sorted out: the clutch was not as strong as we would have liked, and a heavier-duty clutch was fitted. The exhaust downpipe tended to split on the flexible section. Front cab mountings are rather weak, and have just been replaced on the oldest one. Inside the cab the indicator stalk came adrift on the early ones.
"Chatfield's of Leeds is a first-class dealer—there is none better. The Daf service is very good. It is very rare to complain about the preparation of the truck; it's a reason to pay a little extra up front. Service parts prices are on a par with other makes, but some of the plastic body panels seem expensive. Our Volvo and Mercedes-Benz vehicles have also been very reliable, but if it comes to roadside assistance no-one matches Daf: it is out within the hour. The first words you hear from M-B is that it will be two hours.
"Our drivers love the XF. We have never had a complaint from them yet, but drivers of other makes have asked to be moved over." in