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We visited Kidman Haulage to see how it got on

31st January 1991
Page 25
Page 25, 31st January 1991 — We visited Kidman Haulage to see how it got on
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with the Roadrunner it had free use of for a year, courtesy of Leyland Daf and Commercial Motor.

• Kidman Haulage could be the most publicised small operator in Cambridgeshire, says its director, who won a trailer and a Leyland Daf Roadrunner in two separate Commercial Motor competitions.

His most recent win, the Roadrunner, joined the Huntingdon-based firm in November 1989 and has since clocked up about 75,000km (47,000 miles). The 7.5tonner has mainly been used on local deliveries, but it has been as far afield as the north of Scotland and Devon.

-We have always run a small vehicle for panic jobs and small deliveries," says Michael Kidman, director of the 12-yearold family business, and as there is only enough of this type of work for one small vehicle, he sold his Mercedes 3.5-tonner a few months after receiving the free Roadrunner.

The 8.15 Roadrunner has also been used to operate a fixed-price, next-day pallet service which was set up last June. It has been working alongside Kidman's fleet of eight larger vehicles which have been taking pallets as part loads. A £6,500 computer system was installed in June to handle the extra paperwork. , Probably the biggest benefit Kidman found with the Roadrunner after its year's service was its fuel consumption of around 14.1-15.7 lit/100km (18-20mpg) depending on the type of work and conditions.

Kidman's drivers praised the Roadrunner's spacious, uncluttered cab and 112kW (150hp) engine, which they said produced unusually good acceleration: "The Roadrunner is nice and easy to drive because of the engine's power, which means you don't have to keep changing down gears when you are going up a hill," says Kidman. "It has a high power-to-weight ratio, which really does make it seem like you're driving a vehicle half-way between a truck and a car."

Despite all this Kidman does not plan to buy the Roadrunner from Leyland Dal — he really needs a curtainsider which can be easily loaded with building panels. Ironically, one of the five body types fitted to the Roadrunner during its 15-week Runnerthon (CM 14-20 September 1989) was a BoaHoy curtainsider unfortunately for Kidman, the 8.15 finished its tour of duty with a Besco box.

Nearly 50% of Kidman's business is transporting building products for Dufaylite Developments of St Neots. The rest of the business comprises spot hire work, mainly within 50km of its depot. This includes regular work from Swift Adhesives of Chatteris, Charbens Toys of St Neots and Rocor of St Ives.

One problem Kidman found with his Roadrunner was the low-profile tyres, which developed cracks around their side walls. Four of them had to be sent back to the manufacturer after eight months. There was a minor vibration problem with the suspension, but this was quickly rectified.

Overall Kidman was happy with the Roadrunner; he is now considering a secondhand Roadrunner curtainsider to add to his fleet of six ERFs, one Foden and one Mercedes, ranging from 17 to 38-tonners. In 1989 he moved away from his traditional tipper work to general haulage, a move which was helped when he won a Trailmaster trailer for a year in a Commercial Motor competition. He says that Kidman Haulage, which employs nine drivers, would probably have collapsed if it had not taken this initiative.

But luck did seem to be with Kidman during 1989 — he still had the Trailmaster trailer when he discovered he'd won the Roadrunner for a year.

To win the Roadrunner Kidman had to guess how far it had travelled when it was on loan to five different operators on the Runnerthon charity run, from which Leyland Daf donated more than £8,000 to a Manchester children's hospital.

O by Juliet Parish

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Locations: Huntingdon, St Ives

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