DAF CF85 Cane truck: Operator Review

Name: DAF CF85 Cane truck: Operator Review
Brand: DAF

This third-generation Queensland cane farmer and contract harvester has found that his two new specially-equipped DAF CF85s can do the work previously done by three trucks

The Bruce highway winds its way for 1700 kilometres along the coastline from Brisbane to Cairns in the far north of Queensland, and for the most part, the scenery is of lush green sugar cane.

Roughly 1300 kilometres out of Brisbane is the township of Brandon, where third-generation cane farmer and harvesting contractor Warren Viero works his two twin-steer DAF CF85s in what’s known in these parts as ‘cane haul-out’ application.

The ‘cane season’, which refers to the harvest, stems from mid-July through to early December each year and attracts workers from every state in Australia and New Zealand. The annual export of approximately five million tonnes of raw sugar may be dwarfed by the state’s mining exports, yet the Queensland sugar industry is a significant player in the state’s economy.

Warren Viero is first to admit that cane harvesting is a harsh and often thankless task. Yet he is quick to add that today the job is considerably easier than back in his grandfather’s day when all the cane was harvested by hand.

“Currently there are two schools of thought when it comes to harvesting sugar cane,” Warren said. “Firstly, the traditional way is to burn the crop and secondly is to harvest it green.”

In the Burdekin area, where Warren Viero operates, the cane farmers prefer the first method, mostly because the crops in Burdekin are by far the tallest and thickest in the state.

This year, the late wet season meant there was plenty of water for the sugar cane crops in the Burdekin region and it meant the season was a little late starting. However, for the cane farmers it was not all bad news, the average sugar content of this year’s crop has almost doubled from around 40 tonne per acre to 70 tonne per acre in some parts.

“The reason we burn the cane before it is harvested is primarily to get rid of the trash which is the unwanted leaves and weeds that have grown with the cane,” Warren explained. “This way, the harvester can cut the cane more efficiently. The fire also removes all the vermin from the crop. However it is not so much of problem now with mechanical harvesting, but back in the hand cutting days the cutters would get some serious diseases from the vermin in the cane, so the fires were a good way of flushing them out and providing a cleaner working environment.”

The sugar cane that Warren and his crew harvest is sent to the nearby Pioneer Mill in Brandon, via a unique and intricate tram system, which consists of some 1360 kilometres of track through the surrounding farming network. The Pioneer Mill is the only mill in Queensland to use the 1067mm (3ft6in) gauge rail system; all other mills use the 610mm (2ft) gauge. The trams trundle along at 40km/h and can haul up to 2000 tonnes and be up to one kilometre in length.

There are also several schools of thoughts on the best method to get the cane from the harvester to the rail sidings. Some contractors prefer a traditional tractor, while others believe a truck is a more efficient solution, needless to say that Warren is in the second group.

Why DAF?

Warren’s decision to specify DAF trucks for his operation is one he happily agrees was made because he felt the DAF product offered a whole lot more truck and James Meakin from the local DAF dealer, Brown and Hurley – Townsville, was more than willing to go the extra mile to ensure Warren got the right truck for the job.

“In our cane haul-out application we have some very special requirements,” Warren said. “Basically we have to collect the tram’s carriages from the siding and follow the harvester up the paddock till each carriage is full then return it to the siding. We roughly do 180 of these per day. The rig on the DAF chassis that secures the tram’s carriages was manufactured locally in nearby Ayr by Blakey’s Engineering and basically consists of two trails for the wheels with locking clamps which are air activated.

“However, as simple as the job sounds there’s a lot that goes on in the background to make everything happen like clockwork, and it is a very hard job on any vehicle,” Warren added. “Especially with the dusty conditions.”

Over the years, Warren has come to know what works and doesn’t work in this application and one of the special needs includes high ground clearance of not less than 370mm. That is because the ‘drills’ or furrows in the field need to remain undisturbed, as the next crop of sugar cane will start to grow straight after the harvest.

The trucks also need to be able to travel up to 20km/h in reverse to keep up with the cane harvester: “Because the length of our truck chassis is so long, the trucks have a rather large turning circle and at the end of each row there is not enough room turn the trucks around, therefore both the Harvester and trucks reverse back to start a new row,” Warren informed us.

Two replace three
Warren was also looking to increase his productivity and reduce his operating costs with the acquisition of his new DAF CF85 haul-out rigs. A challenge he gave to James Meakin and the DAF engineers.

Previously, Warren had used three trucks which each carried two tram carriages. He believed that the DAF truck would be tough enough to carry an additional carriage and be capable of keeping up to the harvester as well.

“It’s just getting harder and harder to find professional drivers now,” Warren added. “Not only that, it now means we have reduced our wages, registration and maintenance by having only two trucks.”

The foundation of these haul-out DAF CF85s is an 8x4 chassis with the 156N raised front axles, powered by 12.9-litre DAF MX engine rated at 300kW. Transmission is the 16-speed option coupled to HR 1355T hub reduction rear axles with final drive ratio of 4.49:1. The rear tyres are 600 x 22.5 floatation tyres and wide super singles on the steer axle, which reduces soil compaction in the cane fields.

Even though it is early days, Warren Viero is more than happy with his two new DAF haul-out trucks.

“That’s primarily why we chose these trucks, because DAF had the product which I believed best suited our application and importantly they were willing to work with us to tailor the vehicle to suit our needs and provide good after sales service,” Warren explained.

“PACCAR finance also offered a package to suit seasonal applications like ours which obviously assist us in terms of business operation.”

“These DAF cabs are exceptionally comfortable too,” Warren added. They are also very well sealed as you can see this is very dusty job and there is absolutely no dust inside the cabin. Sometimes you forget that it is almost 40 degrees outside in the sun when you’re inside the cabin.”

“We achieved our goal too,” Warren concluded. “These trucks are far more efficient than we initially expected and so not only are we saving on fuel per truck but these two DAFs are doing the same job it used to take three trucks.”

Specifications:

Engine: PACCAR MX300 12.9-litre six-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled

Power: 300kW at 1500 to 1900rpm

Torque: 2500Nm at 1000 to 1410rpm

Transmission: ZF AS-Tronic 16-speed automated manual overdrive

Rear Axles: HR 1355T hub reduction

Ratio: 4.49:1

Configuration: 8x4

Front Sus: Parabolic springs with shocks

Rear Sus: DAF trapezium leaf suspension. Mounted on spring units which pivot on a central trunnion located by 8 torque rods.

Fuel tanks: 1 x 430 + 1 x 340 litre aluminium

AdBlue: 45 litres