Fuel economy a bonus for Kreskas Bros Cascadias

Kreskas Bros Transport, a company that spends most of its time hauling in and out of a key Australian food bowl, has bought two new Freightliner Cascadias.

The Goulburn Valley produces more than 25 per cent of Victoria’s food output, including vast amounts of fruit, vegetables, meat and milk, and much of it is exported.

This huge demand is one of the reasons that Kreskas Bros Transport is the largest road carrier of shipping containers between the Port of Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Kreskas Bros has a mixed fleet of trucks that includes traditional cab-overs, Mercedes-Benz Actros and some recently arrived Freightliner Cascadias.

Its first experience with the Cascadia came about when the late John McCarroll, an industry icon and longtime friend of the Kreskas Bros team, took on a central role in the Australian test program for the new Freightliner.

‘Johnno’ drove a Cascadia test unit B-Double five days a week for 18 months and stored it overnight at the Kreskas Bros yard.

A Cascadia 126 in Kreskas Bros colours joined the fleet just months after the Cascadia was officially launched in Australia in late 2019 and soon impressed the team running as an A-Double between Shepparton and Melbourne.

One of the first things that stood out was the comfort of the bonneted truck that has a spacious 48-inch sleeper cab and the latest ergonomic interior design.

“Anyone who drives it will tell you how comfortable they are to drive,” says Kreskas Brothers Transport fleet manager, Kevin Mutton.

“Keeping our drivers comfortable is very important to us, they spend a lot of time in the truck, so that is a really big positive,” he adds.

Another thing to standout early was the excellent fuel consumption.

“It’s clear that this is a very efficient truck,” Mr Mutton.

“After 290,000km we can say the Cascadia is clearly the most fuel efficient truck in our fleet,” says Mr Mutton.

Kreskas Bros Transport also values the safety features that standard on the Cascadia, including a radar and camera-based Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) that can automatically detect, and fully brake for, moving pedestrians in addition to vehicles.

Related reading:
Freightliner Cascadia: Review
eCascadia to go into series production
New Daimler Trucks dealership opens in Brisbane

Also standard is a radar-based adaptive cruise control system and a lane departure warning system in addition to Electronic Stability Program and a driver airbag.

Kreskas Brothers Transport General Manager, Adam Katsoutas, explains why these integrated active safety systems are important: “Safety is paramount for our team at Kreskas Bros Transport, so the kind of safety features in the Cascadias are very welcome,” he said.

“This is a simple way that we can best protect our drivers and the wider community,” he added.

The Cascadia has also proved reliable, which is especially important in the container haulage business where deadlines are rock solid.

“It hasn’t missed a beat,” Mr Mutton says.

Just like the first Cascadia to join the fleet, the two new units are 126 48-inch sleeper models running the advanced 16-litre Detroit DD16 that pumps out 600hp and 2050lb/ft.

The brawny engine meets the GHG17 emission standard, which is stricter than Euro 6, and far cleaner than the currently-mandated Euro 5 engines in many other new trucks.

The Kreskas Bros Cascadias use Detroit 12-speed fully automated manual (AMT) transmissions that are able to predict the terrain it is travelling over to save fuel.

They use GPS and topographic data to determine when it can best change gear or even select neutral and even coast to make the most of the terrain and save as much fuel as possible.