Heavy-duty Hinos pave the way

NSW's Junee Shire Council says its two new Hino 700 Series trucks are pulling their weight in maintaining the region's road network

Junee Shire takes in over 2000 square kilometres of the Riverina district of New South Wales, and for maintaining its 800 kilometres of both sealed and unsealed roads the local council recently turned to Hino to complement its truck fleet.

Two Hino 700 Series FS 2848 ProShift 16 Air heavy-duty trucks were purchased in February 2014 and have racked up 30,000 kilometres apiece in the months since.

The trucks are powered by an intercooled six-cylinder turbo-diesel said to produce 353kW (480hp) and 2157Nm, with the power handled by Hino's ProShift 16 automated manual transmission. Both ride on Hendrickson HAS airbag suspension, while the trucks have been fitted with steel tipping bodies and tow Superdog trailers in 48-tonne configuration.

According to Peter Harris, works engineer for Junee Shire Council, the newcomers aren't getting an easy time.

"The Hinos are driven all day on gravel and blue-metal roads, and their trailers have never been removed since they commenced duties," he said.

Mr Harris said the Hinos stood out for their appointments and price.

"We found that the Hino 700 Series had more features and technology, and are better value for money," he said.

"The ProShift 16 AMT acts like a true automatic transmission; it takes the guesswork out of driving.

"The FS 2848s also had the right wheelbase for the 48-tonne capacity we needed, and we didn't have to spend any money on chassis modifications."

Mr Harris said the trucks were proving popular with the council's drivers for a number of reasons, including the driver's seatbelt, which is properly integrated into the suspension seat, and the transmission's auxiliary intarder brake.

"It's phenomenal – it's not just off or on like on some other trucks and it has the ability to almost fully brake the vehicle."

Fitting cameras to the trucks and their trailers was also an easy proposition, Mr Harris said.

"The side-mirrors offer a proper perspective of what's going on around you as do the rear cameras on the truck and the trailer, which were easy to set up because it comes equipped with the provisions to hook them up to the standard 2-Din Bluetooth-equipped radio," he said.

The Hinos themselves were purchased through local dealer, Wagga Trucks.

"The sales experience and aftersales support from Wagga Trucks has been very good, not that we've really needed anything from them since we got them," said Mr Harris.

"Overall, the boys are very happy with them."

Heavy-duty Hinos pave the way

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