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NEWS
Isuzu hits the books in Vic
An Isuzu FVD-based mobile library is bringing the joy of reading to Victoria's Bellarine Surf Coast ShireAn Isuzu FVD 1000 cab chassis has been transformed into a mobile library, bringing reading pleasure to the 60,000 residents of the Bellarine Surf Coast Shire southeast of Melbourne.
According to Russell Woodford, Community Libraries Manager at Geelong Regional Library, the service makes a huge difference to the lives of many within the shire.
"We provide a crucial service," he said.
"A lot of towns along the Surf Coast have really poor internet. Homeowners in those places aren't getting much more than dial-up speeds and poor reception on mobile phone networks.
"For people with fewer resources, we provide much needed access to services, with the added benefit of our staff's expert help."
The service's requirements have changed markedly in recent years, and now demand a truck that can transport sensitive and expensive equipment in complete safety.
"We've loaded the truck with computers, printers and scanners and it's coped magnificently," said Woodford.
"The Isuzu's reliability has given us all peace of mind.
The FVD Series, which was chosen through a tender process by the Greater Geelong Council, produces 221kW at 2400rpm and 981Nm at 1450rpm from its six-cylinder 6HK1 engine.
With the library's capacity of 5000 books, the FVD's 16,500kg GVM is vital in shouldering the load.
The truck is also fitted with an Allison six-speed automatic transmission, to take the strain out of the driving task as the truck completes its 45,000km route through the shire, while for safety it's fitted with a Front Underrun Protection Device, an ECE-R29 compliant cab, driver and passenger airbags and ABS as standard.
"The schedule can be pretty tough for our drivers; we chose the auto transmission to make it easier on them," said Woodford.
"We only have one full-time and one-part time driver for the service.
"They're at the depot by 7.30am to process the books and DVDs, then off to the important job of providing our regional communities with things to read, internet access or classes on the latest technology.
"Some stay in a town overnight, others go in and out. For a full day they'll have a morning and lunch stop in a different town – it could be Lorne in the morning and Airey's Inlet for the afternoon.
"We used to have a semi-trailer, so now we've got a truck with a rigid body it's much easier to manoeuvre. We have a powered bollard to supply electricity to the truck in parking spaces for every town, so the driver just has to pull up and plug in."
Driver comfort is assured thanks to the ISRI 6860 air suspension seat with pneumatic lumbar support.
Mr Woodford said the truck is doing a great job and is also a hit with the drivers.
"The feedback from all our drivers is that they're the easiest trucks they've driven," he said.
"There hasn't been a single issue – they just run along nicely."
Isuzu trucks can be augmented with Isuzu Telematics to achieve even higher levels of efficiency, while Isuzu Australia Limited is entering its 28th consecutive year of market leadership in 2017.
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Written byTrucksales Staff
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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