Isuzu Tippers the ticket for Clay Excavations

Dino’s two tippers are engaged in excavation works for his 37-year-old company Clay Excavations, which services non-commercial digs in Nar Nar Goon North, on the outskirts of Pakenham in Melbourne’s southeast.

Dino prefers to keep things close to home, helping his neighbours and nearby farmers with excavation work that varies from horse arenas, earthworks and cuts for farm buildings, driveways and dams. Whether its small or large, ‘local’ is his specialty.

“My customers pay as soon as I finish and with a smile on their face,” Dino reports.

“When I’m not digging with the machinery, I’ll be carting crushed rock for days backwards and forwards in the big tipper, averaging about eight loads a day.”

He’s a familiar face down at the nearby Fulton-Hogan quarry, where he collects crushed rock in a steady stream with the larger of his two trucks, a new 6x4 FXY 240-350 Auto.

This big Isuzu unit is equipped with a Hardox Steel tipper body from AA Diesel Bodies; designed for impact strength and durability for load after load. It replaces Clay Excavation’s 2022 Isuzu FXY beavertail, also fitted by AA Diesel Bodies.

Matched with the grunt of the FXY 6x4 platform, which offers a generous GVM of 24,000kg and GCM of 45,000kg, it’s a package that can deliver for Dino all day long.

Dino compliments the comfort level of the cabin and the FXY’s payload and power to tow and load machinery. It’s fitted with Isuzu’s 6UZI-TCC engine producing 257kW (350PS) at 2000rpm and torque of 1422Nm at 1400rpm.

“I can pull an eight-tonne tag-along float with a 5.5-tonne excavator or roller on it, plus a posi-track loader on the tipper tray,” said Dino.

“It’s a beautiful drive with the Allison (4430) auto and the airbag suspension which rides better on the road.

“I really love going to work in it… I can drive it all day and don’t feel too weary when I get home,” said Dino.

The standard MyIsuzu Co-Pilot 10.1-inch High-Definition touch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility might be over-specified for this self-confessed pen-and-paper man, but Dino enjoys the comfort of the ISRI 6860 air suspension seat, rightfully regarded as one of the best seats in the business.

In comparison, Dino’s NMR 45-150 Tipper with six-speed automated manual transmission from Isuzu’s 4.5-tonne GVM Ready-to-Work range looks like a pint-sized cousin against the shoulder of the beefier FXY.

However, its size doesn’t mean it doesn’t pack a punch though.

The super-efficient four-cylinder Isuzu common-rail engine keeps jobs ticking along nicely and it’s sized just right for tight access spots where a bigger truck can’t get in.

The NMR Tipper’s 2.0 cubic metre capacity and car licence nominal payload of 1695 kg equates to a very practical transport solution, and Dino is well pleased with the versatility it offers.

At the moment, it’s either Freddy (Dino’s right-hand man) carting machinery or Dino’s daughter behind the wheel, both using a regular car driver’s licence.

“Funnily enough my daughter’s car engine blew-up recently, so she’s been driving our little tipper, clocking up the kilometres… but since it’s got our name stamped all over it, it looks like a big billboard driving around.

Whether on the road or working on site, these two tippers are pulling their weight for Clay Excavations. Dino expects them to last out Isuzu’s six-year warranty and six years of roadside assistance aftercare package but admits he enjoys the feel and presence of a new machine under him.