Scania R 560: Operator Review

Name: Scania R 560: Operator Review
Brand: Scania

Northern Tasmania's Hingston Transport is carrying on its proud livestock haulage tradition with the help of Scania's modern and efficient R 560...

Digital phones do not enjoy good service in Tasmania and that makes receiving directions somewhat of challenge, especially when you're heading into some wild and uncharted country.

"It's easy to find," came the garbled voice of Nicholas Hingston over the digital phone. "Just head towards St Helens, then follow your nose into town. There's a parking area on the left-hand side of the road on the outskirts of town; I'll meet you there."

By mid-morning the drizzling rain had settled in as I wound my way down the mountain to the east coast town of St Helens, famous for its big game fishing. Sure enough, just as Nicholas had predicted, there was the parking bay up ahead. He had arrived a few minutes earlier and was filling out some paperwork on the steering wheel.

In the blood

Like their grandfather and father before them, Nicholas Hingston and his brother Marcus are livestock carriers. However, the business has grown considerably in six decades to include the haulage of milk and to provide general transport services to the agriculture industry.

Their grandfather, Viv, started the business carting livestock with a Desoto tray truck back in 1947. Yet it wasn't till the early '80s when their father, Kerry, purchased a second-hand log truck that the Scania marque entered the fleet. So impressed with the performance and reliability of that second-hand Scania, along with the service they received from the local Scania dealer, that they started ordering more.

The diversification and growth of their business into all areas of the agricultural industry is attributed to the prompt and reliable service they provide to their clients, which incidentally takes them as far as Hobart in the south of the state. Along with a diverse range of trailers, there are nine trucks in the fleet ranging from a P-Series Scania to the R-Series B-double unit shown here.

"We use the P-Series predominantly for our bulk milk haulage operation," Nicholas says.

"It runs 24 hours, seven days a week. Dad mostly does the day shift in it alternating with one of our other drivers.

"The older white R-Series, which is a few years old now, is powered by the 620hp engine and it has been an extremely good truck," Nicholas says.

Scania tradition

"My truck is the latest R-Series, which has the newer 560hp engine. Because the later-specced engines have greater torque, we chose the R 560 mostly to save on fuel, and even though it is early days it's returning very pleasing results in both performance and economy.

"One standout feature with the R 560 is we specified a short wheelbase so we can get this B-double down to 21 metres in length, which allows us general access," Nicholas explains.

"That's why the polished alloy bumper is flush with the bodywork, as every millimetre was critical getting the combination to fit.

"We've stuck with the manual transmissions on our trucks," Nicholas says.

"We feel they better suit our application and we only employ skilled drivers. The manual transmissions in the Scanias are extremely robust and we've not had any problems with them. When you look at our typical operation, we are operating comparatively low-kilometre runs, mainly in rural environments. There are only two cities with any real size here in Tasmania, so consequently there is little advantage investing the additional money in an automated transmission system that is designed to better aid a driver in heavy traffic and – while it's not often published – compensate for a lack of driver skills.

"The Scania engines are really well suited to our environment here in Tasmania," he says.

"In order to achieve good economy you need to be able to get the truck to cruising speed as quickly as possible, and these Scania engines are very good at achieving this. Because the terrain in Tasmania is undulating, we require large torque across a broad range of revs, which makes maintaining cruising speed a lot easier on the truck with minimal gear changes.

"Torque in my truck peaks from around 1000 revs and remains usefully high all the way to 1400 revs," Nicholas explains.

"Another feature on my new truck is the rev counter with a dynamic green economy band. This is extremely useful in our operation because when another driver gets in it, the truck is virtually telling them where it should be to deliver the best performance and economy."

Retarder advantage

Another feature for which Nicholas has high praise is the Scania retarder and downhill speed controller.

"The retarder can be used manually by the driver to control the speed of the truck or it can also be set to operate automatically, according to the requirements at the time," he says.

"For example, in the fully automatic mode, you simply make a quick dab on the brake pedal to engage 'downhill speed control'. This means that the exhaust brake is operated automatically whenever needed, in conjunction with the retarder, to control the vehicle's speed.

"Alternatively you can use the retarder manually simply by moving the retarder wand into the position you require. There are five positions from mild through to maximum. The operator's guide tells you that use of the retarder in the fully automatic mode will reduce wear on tyres and will preserve the wheel brakes in a cool, fresh condition for when they are really needed.

"Let me give you an example of how we typically use the retarder. Take a traditional country road with bends and few undulations. In this instance I would use the retarder manually just to reduce the truck over running on the small descents and occasionally to shed a few revs heading into the sharper bends. On the other hand, like when I'm coming down the Sideling Range heading into Scottsdale – approximately a seven kilometre descent – I use the retarder in automatic mode, which means the downhill speed is controlled entirely by the truck. This means I am descending the hill at a safe speed, yet still maintaining an efficient trip time, with minimal wear on the truck's service braking system.

"Another great advantage of Scania's retarder is the fact that it does its braking through the transmission, which means you can down-change gears with the retarder still engaged and the road speed of the vehicle does not increase during the gearchange. It is so effective that I can virtually bring the truck to a complete stop by using the retarder and down-changing and not have to touch the service brakes."

On a good thing

By the time Nicholas arrives at the stock yards, the wind and rain has intensified and the ground has turned to slushy mud. Maintaining traction in these conditions with the Scania is easy enough. Nicholas engages the rear tandem-axle cross locks with the flick of a switch, giving positive drive to all four driving wheels.

"Our service can only be as good as the tools we use," Nicholas says.

"With Scania we have an excellent product that is not only reliable but efficient to run, and the back-up support we have from Scania first class.

"When you're on a good thing you might as well stick with it."

Scania R 560: Operator Review

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