HAVING A LITTLE FAITH – MARK CELEBRATES 30 YEARS USING HARSH WITH A STUNNING SIX WHEELER

That stabilised underfloor design worked so well and offered so many advantages that every tipper the company has bought since has always featured  this type of HARSH gear.

Now run by Ken’s son Mark, the Penrith – based company has just put its latest vehicle into service – a DAF XD six wheeler with a lightweight HARSH J100 underfloor as part of a wider specification that’s truly top of its class!

“We went for a six wheeler for its extra manoeuvrability when delivering to locations with tight or limited access” says Mark. “A lot of our work is around the Lake District and North Yorkshire, generally delivering sand and aggregates to smaller sites across the region. That said, we also do tarmac work as well, so the truck had to be as versatile and productive as we could make it.”

Where Mark’s new DAF really stands out is in its full sleeper cab that sits over a mighty 450hp engine – a really impressive combination that may well be unique for a UK 26 tonnes 6×4 tipper. The front axle comes with wide single tyres and a 9 tonnes uprating, the chassis also featuring a full set of lightweight polished aluminium wheels to help reduce weight. With the HARSH J100 doing the lifting, the truck has been finished with an insulated aluminium body built by Aliweld of Ryton, near Newcastle, all topped off with a HARSH side – to – side Roll n’ Go electric sheet.

“Whether for six or eight wheelers, we always choose HARSH underfloors” continues Mark. “Aside from the obvious and unique safety advantages coming from their integral stability frames, underfloor gears let us extend the body forwards which not only gets a bit more weight over the front axle(s) but may also give us the option of a shorter chassis wheelbase as well. When the tipping gear is under the body there’s also no risk of incidental damage when the truck is being loaded. In 30 years of using HARSH underfloors, their performance and reliability have been absolutely outstanding.”

With six wheel tippers now being much rarer than eight wheelers, it’s also interesting to look at some headline statistics between the two types. With a 26t gvw, Mark’s 6×4 truck still achieves an easy 15t payload, only some 4.5 tonnes less than their much larger 32t 8×4. The new six wheeler is also less expensive to buy and operate than the bigger truck, whilst also offering that valuable extra manoeuvrability factor as well. “Unless the customer really wants a full 19.5t load, the six wheeler is clearly the better option” says Mark.

Specified equally for high performance and top level comfort, the new DAF is everything a driver could want – which is why for the moment Mark will be taking the wheel himself! “If the extra power, manoeuvrability and accessibility mean we can get an extra couple of jobs out of the vehicle each week then it will be worth every penny we’ve spent on it” he adds.

Commenting for HARSH, Sales Director Harry Hustler says “We’re delighted that our underfloor gears have proved such a success with Mark’s company over such a long time. 30 years is one heck of a user experience, and one that may well be pretty much unique. The design of our underfloors has remained essentially the same in all that time, and they still hold the outright record for tipping stability as well.