There can’t be many tougher operating duty cycles involving multi-drop work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That’s the demanding schedule the Freightforce trucks operate under. Mix into this overnight trips cross-country with step frame trailers using a whole series of drivers means that the trucks on the fleet really do provide their pound of flesh.
With over one million kilometres on some of the trucks at the end of the contract but with regular main dealer servicing at DAF dealer Ford & Slater, maybe there are some used truck bargains to be found at the end of their life?
Five new DAF CF450 Tractor Units
Norwich-based Freightforce has reverted back to the DAF marque after taking delivery of five new CF 450 ‘FTG’ 6×2 tractor units as fleet replacements, describing the vehicles as the ‘ideal workhorse solution’ for its pallet operation. The fleet-spec trucks, supplied by DAF Dealer Ford & Slater in Norwich, are already in service on intensive, non-stop, 24-hour operations five-days-a-week.
Reliability is the Deciding Factor
With the benefit of excellent previous experience with the DAF brand, Freightforce was keen to reintroduce a higher level of reliability to its fleet. The operation also demands a comfortable, no-fuss cab to suit the rigours of multi-drop work utilising numerous drivers, with the CF sleeper cab offering a durable, well-appointed workspace. The ‘FTG’ centre-steer axle configuration provides the nimble handling characteristics prerequisite to inter-urban operations.
“The DAF CF really is the ideal workhorse solution for us,” says Freightforce Managing Director, Nick Jolley, “a proper fleet motor for local multi-drop work, with a well-equipped, durable cab for our drivers, and, above all, a chassis and driveline that’s up to the task of gruelling 24/7 operations.”
Jolley also points out the role that Ford & Slater plays in ensuring uptime is fully optimised, “It’s a true partnership with Ford & Slater,” he said, “our trucks are out all week and the workshop team in Norwich is there at the weekend to fulfil routine maintenance and any running repairs – it all goes very much according to plan.”
Freightforce Truck Buying Policy
Having established the company with DAF vehicles in 1998, Freightforce has adopted a cyclical acquisition policy with various truck marques, though the company concedes that DAF has consistently delivered ultra-reliable models, including a CF draw-bar unit which clocked over one million miles. Another 2010-registered DAF vehicle was supplied with a seven-year Repair & Maintenance contract which Jolley recalls as ‘never missing a beat’.
“We’ve always had good experience with DAF and we’re pleased that these latest CFs seem to have inherited all those robust, no-nonsense attributes of previous models.”
Freightforce Managing Director, Nick Jolley
The delivery coincides with Freightforce’s move to a new, 4.6-acre, secondary base in Great Yarmouth from where the Palletforce operator has plans to erect an additional warehouse. With the location’s existing facilities, Freightforce will boost its storage capacity to 5,500 pallets. Freightforce is a founding member of the Palletforce network.
Freightforce is responsible for Palletforce operations throughout the NR postcode region. Following the completion of local multi-drop deliveries, trucks are coupled to step-frame trailers before running to the Palletforce HQ in Burton-upon-Trent where they are tipped and reloaded. The company reports that, following a downturn in volumes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, it has since won new business and is presently working at capacity.