The Hills Bark Blower, a landscaping company based in Round Corner, New South Wales, relies on a fleet of blower trucks to distribute bark, mulch, and other material. Eight of its 14 vehicles are Isuzus, including four FYJ 300-350s, one FYH 300-350, one Giga CXY 240-260 Prime Mover, and an FVZ and FTR from 1999 and 1997, respectively.
Also, of the 14 vehicles, 10 are blower trucks and four are rockslingers, which are used as “refill runners,” according to Isuzu. All of them feature machinery outfitted by Saliba Ag, a dealer that imports blower equipment from Oregon in the United States. Other features of the trucks include Caterpillar pump engines, conveyor belts, control panels, oversized bins, and more.
Nothing But Isuzu For Three Years
The versatile vehicles are used to spread everything from mulch and bark to gravel, sand, and soil. They often distribute more than 800 cubic metres (1,046 cubic yards) of material every day and cover between 1,500 and 3,000 kilometres (932 and 1,864 miles) per week.
The company has been on a growth trend for the past five years and expects that to continue, which means adding more trucks to keep up with demand from new and repeat customers, the latter of which make up 50% of its client base. “We’ve bought six Isuzus in the last three years and haven’t looked at any other type of truck in that time,” says Operations Manager Glen Baker.
Manoeuvrability
One thing The Hills Bark Blower appreciates about its Isuzus, and the FYH 300-350 and Giga 240-260 in particular, is their tight turning circle and manoeuvrability. This allows them to work in close quarters without damaging machinery. “They’re a really useful size and have helped us take on different types of jobs; we’ve put them in places our old trucks wouldn’t have been able to get into, which has increased productivity,” says Baker. “We’ve always done urban and domestic projects, but they seem a lot easier now. The bins aren’t getting damaged in transit and we’re not dinging the sides on anything.”
Easy-To-Drive
While power and performance are key, and The Hills Bark Blower’s Isuzus have that those in spades, the comfort of the cab and the smooth shifting of the Allison 6-speed automatic transmission are also important because the trucks are out on the road so much. “Comfort, reduced cabin noise, the automatic transmissions, and the fantastic turning circles of the 8-and 10-wheeler Isuzus—it’s basically like driving a car compared to other trucks we’ve had,” Baker says.
Source: Isuzu
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