North West England vehicle recovery specialists, Hough Green Garage Ltd. of Widnes have put a new five-axle Volvo FH16 750 rigid recovery vehicle into operation. The 10×4 chassis adds to the company’s 200-strong vehicle recovery fleet, which operates from 12 sites across North West England, North Wales and the Midlands.
Supplied by Anthony Walsh, Transport Solutions Executive at Thomas Hardie Commercials Ltd, the FH16 is fitted with a range topping, Globetrotter XL Cab, a Volvo D16K Euro-6 engine producing 750hp and an I-Shift Crawler gearbox. The 6.4m wheelbase rigid was specified with twin ten-tonne front axles and an additional Estepe-fitted pusher axle located in front of the hub reduction bogie.
Manufactured in North America, the Miller Industries 1075s HHU, 75-tonne rotator recovery body was imported and fitted by Boniface Engineering in Thetford.
“The new Volvo FH16 750 joins a fleet of four 75-tonne rotators in our business and with 750hp, it’s the most powerful vehicle we’ve bought to date,” reports David Farrell, Director at Hough Green Garage Ltd. adding, “We’ve worked with Thomas Hardie Commercials Ltd on a reciprocal basis for around 20 years and our first new Volvo truck arrived back in 2007.”
Hough Green Garage’s new flagship FH16 750 joins a number of Volvo trucks in this operation, which range from 14-tonne Crew Cab slide bed recovery vehicles through to tractor units and specialist heavy-duty rigids. The truck’s signature red and white livery reflects the company’s ethos for extremely high vehicle presentation and maintenance standards. Complementing these values are TruckMax vertical exhausts and a large selection of work, hazard and marker lights.
“Specifying a vehicle like this is always a challenging process and there is always going to be the occasional niggle,” David noted. “However, Volvo is a good strong, hard-wearing brand and our drivers like the marque. I’m a great believer in the phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ and at present, only Volvo will provide a five-axle chassis like this, with the Estepe additional axle.”
“Our new FH16 750 represents a substantial investment for our company and we expect to retain the truck for a minimum of seven years. Volvo trucks do hold their value and that fact gives us confidence for the future,” he concludes.
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