BEN‘S ULTIMATE – LOGGER

7 MinutesBy NZ Trucking magazineSeptember 28, 2020

When we tested Ben Reed‘s highriding FH16 750 8×4 logging truck in our November 2019 issue, he was looking forward to welcoming a third truck, a hybrid of the heavy-hitting cover star, and his original FH13 540 – ‘The ultimate logging truck‘. Now it‘s here, we checked in with Ben to see how it‘s getting on.


Photo: Extra height of the straight-beam front suspension is unmissable.

Out of the Woods, Morning Wood, and now Woodworker – the Reed Enterprises 2006 Ltd fleet of Volvos has welcomed its newest member – the truck that owner and Volvo enthusiast Ben reckons is the best spec he could have for logging in Northland. For the benefit of newer readers and those who might have missed the November 2019 test, Ben kicked off his current Volvo crop with a FH13 540 8×4 logger, which he complemented last year with the 750. The trucks were identical in spec other than in two important areas. First and most obviously was their drivetrains; the 750 had crawler gears and bigger diffs as well as its bigger engine. Second was their suspension setups. While the 540 retained its standard 2-leaf parabolic springs and shocks up front and an airbag setup at the rear, the 750 quite literally took things up a notch. Up front now was Volvo‘s FA-XHIGH straightbeam front axles rated at 13-tonne, the additional clearance of which Ben felt was an advantage to his predominantly woodlot work profile. Out back there was a 26-tonne hub-reduction bogie on Volvo‘s B Ride parabolic springs, which added an overall weight penalty of 325kg. Both towed identical 5-axle Patchell trailers, were fitted with shiny King Bars bull bars and Alcoa Dura-Brights, and employed SI Lodec weigh scales and a Traction Air CTI system on the driven wheels.


Photo: Ben Reed with drivers Roger Holmes and Morgan Toia.


Photo: Like the Volvos, the Patchell 5-axle trailers feature a few Reed enhancements.

Ben reckoned his ideal truck would be a 540 with all the extra front axle gubbins he‘d specced to the 750. He said the mammoth FH16 750 was a great owners‘ truck but they‘re not a fleet truck. MTD Auckland-Northland account manager Carl Capstick duly obliged, and just as the implications of Covid-19 began to hit home, Ben took delivery of Woodworker. Timing as it was, the truck has only clocked 17,000km to date, but Ben already knows he‘s onto a winner. “It‘s worked out as intended, which was to be the best spec for the job. It‘s doing everything I was hoping it would do,” Ben says. In fact, it‘s doing more – already proving more fuel efficient than the others. (When we tested the 750, it was averaging 1.72km/l average and 1.85 on the day, with the 540 at a lifetime average of 1.89km/l.) “There‘s a bit more tech in this truck that the others don‘t have,” he says. “Every time we get a newer truck there‘s something on it that‘s better than the older one. Volvo‘s always improving little things, which is quite exciting. It‘s all about making the job easier and saving a bit of money. It definitely makes a difference.” MTD product trainer and online services coordinator Sean Webb explains some of the new systems: “The systems in play have improved. The new I-Cruise system has a working range for under- and overspeed; depending on which level you set it for it manages the speed for fuel savings according to the traffic conditions. “The FH now also has the full safety pack, standardised across the range.

The great thing is, Ben embraces these changes and understands the benefit of them to his business.” Like its older siblings, Woodworker runs 50MAX. It‘s nicked the older Patchell 5-axle trailer off Out of the Woods, with that unit paired with Ben‘s old 4-axle trailer for the meantime. “One day we‘ll get another 5-axle and keep the 4-axle as a spare again, but for now we‘ll just take it as it comes,” says Ben. For now he is happy to keep his fleet at three. “Three seems to be quite manageable for a small fleet,” says Ben, who likes to keep his finger on the pulse. “I can hop in each truck and if there‘s anything going on with them I‘ll know about it and fix it straight away.” Nonetheless, when the time comes to expand, we have a feeling which repeat order Ben will be placing. “It‘s overall just a nice truck to drive. There‘s something about it that I can‘t explain. It ticks all the boxes. It‘s all good,” he says. Ben sends out his thanks to the team at MTD and Sean Dowling at UDC Finance for helping to bring Woodworker to the roads. “Along with MTD, UDC has been instrumental in supporting the business and ensuring the vehicles hit the road.”.


Photo: Three in a row, each better than the last

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