Our second inductee this month, with a touch over 2,000,000km, is another hard-working International 9800i, this time submitted by our good mates, Daltons, located just south of Matamata on the southern reach of the Hauraki Plains. ERB421 hit the road in 2008, contracted to Toll by Vanzanco. It was one of 12 that went on the road at the time to service the Cadbury contract, supplying North Island-based chocoholics with essential supplies from chocolate HQ in Dunedin.

A lot of work went into spec-ing these units. They were designed to deliver a calculated result that would maintain Cadbury’s production and distribution requirements. The 9800i 63TS 8×4 Eagle day cab – Cadbury Spec Internationals (as they were known) – were solid performers for Vanzanco, with ERB421 putting in a good 10 years for the company. In April 2018, ownership changed to Daltons.

At this time, ERB421 was sent back to the team at Intertruck for a factory rebirth. Hugh Green from Intertruck explains that “this was no glossy-coat-of-paint rebuild. This was a bumper-to-bumper complete strip down and refurbishment process. We went over every nut and bolt again.”

During the refurbishment, the four-axle TMC curtainsider trailer was sent back to the workshop to have a birthday as well. A fifth axle was added, bringing the combination in line with the new role Daltons had in store.

It’s fair to say that ERB421 hit the road for Daltons in fine form. Peter Crawford from Daltons is quick to compliment the combination. “The solid spec attracted us to the truck in the first place, and through this, just how well they fitted our application. In fact, five of these Cadbury Spec 9800i Eagles have made their way into our fleet. They have definitely hit the spot for us.”