Eight wheels and an eye-catching interior were the two hooks that put Hino’s 700 Series truck on the radar of owner driver Ben Reeves.
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Ben, who operates as a sub-contractor emptying front lift bins for waste management giant Veolia in Brisbane, spotted the Hino on the stand at the last Brisbane Truck Show.
Realising it had the eight-wheel set up he requires in a truck in order to carry the weight of the compactor and front lifting apparatus, he says he wandered over for a look.
The two-tone interior and modern layout of the dashboard kept him interested and the seed was planted for an upgrade to his first ever new truck to help with the task of emptying up to 120 bins a day between the hours of 1am and 1pm.
Deals on Wheels spoke to Ben just five weeks after he took delivery of his new wheels and it’s clear he’s enjoying the upgrade.
“It’s a lot better than what I came from, but it was a 10-year-old truck, so it had done its time — it was pretty buggy. Everything’s better in every way, really,” he says.
With a run that includes ducking under some of Brisbane’s lower bridges and traversing its older streets on a regular basis, Ben says the height of the Hino was another factor.
“I’ve got to get under trees and powerlines, and some bridges, so height was a big thing to consider.”
Fully loaded, Ben’s payload can be up to 10-tonne, putting plenty of pressure on tyres and suspension.
He says his 10-year-old truck had been fitted with airbag suspension which required constant maintenance and regular airbag replacement because of the weights involved.
His new truck has leaf springs.
“I was a little concerned about how rough the ride might be going leaf front and rear, but it’s actually really smooth,” Ben says.
Spending 12 to 13 hours a day in the cab negotiating car parks and loading bays at shopping centres, commercial sites, stadiums and more, cabin comfort is important.
The eye-catching interior, with its abundance of storage spaces, high quality seats, wraparound windscreen and well-placed airconditioning vents have helped to make Ben’s working days more comfortable, particularly in the warm Queensland environment.
While Ben now operates the family business B & J Reeves Transport with his wife Jayde in charge of the admin side while he drives, he started in the transport industry as a driver working for others.
“Pretty much when I left school, I got into trucks, and then I found the right work at the right time.
“I actually worked for a contractor for about 12 months and then I ended up just being a company driver for four years before becoming an owner driver in 2016.”
With five weeks under his belt in the new truck Ben says he has been impressed by how smooth and quiet the truck is and the tuning of the safety systems.
“That infrared camera in the pillar that looks at your eyes when you’re driving. That’s been pretty good,” he said, referring to the Driver Monitor system that is part of the Hino SmartSafe package that is standard on all Hino 700 Series trucks.
“I was a bit worried about all of that sort of stuff, because I am constantly looking around, but it’s looking straight ahead.
“You put these trucks into some pretty tight spots, but it’s very cluey on what you’re doing, and it (the warning beep) doesn’t go off very often at all.
“I’ve driven other trucks that have got the similar systems that pick up parked cars on the side of the road and jam the brakes on. This has never done that.”
The Hino SmartSafe package also includes a Pre-Collision System PCS with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Pedestrian Detection (PD), Lane Departure Warning System LDWS, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Reverse Camera and a suite of other standard safety features.
On the fuel economy side of things, Ben says it’s a bit too early to tell just how much of a difference the new truck will make, but already he’s “pretty impressed, it’s slightly better than the old truck”.
Ben’s Hino 700 Series meets Euro 6 exhaust emissions and is powered by a six-cylinder turbo diesel Hino A09C-VN engine producing 360hp with a maximum torque of 1,569Nm, tied to an Allison 4440 6-speed automatic gearbox.
He bought the truck from the team at Sci-fleet Hino in Coopers Plains and said that dealing with sales consultant Nick O’Brien and General Sales Manager Nathan Murdoch had been a pleasure.
Nick says once he had the chance to talk to Ben and Jayde and explain the features and benefits of the Hino 700 FY 3036, it became clear the truck would be a good fit for the style of work that the couple were buying it for.
“They didn’t know much about the Hino at the start. They liked the safety features and the interior layout, which has a fresh and up to date feel when comparing with some of the other trucks they were looking at,” he says.
Nathan says Ben’s truck is the first 700 Series the dealership has sold for front loading bulk bin work and he expects more will follow as operators in the waste sector realise the benefits of the new 8×4 configurations, combined with the low tare weight of the trucks, the engine power and available torque.
He says a 480hp version of the same truck is part of the 700 Series range and are also available with a variety of wheelbases and transmissions to suit different applications including, but not limited to, waste, tippers, general freight and prime mover.
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