JF Pearce & Sons order new Volvo trucks

Haulage firm strengthens fleet with the addition of 10 new FH 6x2 rigids

MENDIP-based JF Pearce & Sons have ordered 10 new Volvo FH 6x2 rigid trucks for brick and block transport. The reliability of a number of used Volvo in the company’s fleet, together with a desire to operate trucks with what was seen as an ‘uncomplicated SCR engine’, convinced the directors of JF Pearce & Sons to invest in the new Volvo vehicles.

Configured as a six-wheeler and operating in conjunction with a tri-axle drawbar trailer, the new combinations are designed to operate at the UK legal maximum of 44 tonnes on brick and block transport. Powered by a fuel-efficient, 500hp D13 engine and featuring the popular two-pedal I-Shift fully-automated gearbox, the Volvo rigids are equipped with Globetrotter cabs with full leather interior trim.

‘There was a period in which drivers employed in the brick and block business could be virtually guaranteed to be home every night,’ explained JF Pearce & Sons’ director Joe Pearce. ‘These days, however, drivers may be away from base three or even four nights a week and the Globetrotter cab provides excellent accommodation.

The 6.25m alloy body was built in-house by JF Pearce themselves as the company has a long tradition of fabricating its own bodies, which are tailored exactly to the tasks to be undertaken.

At the rear of the chassis sits an Atlas 125.2 crane with a Kinshofer brick and block grab, while a V Orlandi hitch, mounted at the extreme rear of the Volvo chassis, is used to couple the prime mover to the trailer. The tri-axle trailers coupled to the Volvo rigids were built by Truck and Trailer Conversions of Bristol.

‘The trucks we used previously were configured as 6x4s and we had some concerns that the 6x2 tag-axle layout on the Volvo’s might compromise performance,’ said Mr Pearce. ‘But so far the air-dump facility and drive axle diff-lock have provided adequate traction and better manoeuvrability.’

JF Pearce operate a fleet comprising 59 vehicles made up of almost equal numbers of artics and drawbar combinations. By the end of 2012, the fleet size will have increased to a total of 67 vehicles.