Story Wayne Munro Photos Gerald Shacklock BIG TEST - Isuzu

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Above: Performance from the new EGR six-cylinder engine seems fine for the truck’s metro duties Opposite page, top: As with the operation of the F Series, its dashboard display and controls are simple and straightforward Opposite page, bottom left: Diesel particulate diffuser is part of Isuzu’s exhaust emissions control system Opposite page, bottom right: Cab feels quite roomy, has comfy Isri air seat for driver Says Ferguson: “I’m convinced, particularly in today’s economic climate, that you’ve got to have some point of difference out there. And there’s a lot of trucks rolling around the Auckland streets at the moment that are looking pretty tired and faded and jaded. Having good gear out there sets you apart from that” The homebound rush-hour run is a test, says Anthony: “Yeah, it is the worst part of the job – but you’ve just got to go with it. There’s nothing you can do.” Accidents that trigger traffic jams and diversions have on occasions made the 35-kilometre trip from Albany back to Bullet’s depot a two hours-plus proposition, rather than the usual 45 minutes. So this is the lot of this new Isuzu and another three identical trucks added to the Bullet fleet in the past few months – delivering metro freight…and delivering a number of benefits to the company, as MD Owen Ferguson details. The Isuzus – added to the fleet via longterm lease deals with TR Group – are good for the company’s high-profile image, good for the bottom line….and good for the drivers. So much so that the original commitment to one truck extended to take in the other three: “The first one came in and the feedback was good – from the marketplace and from the drivers. It was so driverfriendly,” says Owen Ferguson. “One of the key things we got back from all of the drivers is that the Isuzus are just so quiet.” So tick off driver comfort – and an ongoing employment benefit: “If you’ve got good gear you’ll attract good drivers – and retain good drivers,” says Ferguson. Adding the Isuzus to the operation started out as an exercise to update what had become an ageing metro fleet, mostly comprising secondhand Japanese imports: They were trucks that had given the freight forwarder “a capability of a tail-lift and decent space at a decent price.” Painted up in Bullet Freight’s eyecatching purple, orange and white livery, the imports had served the company well – but increasing maintenance costs dictated a renewal programme. “In talking with TR we felt that we could get some technically highly-specced bits of equipment to replace some of the older units that we had on the fleet, put ‘em on fully-maintained five-year leases – taking potential frights away – and get the benefit of good fuel economy and also the benefit of having good-looking gear out in the marketplace.” Trucks also able to tow the two-axle and three-axle trailers built by Opinion for Bullet’s metro runs (and the odd out-oftown fill-in job). Ferguson took TR’s recommendation of Isuzu being the right trucks – price-wise, fuel economy-wise…and because their engines comply with the Euro 4 exhaust emissions standard, which is a bit more stringent than the parallel Japanese or North American standards. “Everybody’s got to be environmentally conscious,” says Ferguson, adding: “We don’t run specific statistics on the local fleet (we could if we wished to) – but I’m sure we’d be getting greatly-enhanced fuel economy compared to the older trucks we’d been running.” Just as importantly for Bullet – a rarity among transport operators in that it regularly advertises its freight-forwarding services on tv – “it’s good-looking gear.” Says Ferguson: “I’m convinced, particularly in today’s economic climate, that you’ve got to have some point of difference out there. And there’s a lot of trucks rolling around the Auckland streets at the 24 | Truck & Driver MAGAZINE
moment that are looking pretty tired and faded and jaded. Having good gear out there sets you apart from that.” Bullet Freight CEO Dean Ruscoe instituted the tv commercials a couple of years ago: “We’re great believers that you can’t have a share of the market until you first have a share of the mind. So we needed to make sure that we have a very high profile – that’s why we’ve spent reasonably large sums of money with tv.” The 11-year-old Bullet operates what Ruscoe terms “a premium, high-speed” nationwide freight-forwarding service – one that specialises in taking care of high-value bulk freight. The Bullet Freight tv ad pushes the message to potential customers: “We don’t just make big promises….we deliver on them.” The Ruscoe-inspired promotional effort has been good for the company, confirms Owen Ferguson: “Yeah, it was a wise decision to embark on that programme – and these trucks are really just part of that.” Ruscoe expands on that when he describes the Isuzus as “brilliant: A good, strong, quantifiable brand. It’s important that we have a brand with pedigree – so our customers can see we have reliable trucks on the road. We’re a very brand-conscious company.” From Ruscoe’s point of view (“I’m responsible for getting the work in – Owen gets it out,” he sums up), the Isuzus back up their image appeal with reliability, backup, driver-friendliness and manoeuvrability: “They’re a good size, easy to manoeuvre, good to get in and out of different places. It also parallels the Scanias that comprise most of the Bullet longdistance linehaul fleet: “It’s an excellent product and the drivers love it. The better quality gear attracts good quality drivers.” The Isuzus are part of a 14-truck Auckland metro fleet – each designated their own areas of the city, each with their own individual customers: Their job is essentially to service Bullet’s linehaul operations – spending their mornings delivering freight that’s arrived in from around the country overnight to their customers…. And the rest of the day picking up from their customers and bringing it back to Bullet Freight’s logistics centre. Our test truck’s entirely devoted to the rapidly-growing Albany industrial area – with driver Anthony dealing with about 25 customers there…probably about eight of them on any given day. The Opinion two-axle curtainsider trailer, for instance, is loaded with empty pallets and will be – as usual – parked up for the day at a lawnmower manufacturer’s dispatch area. It gets loaded with mowers during the day – ready for Anthony to pick it up again late afternoon (or earlier, if it’s full). Dropping that is our first job for the day – Woolston enduring the impatience of the delayed motorists during his backing exercise before handing the wheel back to Anthony for the rest of the dropoffs. The 32-year-old has become a bit of a specialist on the Albany area – having followed-up running his own courier van for Post Haste Couriers and (along with a spell driving a NZ Couriers Mitsi Shogun on an Auckland-Wellington linehaul run) doing the North Harbour area for Truck & Driver | 25 MAGAZINE
Page 1 and 2: Big Test City slicker Story Wayne M
Page 3: Back at the cavernous Bullet Freigh
Page 7 and 8: Even with its rooftop aerofoil the
Page 9 and 10: The morning’s run comprises five

Story Wayne Munro Photos Gerald Shacklock BIG TEST - Isuzu

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