First-rate Enduro beats second-hand options

Initially convinced a second-hand replacement for its old Mercedes-Benz Tipper was the way to go, Reid Enterprises found the price, warranty and Daimler drivetrain of a brand-new FUSO heavy-duty Enduro proved a better solution.

Business owner Paul Reid loved his 37-year-old Mercedes-Benz tipper, so it took a lot for driver Miles Jackson to convince his boss to try something different.

“I eventually persuaded him by saying the Enduro was sort of a Mercedes, because it’s got a Daimler engine,” Miles chuckles.

“We scoured everywhere and couldn’t find a second-hand truck that was better than what we had. When we looked at the Enduro, the price was so good! That was a big thing, I couldn’t believe the price! We looked at other makes, brand new, and they were far too expensive and didn’t have the right deck anyway.

“We have three years warranty with this Enduro as well, but we reckon we should have a five or six-year free run, where we won’t have to do anything except replace the tyres, and it’ll be paid off in that period anyway.”

Based in Masterton, Wairarapa, about 100km north of Wellington, Reid Enterprises has been in general cartage since the late 1980s. Its biggest client is Juken NZ Ltd, for which it carries firewood, leftovers and offcuts.

The 25T Enduro FJ2528 6x4 Factory Tipper has a 16m3 steel bin that Miles rates highly.

“The bin is bloody brilliant – it leaves all the others we’ve seen around here for dead!”

Although Reid Enterprises generally operates locally, it makes 15 trips ‘over the hill’ to Wellington every year.

When Miles talks about ‘the hill’, he’s talking about the Remutaka Hill Road, a 6.6km winding ascent that climbs 336m at an average grade of 5%. It’s no walk in the park, but no challenge for Enduro’s high torque, 285hp/1,120Nm, 6.4L engine, he says.

“I’ve made the trip at 19T no sweat. It handles it well. We’ve done 7,000km in the five months we’ve had it and it hasn’t missed a beat.

“We haven’t really used much AdBlue either. I was talking to some of the other guys and they say they put heaps of AdBlue in their trucks, but I doubt we’ve used a tank since we got it, I really do.”

The nine-speed synchromesh manual transmission was also new to Miles, and it has quickly won him over.

“I’m used to splitters, so it took a bit of getting used to a single gearbox, but now that I have, she runs good.”

It looks like the trust that Reid Enterprises put in its new FUSO Enduro is paying off.

“She takes a good load and runs well,” says Miles. “All in all, she fits the bill perfectly.”

FUSO first for heavy-duty trucks

Contact your local FUSO dealer to get the right heavy-duty truck for your business. We have Shogun and some Enduro models, with a wide range of specs to suit all sorts of applications. Get in touch today!