Feature Article
Lifting the lid on Wellington’s guilty secret
When David Hale bought his FUSO Canter 616 Tipper, he went from a truck nobody wanted to drive to one that’s busy every day all over Wellington.
David Hale Building (DHB) had a tipper in its fleet with one major problem - it was a manual - which none of his team wanted to or was able to drive.
“I knew that the (6T Canter Tipper) was available in automatic, and that you can drive it on a car licence, so at the price it was available for, it just made sense,” says David, who started DHB in 2005 and now has 30 staff on his books.
“A few people I know bought them and word got around that they were great value for money.
“It was so funny, – though - when the old truck went, one guy coughed up that he’d avoided driving it for the seven years he’d been with us! But now everyone’s in the Canter, because it's so easy to drive. It drives like a car and the automatic gearbox is so smooth. The boys love it.”
All Canter automated manual models are fitted with FUSO’s unique and highly efficient DUONIC 2.0 dual clutch system, which improves power transmission by switching more quickly between the two clutches, resulting in lower fuel consumption and virtually eliminating gear shift shock for smoother car-like driving and comfort.
With four utes and three vans also on the go, David says it’s the FUSO Canter that everyone wants to drive.
David knows what he needs to keep his sites ticking over. With decades of experience working in Wellington residential construction, he’s well aware of the challenges that come with carrying supplies up and down the city’s difficult roads and driveways.
“It saves us so much money. You get a lot of sites where you can’t put skip bins in, but the Canter gives us a portable waste disposal. You can manoeuvre it into all kinds of different places.”
The 6T FUSO Canter is the only truck in its class with a limited slip diff for improved handling and safety on slippery sites, while its compact size and tight turning circle make it ideal for ubran locations with restricted access.
For David, it’s not only at work that the Canter’s compact size proves a bonus.
“It sits in a garage in the city overnight. It fits perfectly. Some of the guy’s utes don’t fit - but the truck does!”
Meanwhile, that old truck is gathering dust in a shed on David’s parents’ farm.
“Getting the Canter Tipper was definitely a good decision. It’s exactly the right fit for what we do and Daniel Beavis (Keith Andrews Wellington) has been great to deal with throughout.”
By the time David makes his next truck purchase, you can be sure that nobody will be harbouring guilty secrets about avoiding his current one.
GVM: 5,995kg
Power/Torque: 110kW/370Nm
Transmission: 6-spd DUONIC 2.0
Service intervals: 30,000km