Cascadia Delivers for Lane Transport’s 30th

In-depth

23 Jul

Lane Transport recently celebrated 30 years of operation by introducing its second Freightliner Cascadia. The business, based in Kilarney on Victoria’s south-western coast, has a mixed fleet of 37 B-Doubles that covers an area including Australia’s eastern seaboard and stretches across to Adelaide.

Lane Transport founder Noel Lane started the business off with a 1418 Mercedes-Benz and a Ford LNT 9000 hauling produce from his family’s potato farm in Western Victoria.

**Still in the family and beautifully preserved**

Noel soon started delivering pulp and paper for Visy, who he still carries for today, before adding more packaging and other products from many different customers through the years. Among the material moved by Lane Transport are glass bottles that are picked up from a manufacturing facility in Gawler, South Australia, and delivered to wineries across that state, Victoria and New South Wales.

In 2021 he purchased a striking blue Cascadia 116 and recently added the second Cascadia to his fleet, a 126 model this time around. It wears some special signage celebrating the 30 years of Lane Transport, which has grown significantly over the years.

The industry veteran is glad that he has introduced the Cascadias. “They are just magic to drive,” he says. “The comfort is amazing, it’s like driving a big car in some ways. They are really comfortable and quiet and have the AMTs, which really make life a lot easier.”

This second Cascadia has a 36-inch sleeper and tows a B-double trailer set, running at 65 tonnes Gross Vehicle Mass (GCM) under mass management.

The 36-inch cab gives the driver a decent amount of space, who are often away from home, while still allowing the Cascadia to fit in front of a B-double trailer set. For those who don’t have the same packaging constraints, the Cascadia can also be selected with a 48-inch or 60-inch cab.

**Cascadia is not the only Daimler product in the Lane fleet**

Noel says the Cascadia is very strong when it comes to fuel efficiency running at 65-tonnes, even compared it to the Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks in his fleet, which are well-known fuel misers.

“It would have to be close to Actros, just under the 2km per litre mark, which is really good going. The Cascadias are certainly the most efficient of the bonneted trucks in the fleet.”

Noel always goes out of his way to invest in safety, so he was pleased that the Cascadia comes standard with a vast array of active safety features which includes a radar and camera-based Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS) that can automatically detect, and fully brake for, moving pedestrians in addition to vehicles. Also standard is a radar-based adaptive cruise control system and a lane departure warning system in addition to Electronic Stability Program and a driver airbag.

He also selected the optional Sideguard Assist feature, which uses radar to detect people, cars and other objects down the side of the truck when it is about to move left into a lane or turn left.

Noel says the advanced safety technology of the trucks is welcome and says the cab design of the Cascadia also helps his drivers. “The visibility of these Cascadias is really, really good. The shape of the bonnet means that you can see very well out the windscreen,” he says.

Under the sloping bonnet lies an advanced Detroit engine. The blue 116 features a 13-litre six-cylinder that generates 505hp and 1850lb/ft of torque, while the 126 packs a 16-litre that pumps out 600hp and 2050lb/ft.

These are smart engines that meet the GHG17 emission standard, which is stricter than Euro 6, something that is appreciated by customers who are counting the emissions in their chains of production and distribution.

While an 18-speed Eaton manual is an option, Noel chose the clever 12-speed DT12 Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). The in-house integration of the engine and gearbox means the truck can adapt to the terrain it is travelling over to save fuel, which is more important than ever given current prices.

It uses GPS and topographical data to determine when it can best change gear or even select neutral and coast to make the most of the terrain and save as much fuel as possible.

The two Cascadias are on a Freightliner service contract, which means Noel has paid a fee for the trucks to be serviced at a Daimler Truck dealership by factory-trained technicians using genuine parts. Noel says it makes sense for the Cascadia to be on a service contract because they more advanced and require specialist knowledge.

Noel wants to make mention of the team at Daimler Trucks Mount Gambier and Daimler Trucks Mildura who look after his trucks and go out of their way to make sure the Lane Transport trucks keep moving.