Farmer wants a Wi… Fuso

News

20 Oct

…. And Victoria’s Wimmera district was able to supply one thanks to a new Daimler Trucks dealership in town.

Sam Eagle runs sheep and grows crops such as wheat, barley, canola and beans on a property he operates with the help of his parents, Geoff and Merryn, wife Emily, nine-year-old daughter Penny and seven-year-old son Henry.

Looking to replace a worn out farm ute and facing an eight-month wait for another one, he had a look around and wondered what else might do the job.

“If another ute had been readily available I probably would have just gone down that path again but, like a lot of cars at the moment, the waiting time to get hold of one was verging on the ridiculous. That got me thinking outside the square as to what else could do the job for me.

“If we hooked up the 3500kg fuel trailer on the back, the ute was at maximum GCM and you couldn’t carry anything in the tray. Also, during harvest, if we have a problem with a comb header, which are very heavy, we couldn’t tow it into town to be repaired.

“As it turned out I’ve replaced the old ute for something that will do those jobs and much more.”

Enter Wilson Bolton of Horsham, who have just recently joined the Daimler Trucks dealership network, selling and supporting Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Fuso products. In fact they are so new to the scene that Sam was their very first sale. And that sale was a Fuso Fighter Tipper.

**Sam and Wilson Bolton salesman, Justin Beugelaar, with Sam’s new Fuso Fighter tipper**

“It’s very exciting to sell our first Daimler truck and to share this milestone with a great member of the community like Sam,” said General Sales Manager, Luke Hutchinson.

Although new to the Daimler stable, Wilson Bolton are well known for looking after their customers across the Wimmera and beyond. “Daimler has great products and we’re pleased to be representing them in the Wimmera and to supply and service the Fuso range, as well as Mercedes trucks and buses and Freightliner.”

Back to Sam Eagle and his new Tipper:

“Best choice I could’ve made, I reckon. As well as doing everything the old ute could do, the Fighter has a GVM of 10,000kg and a GCM of 20,000kg. That’s a lot of spare towing and loading capacity!”

“It’s also got 177KW and 745NM. Tell me what ute is going to give you that sort of torque? Hauling gravel and other heavy stuff around the farm is a breeze now. The icing on the cake – well two lots of icing really – is that service intervals are at 30,000KM and the price difference wasn’t actually very much at all.”

So why a tipper rather than just a tray truck?

“Hah! No hooking up a trailer to go to the tip – and when I get there I pull the lever, up she goes and jobs done!”

“I’m not missing out on creature comforts either,” said Sam. “You get a lot of features, three seats, a touch screen display and a rear camera, air-con are just some. It’s actually got more features than the ute I was originally looking at. And the Fuso is so much more capable.

“I’ve also got a five year/300,00km warranty. I reckon I’m well covered.”

Sam wouldn’t mention that ute manufacturer/dealer who couldn’t supply him for some eight months, but he is very grateful to them.