Maktrans’ Half a Million Reasons

News

6 Sept

It has been written in numerous truck industry journals, including this one, that Daimler’s Freightliner Cascadia is possibly the most tested truck of all those in the Daimler stable – testing that still continues on an on-going basis. As well as dedicated drivers under the employ of Daimler Australia, the company also shipped off a number to businesses around the country for feedback on the product.

One of these was Toowoomba based fuel hauler, Maktrans. The company played a key role in the local test program of the right-hand drive Cascadia, racking up as many miles as possible in a 126 model with a B-double tanker trailer set. That unit is still collecting data in the Maktrans fleet, recently hitting the half-million kilometre mark.

Maktrans Director, Rob Hannemann, says the Cascadia test truck performed extremely well running at 68.5 tonnes on roads across regional Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, including dirt tracks into many farms.

"Feedback from the drivers has been unanimous in praising the comfort and quietness of the ride,” he commented. “We cover some pretty second-grade roads on our runs and the test truck has remained squeak and rattle free.” - And that’s something that couldn’t always be said of Freightliner’s now extinct Argosy models.

A trouble-free half million clicks of testing was certainly an incentive for Maktrans to jump on board with another Cascadia 126 (the 126 denotes the length of the prime mover in inches).

Power for the Cascadia is delivered via a Detroit DD16, 600hp 16-litre six-cylinder engine linked to a 12-speed DT12 automated transmission. Rob tells us that its fuel consumption is the most efficient conventional truck in the mixed Maktrans fleet.

"The DD16 engine is just so much stronger and smoother than anything I've driven before with lots of usable torque,” said Rob. “The leap in technology we’re seeing in the new Cascadia is certainly delivering economic gains. It’s getting 1.9km per litres at 68.5 tonnes: a lot of that work on the New England highway, which knocks your fuel numbers around a bit.”

**Maktrans test Cascadia with another Freightliner product, their Coronado**

The integrated safety technology of the Cascadia was also central to the purchase decision. There’s all the standard stuff that Daimler incorporates across its truck range such as Airbag, radar-based AEBS advanced emergency braking system, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, etc.

Maktrans also opted for Sideguard Assist (a feature that’s becoming a popular addition to the Cascadia product, it seems). Sideguard Assist, 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.

“Safety is central to what we do at Maktrans, so the level of active safety in the Cascadia is very important to us,” said Rob. "We also try and provide a good quality of life for drivers. The interior of the Freightliner (with 48-inch XT cab) is spacious and comfortable, and goes a long way in providing a home-away-from-home for our drivers which is important for the long hauls.”

To borrow a line from another truck manufacturer, reliability is everything, and this is especially so in Maktrans’ job of delivering fuel when and where it’s needed.

"Especially during harvest season when demand for fuel is high, contractors rely on us and our trucks to turn up on time. If the rivers flood and the roads are cut off - like during the 2019 QLD floods - or something out of our control, that's one thing, but we're responsible for everything that's in our control. It's our job to make sure we always deliver the fuel on time. In this business, there are no fail options; uptime is everything because there are a lot of people who depend on us."