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DEFINITELYDAF

Kennedy Express has been helping to prove out DAF’s new XF105, and it’s all looking good

It’s been waiting a long time in the wings to be introduced to the Australian market, but, for DAF, with its new XF105 higher horsepower prime mover, the anticipation has been worth the wait

Now, as the DAF XF105 makes it to the front row of DAF dealerships across the country, PowerTorque discusses how a nine-month pre-release evaluation went in the cut and thrust of overnight express work.

Michael Kennedy, the managing director of Kennedy Express, runs a multi-vehicle fleet of prime movers and rigid trucks from his base on the outskirts of Western Sydney, at Austral.

Michael’s fleet caters exclusively for time sensitive express freight return routes of Sydney to Melbourne and Brisbane as well as NSW country hubs. His past experience of operating two DAF XF95 prime movers in his fleet, with excellent results, made him an easy choice for DAF to trial its next level of entry.

The Kennedy Express fleet today numbers 35 prime movers and rigids, with 23 bogie-axled semitrailers and two B-double trailer sets.

“Our average weight of a prime mover and trailer runs to around the 30 tonnes mark, and we carry a typical payload of around 12-14 tonnes. With express freight and relatively low

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payloads, we don’t need the added expense and maintenance of running tri-axled trailers,” said Michael.

“In fact, it’s something you’ve always got to remember, that the truck is only a tool by which you make money. Over capitalizing on equipment for the sake of looks, without any gains in profit, is simply not sustainable in today’s quest for efficiency,” he added.

As a 15-year-old schoolboy, Michael used to spend his weekends earning extra pocket money at the Peter Cantarella yard, washing the legendary Kenworth grey ghosts that ran on behalf of Ansett carrying the Rocket freight.

By 1976, and then aged 21 years, he started driving for himself, with a Commer 6x4 powered by a V653 Detroit out of Sultana Brothers Interstate carrying general freight.

“I always wanted to be an overnighter, and, although I had chosen a career in the NSW Police Force, I drove for Midnight Express, Ipec and other overnight operators,” said Michael.

“By 1989 it was obvious that there was a lot more money in trucking than the police force. I’d already bought my first truck, a MAN 8x4 rigid with 342 hp and a nine-speed overdrive gearbox and started running for Skyroad Express on the Sydney to Brisbane run.

“The MAN product was extremely reliable, and I added an 18-speed MAN 8x4 with a 400 hp engine for parcels work, and then added a Mack CLR, at 454 hp, with an 18-speed manual gearbox.

“This was the turning point, as I left the police force to drive full time and to build up my own business further. The Mack was running to Melbourne and return, while the MAN was working on the Sydney/Melbourne route. I also added two UD trucks, one a CMF88 and the other a MK235, both rigids, for use on the Sydney to Brisbane route.

“The UDs were extremely reliable and were great trucks. As work increased our company grew, so that by 2001 I was operating six prime movers and trailers carrying express freight between Sydney and Melbourne as well as the rigids on Sydney to Brisbane.

“I was operating four Mack Quantum prime movers and added two DAF XF95s with a view to possibly running the DAFs with B-double sets. Advice from other operators was always that DAF was an unproven product, and, at the time, the customer service and support levels were relatively unknown, especially by those that had never run the product.

“I still have the original two DAF XF95 in my fleet today, and they have been magnificent. Both have now notched up one million kilometres each, without any major overhaul. They have an engine oil drain using synthetic oil at intervals of 30,000 km, their axles and transmission oil drains at 120,000 km, and still feel tight and excellent to drive. Both are also still on their original brake shoes. From a service and maintenance satisfaction point of view, both DAFs have been spectacular.

“I also liked the Mack Quantums, which were a good truck. But Mack shot itself in the foot when it discontinued selling cabovers.

“Today, the two DAF XF95s are used as backup vehicles to the fleet in case of breakdown, and they support a fleet that includes 22 Mack prime movers, seven MAN TGA prime movers at 530 hp, as well as rigids on both Melbourne and Brisbane runs.

“Nine months ago we added the XF105 bogie-drive on trial. This runs with disc front brakes, drum rears, and has the 510 hp engine matched to the AS Tronic 14-speed automated manual transmission.

“The new DAF has been very impressive, and, as the first SCR truck in our fleet, it’s been also the first we’ve had that requires AdBlue/Diesel Exhaust Fluid.

“It’s very easy to steer, the ergonomics are good, it’s always comfortable and the design of the fridge etc. is excellent for the driver. All the controls are intuitive and the auxiliary retardation of the exhaust valve brake is highly impressive.

“The gearbox is also a step ahead of the competition with rapid gear shifts. It will hold a gear as it lugs back on full torque, then drop back two ratios, in the same way as you’d expect a good truck driver to react. The power and torque from the MX engine is an equal to the 500 hp Mack.

“As this is the first SCR with AdBlue/DEF engine we’ve had in the fleet, we’ve been very interested to see how it would go with fuel economy.

“On a typical Sydney/Melbourne return trip we complete the 875 km each way, totaling 1,750 km and using an average of 719 litres of fuel and 26-28 litres of AdBlue/DEF for the return trip.

“This is giving us a diesel fuel consumption of 2.43 km/litre, which, when combined with the AdBlue/DEF usage, brings the economy back to of 2.34 km/litre. This is very good by

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common standards today, although it still doesn’t match the non-EGR Mack CCRS engine that used 680 litres in the old days for an identical journey time.

“AdBlue/DEF supply is no problem as we buy in 1000 litre pods. Our mobile service unit tops up the prime mover as it loads at Bankstown before it starts its run.

“The 75-litre AdBlue/DEF tank is smaller than we would prefer, as it enables the truck to handle two Sydney/Melbourne return trips easily but has to be completely filled to cope with the extra distance of the Sydney/Brisbane run.

“We’ve discussed the shortcomings of Mack with Arne Knaben, the Volvo/Mack MD in Australia, and also with Denny Slagle, the Mack boss from America, as we believe EBS and roll stability is very important. They’ve done nothing to introduce these added safety benefits, even though they are available in the US.

“It’s our policy to replace vehicles at four-year intervals for our linehaul fleet, and then downgrade the vehicle to shorter distance work. Our new trailers from Vawdrey and Freighter will now always incorporate EBS and roll stability.

“The European cabovers integrate safety much better than the North American products. In our view, the run northwards to Brisbane is more prone to the potential for a traffic incident, due to the lower standards of the road network, and, hence, we prefer to run the European products on this route in order to benefit the driver with the added safety items available.

“We are incorporating ABS braking with electronic braking systems and stability programmes, and are keen supporters of lane departure assist and also proximity blind spot warning systems. As it becomes harder to find drivers with greater experience, we have realised that the onus is on the operator to include added safety features where they become available.

“The Mack product suffers from minor problems, such as wastegate faults and electronic gremlins, that require it to be fixed in a workshop. Mack can only offer ABS, and that’s a system that seems to date back to the horse and cart by comparison. Volvo is a good product, but it is more expensive with higher parts costs. The DAFs and the MANs are a better alternative for productivity and profit,” Michael added.

“As a member of the Nat Road board, I believe we have to address road safety and embrace new technology. We have to realise that, as we employ newer drivers, we can raise their safety levels and ability by including electronic intervention systems. These electronic systems don’t replace experience but they can be an important way to mitigate risk,” added Michael.

“The improvements in safety that are incorporated as part of a European vehicle could swing the balance, in future, for vehicle selection. The DAF XF105 and MAN TGX are both good examples,” concluded Michael.

Michael Kennedy is finding the fuel economy of the DAF XF105 highly impressive and driver acceptance is extremely positive.