Darch Oil’s Volvo FE tanker – 4-wheel access, 6-wheel payload

Volvo’s new FE range has solved problems posed by a changing market for Yeovil fuel supplier, Darch Oil. The 6x2 tanker just added to the fleet combines the manoeuvrability needed for access to small premises and rural roads with the payload essential to generate economical delivery routes at a time when the size of individual deliveries is shrinking.

“In the current climate,” explains the company’s General Manager, Kevin Levy, “the typical delivery is getting smaller, yet our 4-wheelers still had to make 20-30 drops a day. We needed a vehicle that could do the same work as them, but carry a bigger payload to make the routes an economical proposition. Volvo’s reliability and the FE’s low cab width made it a good place to start.”

Rated at 26 tonnes GVW, but actually plated for operation at 21 tonnes, the 6x2, rear-steer rigid retains most of its standard features, such as its 320hp engine, four-over-four-plus-crawler manual gearbox and ‘Comfort’ cab. However, while it is still capable of carrying the required 17,000 litre Magyar fuel oil tank, the Volvo chassis has been specially shortened to improve access still further.

“The chassis has been cut back to the legal minimum,” says Kevin, “and we’ve saved even more length by replacing the rear-mounted toolkit with an under-wheelarch model. If anything, it gets in and out even easier than a four-wheeled tanker; if it keeps performing this well, we shan’t be buying any more four-leggers!”

Repairs and maintenance on the new vehicle will be carried out under a three-year contact with supplying Dealer Wales and West Truck and Bus at their Gurney Slade facility.