8/24/12

Isuzu making life easier for mobile maintenance crew


IAL - Isuzu making life easier for mobile maintenance crew_website

For field service mechanic Shannon 'Shagga' Wills, his Isuzu NQR 450 is a home away from home.

Because he travels thousands of kilometres in a week servicing equipment on remote Western Australian mine sites, Shannon has had some creature comforts fitted to the new vehicle - including a bed, fridge and killer sound system!

"I love the new Isuzu because it's a reliable vehicle I can trust and everything is set up exactly the way I want it," Shannon said.

The truck was acquired and customised to Shannon's own personal requirements.

"I wanted a vehicle that was big enough and rugged enough to do the work we do and I wanted it fitted out in a way that made my job of servicing and maintaining large mining equipment easier," he said.

"I also wanted a truck that was comfortable and a pleasure to drive because we sometimes travel hundreds of kilometres between service jobs. The Isuzu fitted the bill perfectly.

"Because we are only allowed to work 14 hours a day, sometimes we are caught between towns or mine sites in places where there are no amenities.

"So, the dual cab option was perfect. We had a bed and fridge fitted in the rear compartment so I can stop and have a sleep," Shannon, who works for national mining equipment supplier, BTP Equipment, said.

Shannon's truck is one three Isuzu trucks in BTP Equipment's fleet of field maintenance trucks that range across some of the most rugged areas of Western Australia, serving a large fleet of mining equipment from Esperance, in the south, through the Goldfields, Pilbara and Kimberly regions.

"We bought the new dual cab NQR 450 at the end of last year and we're very happy with it, so much so that we are soon to purchase another," BTP Western Region Maintenance Supervisor, Geoff Thorburn, said.

"We have found a range of truck that ticks all the boxes. The Isuzu's are big enough to be able to carry the parts and the loads we need, they're rugged enough to handle the mine sites or civil engineering projects where we work - but we can still take them into the local townships to pick up parts and supplies.

"They are a happy medium - perfect for what we do," Geoff said.

BTP had the truck fitted with the tools and equipment to maintain and service the massive equipment the company leases out to all the major mining companies throughout Western Australia.

"We chose the Isuzu because of its reliability and versatility. We work in some rugged environments and we also have to drive through the middle of towns, so the Isuzu's are perfect for our requirements," Geoff said.

The truck came from the factory with a SiTEC 185 horsepower engine, six speed manual transmission, window tinting, alloy bull bar, twin fuel tanks and a water tank.

It has been retro-fitted with powerful LED lights, a 4.5 metre dropside tray, QMW dual cab roll over protection, customised tool boxes, a 1,500 kg hydraulic truck crane, oxy-acetylene and nitrogen bottles, a vice, and a second spare wheel.

Geoff said the vehicle also carried a MEA compressor, generator, welder unit and a GPS system so its movements and speed could be tracked from base.

"The Isuzu has also got what we call 'full mine spec' which means that it has all the safety features, including seat belt and hand brake alarms," he said.

"We now have a fleet of three Isuzu service trucks - we are already running a NQR 450 and a NPR 300. Our crew operates on a two-weeks-on, one-week-off basis and every four to six weeks or so we drive them back to Perth - which could be a trip of more than a thousand kilometres for servicing and to add any extra equipment we require."

BTP Equipment is part of the Best Tractor Parts Group which is one of Australia's leading suppliers of mining equipment parts, sales and rentals to mine sites all over Australia.
 
See much more about Isuzu Truck in Australia at www.Isuzu.com.au

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