Cosham Plant Hire has added a new Andover Trailers plant body to its fleet, mounted to a 32 tonne Volvo FM420 8×2 rear-steer rigid truck.
The vehicle features a bespoke plant body with beavertail, incorporating Andover Trailers’ pioneering hydraulic fold forward power toe ramps which improve the vehicle’s aerodynamics and fuel consumption.
Cosham Plant Hire was founded by Mick and Nora Gaffney in 1974 and is one of the largest plant hire operators in the south of England. Based in Havant, Hampshire the company has a fleet of more than 100 machines ranging in size from 0.8 tonne micro diggers to 25 tonne excavators and includes compressors, dumpers and rollers.
Cosham Plant Hire’s Transport Manager Ken Newell says: “Our previous vehicle had come up for renewal and we had seen a similar vehicle, built by Andover Trailers, being used by another company. The truck was exactly what we were looking for and we decided to order one ourselves.”
The new plant body comes equipped with a host of features specific to the needs of Cosham Plant Hire. These include six pairs of lashing points which allow for the numerous types of plant to be safely and securely transported, plus an electric winch which can be operated by remote or radio control, ensuring safe and controlled loading and unloading of plant and equipment.
Safety features include red LED lights set into the floor to illuminate the edge of the vehicle to assist when loading at night as well as amber strobes positioned between the ramps to maximise visibility even when the ramps are in use. Additionally, the vehicle features hydraulic steady legs and a sturdy toolbox for neat stowage of essential tools and straps. As with the majority of Andover Trailers’ plant bodies the deck height is a significant five inches lower than a regular plant body which allows for lower ramp and beavertail approach angles, making loading and unloading machinery easier.
“We needed a vehicle which performed well under a range of conditions as it will be used for general access to different types of sites when delivering plant equipment to our customers. With site access becoming tighter and more restricted we needed a reliable and manoeuvrable vehicle and our new plant body ticks all the boxes.”
All Andover Trailers plant bodies are precision-built to each customer’s exact requirements, and to best suit the host truck chassis. They have a reputation for sturdiness and longevity, helping to ensure a strong residual value when sold onto the second-hand market in years to come. Cosham Plant Hire plan to keep the vehicle in operation for between six and eight years.
