Ensuring the mail’s on time - Rain, hail or shine!

In-depth

11 July

Rod’s fulfilling his Australia Post Contract the S-Way.

Although fewer Aussies these days are physically posting letters, the convenience of e-commerce is seeing more parcels than ever being delivered to households via mail, meaning postal contractors are kept very busy all year round, not just at Christmas.

One long-term contractor to Australia Post is Rodney Burkett (pictured above) who, with a tenure of almost 20 years working with the corporation, knows the road from Bendigo to Mildura in Victoria like the back of his hand. But while the road’s the same, the trucks that he’s used over the years to fulfill his work obligations have changed.

Most recently, an IVECO S-Way 360 AT 6x2 rigid has joined Rodney’s two truck fleet. Fitted with a tautliner body (that’s set-up to carry unit load devices) and a tailgate lift, the truck is loaded in Bendigo via the curtains and then an electric pallet jack is used by the driver to unload at five drop locations en route to Robinvale around an hour east of Mildura. The return leg sees the truck once again reloaded with mail and parcels while in transit to Bendigo, where the process begins once again. In a week the vehicle covers around 3,500 kilometres.

The new S-Way which began work in February, replaces another European marque and is Rodney’s first IVECO truck.

“I was looking for another option and on paper the specs of the S-Way looked good for what I needed,” Rodney said.

“I’ve always been drawn to the European trucks – I like the quiet cabin, the comfort and the added refinement they provide compared to the Japanese and North American alternatives.

“I actually bought the S-Way from IVECO dealer, Bendigo Truck Centre, without test driving it. A few years ago, I drove the earlier X-Way and was impressed by it; the only reason I didn’t get the IVECO back then was because there was a wait for the spec I wanted, and I needed the truck urgently. I figured that in the time since, the trucks had only gotten even better!”

Rodney’s S-Way features a GVM of 27,600kg – more than ample for the application according to him – a 360hp / 1650Nm engine and the smooth shifting Hi-Tronix 12-speed Automated Manual Transmission. The truck is also brimming with active safety features and driving aids including Advanced Emergency Braking System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning and GPS Predictive Drive.

“The S-Way is brilliant, it’s lovely to drive and so quiet,” Rodney said.

“The motor is good as well and fuel use is excellent; we’re getting up to 3 kilometres per litre and it’s still early on.”

While the truck features an ADR 42-compliant sleeper cab, given the delivery schedule which sees the ‘working day’ begin in Bendigo at 1:00am and finish in Robinvale at about 6:00am, before reloading at 2:00pm for the return drive to Bendigo, Rodney and his three other drivers use a unit in Robinvale to properly rest-up and meet fatigue management requirements.

Although Rodney is happy with the S-Way in standard trim, he’s fitted some accessories to further boost efficiency and functionality. This includes an alloy bull bar to protect from animal strikes, an air deflector and additional fuel tanks which have been positioned just in front of the drive axle to assist with weight distribution. Appearance has also been lifted with custom blue and silver striped livery.