But take a closer look at this month’s New Zealand Truck & Driver feature truck and a few subtle differences become apparent. The roofline of this truck is a little lower than its fleet buddies and you might notice the door handles are slightly below shoulder height. And it’s only two steps to climb into the cab.
This Waharoa-based Scania P 460 is the only P Cab in the Open Country fleet. It’s among a handful of 6x4s (rather than the more common 8x4) milk collection units and also the least powerful milk tanker in the fleet with 460hp.
Paired with a new 4-axle TES trailer (the only one in the fleet running on Super Single tyres) it makes an innovative and agile 7-axle combination working at up to 44t that comes into its own on the tighter tanker turnarounds and narrower farm tracks found in parts of the Waikato.
This was an opportune purchase for Open Country Dairy, as a truck became available just when they needed one in a hurry. Departing from their traditional specifications, this agile 7-axle unit has not only integrated into the fleet seamlessly, it has also offered a chance to test some innovations.
This is my first milk tanker test since taking over full-time from my father, Trevor, five years ago. I’ve done almost everything else in that time, so I’m looking forward to trying something new.
The morning was spent chasing the Scania P 460 around the Matamata area for photography and studying the truck while it loaded and unloaded using its new e-pump system. Now, it’s my turn to take the last load back to the factory.
