Freight Assist Australia launches PBS B-triple road train

Freight Assist Australia has just recently deployed a Vawdrey Performance-Based Standards (PBS) B-triple road train.

The 36.5m combination consists of two 12-pallet drop deck A trailers and a 20-pallet drop deck B trailer on the rear, allowing the fleet to increase its carrying capacity over its B-doubles by 10 tonnes with an additional 12 pallet spaces.

Approved for PBS Level 3A, the B-triple features BPW Transpec axles and suspension, mezzanine decks, Super-Strap load restraint curtains and Vawdrey’s full height and lightweight load-rated Lift-A-Gate hanging gate system.

Since being welcomed to the fleet, it has been travelling on PBS Level 3A networks as well as B-triple and road train networks supporting Freight Assist Australia’s depots in Victoria, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane carting general and express freight.

It has a Gross Combination Mass (GCM) of 85 tonnes and a 46-tonne payload.

Freight Assist Australia Managing Director, Dean Wrigley, told Trailer the high productivity unit has been performing flawlessly in its operations and has shown a positive return on investment for the company.

“We’re getting pretty good results in terms of revenue and profitability on it, so it’s performing really well,” he said.

“I’ve got a really good driver who loves it. It’s been great.”

Bringing the fleet’s total number of road trains to five, the combination arrived as part of Freight Assist Australia’s ongoing mission of increasing productivity while reducing the number of units on the road.

Following two PBS A-doubles which joined the fleet earlier this year, Freight Assist Australia converted some of its existing equipment to bring the B-triple to fruition.

“In our business, it all comes down to profitability,” Wrigley said.

“We’re loading the A-doubles to capacity. On average, we are running five A-doubles to Sydney and back each day which equates to a saving of around one semi-trailer load per day.

“If you multiply that by 20, that’s a lot of savings in terms of costs. That’s how many loads you’re saving by utilising less vehicles and focusing on more volume.”

Vawdrey, Wrigley said, was chosen for these trailers due to the success of other previous units within the fleet.

“I’ve got a really good relationship with Vawdrey,” he said.

“I just prefer their product. I think they’ve got a quality product that’s backed Australia-wide.”

According to Wrigley, two more A-doubles will join the mix as well as some new straight deck B-doubles.

For these, he’s certain he will turn to Vawdrey again.

“I’ll continue to invest in Vawdrey,” Wrigley said.

“I’m really happy with not only the equipment but the service.

“They’ve got the ability to build relationships and they back their brand.”

This story was first published in Trailer.