Toowoomba-based corrective farrier company Ag & Equine Services has recently replaced its ute with an Isuzu NPR 45-155 Tradepack.
The new Isuzu truck will be tasked with carting the company’s wide range of tools and equipment – anvils, drills, hammers, angle grinders, welders, air compressors, jerry cans of fuel and horseshoes – as well as towing the company’s gooseneck horse trailer.
This long list of equipment, as well as a small power generator and 60-litre fridge, is necessary for working on properties that are far away from the Ag & Equine Services headquarters. Many of these properties lack easy access to power.
According to Nathan Kerrison from Ag & Equine Services, the upgrade from a ute to the Isuzu NPR 45-155 Tradepack was necessary to take on more work in these remote areas.
“I ask a lot of my vehicles,” he said.
“They’ve got to stand up to hard work.”
The NPR 45-155 Tradepack does just that.
Equipped with a GVM of 4,500kg, and paired with a 9,000kg GCM and 4,500kg towing capacity, Kerrison is able to cart all necessary tools and equipment with relative ease.
Allowing for the weight of the tools and equipment, the NPR Tradepack’s nominal payload of 1,630kg is matched with Isuzu’s turbocharged 4-cylinder 4HK1-TCN engine, with a maximum power at 114 kW at 2,600rpm and torque of 419 Nm between 1,600 and 2,600 rpm.
“A big selling point for me with the new truck was that it needed to be multifunctional – that I could get in and out of places, carry a load, tow my float or trailer and be reasonably economical to use daily,” Kerrison said.
“At the moment, I’m getting about 13.4 litres per 100 km with everything hitched and loaded onto the Tradepack. That’s pretty good, I reckon.”
Other features of the NPR 45-155 Tradepack include a 3.45m tray, which is ideal for Kerrison’s equipment hauling, a 6-speed manual transmission, a 10.2m kert-to-kerb compact turning circle, and a set of dual-circuit hydraulic control brakes, all of which allow Kerrison to tow heavy loads across Toowoomba’s mountainous terrain.
Additionally, Kerrison’s new Isuzu truck is covered under the Isuzu Essentials Service Agreement for his first six scheduled services.
“I’m gobsmacked at how good these Isuzus are,” he said.
“If I get the same sort of run on this truck [as the previous ute], I’ll probably put a million kilometres in it over the next 10 years.”