M25 operator adds Iveco Daily chassis cabs to fleet

Connect Plus Services has taken delivery of its first Iveco 7.2-tonne Daily chassis cabs.

The engineering firm which operates and maintains the M25 motorway network including all adjoining trunk and slip roads on behalf of Highways England has purchased four new vehicles.

They will be used for night-time traffic management and road maintenance operations.

Supplied by South Normanton-based Iveco dealer Guest Truck & Van, the Daily offers the highest gross vehicle weight of any light commercial vehicle (LCV) on the market, combining a payload capacity greater than many 7.5-tonners with low operating costs.

The vehicles join a 136-strong fleet and will clock up approximately 12,000 miles a year. They have been supplied on contract by Acklea, and are each fitted with traffic management bodywork built by Strongs Plastic Products.

Shaun Moseley, operations and maintenance manager (North West) at Connect Plus Services, said: “We considered a number of options, but the Daily proved to be the best vehicle for our needs and came highly recommended by other highways maintenance contractors. It can easily carry all the equipment we need to cater for lane closures and urgent repairs at short notice, and still has capacity to spare. So far the Daily vehicles have fitted into the fleet perfectly; plus, we’ve had great feedback from our crews.”

Connect Plus Services specified each vehicle with a 360° camera system to maximise crew safety, and a payload indicator to ensure the vehicles never risk operating overloaded.

Moseley added: “Our crews are working on one of the busiest motorways in Europe, so their safety is our absolute priority. The Daily’s compact size versus traditionally larger vehicles used for these roles helps us to reinforce that message because we can park on the hard shoulder and still carry out important maintenance work a safe distance from flowing traffic.”