Upgrading With Isuzu For a Tip-Top Future

April 27, 2023

It was love at first sit for Brisbane-based landscaper Mariner Rood when he invested in a new Isuzu to expand Revive Landscape Construction’s fleet.

“The ISRI seat is awesome,” Mariner said, before listing more of his favourite specs on his six-week-old FSR 140-260 Tipper, including the heated side mirrors for foggy mornings, the “super-quiet” cab and the wide lens and microphone on the reverse camera.

“It’s really comfortable and perfect for the job,” he said.

Mariner set up his landscaping construction business two years ago after being made redundant. He’s now in expansion mode, planning on hiring more staff and acquiring more equipment in the near future.

“We've got a couple big projects coming up,” he said.

The small, ageing tipper, which is also a part of Mariner fleet hadn’t been “cutting the butter”, so last year he began researching what truck would best suit the type of work he and his two apprentices did.

Just Right

“It's right in-between the largest size and the smaller variant, so it’s great for those tight access jobs around town. I do a lot of demolition work for jobs and it helps us get rid of a lot of product that we don't want on-site.”

The Revive Landscape Construction tipper from Brisbane Isuzu was crucial to the soil and turf preparation work Mariner and his team were doing at Mount Gravatt TAFE in Brisbane late in 2022.

“We’re working on couple of hundred square metres of turf and landscaped garden area and will move around 30 cubic metres of top-soil and other material over the next couple of days,” Mariner said.

Mariner Rood Director of Revive Landscape Constructions

The company does an even mix of residential and commercial landscaping around Brisbane, north to the Sunshine Coast and the town of Cherbourg and south to the Gold Coast.

With a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 14,000 kilograms and a Gross Combined Mass (GCM) of 21,000 kilograms, the FSR Tipper is more than capable of carrying a full load of construction rubble and towing earthmoving equipment, including a 2.5 tonne Terex Posi-Track, that is vital to Revive Landscape Construction’s business.

Torque For The Hills

The FSR’s six-cylinder Isuzu 6HK1-TCC engine, (which provides 191 kW @ 2,400 rpm and torque of 761 Nm @ 1,450 – 2,400 rpm), copes extremely well with weightier loads of soil and other aggregate material that needs to be transported through some of Brisbane’s hillier areas.

The safety features of Mariner’s new FSR, including anti-lock braking system (ABS), anti-skid regulator (ASR), hill start aid (HSA), cab tilt warning (CTW) and low-light capable reversing camera, also help keep the Revive Landscape Construction’s team safe while on the job.

Mariner is also thrilled with the efficiencies that come with being able to carry and tow a great deal more than his former ute.

“There’s less trips, less hours you've got to spend on the road, he said.

“That's pretty much the reason I bought it…I don't have to go to the tip before I go and pick up the bobcat. I can just fill the truck up, put the trailer on, chuck the machine on, and I can go home from there.”

Efficiencies Everywhere

With just a 20 second raise/ lower time on the tipping body, the team can be in and out of locations quickly and efficiently, then off for the next load.

“The up and down time on the tips, it's pretty efficient,” Mariner said.

Revive Landscape Construction also has a 1995 NKR that joined the company fleet through Mariner’s used car salesman father.

“It's a solid little work vehicle,” he said. “I think it's got over 300,000 km on it, and it hasn't skipped a beat yet.”

The dependability of his old Isuzu and the comfort, power and safety features of his new unit means any expansion of the Revive Landscape Construction’s fleet will probably include another Isuzu, Mariner said.