Neil Yates is no stranger to upping the profile of his recovery fleet – but the extended-cab, highly-customised Daf ‘XXF’ featured here is a veritable spaced-out special
Rarely have we heard anyone complain that Daf’s Super Space Cab is short of space – there is a bit of a clue in the name. Over the years it has become the cab that others are invariably compared with, but there is always someone who thinks otherwise and wants something just that bit better.
Snodland, Kent-based Neil Yates, boss of Neil Yates Recovery Ltd (NYR) and Alco Plant Hire Ltd, is just that individual. He has long been known for his high-profile fleet and has often graced the pages of this and other publications over the years. Numerous American bonneted conventional and cab over wreckers have been run by his recovery operation, along with many high-spec vehicles from European manufacturers.
Daf figures strongly in both the recovery and transport fleets, with many different versions of the XF and CF ranges, but the latest Daf to enter service is truly different from anything that went before.
When we first saw a picture of the completed vehicle on the internet we knew instantly who it was destined for; if anyone in the UK was to have a Daf tractor unit with a cab extended by 900mm, it had to be Neil!
Snodland bound
We ventured down to Kent to see the new Daf ‘XXF’, as it has been termed, and to speak to the owner and proud driver. The truck is finished in NYR’s trademark colours of red and white with subtle gold stripes edged in black, a livery that has adorned a number of trucks in the fleet, including a four-axle Kenworth K100 Aerodyne wrecker – a previous T&D Editor’s Choice in 2011.
The livery was modelled on an earlier K100 that was featured in a 1970s TV series, B J and the Bear, in which owner-driver B J McKay drives a Kenworth K100 Aerodyne accompanied by ‘Bear’, his pet chimpanzee. They got up to all sorts of adventures but never actually seemed to do much work…
Bu hikaye Truck & Driver dergisinin August 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Truck & Driver dergisinin August 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Well forked Daf
Remember, we like to cover all sorts of different trucks here at T&D – like this impressive new CF rigid complete with Moffett Mounty forklift
King of the hill
Moving heavy equipment off road calls for a truck with plenty of power and traction, which is why M&J Plant chose a mighty 6x4 FH16 750
Time Machine 2015-2019
It’s the final part of our series on the history of UK haulage. Let’s look back at those innocent times before that pesky virus turned up
Original and best
There are few trucks which have been customised to the level of the Scania 143, but let’s not forget that the standard product was pretty awesome just as it left the factory, like this rare 420
GOING ALL THE WAY
Simon Rogers got behind the wheel as soon as he was able to, and nearly 30 years later, his company is going from strength to strength, with a striking all-black, top-spec Iveco S-Way 570 the latest addition to the fleet
Abnormal loads
In the distant past, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, truck drivers were a very different breed, made from sterner stuff than us mere mortals
Range change
After a gap of 13 years, Renault trucks have reappeared in the unique colours of MacRitchie Highland Distribution. T&D takes the high road to Inverness to meet owners, Donald and Catriona MacRitchie
Cutting a dash
Freshly showered and munching a healthy egg and cress sarnie in Gloucester North services, Chris has a Foden update
Air we go!
On Saturday 29 May at 6pm, 240 drivers gathered with their trucks at South Mimms Services for a parade to raise vital money for Essex & Hertfordshire Air Ambulance
A Cutt Above
From coal to turf to fencing and loads more, there’s not much the Calcutt fleet hasn’t transported over the years
