Over the last few months, I’ve commented on the apparent growing popularity of vans and trucks with a gross weight of between 3.5 tonnes and 6 tonnes.

This class of vehicles combines a payload capacity approaching that of a 7.5 tonne unit with the size and running costs of a 3.5 tonne vehicle — an appealing combination, despite the added restrictions of tachograph and mandatory 56mph speed limiter.

TNT is currently running a large-scale trial of 5 tonne Volkswagen Crafter box vans in place of 7.5 tonne lorries, and a company that has recently moved in the other direction is Rickerby, a Carlisle-based horticultural equipment dealer.

Rickerby has recently swapped a 3.5t beavertail vehicle transporter for a new 5t Iveco Forward N50.150, which offers a a full 2 tonne payload — nearly double that of the company’s old 3.5t vehicle.

With a 3.0 litre, 150bhp, Euro 5, EEV power unit and the same compact, but well equipped, cab as the Isuzu 3.5t Grafters, this vehicle gives Rickerby’s much more payload flexibility. In addition the narrow cab and proportionately designed body make it an easy vehicle to manoeuvre through the Cumbrian road systems and really helps Rickerby’s to adhere to its demanding customer equipment delivery programme.

The new Isuzu is being used on single-driver operation to deliver to customers within the locality and is working on a six-day week delivery operation, mainly on short run jobs carrying the full range of smaller horticultural and agricultural equipment.

Martyn Henderson, sales manager at Rickerby, is full of praise for the vehicle and says that the manufacturer and local dealer came highly recommended:

“We were looking for a solution that would enable us to increase payload without increasing the actual vehicle size. The Isuzu 5.0 tonner is absolutely perfect for this job and we are extremely pleased with the vehicle’s performance.

Prior to purchasing the new Isuzu, we talked to several local companies and suppliers who also run the Isuzu marque and without exception they were full of praise for the performance of the vehicle and the service support they receive from the local dealer.”

Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that companies as diverse as TNT and Rickerby are both focusing far more precisely on optimising payload, size and running costs for their van fleets, rather than tolerating the inefficiency and compliance risks of vehicles that are slightly too large or too small.

This need for precision and efficiency is another reason that demand for van hire has remained strong throughout the recession — businesses want to tailor the size of their van fleets to meet current demand, rather than having to carry surplus capacity to deal with busy periods.