All goods vehicles with a gross weight of up to 3.5 tonnes tend to be thought of as vans. That’s a description that usually implies a lighter type of construction than that used on heavy goods vehicles — or trucks.

The trio of FUSO Canter 3C13 3.5-tonners recently purchased by Newton Abbot-based contractor MT Mills should rightly be thought of as vans. But reading the spec list makes it clear that these are proper trucks, despite their low weight.

These FUSO Canter 3.5 tonners boast a range of truck-like features.g

Underneath their truck-like cabs, the FUSOs boast 3-litre, 130hp engines that are designed to deliver high torque, rather than car-like levels of power. A Start/Stop system is standard but remarkably, so to is an engine brake.

Engine brakes help control vehicle speed on descents without using the service brakes. This prevents the risk of a heavily-laden vehicle overheating its brakes and suffering from brake fade. It’s a feature that’s fairly standard on trucks but very rare on 3.5 tonners.

A further truck-like feature of these models is their 3.5-tonne towing capacity. While a number of big pickups on the UK market can tow 3.5 tonnes, very few van models can tow such heavy loads.

Like other Canter owners, New owner Mark Mills is pleased with what he’s seen so far and notes that despite their sturdy construction, the Canters have a higher payload than competing vehicles:

“The Canter also offers around 300 kg more payload potential than the five other, similarly-sized tippers that we also run. What’s more, its exceptionally high, 3.5-tonne towing capacity is proving very useful when we need to move mini-diggers and other plant between sites.

The 3.5-tonne FUSO Canter is of course a smaller version of the heavier models available in the FUSO range. And that’s the difference between this and a standard van — it’s a scaled down truck, rather than a scaled up car.