Heathrow Truck Centre - Going the extra 600 miles

We recently delivered a new FASCF85.460 Space Cab to VDL Container system in Eindhoven, Holland at the request of our customer, Pearce Recycling. Rob Pearce already has one on the road and was keen to see what VDL could offer as an alternative supplier. The truck was “fully loaded”, with metallic paint, side collars, sunvisor, 9 ton front axle, MX engine brake, skylights, foglights, handsfree phone and a beacon bar.

To keep costs down and, because we wanted to, we decided that we would collect it ourselves from VDL. I met Rob in his yard at 5am on the 15th of June. His son, who is a leading Kart driver on the European circuit drove us to Stanstead and we boarded the 6.55 to Eindhoven. It wasn’t long before we were there and were being driven by Roland Van der Waerden to the VDL factory.

After a much needed coffee, we were shown a film and were given a tour of the factory. We met Rob’s cousin’s son there, Hugh, who had been working there for a month. He was full of praise for the way they had looked after him and for the new skills that he had been taught. Then we were taken to see Rob’s Truck. Everything was fine and Rob was shown around the Hookloader equipment by the guys from VDL. I went into the cab and put all of the loose gear under the bunk and had a general clean up. I wanted the truck to be as close as it could be to its working condition, as I knew that we would be spending a lot of time in it.

Once everything was checked and the paperwork handed over, we were officially presented with the truck. They asked me to take it around the front of their Factory and we took some photos there. By now, we had been up for a long time and the offer of lunch was gratefully accepted. I drove to a local Restaurant and parked it in their car park. The food was typically Dutch and, after thanking our hosts, we set off for the long drive to Calais. Rob navigated expertly as I pulled out onto the main roads. He has been driving on the Continent for years while following his son’s racing career. We were soon on the motorway and heading through southern Holland. It didn’t seem long and we were in Belgium. From there it was a case of heading towards Antwerp, then Ghent, before picking up signs for Calais. Rob’s local knowledge came in useful on the Antwerp ring road, where he was able to direct me onto the correct lanes long before the signs came up, which made it a relaxed drive for me.

We had to stop just short of Calais to take on board some beer and wine, before pulling into the Ferry dock for Sea France in Calais. The journey from Eindhoven had taken under 4 hours and we were disappointed to be booked onto the third boat available. Rob tried to charm one of the loaders into letting us on an earlier boat, but she wasn’t having any of it.

Luckily, they loaded our boat very early and we were in the driver’s lounge with a 4 course meal for £8 each before we had even left the dock. Now fed and watered, Rob took the wheel and drove us through the rain all the way to St Albans. We were followed for a while by a couple of curious policemen who were probably wondering why we had no number plates and were driving on trade plates that late at night. Luckily, they didn’t stop us, so we arrived in St Albans at 11pm. Rob parked the truck inside and I gave him a lift home. I collected the truck the following morning and took it to Luton DAF.

It was a very good day out and it was good to meet the guys at VDL. My thanks go to Rob for his help during the drive.