L.A.W. Tol B.V. buys Scania R660 6×4 heavy haulage tractor

Excavator rental L.A.W. Tol B.V. of Piershil recently took delivery of a special Scania R660 6×4. The heavy haulage tractor is special in more ways than one. That is, of course, in the powerful 660hp V8 engine of the latest generation. But also in the special driven tandem chassis. The driver of this heavy haulage tractor will be Esmeralda Tol. 

The new truck is an expansion of the fleet, bringing the fleet of L.A.W. Tol B.V. to 14 units. "Our core business is the rental of excavators with and without operator. We deliver these to various locations in the Benelux. In addition, within our transport department, the transport of third-party machines is important. Because our own equipment is often a bit longer on a project and of course you want to use your vehicles optimally," believes director Leo Tol. "With 660 hp, this is the most powerful vehicle in the fleet. But we have more in the 500 hp class so it does suit us. The new Scania will haul earthmoving equipment with my daughter behind the wheel and a 4-axle semi low loader from Broshuis."

Esmeralda talks passionately about her work. "Until now, I was driving 460 horsepower, so the step to 660 is quite big. And the first V8 of the current generation. It came because I wanted both a Scania and, of course, preferably an eight-cylinder. But my father is over budget. Fortunately, a V8 is also a responsible investment. I decided on the rest of the equipment together with my friend Martijn and account manager Wilco van Herk from Scania Hoogvliet. Because quite a lot had to be thought of there.  

The choice of a spacious R-cab combined with a reinforced chassis, retarder and the 900-liter tanks was still fairly straight forward. It started to get complicated with the tandem chassis. For hauling our excavators, you want a 6×4. But we also drive in dumper transport and general cargo. There you would rather choose a 6×2 with a leading axle," says Esmeralda. "We were therefore pleased that the Scania dealer came up with a nice intermediate solution: a double-drive tandem axle where the rear axle can be both uncoupled and lifted. I didn't know it and it's apparently not common, but Scania can supply it ex-factory."

The other modifications fall into the categories of "handy and useful" and "beautiful and desirable. Of course there came a PTO with a hydraulic pump: you need that for tipper transport. Furthermore, this is the first truck in the company with a hose reel connected to the diesel tank so that I can refuel excavators quickly and without spillage before they go to the next job. And of course a lot of attention has been paid to the storage boxes because there is quite a bit of equipment to secure the machines on transport. We also gave a lot of thought to the work lighting. And we installed a front view camera. 

The "beautiful and desirable" category is quite extensive. "From Scania we chose the King of the Road package. But the whole interior is further taken care of by Special Interior from Dronten, the paintwork by Dubbeldam from Zwijndrecht and the bodywork by Vlastuin from Renswoude. Furthermore, I wanted Alcoa rims because I also have them on my flatbed trailer, a special rear bumper, a bullbar, extra spotlights custom-made skirts, a catwalk with nice teardrop plates and you name it.

Esmeralda is going to try to score a spot to compete for the Mooiste Truckverkiezing van Nederland. "It is strange enough that there are still very few female drivers in transport. In the Netherlands they are always looked at a bit apart. Not to mention driving all those earth-moving machines. But that's what I love about this work. I have had a fascination with large machines all my life. As a child, my brother and I would go for a Sunday drive with a shovel or try to move a pile of sand. From the age of 17^the it was clear to me that I wanted to be a driver. I now drive full-time for the company.

Although at first it took some getting used to putting all those different shovels and crawler cranes on the semi. "From a crawler crane you still have a reasonable view. But with a shovel you have to learn to aim well. And take it easy, right? Better to get out once more than to sit next to it. But I've mastered all that by now. So for me this work is very normal."

Esmeralda participated in the program "Girls Who Drive. A program that precisely very classically role-affirming the female driver into something special. "I was asked because a colleague had signed me up for it. I hesitated for a very long time because I actually prefer to stand out as little as possible," says Esmeralda. "On the other hand, I really enjoyed showing my work. Because I think I have a beautiful profession. And my father thought it was good publicity for the business. Well, in that sense, the program certainly contributed well to the awareness of our business.