Ahead of the game

Moving perishable products on its two freight passages – Adelaide-Melbourne and Adelaide-Sydney – warrants equipment of the highest standard. As it carries a broad spectrum of time sensitive and cold chain freight, Collins Adelaide opts for Cummins-powered Kenworths, brands long synonymous with the prestige chain of supply.

The Melbourne and Sydney linehaul undertakings from Adelaide are now well established for the business.

Here the Cummins Euro 5 X15 has fast proved its worth, powering vehicles carrying fresh produce at maximum gross weights. Indeed, if it has been grown in South Australia, there’s a good chance Collins Adelaide is hauling it east. The fleet also moves seasonal fruit to the eastern seaboard. It’s a demanding application that has motivated, more recently, further forays into the Performance-Based Standards accreditation space.

For this reason, 2022 was an important year for the company, marking the deployment of its first B-triple interstate, operating at gross weights up to 91 tonnes.

Investments in higher productivity vehicles have been a trend in recent years for elite freight carriers whose priority is leading edge strategies in environmental and commercial sustainability. Collins Adelaide, with its 140 linehaul trucks, can be counted among them. The family-run business, now well into its fifth decade, is gradually introducing the Euro 6 Cummins X15 engines for its high productivity vehicles. 

The first Euro 6 X15s entered service for Collins as early as August 2019. Both trucks, K200 Kenworths, have each clocked up more than 400,000 km a year since then. They are both operating on the Adelaide-to-Melbourne run. 

“The fleet has always achieved very high utilisation from all its assets,” says Carl Hamilton, Collins’ national workshop manager. “The reliability of the Euro 6 Cummins engine has helped Collins Adelaide achieve this.”

The first two of these engines – it now has 14 in total – are achieving longevity similar to that of the Euro 5 Cummins engines, according to Hamilton.
“We’re not specifically speccing these particular vehicles to run on a certain route,” he says. “The priority for us at the moment is on the higher productivity vehicles.”

It shows. The growing B-triple fleet suggests the Euro 6 X15s are performing well.

“By 2024 when Euro 6 is mandated by law, we will have increased our presence in this area significantly,” Hamilton points out.

Some of the vehicles with the Euro 6 Cummins X15s have since had their operations expanded from the Adelaide-Melbourne run to Adelaide-Sydney. Strong faith in the product’s reliability helped convince the Collins team to do this.

As the Cummins Euro 5 X15 was its first engine to incorporate AdBlue, the development to the next iteration is pronounced in Carl Hamilton’s experience. But it took some getting used to.

“It’s a completely different system,” he says. “It has an electronic doser pump as opposed to an air actuated pump on the Euro 5 Cummins engine.”
Exhaust aftertreatment for the X15 Euro 6 features Cummins’ single module technology which combines the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system in one cylinder. 

“Basically, the block and the piston rings and liners and front end of the engine are all the same as Euro 5,” says Hamilton. “The main difference is in the emissions system.” 

The controls for the AdBlue dosing system are integrated in the engine control module. The aftertreatment system also utilises several electronic sensors to monitor exhaust gas temperature, pressure, NOx and particulate matter levels.

“We had some problems initially, however that’s been overcome through a change in the servicing of the Euro 6 AdBlue system,” he explains. “Once we got that happening, they have, in direct contrast to the Euro 5 engines, proven superior for reliability.”

Preventative maintenance, which is naturally an ongoing and crucial enterprise at Collins Adelaide, is streamlined on the new Euro 6 X15s as they have the same preventative maintenance intervals as the Euro 5 but do not require a doser pump flush at 200,000 km like the Euro 5s. Generally, Collins favours oil drain intervals of 60,000 km on the Cummins- powered vehicles.

Like most linehaul business models, extreme demands are made of the equipment.

“We’re big on utilisation and understanding our vehicles,” Carl Hamilton points out. “We wouldn’t want Euro 6 to be made law next week and all of sudden we’ve got to buy them and not know anything about them. We try not to follow the herd and keep ahead of the game.”

As of November 1, 2024, when the new Euro 6 standard is phased in for all new trucks and buses, Hamilton projects that by then Collins Adelaide will have added significant high productivity vehicles powered by Euro 6 Cummins engines out on the road. “When it’s law we’ll probably have, as an estimate, more than 30 in the fleet — probably more,” he explains. “It won’t be that long before that’s going to be our normal truck. That’s another reason why we’re not afraid to jump in there now because you can buy either Euro 6 or Euro 5 Kenworths from Paccar.”

Hamilton anticipates the X15 Euro 6 engines will also be running on Collins’ roadtrains roadtrain routes in the near future. Uptake of the newer engine technology is also intrinsic to meeting new customer expectations. “Our customers are starting to require greener vehicles,” he says. “Everything we purchase from now on will be Euro 6.”

Collins Adelaide also specifies Meritor drivelines across the fleet from the steer axle right through to the differentials where it uses the MT21-165G tandem drive axle with 4.3 ratio.

“This specification has given us lower operating temperatures and married with the Cummins Euro 6 the specification is perfect for both B-double and B-triple configuration,” he says.

Diff oils are changed at 220,000 km for front diff and 320,000 km for rear diff as part of the preventative maintenance program “The oil is still in excellent condition,” says Hamilton. “The reliability of the MT21-165G is awesome.” 

From engine rebuilds, warranty, general maintenance, troubleshooting and general advice when they are diagnosing in the workshop, Cummins provides exceptional support in all areas, says Hamilton. Trevor Doecke is the Cummins on-highway accounts manager who, in Hamilton’s words, is always available, always helpful.

“Trevor is very supportive and understanding of our requirements to keep the fleet utilised,” he says. “We have been dealing with Trevor for a number of years and he understands our business.”