The Boys for the Black Stuff

All truck drivers show a certain degree of pride in their vehicles through accessorisation and an individual personal touch. However, Co. Cork haulier John Flaherty has taken this to the furthest extreme and achieved what can only be described as the smartest tipper in active service here. Maintained in showroom condition despite its arduous two year working life, the 8x4 Scania 114C is one of two currently run by John’s company Pearl Transport.

Engaged in the haulage of tarmac and asphalt to road surfacing projects throughout the south for quarrying group Whelans, the trucks are extremely eye catching in their distinctive black livery and are tastefully accessorised to the highest conceivable standard. Actively participating in truck shows both at home and abroad, the trucks have achieved considerable success.

This is further testament to their pristine condition and considerable efforts made by John and his father Jack to hold such a high standard despite their involvement with what is clearly a most demanding field of application. Among the awards won by John’s truck to date include Best Rigid at Mondello in 2000 as well as second place in best rigid and best owner driven truck there in 2001. Best rigid was also won at Mondello in 2002 as well as best company owned truck. Accolades awarded to the truck at Limerick Truckfest include best customised truck and highly commended construction.

Second and third place were obtained in best club member and best owner driver as well as peoples choice. Competing in Buxton Truck Show organised by Roy Gill led to the securing of best interior and third in best European truck. Commenting on their success at national and international level in numerous truck shows, Jack had this to say: “Those trucks are John’s life and he’s put a huge effort into them. Even though its hard work in getting them to this standard and more importantly keeping them there, there’s a great sense of satisfaction attached to it, satisfaction of a job well done.”

Similarly, John sees the benefits of the effort he has made in maintaining such high standards in his two truck fleet. This effort becomes all the more worthwhile when the show season commences with Flaherty’s numerous successes earned solely on merit and the considerable investment in obtaining every conceivable extra which has greatly enhanced truck performance as well as adding to their visual appeal. “There’s no point in doing something if you’re not prepared to do it right has always been my way of thinking. The trucks are where we spend our working day so why not have everything to make our work as comfortable as possible and if you can improve the appearance of the truck in the process all the better,” explained John.

Features which give the trucks their award winning capabilities are wide ranging and while many options offer practical solutions to everyday work problems others are merely for visual impact. At first glance, it may be hard to imagine John’s truck as a hard working tipper through its sleek outer appearance, gleaming alloy wheels and stainless steel tanks polished to a mirror like sheen. Nevertheless, having witnessed its everyday operating routine, it is apparent that it is more than just a pretty face as deep down it has all the necessary traits of a hard working tipper. Working out of the Carrigtwohill tarmac depot of Whelans, the trucks haul tarmac and asphalt to any one of four road surfacing crews throughout Cork city and surrounding areas. Chippings for tarmac production are also hauled by the Scania duo from Whelan’s Mallow quarry to the Carrigtwohill plant proving their involvement with one of the most demanding facets of tipper work.

While most hauliers involved with tipper work are satisfied to run trucks in the region of 320h.p., the demands presented by continuous work in the environs of Cork city set much different challenges. To this end both Pearl Transport’s Scania 114Cs are rated at 380 horsepower and also feature non standard gearboxes as John confirms; “The driving conditions around Cork city call for high powered trucks as there’s no end of long dead hills leading out of it which test trucks no end. Without the 380 horses we’d be lost and the half gears also make a big difference on the hills. These options cost over £1600 extra when we were buying the trucks but over their lifetime are well worth it.” Purchased new from Cork Scania dealers, AOC Commercials, the trucks are virtually identical in specification with their bodies also being a further area of commonality.

Commissioned by Co. Kilkenny company Looby Bodybuilders, the bodies are constructed to Flaherty’s specification and feature a number of elements seldom seen in Irish tipper bodies. Among these elements is the unique one piece floor which is composed of Hardox steel. This is regarded as a major advantage over welded seam floors which require high tipping heights to allow material flow. However, the one piece floor encourages material flow at low tipping heights and consequently is a welcome aid to the avoidance of low branches and overhead lines encountered in many areas where Pearl Transport operate.

A further factor in the body’s favour is the front catwalk and access ladder which makes cover roll up a more safe activity through the greater ease of access it provides. While these features may seem trivial, they make a major difference during every day operation as John agrees; “Before we got the bodies built, we’d looked at a number of different tarmac bodies at truck shows and taken what we thought as good ideas from each of them and got it built into our own bodies with Loobys of Johnstown.” In addition, the bodies are fully insulated in both the floor and sides which allows tarmac to remain in the trucks without sticking even overnight if necessary.

Even though both trucks are identical in specification, John’s is accessorised to a higher standard inside and out. The most notable outward visually enhancing feature is unquestionably the distinctive truck art on both sides of the cab itself. Added during August, the distinctive murals were inspired by images downloaded by John from the internet and have been reproduced in an extremely realistic format by Co Cork artist Jer Conlon. Previously working exclusively with motorbikes, this was Jer’s first truck art project and although the Riverstick based artist was hesitant at first, he achieved an end result of an extremely high standard.

Commenting on the murals, John’s satisfaction is clearly manifest: “When I asked Jer Conlon to do the truck for me he was hesitant at first as he’d only done motorbikes up to then including one for my brother Finbarr. I gave him some images downloaded from the internet to work with and he did a brilliant job including the changing of the background colour from red to blue.”

Further features which add to the truck’s unique character include chrome tanks and tool boxes which were achieved by encasing existing tanks in polished stainless steel sheeting supplied by O.S. Sheeting and fixed to the tanks by a series of bands. A large amount of the lighting accessories for both trucks were obtained from Commercial Diesel and Electrical including the reverse cameras which add a high level of convenience and safety to reversing. A further seldom seen on a tipper are the alloy wheels which not only look good but also help in achieving a low net weight for the truck.

Cabin interior is extremely plush and features cab curtains supplied by Carol Lester of Truckin’ Smart Cab Curtains. The theme of the curtains is carried through to the bunk cushions and centre mat on the engine hump tray as well as seat covers and door upholstery. With all finished in royal blue material and embroidered with the Scania logo a real sense of luxury is portrait by the overall theme. Also featuring a top of the range sound system fitted by Richard Bourke of Castle Garage Macroom, an inlaid monitor above the windscreen enables the showing of DVDs while its link to a Playstation 2 console opens up the possibility of playing computer games - a welcome distraction from the long tailbacks at the Kinsale Road Roundabout at rush hour!
While all these extras add to the vehicle’s uniqueness and show John’s pride in his truck, the care and attention necessary to maintain such a high standard is continuous.

Often operating at night and over week-ends, the truck is quite clearly justifying its existence and two years from new remains in show-room like condition. With the high performance ratings achieved by the trucks and the attention to detail in both their inner and outer styling, Pearl Transport has clearly formed a small fleet to be proud of. With their long experience of tarmac which may be traced back 26 years when Jack formed his own business they are clearly in tune with the demands of such operations as Jack concludes.

“I first started at the tarmac 26 years ago. It was in a small way, hiring rollers and built up from there. In the end we were doing a lot of work for Whelans which they were subcontracting to us. Finally we decided to go work for them altogether and John went to them as a haulier with the two trucks and my sons Tony and Finbarr on the road surface laying crews one of which Finbarr heads as the foreman. The trucks have come a long way since the early days. My first was a Leyland which could only manage a six ton load and was just sewn to the road, definitely a big step up to the 114C 380 of today.”