AMONG THE GUM TREES: QUEENSLAND ARBORIST TREESAFE EXPANDS FLEET WITH ISUZU

Living surrounded by bush or forest is often desired by homeowners but it can come with its own risks, not just in storm season but with termite impacted trees, branches extending into power lines, and roots finding their way into the plumbing.

This is where Treesafe Environmental Services comes in, offering a reliable and safe arborist service for the everyday, and for emergency situations such as Queensland’s spring and summer storm seasons.

“We specialise in tree maintenance, tree removal and pruning, and our business approach is similar to a commercial set up, but our clients are the ‘mums and dads' market, so doing arboriculture work on folk's properties, keeping their homes safe,” said Director of Treesafe Environmental Services, Sam Docker.

“We also do medium-scale land clearing, and workplace health and safety compliance for trees and plants on school grounds.”

Months are booked out in advance for Treesafe and over the years, business has grown steadily thanks to their focus on doing things safely, their first-class customer service and reputation for honesty.

BIG THINGS GROW

As the business has evolved, their fleet requirements have also changed to the point where they needed a more powerful truck to join their faithful Isuzu FVR—a hardy medium-duty model that has underpinned the fleet since its conception almost 20 years ago.

The business purchased the FVR in 2007, roughly a year after opening up shop. After receiving many years of service from their first Isuzu truck, Sam returned to Blake Montgomery at Sutton Motors Arncliffe to look at something bigger to support the business.

“The FVR has really put in the hard yards, we still use it every day,” he noted.

“But depending on the size of the job, the team can be allocated between one to four jobs per day, so having the ability to load up with a bigger truck makes the day that more efficient.”

PULLING POWER

With advice from the dealership, Sam settled on a FXZ 240-350 6x4 due to its size and ability to haul a FWR Tandem Axle Tag Trailer.

The FXZ 240-350 is equipped with Isuzu’s 6UZ1-TCC engine which packs a punch of power with 257 kW (350PS) @ 2,000 rpm and 1,422 Nm of torque @ 1,400 rpm.

This means the truck is more than capable of pulling loads of tree and plant matter and can handle the most arduous of towing jobs, which often includes Treesafe’s nine-tonne Morbark woodchipper.

“The FXZ was bought to tow capital equipment for us; we even had the gearbox specifically recalibrated by the dealership,” explained Sam,

“We specified the model with the bogey axle so we could tow our new eight-tonne excavator and also load a five-tonne excavator on it as well.”

Sam said the newest edition to Treesafe’s fleet is admirably fit for purpose, having travelled over 20,000 kilometres since being collected from Suttons Motors in August 2022, supporting the team for jobs six days a week.

“The team will be at the depot early in the morning, they'll set the gear up and then they'll drive to the first job site… the days are always packed with carrying out tree maintenance and arboriculture work.

“My drivers appreciate the addition of the FXZ truck and say the ride is very smooth considering the power behind it.

“We’re also pleased that to find it's got good fuel consumption and overall, it's a cost-effective truck to run.”

SERIOUS ABOUT SERVICE

Being located in Southeast Queensland, Treesafe have all their servicing needs seen to by Brisbane Isuzu at Archerfield.

“We always get our trucks serviced with Brisbane Isuzu and a big plus point for us is being able to access 24-hour servicing,” Sam detailed.

“Being on the road six days a week, we can't afford downtime, so Brisbane Isuzu services our trucks overnight.

“Planning our services in advance is critical to the smooth running of the business as our jobs are booked out in advance by two or three months, minimum.”

Keeping on top of things with a well-oiled maintenance routine means Treesafe maintain their spotless reputation for reliability, and this is vital to the operation, explained Sam.

Having a truck brand like Isuzu behind them also gives him confidence that Treesafe is presenting their customers with the best available.

“I think when you have an Isuzu truck, you know that you have the best truck on the road, and that's what we want to put into our business at Treesafe.

“We are looking to expand our Isuzu truck fleet again and with the efficiency of our FXZ from Suttons and the service we get from Brisbane Isuzu, it's no doubt we will be supported during the process,” Sam concluded.