There’s nothing more stressful than watching a club of tradies trying to fix a broken mains pipe as a fountain of water pours forth. Or as luck would have it, liquid of another sort… breached during excavation works.
Witnessing this sticky situation a few too many times in his home town of the Gold Coast, local contractor Andy Smith knew there had to be better way to go about the business of excavating in built-up areas.
He put his mind to tackling the problem and formed Dynamic Hydro Excavations in 2003, offering a non-destructive hydro excavation service.
“Hydro excavation is a very safe way of digging using water pressure to cut and excavate,” Andy explained.
“My trucks are built for digging holes using high-pressure water that cuts soil and dirt into slurry that is simultaneously sucked up by a vacuum hose.”
The key to Dynamic Hydro Excavations’ operation is avoiding costly damage to fibre optic cables, watermains and other delicate underground services.
Their water pressure and vacuum method—developed and refined by Andy over the years—significantly reduces the risk of electrocution for workers and civil engineers on the jobsite.
With a fleet of over 100 vehicles and excavation plants now in operation, Dynamic Hydro Excavations has diversified its offering to include specialised technical services such as CCTV inspection and recording, truck and asset monitoring and underground service location.
The business has opened hubs from Rockhampton through to Sydney, and recently across the border to Victoria. It’s also involved in major infrastructure projects such as the Inland Rail between Queensland and New South Wales.
Some of Dynamic Hydro's extensive Isuzu fleet
The perfect combo
It’s been a bit of a tough nut to crack the ideal truck and equipment combination, as Andy’s hydro excavation plants weigh a literal tonne (and more).
He said one of the key issues has been finding an OEM and truck model range that supports the business as it evolves, with the payload required and cab comfort for the drivers.
“I had been with a different truck brand but needed a chassis to fit to a new plant that was required out on a job site ASAP, and my old brand couldn't accommodate this.
“I wasn't satisfied with that provider or their customer service, so I walked into Gold Coast Isuzu and have never looked back,” Andy explained.
Dynamic Hydro Excavations Director Andy Smith
There’s high praise for the local Gold Coast dealership’s facilitation of new truck builds and their understanding of Dynamic Hydro Excavations’ needs. A recent addition of a weigh bridge at the dealership makes a stop-in for a chat all the more attractive.
“Gold Coast Isuzu has done so much for Dynamic Hydro Excavations over the years from overnight servicing to providing genuine parts with a quick turnaround, so my fleet are back on the road.
“The customer service and support are outstanding from the Dealer Principal, Andrew Purvis, all the way through the team.”
Smooth moves
Dynamic Hydro Excavations now has over 45 Isuzu trucks across the country, with plans to expand and replace older trucks in the fleet.
In the last six months the company has introduced a variety of new models, including an Isuzu FVR 165-300 Auto 4x2, two FVZ 240-300 Auto 6x4s, an FYH 300-350 Auto 8x4, and two FYJ 300-350 Autos.
Each of these truck models features 6-speed Allison transmission, with Allison 3000 Series in the FVR, Allison 3500 Series in the FVZ while the larger 8x4 models feature the heavy-duty Allison 4430.
This is a key inclusion for Andy who has said new drivers are more likely to have an automatic heavy truck licence over manual.
With over 95 per cent of his own team licenced, it also helps make for a smoother recruitment and training process.
One of Dynamic Hydro's fresh FYJ 300-350 Autos
Featured as one of Isuzu’s heaviest-duty truck models, the FYJ 300-350s are hauling Dynamic Hydro Excavations’ largest plants to location.
The FYJ 300-350 Autos use Meritor FG941 front axles which can bear 6,600 kg each (12,000 kg combined), with Meritor MT-14X axles on the rear that support 18,100 kg capacity with inter-axle and cross locks fitted to both, providing superior driver control.
The FYJ is underpinned by a six-cylinder turbocharged Isuzu 6UZ1-TCC engine with peak power of 257 kW @ 2,000 rpm and 1,422 Nm of torque @ 1,400 rpm—enough grunt for the hydro excavation plants out the back.
“The twin-steer drive axles in the FYJs mean we can carry bigger, heavier, hydro excavation plants out the back with better load stability,” Andy said.
Big model range
Trucks are on the road night and day with staffing across both shifts, not to mention around the clock during the Queensland storm season.
Dynamic Hydro Excavations replaces trucks after a five-year work life due to this demanding schedule and the nature of the work, ensuring drivers have the safest equipment at hand.
While bigger rigs like the FYJs are transporting the all-important excavation plants, a number of Isuzu's versatile Ready-to-Work Tippers are being employed as run-around vehicles for the company.
Andy has dubbed these their ‘little job trucks’ to transport bitumen and loose products to construction sites or move equipment like ‘wacker packers’ which are used in construction to compact down soil and dirt.
The Tippers also assist in the clean-up phase by transporting excess site debris away.
The business’ varied requirements continue to be supported by Isuzu’s broad truck model range, as Gold Coast Isuzu Sales Manager, Martin Hinkley, explained.
“We coordinate with the body builder to have the right Isuzu trucks matched up for Dynamic Hydro Excavations, which comes down to knowing their application,” Martin said.
“As their business has expanded over the years, we have been there to assist with their truck requirements.
“The relationship between our two businesses spans over 13 years and is still going strong.”
Celebrating success
To celebrate the success of the business and twenty years since opening doors on the Gold Coast, Andy had some of the Isuzu trucks wrapped to showcase this milestone achievement in 2023.
“All our wraps and signage are done by Ryal Visual at the Gold Coast, it looks great having the fleet done up all the same.
“I am always getting compliments saying how good the fleet looks, and I like hearing that because it's important to me to have new trucks in excellent condition.
“I love that they're all the same brand too,” Andy concluded.
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