Diesel News has a look at staying safe with the Freightpack. The truck is based on the F Series and sees a number of models available with bodies from 10 pallets up to 14 pallets.
There are five Freightpack models available in the Isuzu medium duty range from a small FRR 240 hp AMT all the way up to an FVL curtainsider at 300 hp with an Allison automatic transmission. This top of the range is the model Diesel took out on the road to take a look at all of the features which are included in the Freightpack package. When it comes to safety the first thing the driver notices walking up to the truck is the liberal use of yellow paint. This colour has become the indicator of a safety feature, often an after sale fitting.
As the driver climbs up into the truck, it has has yellow fitments on the steps up into the cab and yellow handles fitted to the A and B pillars to ensure three points of contact at all times. To the rear of the door, on either side, there is a sticker with an explanation of how to safely achieve ingress and egress on this truck.
On the front corners of the truck body there is a long handle which is mounted, quite high, to the front of the body, but it continues down to form a step to climb up into the body when the curtains are open, all yellow of course. In the same area, near the handle to tighten the curtain is a small lamp, which will light up the ground outside the cabin and where the driver might climb into the body, when it is dark.
That’s not all there is as the driver climbs in. There is a yellow painted steel post, which can be inserted into the floor at the coaming rail to supply three points of contact when climbing in This small post can be pulled out easily, but there is nothing like a pair of clips anywhere to store the yellow post when not needed. This would suggest this item may disappear quite early on in the truck’s life.
The curtains on the Freightpack have just three buckles which make for quick opening and closing of the curtains for multi-drop delivery drivers. These are serious buckles, known as the Lightning Latch, part of the Freighter offering and providing enough tension to keep the curtain in place out on the road.
The buckles are adjustable with a nut on the fitting and, when driving along the Western Highway, the curtains stayed tight and there was very little noticeable flap at 100 km/h. Throughout the road test the curtains retained the correct tension.
Moving to the rear of the body, there is a single yellow step hanging down below. There is also a reminder on the rear door to maintain three points of contact. A yellow handle is rearwards facing on the rear corner post of the body and can be grabbed by the driver, when the rear door is open, to help climb up using the yellow non-slip surface on the T-bar step hanging down under the rear of the body.
Again, there is a yellow painted steel post, which can be inserted into the floor at the rear door to supply three points of contact when climbing in from the rear. Holding the rear door open at this point is a well designed and positioned spring-loaded and rubber ended contraption which is easy to use and keeps the door firmly in place, even in a strong wind.
On the front of the body, on both sides is a sticker giving the overall height of the truck. This message is repeated underneath in mirror writing, so that the driver can see the truck’s height from the drivers seat in the rear view mirror, a nice touch.
