Home FleetWatch 2016 Adventure tours company switches to Hino trucks

Adventure tours company switches to Hino trucks

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One of the first of the 25 new Hino 500-Series 1626 trucks being put into operation in the Nomad Tours fleet.

Nomad Africa Adventure Tours, one of the leading operators providing this service in sub-Saharan Africa, has bought 25 Hino 500-Series 1626 trucks as replacements for 20 trucks in its fleet of 47 vehicles.

These are the first Hino trucks bought by Nomad with the decision to switch to the brand resulting from detailed research and positive feedback from reference checks with current operators of Hino trucks in similar businesses.

“The most important requirements of a truck in the adventure tours business are reliability and durability backed by good fuel consumption and excellent after-sales support. The trucks must also be easy to maintain at comparatively low cost and need to be designed for operation in the most rugged African conditions. We believe this is what we are getting with the new Hino trucks,” says Alex Rutherford, managing director of this Somerset West-based company.

Nomad African Tours, which is now in its 20th year, operates an unbelievably complex network of tours throughout sub-Saharan Africa, all of which run to tight timetables, particularly in the high season from July to October. The tours vary in length from four days to 56 days with a round trip that goes as far as Uganda totalling about 20 000km. Given this, vehicle breakdowns have to be kept to an absolute minimum

The fleet is expected to cover more than three-million kilometres this year from about 850 tours. The company’s trucks have already travelled more than 30-million kilometres over the past 20 years, transporting more than 95 000 happy travellers on about 10 000 tours.

The man who started it all, managing director of Nomad Tours Alex Rutherford, affixing a truck name decal to one of the new Hino models.
The man who started it all, managing director of Nomad Tours Alex Rutherford, affixing a truck name decal to one of the new Hino models.

Nomad buys its trucks as chassis cabs and then fits its own bodies, which are manufactured in facilities at the company’s head office in Somerset West. These bodies have been developed over the years to provide safe and comfortable transport for 24 travellers who have the option of overnighting in tents or in lodges. This year, five new bodies will be made while refurbished, existing bodies will be mounted on the other trucks.

Hino Parow, which was the Hino Dealer of the Year in 2014 and is headed up by the very experienced truck man, Wouter Nel, is the dealer supplying the new trucks to Nomad and will handle major services as well as coordinating back-up support.

Wonderful success story
The 20-year history of Nomad Adventure Tours is a wonderful success story driven by typical South African entrepreneurship. Founder Alex Rutherford, who had completed a degree in economics and psychology after leaving school, had no firm plans for a career but he was filled with wanderlust. This resulted in him travelling to London, buying a 1972 Land Rover and then setting off to return to Cape Town on an overland route.

The return journey took almost 11 months and proved a marvellous learning experience as Rutherford and his fellow travellers interacted with other people involved in overland trips through Africa.

“That lengthy journey got me thinking of offering an organised African adventure tour with particular appeal to Europeans keen to visit our continent,” says Rutherford. “The result was that on returning to Cape Town I bought a new truck and found a suitable body at a scrapyard which I modified to make it suitable for a long distance adventure tour.”

The interior of the Nomad Tours trucks have been upgraded over the years. Under the body, the fitment of airbags on the leaf spring suspension system has resulted in a more comfortable ride for the passengers.
The interior of the Nomad Tours trucks have been upgraded over the years. Under the body, the fitment of airbags on the leaf spring suspension system has resulted in a more comfortable ride for the passengers.

Immense and rapid strides have been made since those early beginnings in 1996. By the end of 1998 the company had eight trucks operating and in 2003, Rutherford was able to buy out his partner and the expansion continued. The number of trucks rose to 63 when they took over a large competitor but has subsequently been cut back to 46 trucks which Rutherford sees as the optimum for the current economic conditions.

The building of the specialised bodies was outsourced for a few years in the early days but was then taken in-house and remains that way today. The trucks are run for five to eight years and are replaced when maintenance costs start to rise – usually after covering more than 800 000km. The trucks are fitted with additional 400-litre fuel tanks, dual battery systems and airbags on the leaf spring suspension system to make the ride more comfortable for the passengers.

Rutherford is justifiably proud of the ongoing positive feedback he receives from his customers, 90-95% of whom come from overseas. “We are proactive in using this feedback to improve our offering. This includes upgrades to the truck bodies which now have items such as USB connections.

Nomad buys its trucks as chassis cabs and then fits its own bodies which are manufactured in facilities at the company’s head office in Somerset West. Seen here are, from left to right: Alex Rutherford, MD of Nomad Tours, Wouter Nel, dealer principal at Hino Parow, and Henk de Kock, GM at Nomad Tours
Nomad buys its trucks as chassis cabs and then fits its own bodies which are manufactured in facilities at the company’s head office in Somerset West. Seen here are, from left to right: Alex Rutherford, MD of Nomad Tours, Wouter Nel, dealer principal at Hino Parow, and Henk de Kock, GM at Nomad Tours

“The type of trucks we use has also changed over the years. Whereas 140 horsepower engines were considered sufficiently powerful in the early days, we now have 260 horsepower engines to power the adventure tour trucks which weigh as much as 12 tons laden.”

He is also very proud of the company’s exceptional safety record and stresses the importance of building quality bodies that are strong and safe. The company currently employs about 200 people, many of them having been with Nomad for many years.

According to Rutherford, this year is looking good for his business. “Our formula continues to work well and we are looking forward to a bumper 2016 and 2017.”

And just think – none of this would have been possible without the trucks.