Southern Water has deployed a fleet of brand-new Ford Rangers to connect the water company with its most remote and hard-to-reach communities.
More than 30 Ranger trucks are now being used to access off-road jobs, including sewer bursts and leaks.
The new Ford pickups are part of a wider roll-out of over 300 new vehicles and feature a range of enhancements to keep the company’s teams safer on the road. These include roof-mounted solar panels, which help engineers charge equipment while out and about, reducing return trips to base sites.
They also feature onboard weighing, all-season tyres and controlled speed limiters.
The trucks are driven by operational, technical and customer teams across the South East, and are already proving popular with staff.
Daniel Rayner-Gray, operations assistant manager at Southern Water, who drives the new Rangers on a daily basis, said: “The truck is our office. It’s really important to be comfortable, which the cabs are. The vehicles have heated seats, extra room, reverse cameras and parking sensors. The new trucks are a big hit with me and my team. We often use the four-wheel drive for off-road jobs and they are especially useful in boggy fields and farmland.
“The trucks are also used to tow heavy jetting equipment and can pull machinery that weighs more than three tonnes. The vehicles have lots of room as they are double cabs with safety cruise control and they are very reliable.”
