The greater tray size on this Isuzu has made a world of difference for a family-run business owner
You don’t always need a heavy duty truck for heavy duty jobs. Just ask bricklayer James Hammond.
He’s been using his Isuzu NPR 45-155 AMT MWB Tradepack for stonemasonry and bricklaying work for three years now, and he’s found it more than fit for the job.
But he would never even have purchased the truck in the first place had it not been for a meeting of pure chance.
Damage caused to heritage properities and buildings in Boulder, Western Australia due to earthquakes needed repairs, and Hammond was the man to do it.
“I was in the pub and overheard someone say, ‘We need someone to do all this heritage building work, who are we going to get?” he says.
“Hey boys, you need a stonemason?”
It all grew from there. Hammond started working repairing the buildings which eventually led to opening his building firm, Hammond Homes WA in Mandurah.
With the workload continuing to increase, he enlisted the services of Isuzu dealer Major Motors Forrestfield and picked up the Tradepack, upgrading from a 2014 model NPR 45-155.
“I consider myself lucky, in the right place at the right time and I was able to get my newest Tradepack within a matter of weeks after speaking with Peter Dewar from Major Motors,” Hammond says.
“My Isuzu truck is my everyday vehicle; I’ve travelled 21,870 kilometres over the past year and driving it’s absolutely sublime.
“When I purchased my previous Isuzu truck, I knew I’d never go back to a ute and trailer, and I’d never go back to anything less than a 4.5-metre tray because it’s such a game changer.”
The extra tray length has been a lifesaver, Hammond says, making work much more efficient when needing to hire other equipment.
There is additional space on the heavy-duty aluminium tray to store building materials, and with the medium-wheelbase NPR 45-155 Tradepack’s nominal payload of just over 1,500 kg, it’s made loading up safely a much easier process.
Removable drop-down sides and a rear tailgate on the Tradepack make the process quick and accessible, saving time each morning and on the job.
Powered by the Isuzu 4HK1-TCN 4-cylinder, 16 valve engine, the NPR Tradepack offers 114 kW (155PS) @ 2,600 rpm and 419 Nm @ 1,600 – 2,600 rpm.
Stonemasonry has always been Hammond’s trade of choice, after first studying a bricklaying apprenticeship at college in England.
“I never would have thought that my stonemasonry ticket my dad made me get would become my Willy Wonka’s golden ticket,” he says.
“For me, running my own business means a 16-hour day, mixed with activity, on-and-off the tools, doing quotes, walk-arounds of sites and supervision of builds.”