Richmond Waste DAF OHL

In the NSW northern rivers exists a well-established company called Richmond Waste, a business tied in with Solo Resource Recovery and very much part of the Richards family. Richmond Waste goes back to the 1980s for their beginnings, when the company used to run Volvo F7 front lifts with the old style grasshopper/hinged lift arms. Over 40 years later the operation is massive, with a generous fleet of trucks and a small to large bin equipment range serving general waste and recycling needs of the commercial sector right across the Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Kyogle council areas. You can’t miss the Richmond Waste front lifts on the road given their signature green colours, with dark shade compactor bodies and bright lime cabs.
For a while I had been interested in doing my own capture featuring this company and its associated machinery, finally happening in September 2022. I’ll use official Richards terminology here by saying I tailed and videoed one of their “overhead loaders” (OHLs) doing a Monday morning mixed waste run around Ballina. Unit 2908 is the big green monster I got, which wasn’t their typical member of the OHL group, at the time this 2019 model was their newest rig and only DAF CF cab chassis in use, being a big change from what had been an entirely Iveco ACCO fleet for many years. This was also an updated version of the OHL from Rico Recovery Systems, a few differences include the thinner cab cover, shape of the lift arms, tailgate cylinder mount points and I think a new blade powered by twin hydraulic rams. 2908 is one real tidy piece of gear if I may say so, it also lets off satisfying noise for a Euro 5 truck, some nice diesel character and unique tune from the sound of the hydraulics running.
I was up early to be ready for the arrival of this forked beast, with it coming into town right on 5am. As per the video, we first get a look at this truck in the darkness and then see it working during sunrise into broad daylight. Having no knowledge on the area and clueless about upcoming jobs, at first it was a struggle to get ahead of this truck and prepare myself for good shots, but soon enough the full bins were in close proximity and I was able to query the driver on some of the next pick-ups (with the help of Google Maps). Of course, by this stage low sunlight became the next challenge for shooting footage... I was having doubts about the success of clips I was taking, but I managed to produce this upload which I’m quite pleased with, so all good! Lucky I was following in my ute and could race ahead at times, no way I could’ve achieved this on foot.
Later during this Monday I caught up with one of the traditional ACCO front lifts (unit 2474) polishing off a cardboard recycling run, which will be seen at a later date. I was hoping with any luck I’d manage to find and chase unit 1705, the oldest OHL still kicking and a special 2007 model, but sadly I didn’t get to tick that one off the list. If you jump on the “soloaussie3” channel you will get a look at three older Richmond OHLs which are worth a watch, very different from the recent upgrades. Also just want to say a big thanks to the champion who hooked me up with this truck and cheers to the bloke behind the wheel for allowing me to film the action. Be sure to watch this in the 720p setting for better picture quality!

[@acco_0003]

Hey man i got a KZbin account not long ago been watching your vids for ages and always loved em and now i have finally subscribed! Anyways cant wait for the next vid.

[@georgewuzheer]

Nothing will ever really compare to the old ACCO, but some DAF and Scania variety is nice too. They just don't seem quite up to the rigors of front/overhead load/lift duty, a vocation which starts to blur the line between road trucks and heavy equipment. I shudder to think what a replacement DAF CF windshield costs. I love the variety of design you still get with Australian front load bodies. The Richards equipment being closest to what I'm familiar with in the states, the exotic to me Tusk/Bucher types. These Solo bodies are a compromise with the pull type arms and scissor packer cylinders while retaining the low body with substantial hopper doors, but just a pair. No third door at the rear of the hopper, but I suppose that's what the bin lids are for. You're right about the exhaust note, pretty good for modern equipment. The job at the 5:00 mark really stood out, the type to take very slowly the first time you try it. Obviously the pro operator here has been there a few dozen hundred times. I went and looked at soloaussie3 and turns out I'm already subscribed. His video of the ACCO version must've really left an impression, looking forward to what you got of the cardboard run.

[@AussieGarbo]

This comment is a sight for sore eyes! =D A lot has changed with the end of the traditional ACCO, it's thrown off many long term clients. It seems DAF got a real good start with front lifts through the Richards companies, JJR looks to be getting some Euro 6 versions now and most recently I saw Remondis deploy a fresh one. I'm hoping for my next FL upload to catch a young Bucher/Scania, something different and flashy. The 8x4 market in general down here appears to be real competitive, Isuzu is in there having a good stab at it amongst the Euro brands, they've done very well. One reason I was hoping to get that older 2007 model Richmond OHL was to show the short vertical arm cylinders they used for a while, but one of the soloaussie3 videos does feature this model. I believe prior to these DAF units all the Solo bodies had blades powered by a single cylinder, I wonder why they changed to criss-cross after so many years. I thought the same thing about the lack of a rear shield when I was videoing the JR Richards Mudgee truck, the bin lids serve that purpose naturally!

[@Quirindigarbologist]

Nice work Mitch I’ve noticed lately most the Richards companies have gone with scania or DAF at the moment JRR are using the euro6 chassis & cab design for there commercial fleet with bucher force335 bodies

[@AussieGarbo]

Yep I've seen those latest JRR machines, they're nice looking rigs, not long ago Richmond Waste got one of those same Bucher/Iveco combos too. I'm curious about JJR going for Scania front lift units in the Sunshine Coast contract, because I've seen a new Euro 6 DAF pop up in Sydney in recent times.

[@Quirindigarbologist]

@@AussieGarbo yeah aye they been buying random stuff lately haha all 3 companies have bought bucher Spak eg so it’ll be interesting what next year willl bring to the industry