The need for versatility led Jesse Smith, owner and president of Royal Greens in Frederick, Md., to acquire a pair of Isuzu trucks five years ago.

Smith says he’s never looked back and continues to see the benefits of that decision.

Royal Greens, established in 1996, provides lawn care, pest control and plant health care services to a mostly residential client base. He says his operation at the start focused on granular fertilizer applications, but as he looked to transition to liquid applications, he wanted a vehicle to fit all his needs.

“Before (acquiring Isuzu trucks), we were more of a granular fertilization company,” says Smith. “The equipment for granular materials and the learning curve in training people was getting to be a little too much. So, we wanted to switch to liquid.”

After speaking with Florida Sprayers, an equipment supplier in Tampa, Fla., at a conference, Smith said he saw how the trucks could offer a solution for all facets of his business.

“We got an Isuzu and just kind of fell in love with it,” he says. “Then, we ended up getting the second one about four months later.”

Royal Greens will retire the two trucks at the end of the season. Smith says he’s already decided to replace them with newer Isuzu models.

“It’s going to be Isuzu. There’s no question,” he says. “The durability has been great. We run the NPR gas version, not the diesel. Fuel economy is always a concern, but if you have a truck with a lot of weight on it, the Isuzu is still going to give you great bang for your buck with the fuel.”

Low maintenance costs

Isuzu NPRs come standard with a 6.6-liter GMPT L8T eight-cylinder engine with a six-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle can reportedly travel 38.6 miles for every gallon of fuel with a combined truck and trailer weight of 18,000 pounds.

Smith says basic preventive maintenance costs for each Isuzu truck typically average just $200 a year.
“It’s stayed right around that level for us this whole time,” he says. “We budgeted for a lot more when we first got the truck. So, that’s been very nice.”

Smith says the extra weight his Isuzu trucks can carry has been an added bonus.

“We can have bigger tanks and more equipment than what we can do with a standard ¾-ton or full-ton pickup truck. It’s been a best-case scenario for us.”

Smith says his Isuzu trucks are an invaluable tool for his operation.

“These trucks have done everything we’ve asked them to do, and they continue to do that,” Smith says. “We’re getting the good mileage, and we’re saving by being able to go out and do all these jobs in fewer trips than we used to be able to.”