Merc Arocs makes its mark in UK construction sector

Three British operators have put the first UK examples of the Arocs – Mercedes’ new Euro 6-only construction truck – into service.

Construction, waste management and recycling specialist GBN Services, which operates primarily in London and Essex, is running three Arocs: a double-drive tractor unit and a pair of 18-tonners, one of which pulls a drawbar trailer. All were supplied by Sittingbourne Dealer Sparshatts of Kent.

Rossetts Commercials has supplied an 8×4 Arocs 3245 ClassicSpace day cab model to Haulaway of East Sussex, which has had the vehicle fitted with Hyva hook-loading and sheeting gear.

But the first operator in the UK to acquire an Arocs was infrastructure specialist Morgan Sindall, which has two 8×4 3240 8x4s fitted with Thompson Loadmaster tipper bodies and leased from Leeds Commercial Vehicle Services.

Specification includes vulnerable road user protection in the form of fitted side guards, rear and side cameras and a side-scan detection system for cyclists and pedestrians.

The Arocs range is intended for the construction sector, with specialist chassis designed for specific tasks, with the emphasis being on either payload or durability and mobility depending upon the customers’ requirements.

Configurations available include tractor units and four- , six- and eight-wheeled rigids, with gross weights from 18 to 250 tonnes.

All have Euro 6 engines that offer mpg savings of up to five per cent compared to the equivalent, outgoing models. AdBlue consumption, meanwhile, is reduced by as much as 40 per ce nt.

The three vehicles chosen by Leyton-based GBN Services illustrate the versatility of the Arocs range. GBN’s 6×4 Arocs tractor unit is a 2648S model with a 480 hp 12.8-litre straight-six engine and flat-floored StreamSpace cab. It works with an ejector trailer and carries wood waste for processing between depots, as well as transporting a small amount of construction waste to landfill.

GBN’s two 18-tonners, are based at GBN’s newest depot, in Uxbridge, which is licensed to process up to half a million tonnes of waste per year. Fitted with Hyva skip-loading gear theses trucks typically carry the 12-yard bins favoured by the construction industry.

Both are powered by 7.7-litre straight-sixes. One is an 1824K model with 175 kW (240 hp) engine, the other an 1832K with 235 kW (320 hp) powerplant. GBN specified the higher output for this vehicle because it regularly travels further afield in ‘wagon and drag’ configuration at up to 32 tonnes gtw, its ability to carry a second bin on the new Reload Systems drawbar trailer making longer trips economically worthwhile.

In line with GBN policy, all three Arocs are equipped to Crossrail specification, with four-way cameras, blind spot proximity sensors, side under-run guards and audible warning alerts to protect cyclists.

The new vehicles will also support the operator’s bid to achieve the new gold standard – it currently holds bronze – of Transport for London’s voluntary Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS), which seeks to make London’s roads safer, cleaner and less congested.

GBN Services Managing Director Garry Hobson said: “We were keen to try the Arocs at the first opportunity, not least because environmental compatibility is at the top of the agenda for customers who always like to hear what we’re doing to reduce our own carbon footprint.

“First impressions of the new model are very positive. It looks fantastic and is clearly well thought out and built to withstand the punishment that’s inevitable in an operation such as our own.

“The varied nature of our work makes it difficult to measure and compare fuel consumption accurately but our new trucks are certainly using less diesel, while they’re hardly consuming any AdBlue, because the levels in the tanks have barely gone down at all.

“Our drivers like the Arocs too, particularly the new Mercedes PowerShift automated transmission which changes quicker and more smoothly than the system they’ve been used to.”