Supplied by Central Belt dealer Western Commercial, the Arocs 3245 construction chassis – which has heavy-duty 8.0-tonne front axles and uprated suspension – has been fitted with the first Müller Canal Master Type II recycler body in the UK.
Clearwater also specified the ClassicSpace cab and Mercedes’ 12.8-litre 449bhp straight-six engine mated to the Mercedes PowerShift 3 AMT (automated manual transmission).
Dubbed Master Blaster by Clearwater managing director Murray Pitcairn, it joins the firm’s 70-strong fleet, 10 of which are Mercedes-Benz trucks – three having entered service already this year.
“I expect to work these vehicles hard throughout England and Scotland for seven years,” comments Pitcairn.
“They’re being inspected and serviced under full Mercedes-Benz R&M contracts by Western Commercial, which provides a very high level of service,” he continues.
“Based on this, and on previous experience, I’ve every confidence that these new vehicles are fit for the task and will last the course.”
The new truck’s Müller body includes a high-pressure pump that shifts 150 gallons of water per minute at pressures of up to 2,500 psi to clear obstructions from sewage pipes.
Dirty water is then drawn back into the vehicle’s tank through a large-bore pipe and vacuum pump for filtration, before being pumped back into the blocked sewer through the high-pressure hose – thus eliminating clean water waste.
The pumps are powered from the Arocs’ engine via a PTO with transmission lock-out, saving the weight and cost of a donkey engine.
The bodywork also incorporates health and safety equipment for the driver, including hand-washing facilities and storage for PPE and other kit.
It was mounted on the chassis at Muller;s factory in Germany, a process that took 12 weeks to complete. The finished truck was then delivered to the UK for IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) before being put into service.