This is the seventh construction chassised Arocs for the Prudhoe-based operator, which took delivery of its first Arocs from Newcastle upon Tyne Mercedes dealer Bell Truck & Van early in 2014.
“We quickly realised that the Arocs is ideally suited to meet the demands of our job,” recalls transport manager Stephen Atkinson.
“The chassis is robust, but not heavy, while the elevated ride height means minor damage to items like lights and steps are less of a problem than with some other vehicles.”
Bell Truck & Van then supplied an ex-demonstrator followed by two more Arocs 8x4 trucks last year – all of which were powered by Mercedes 394bhp 10.7-litre engines driving through PowerShift 3 AMTs (automated manual transmissions).
“I’ve received some very positive reports from our drivers on the Arocs’ cab comfort and general ease of use,” continues Atkinson.
“They particularly like the PowerShift transmission, which makes negotiating busy urban streets much easier.”
Atkinson says his trucks don’t travel great distances so fuel consumption, although important, is not the prime consideration.
“By far the most important attribute of any truck for us, is reliability,” he says.
Our vehicles must be available for work when we need them, and the Arocs have certainly proved themselves in this respect.”