Manoeuvrable Mercedes-Benz Arocs slots into Burcombe Haulage fleet

Key to the truck’s appeal are its impressive manoeuvrability in the narrow lanes of the far South-West, and a payload advantage of around 150 kg over its similarly configured, Swedish-built competitor.

Family-owned Burcombe Haulage is based in St Dominick, near Saltash, and offers a broad range of transport services, from construction and road sweeping, to general haulage. It is also a member of TPN, The Pallet Network. Sister company B&C Concrete was formed in 2014, as a joint venture with Champion Groundworks.

The operator’s first Mercedes-Benz rigids are Arocs 3240s with ClassicSpace M-cabs. As ENA variants, they feature single front steer axles, double-drive bogies and – crucially – trailing and lifting rear-steer axles, which give them significantly improved turning circles compared to a standard 32-tonne eight-wheeler.

One, which is fitted with a McPhee mixer drum and wears a B&C Concrete livery, entered service in December. It was followed in January by the second, which is in Burcombe Haulage colours. The vehicle has a Charlton-built steel tipping body and is assigned primarily to muckaway duties. Both trucks have 290 kW (400 hp) six-cylinder engines which drive through 12-speed Mercedes PowerShift automated transmissions.

Commenting on the decision to invest in its Mercedes-Benz eight-wheelers, Transport Manager Stuart Wilkie explained: “We have to access some tight locations in this part of the world. Their steering and lifting back axles effectively give these trucks the same degree of manoeuvrability as a shorter six-wheeler, while allowing us to retain a payload capacity which is only slightly lower than a conventionally configured 8x4 chassis.

“We’re also confident that as 32-tonners they will command significantly higher re-sale values than a 26-tonner; it’s very difficult, these days, to sell a six-wheeled tipper.”

Despite the fact that the Arocs ENA tipper requires a sub-frame, which its competitor does not, Mr Wilkie said the Mercedes-Benz chassis was 150 kg lighter than the equivalent model by one of its established truck suppliers. “That’s a significant weight saving,” he continued.

City West Commercials’ Truck Sales Executive Richard Smith supplied demonstration models and held several meetings with Mr Wilkie and his colleagues, before securing the breakthrough order.

“Richard is a good guy, knowledgeable and straight-talking, which we appreciate,” acknowledged Mr Wilkie. “Our Arocs are still very new but the trucks, and the Dealer, have made good starts. We maintain our vehicles in-house and had an early issue with one of the gearboxes – City West Commercials responded well, carried out a software update and we’ve had no problems since.

“As for the guys to whom these vehicles have been assigned, they’re over the moon. The mixer driver loves his truck for its manoeuvrability, while his colleague also raves about the tipper’s comfort and smooth, flexible automated gearbox.”

He added: “We’ll look at each deal on its merit and will never put all our eggs in one basket, but from what we’ve seen so far there’s certainly an opportunity for Mercedes-Benz and City West Commercials to increase their share of our fleet.”

Burcombe Haulage was founded by Richard and Maxine Batten more than 30 years ago, and focused initially on providing haulage services to the local agricultural community. Daughters Carina and Nicola now also play prominent roles in the day-to-day running of a business that has since expanded into numerous other sectors.