Mercedes-Benz Trucks has delivered a specially converted truck for heavy-duty transport (SLT) to the Viktor Baumann company. The maximum trailer load of the new Arocs SLT 4463 AS 8×6 is 1,000 tons. For the transportation of such particularly large loads, the truck will drive in combination with several coupled trucks.
The gross combination weight, as the combined weight of all pushing and pulling vehicles and the freight is called, can thus be significantly above 1,000 tons. Heavy-duty transport company Viktor Baumann, which specializes in such applications, will use their new truck for the transportation of transformers and heat exchangers.
The Arocs SLT 4463 AS 8×6 is the only all-wheel drive truck in the Arocs model series with a wide cab. The retrofitted BigSpace cab enables two-man operation during long assignments. This important step in the conversion process was done by the Paul Nutzfahrzeuge company. Also involved in the conversion of the vehicle were the Mercedes-Benz Trucks contract partner RKG TruckService, the Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant and the Mercedes-Benz Molsheim conversion plant.
SPECIAL TRUCK FOR SPECIAL TASKS
In the extreme heavy-duty applications of Baumann, two, three or more trucks coupled together pull a multi-axle platform, such as a low loader or a girder bridge, from the front, while another truck pushes from the rear.
The new Mercedes-Benz Arocs SLT 4463 AS 8×6 with a trailer load of up to 1,000 tons on the trailer coupling is intended as the last towing vehicle and thus as a link to the trailer. The transportation of such loads is necessary, for example, to bring heavy and large, non-divisible goods such as heat exchangers or current transformers to their destination.
The vehicle already had a reinforced frame and the appropriate drivetrain ex works. With a retrofitted leading axle, installed heavy-duty couplings at the front and rear and the heavy-duty slider, the technical prerequisites for heavy-duty operations were created at the Mercedes-Benz truck plant in Molsheim. In order to get more pressure on the wheels and thus increase traction, a so-called ballast platform was installed at Paul Nutzfahrzeuge in Lower Bavaria. The Paul conversion team also implemented the extensive conversion to the wide cab.
CONVERSION STEPS IN DETAIL
Special customer requests are implemented by the Mercedes-Benz Custom Tailored Trucks (CTT) business organization in the largest conversion plant of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. At the factory in Molsheim, France, the vehicle received an additional axle with and thus became an 8×6 four-axle vehicle. In addition, the retrofitting included fifth-wheel coupling, heavy-duty slider, and the heavy-duty trailer couplings.
At the front, the heavy-duty coupling Rockinger type 56e is mounted. At the rear, the customer can mount the Rockinger type RO58E 1000-ton trailer coupling. Behind the cab a rear-mounted cooling system was installed, as well as a 900-litre fuel tank and the hydraulic system for the semitrailer steering. After around 14 weeks, the prerequisites for the heavy-duty tractor unit were met and the conversion in Molsheim was completed.
As an important partner of Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Paul Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH takes care of the body and conversion of commercial vehicles and supplies solutions for special-purpose vehicles. In the heavy-duty truck for Baumann, the conversion team from Paul replaced the StreamSpace cab with a width of 2.3 metres with the wide BigSpace cab with a width of 2.5 metres.
The new cab has a small engine tunnel of around 100 mm in order not to exceed the permissible overall height of four meters. For this purpose, the vehicle has also been lowered at the front. As a result of the cab replacement, the interior equipment had to be adapted, including the instrument panel, bed and drawers. The Paul company also installed an additional tower with stowage boxes behind the cab and mounted the ballast platform from the Greiner company.
A total of approximately 9,500 parts were newly installed orreplaced. In order to maintain the character and properties of a truck with the famous star, as many Mercedes-Benz Trucks series components as possible were used for this special order. The implementation of these conversion steps took around four months.
As soon as all the necessary approvals have been obtained, the new, 625 hp Mercedes-Benz Arocs SLT 4463 AS 8×6 will be on the road for the first time. Most likely, it will drive at night, coupled with other trucks reaching a gross combination weight of up to well over 1,000 tons.