Collett heavy haulage puts Arocs through their paces

Heavy haulage firm Collett has been putting its two new Mercedes-Benz Arocs SLs to the test transporting two giant steam boilers from Immingham Harbour in Lincolnshire to a paper mill in Kent.

The 200 mile journey saw the trucks carry the 15 metre long, five-metre wide, 85 tonne boilers along the M11 and M25 motorways and over the Thames at the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. 

Collett’s heavy lifts project director Eric Crosby said: “Our drivers were highly impressed with these fantastic pieces of equipment from Mercedes-Benz. The Turbo Retarder Clutch was particularly impressive, very smooth under load and extremely user-friendly.”

Supplied by Scottish Dealer Western Commercial, both Arocs are 4163 models with BigSpace cabs mounted on steel-sprung 8x4 chassis, and powered by 625hp variants of the 15.6-litre in-line six-cylinder engine. One is plated for operation at 250 tonnes GCW, the other at 180 tonnes.

The Arocs are equipped with hydraulic systems and Rockinger couplings front and rear, designed specifically for use with the multi-axled Scheuerle modular trailers on which the boilers were carried.

Collett’s fleet of 130 trailers also includes low-loaders and extendable trailers capable of carrying wind turbine blades up to 60 metres long.

MD Dave Collett added: “In our business, the only way to properly test a truck is on the job, over a long period of time, so that’s what we’ll now be doing with these Mercedes-Benz units,” adding that their first major job the Arocs had “performed superbly and our drivers were full of praise.”

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