US-style parcels body for Mercs
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• A US-style aluminium-bodied parcel van is being built in Germany by specialist bodybuilder Orten. Based on a Mercedes 609D chassis, the Route Star has an unladen weight of 3,077kg, a 19m3 load space and a 2,823kg payload, says the manufacturer.
Grumman prefabricates most of the body panels in the US to fit any T2 Mercedes with a 3.7m wheelbase. This gives a claimed weight saving of up to 500kg over a comparable steel-bodied vehicle. The cost is just under £11,000, excluding the chassis.
The aluminium long-life walk-through concept pioneered in the US has been slow to catch on in Europe because of the high initial purchase price. Grumman says in 20 years the scrap value of its body will be around half the purchase price.
UPS is the only parcel carrier to use such vehicles in Europe replacing running gear during many years of service.
Orten will start full production in the next four months and the design will be transposed to the next generation of Mercedes T2 vans. A smaller version for the new Mercedes T1N 3.5-tonner is due by the end of 1995.