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T he lower bunk of the Mercedes has a good mattress,
Page 47
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but its size clearly indicates that its only intended for a quick rest. The much wider upper bunk is obviously where the Mercedes designers expect Actros drivers to sleep so that's what we did.
Once tucked up in the upper bunk we immediately noticed that you can't extinguish the main lights without going back downstairs as the controls are mounted by the lower bunk. An odd decision on the designers' part as they obviously expect solo drivers to sleep upstairs, leaving the rest bunk for storage.
The upper bunk has a separate light, but this tester had to climb out of his warm sleeping bag again because he hadn't noticed the extra switch. That's a mistake you'll only make once.
If the thickness of a mattress is directly linked to the degree of comfort quality it affords. the Actros seems to start from a disadvantage as the upper bunk mattress is only 30mm thick. However, it has a secret weapon: innovative plastic springs, which Mercedes markets as Lattoflex. And if you like your mattresses on the firm side, as this tester does, you'll enjoy a good night's sleep in an Actros.
We did note the lack of a cubbyhole or net for storing oddments such as your watch and phone. With a bit of stretching you can reach one of the open top storage compartments, but there's a danger of forgetting where you stashed them as our man did the next morning.
The curtains do a good job in keeping out the light, but be sure you push them well back behind the air-outlets, or the heater will warm up the window rather than the cabin. Talking of which, the heater can be preset for a particular time via the on-board computer, or you can set it to maintain a particular temperature, just like your central heating at borne.
The computer screen is big, bright and colourful, which is a plus during the day but a minus at night. This tired tester didn't bother to find out if you can tone it down without switching it off; in any case it only takes a second to drape something over it.
Back to the heater, There's a handy button next to the bunk to switch it off, which is particularly welcome in this case because its motor hummed loudly enough to keep me awake. Having turned it off I woke up freezing cold during the night -the outside temperature was below zero, helped by MIRA's legendary windchill so I had to switch it on again. By this time I was too sleepy to be bothered about the noise and got another couple of hours' sleep.