1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156 
PERATOR FEEDBACK
Page 28
Page 29
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
avelle's Actros 3235K has now covered more ian 58,000km and generally he remains leased with the German marque. It still looks dy after 20 months of hard grind. We had ,ondered if its lightweight Speedline alloys
• ould stay smart after heavy site work; much ) our surprise they have. "They do get a bit naffed up in the wheel-wash but they still look K," says Lavelle. The Merc's no-nonsense fleet interior is holding up well, even if the crinkly finish on the dash is a natural trap for the cement dust which is an inevitable facet of mixer work. "You've got to wash it down," says Lavelle. 'But it does come :lip rather nice." The floor mats and interior trim panels have also stood up to the job, although most LC owner drivers have fitted extra seat covers for protection. However, "it could do with a bit more storage space," Lavelle reports.
Overall his Actros has been relatively trouble-free, barring the odd minor niggle like the vertical exhaust's down-pipe, which suffered from vibration and flexing: "The first one was modified and I've kept it so it leaves me with a spare one," he says. "I also had a problem with the electronic tacho which wasn't recording the mileage, but that was soon fixed."
Given the harsh nature of the work and the amount of water that gets splashed around the trucks Lavelle is taking no chances with the electrics: he has wrapped extra insulating tape around all exposed lighting connectors, "just to give them a bit more protection".
The 3235K's V6 has maintained its bulletproof reputation, as has the rest of driveline. "I'm pleased with the engine. The stop-start work is a hard game for a lorry," says Lavelle. "Some of the boys have had clutch problems but that could be down to driving style. Roadwise it's a joy to drive; I've no regrets whatso ever coming off a six-wheeler and onto a eight. It's got a good ride—the only problem: getting onto the occasional site."
On both the Actros and Atego the rear ant roll bar sits rather low and can ground out o soft ground and high kerbs. One unusual, an somewhat irritating on-road trait of the bi mixer is its tendency to lose grip on the real most wheels when unladen and turning a tight uphill junctions. "I'm getting used to i now and if necessary I can always put the dill lock in," says Lavelle. "But it wears the [rem most] tyres twice as fast as the others."
Getting a definitive handle on the on-road fuel consumption on any mixer is never goini to be easy, not least as half of the time the PT( and pump are drawing off precious power and lot of time is spent idling, waiting to tip. But avelle says: "I was surprised—it was better tan I anticipated, anyway. I think I drive fairly zonomically. It was a learning curve for me loving up to the eight, even though I'm used ) driving in the city."
Overall Lavelle estimates he's getting round 3.9-4.ompg from the 35ohp Actros, nd he's not disappointed with that figure in glat of the truck's arduous operating cycles nd urban territory. -It will do what it will do," e concludes pragmatically.