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 
OPERATOR FEEDBACK
Page 34
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
MAKIN
"I just fell in love with the Actros when it first came out with the Megaspace cab
and flat floor..." Roger Makin Boger Makin farms 1,065 acres in Yorkshire. His main crops are wheat, barley and oil seed rape which for most of the time he transports himself in his 1857 Actros coupled to a 44m3 (58yd3) bulker semi, making deliveries throughout Yorkshire with the occasional trip to Scotland. "I've had an NV licence since the 1970s," he says. "I have wanted my own truck for the past 30 years and waited until I could afford one. I just fell in love with the Actros when it first came out with the Megaspace cab and flat floor. It's a bit of an indulgence really as I don't drive it every day—I have only covered 19,000km since I got it last March but it is an exceptionally nice truck. If I get a couple or three years out of it and look after it well it will make a decent resale value for an ownerdriver looking for a decent motor.
"In the meantime I get the enjoyment out of driving a really excellent truck and It's always a talking point when I meet up with other drivers. I think I got a good deal on it. It has the most powerful of the three Mercedes-Benz V8 engines but if it is driven for economy, by limiting the revs through the gears, you can get 10 to 10.5mpg out of it. I could have had the fully automatic transmission but I thought that the manual Telligent gearbox would give me more control.
"The two-stage engine brake Is superb and it saves wear on the service brakes. It's a little hilly in this area sea more representative figure is 7.5inpg to 8.0mpg overall. I get a payload of about 25.5 tonnes with a full 1350 litres in the tank. That's over half a tonne of fuel so I can get a bit more payload if I'm working locally. "My nearest dealer is H&L Garages at Brough. They do the six-weekly inspection and servicing. If it's this time of year and I'm not too busy with the farm they do what is necessary while I wait, but in the summer I may leave it overnight and then they provide me with a courtesy car to get home. The only thing that has gone wrong with it is the outside temperature sensor—over the past couple of weeks the gauge has been showing anything from 45°C to 75°C! A new one is in hand.
"The best thing about this truck is its driveability. It's an absolute dream...better than my car. At 40mph it still pulls well at 900 to 1,000rpm. It's so relaxed. With this gearbox and 16 gears it's possible to select the right gear at the right time. It's so quiet and comfortable with air conditioning and climate control.
"Electric mirrors mean that they can be adjusted to see when reversing. The electrically adjusted and heated seats are expensive but they come with lumbar support that can be set to suit so it's all very comfortable. I tend to dampen the air suspension down a little bit. With the four steps some drivers say that getting into the cab is like climbing up to bed but I think it's safer. The driving height gives a better view of the road and when you come to get out you're not tempted to jump down.
"The cab is on air and so is the rear of the chassis so the ride is very smooth...for the most part. I have occasion to drive down some pretty bumpy country lanes at times and then the ride can get a bit choppy."