"It's wiping the floor with anything
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else on fuel" John Berry — Butler Transport based at Driffield, Humberside runs seven trucks—it has used nothing but Mercs ever since the company was formed seven years ago. Transport manager John Berry says: "When Jason Butler's dad set up on his own he ran a 2521 tipper and that seemed to be the only truck working on the same site that wasn't having problems. It went from there really. We started with an 814 Mercedes which was as reliable as can be and we have just moved up from there. We are mainly running at 34ohp with curtainsided trailers delivering to farms and superstores all over the country. Apart from regular maintenance they never seem to have to go into the garage. Our local dealer H and L Motors looks after us hands down.
"Power has never really been an issue for us before and we initially tried out the 350 and 400hp Actros demonstrator units," he adds. "They were all right but we found, with the speed limit having been lowered, we were losing out all the time on hills. We spoke to someone who had a 480 Actros. He said it was superb so we decided to take the plunge and we have never looked back. I've always been a V8 man on the Mercs and it's proving its worth. It's wiping the floor with anything else on fuel. We're getting between 9.5 and tompg from the 480 Actros week in, week out, while the 3405 are working harder all the time and are returning 7.5 to 8mpg. The 1838 is giving us 8.5 to 9mpg since we changed the exhaust on it.
"We've just ordered a second 480 Actros," Berry adds. "It will also be on an R&M contract with fixed costs. We can buy the one we already have outright at the end of four years if we decide to. It's a bit early to say that we will, because it's doing 140,000 miles a year. The tall cab and larger engine adds another 270kg over the weight of my 1838. It's not a problem, as for 99% of the time we are running at 36 to 37 tonnes all-up.
"We run wide singles at the front and the front brake sensors burnt out," he reports. "Mercedes told us that the computer should have been reset to take account of the increase in tyre size. It only took 25 minutes to put it right. We've done about 18o,000 miles on these tyres and they still have iomm of wear left on them. But tyre life is only part of the reason we fit them: we think they handle better. They don't fall into the ruts on the motorway and they ride smoother, which is kinder to the vehicle.
"The engine has been no problem whatsoever," he says. "The new Telligent EPS gearbox is superb. The cab suspension was apparently the same for the heavier MegaSpace cab as the long distance sleeper cab, and the rear cab mounts have been a common failure. It's been fixed now and the extra cost for the bigger cab is worth the money We're tempted by the price of the Iveco EuroStar, but with the backup that we've had we will probably stay with Mercedes. Reliability is second to none." tt