This story first appeared in the May issue of DieselTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE
A Taupo-based contractor to New Zealand Post, Phil Martin had been a loyal Hino owner for more than 18 years. But he recently made the decision that it was time to move up to the comfort and quality of a European brand, such as Mercedes-Benz.
It was October 2015 when Martin signed the order for the 600 horsepower (447kW) Mercedes-Benz Actros 2660 MegaSpace cab 6×4 tractor unit – pictured here with a brand new custom-built curtain-side semi-trailer, supplied by Fruehauf.
He took delivery of the new Actros prime mover and semi-trailer on May 7, and had completed only one run in the new rig before speaking to DIESELtalk, but he was already very pleased with his investment.
A working day for Martin starts in Taupo at 5pm loading cages of NZ Post Letters and CourierPost parcels on to the semi-trailer unit. From Taupo, he travels through the evening to a CourierPost depot in Hamilton, and then on to the NZ Post hanger at Auckland Airport to offload the priority freight destined for the South Island, for yet more freight.
From Auckland Airport, Martin will drive across to the Auckland CourierPost Operations Centre at Highbrook, then he returns south to the Hamilton depot.
From the Hamilton station, he will drive to the Rotorua depot, returning to the Hamilton depot once more before then leaving to head south to the Taupo depot getting there around 6am.
“NZ Post has built a brilliant schedule that not only moves the freight efficiently around the country, it also allows for our mandatory rest breaks,” says Martin.
“We do work to a very strict schedule,” he says.
Martin comments that the new truck and trailer combination not only fits the standards and quality of service expected by his contract client NZ Post, it’s also meeting his personal expectations for quality, performance, comfort, and fuel economy.
“We had simply grown out of the Hino 700 series product,” says Martin. “I spend up to 14 hours a day in my ‘office’ and I wanted an even more comfortable working environment that was suited to the job at hand.
“The Hino trucks had done us proud for many years, but the size, space, comfort and power of the Mercedes-Benz Actros 2660, with the MegaSpace cab, just makes it a delight to operate,” says Martin.
“I wanted a flat floor in the cab, so Trucks and Trailers Limited ordered this MegaSpace cab unit especially for me from the factory in Germany, but the longer waiting time was worth it,” he says.
Martin says that after 18 years of driving a truck and trailer combination, moving to a tractor and semi-trailer has been a change and presented a learning curve, but he is quickly adjusting to maneuvering the new vehicle around familiar territory.
“The torque of the new Actros is just phenomenal, and even when fully laden, on cruise control the truck will simply ascend and descend steep climbs, such as the Bombay Hills or the Mamaku ranges, at a steady 90km/h, there’s no overrun, it just simply holds the set speed,” says Martin.
“It’s comfortable and quiet, and that V8 engine is just a pure delight to operate.”
“The fuel economy on the first run exceeded my expectations; I will be keen to see how the truck performs after 70,000km, which is when the Mercedes-Benz team reckon the V8 turbodiesel engine will be at its optimal efficiency,” he says.
An owner/operator with his wife Bronwyn, Martin says he buys a new truck almost every five years and says that he was impressed by the level of interest afforded him by the Scania, Volvo, MAN and DAF salespeople, but he was most impressed with the team at Trucks and Trailers Limited.
“We didn’t just want to buy a new truck; we needed a company that could provide full support, such as finance, contract maintenance, roadside assistance, and just be there when we needed help or advice,” he says.
“We’ve been very impressed with the service and ongoing support through the delivery process that we’ve received from Nigel Monk (sales consultant) and Kevin Curran (sales manager) at Trucks and Trailers Limited.
“Between them and Jeff Mear at Fruehauf, they took a lot of stress out of the equation.
“I can see in six months’ time I’ll still be raving about the new Actros and its fuel economy, it certainly has exceeded my expectations,” says Martin.
