jeh_lon:
I was recently driving the one of these on a trunk to Mansfield. As a rule I found it best to drop down to low range for the steep hills simply because it would loose too much road speed if you didn’t. Didn’t seem to have much of a difference to the mpg; used to do around 11mpg regardless running at about 21 tonnes.
The exhaust brake was rubbish so I didn’t bother with it. My main bone of contention was the gearbox because if you didn’t get it (gear change) right first time the lever would lock up. What’s all that about? Otherwise I found them a nice drive.
Hmmm, the newest ones on our fleet show the mpg to date on the digital display. When I do a bit of yard shunting for loading during the afternoon I sometimes notice the figures and one driver has got his average down to 8.8 mpg! And this on multidrop delivery where we spend half the day running round empty, or close to it.
I find the exhaust brake reasonably useful, but you have to get the revs right up into the yellow section for it to work properly. I find that when coming down motorway hills loaded, you can drop half a gear to get the revs up and it will hold you at 56-58mph - around 60mph on the M62.
The gearbox problem is the thing I hate about the wagon most of all. I’ve found that not gripping the stick too hard helps, but even that’s no guarantee. Sometimes letting the clutch out and then depressing it again clears the problem… which only seems to happen when you’ve gone for a gap that was a little bit on the small side on a roundabout or something.
I’m allocated one at the moment, and we run at or around the 19-20 tonne gross level, perhaps up to a maximum of 22 tonnes at times. I find that they tend to lose revs quickly on hills at full weight, soon dropping to the lower end of the green band. Taking what is said in the various magazines about conserving fuel, I do my best, but should I let it lug down at these lower (1300-1450) revs, or drop a split to get the revs up to about 1750-1800 (top of the green band) and pick up a bit more speed? Bearing in mind it only has a small, 6.4 litre engine I don’t know what’s best for fuel economy. I’ve read a fair bit of conflicting advice in the various magazines, etc, etc, and needless to say I’ve received no training on how to extract best fuel economy, even though my employers keep a close eye on these figures.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated; thanks in advance.
Deaks:
I’m allocated one at the moment, and we run at or around the 19-20 tonne gross level, perhaps up to a maximum of 22 tonnes at times. I find that they tend to lose revs quickly on hills at full weight, soon dropping to the lower end of the green band. Taking what is said in the various magazines about conserving fuel, I do my best, but should I let it lug down at these lower (1300-1450) revs, or drop a split to get the revs up to about 1750-1800 (top of the green band) and pick up a bit more speed? Bearing in mind it only has a small, 6.4 litre engine I don’t know what’s best for fuel economy. I’ve read a fair bit of conflicting advice in the various magazines, etc, etc, and needless to say I’ve received no training on how to extract best fuel economy, even though my employers keep a close eye on these figures.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated; thanks in advance.
In my expierences Mercs have always needed written warnings in triplicate three weeks in advance to get them up a hill, Best bit of advice is to drive a different truck
Deaks:
I’m allocated one at the moment, and we run at or around the 19-20 tonne gross level, perhaps up to a maximum of 22 tonnes at times. I find that they tend to lose revs quickly on hills at full weight, soon dropping to the lower end of the green band. Taking what is said in the various magazines about conserving fuel, I do my best, but should I let it lug down at these lower (1300-1450) revs, or drop a split to get the revs up to about 1750-1800 (top of the green band) and pick up a bit more speed? Bearing in mind it only has a small, 6.4 litre engine I don’t know what’s best for fuel economy. I’ve read a fair bit of conflicting advice in the various magazines, etc, etc, and needless to say I’ve received no training on how to extract best fuel economy, even though my employers keep a close eye on these figures.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated; thanks in advance.
In my expierences Mercs have always needed written warnings in triplicate three weeks in advance to get them up a hill, Best bit of advice is to drive a different truck
but not an older DAF. with that kind of weight, you will have to go the long way round
smcaul:
In my expierences Mercs have always needed written warnings in triplicate three weeks in advance to get them up a hill, Best bit of advice is to drive a different truck
Ha ha so you know what I mean then! Would love to drive a different wagon, maybe even one with an exhaust brake that actually does something other than just make a noise - my firm still has about seven ERFs with ■■■■■■■ 275s in ‘em, not as luxurious by any stretch but much better pullers. They seem to keep hold of them for ‘just in case’ scenarios, though… One or two days’ work a week for a four-year old truck!
The best fuel economy will come between 1100 and 1300 rpm so let it lug at max torque, but if your losing momentum quickly then you may need to compromise economy for progress and drop a cog. Alternately judge when road conditions are going to cause you to lose momentum (Hills, etc.) and increase the rpm to the top end of the green band and so boost power and speed slightly in plenty of time to compensate, that way you may make better progress without too much of a fuel penalty.
Mercedes wagons are well known for their non-pulling abilities in direct relation to other marques of the same engine size. Trust me, the Actros artic is just as bad on hills at full/close to full weight.
Rob K:
Mercedes wagons are well known for their non-pulling abilities in direct relation to other marques of the same engine size. Trust me, the Actros artic is just as bad on hills at full/close to full weight.
Re exhaust brake: revs need to be well up for maximum brake efficiency, in the last sector before the red on rev counter. (sorry, can’t remember if its amber or blue on a merc). If the hill is steep, keep your eye on the rev counter & dab the brakes occasionally to prevent it over revving into the red.
I actually read the actros manual the otherday waiting to tip at makro hull and if you pull the cruise control lever towards you whilst the engine brake is on it increases the performance so it is kind of noticable, but still not as good as an FM9!!
Super Dan:
I actually read the actros manual the otherday waiting to tip at makro hull and if you pull the cruise control lever towards you whilst the engine brake is on it increases the performance so it is kind of noticable, but still not as good as an FM9!!
Be very careful doing this. I drive an Actros. If I pull the cruise control lever towards me whilst the engine brake is engaged, it accelerates using the cruise control!
I was recently driving the one of these on a trunk to Mansfield. As a rule I found it best to drop down to low range for the steep hills simply because it would loose too much road speed if you didn’t. Didn’t seem to have much of a difference to the mpg; used to do around 11mpg regardless running at about 21 tonnes.
The exhaust brake was rubbish so I didn’t bother with it. My main bone of contention was the gearbox because if you didn’t get it (gear change) right first time the lever would lock up. What’s all that about? Otherwise I found them a nice drive.
