So here I sit in this tired 2543 Merc Axor having tugged a Decker down into Kent, whilst coming across the M20 I actually managed to drop to 20mph on this Motorway, so slow in fact I felt the need to hit the hazards as I crawled up the nearside lane with a busy stream of Dover bound waggon bearing down on me, even the 11 plate models are gutless with zero torque for decker work, bloody dangerous at times !!!
So while I sit here on my break I am contemplating the easier return journey empty, and dreaming of the day when a shirt and tie doesn’t spec the suitability of equipment
Phantom Mark:
So here I sit in this tired 2543 Merc Axor having tugged a Decker down into Kent, whilst coming across the M20 I actually managed to drop to 20mph on this Motorway, so slow in fact I felt the need to hit the hazards as I crawled up the nearside lane with a busy stream of Dover bound waggon bearing down on me, even the 11 plate models are gutless with zero torque for decker work, bloody dangerous at times !!!
So while I sit here on my break I am contemplating the easier return journey empty, and dreaming of the day when a shirt and tie doesn’t spec the suitability of equipment
If you get paid by the hour then a faster motor means you’ll be working more for the same money, so that Merc could be doing you a favour The type of work you do dictates the choice of lorry, you want a ‘better’ lorry, you’re going to have to change jobs
Just a thought, but a 430hp lorry has almost 10hp/ton, that’s a decent power to weight ratio, well as long as you take into account that you’re driving a lorry and not a sports car
Except for wind resistance and stability issues, deckers are the same as any trailer, they all follow you wherever you go
I really hate axors, they must be really cheap motors to buy/rent as so many firms are getting them nowadays. One fleet I used to see with all Volvo now swapped all for axors, what I kick in the nuts for the drivers…
Being limited to 52,54,56 whatever doesn’t bother me in the least, this is about grunt to pull you up the hills with a reasonable margin of safety, my old Scania 420L would pull me up windy hill on the m62 maxed out weight wise at a minimum of 35/40 depending on wind and the speed I took into the bottom of it, without thrashing it, these Axors have no torque, and frankly I believe dropping to 20mph on a Motorway is not ideal or even safe, heck they even struggle with empty singles on some hills lol
I really hate that expression “decker”. It reminds me a of a person I used to work with who drove a van and loved to get out in his “tonner” (7.5t boxvan).
Once, in front of every driver that worked there (and his dad) he admitted to ■■■■■■■■■■■■ in the van.
Decker doesn’t specify the number of decks to the recipient, just as “tonner” doesn’t for tonnes and instead of being a useful term to save confusion and time, seems to be used in some sort of macho, willy-waving contest.
Murfitts are long gone, let’s not return to small/big wheel contests, they inevitably end in violence.
newmercman:
Just a thought, but a 430hp lorry has almost 10hp/ton, that’s a decent power to weight ratio, well as long as you take into account that you’re driving a lorry and not a sports car
Thats what I thought Maybe its been down rated to save fuel? Only takes a laptop with its quick link-up to Germany from what ican gather. Whats the unit plated at Mark?
If its any consolation though, the Axor is being deleted by Merc.
The old 07 plate one i drive isnt to bad on hills, i can even overtake the odd laden petrol tanker when im empty
I lie, its ■■■■ when i think about it
I’ve been pulling double deckers for nearly 9 years now, mainly with 2544 Acros’s but for the last year with a 2543 Axor. I think the Axor pulls at least as well as the Actros, and even at full weight it isn’t the slowest on the road by any means. I go over the Heads of the Valeys A465 road most nights, so I know what a hill is
The trick with all the Mercs is to change down in plenty of time for hills. The automatic can’t see the road ahead nor does it remember yesterday’s route so you have to over-ride it.
Went down the “Smoke” this morning with one of our 1843’s and a decker.Admittedly only 38 not 44 tonnes.
Going up Stokenchurch cutting and using “Kickdown” early on she only dropped one gear and minimum speed was 47mph.
07 to 11 plate units plated at 44t I think, it is possible it has been down rated to save fuel, a manual without a splitter, the splitter would no doubt help no end in these situations I’m sure, that said tho even the newer 12 speed auto suffer a similar fate on the hills.
I am quite used to pulling heavy loads with all sorts of trucks, but every time I have a Merc they always feel the same, much the same as the newer 440 MAN and 440 scania’s in fact, lacking torque feeling, I wonder how much is down to Euro 5 considerations, that said never had any problems with heavy loads and the XF460 or Premium 460’s ■■
Phantom Mark:
07 to 11 plate units plated at 44t I think, it is possible it has been down rated to save fuel, a manual without a splitter, the splitter would no doubt help no end in these situations I’m sure, that said tho even the newer 12 speed auto suffer a similar fate on the hills.
I am quite used to pulling heavy loads with all sorts of trucks, but every time I have a Merc they always feel the same, much the same as the newer 440 MAN and 440 scania’s in fact, lacking torque feeling, I wonder how much is down to Euro 5 considerations, that said never had any problems with heavy loads and the XF460 or Premium 460’s ■■
Euro 5 has alot to answer for IMO. These Euro regs are literally strangling the life out of the engines. Sure it is making them cleaner but at what expense? Reduced fuel economy and higher servicing costs compared to Euro 2/3. I wonder how much worse Euro 6 regs will make engine perform.
Never driven an axor so can’t comment but have driven a fair few d20 engined MANs and found them a bit gutless. Compared to Volvo and scanias of the same power.
The 430 engine in the Axor produces 2100nm of torque, the 420 in the Scania produces 2000nm of torque
The Axor achieves peak torque at 1100rpm, which means that to drive it to get the maximum out of it you should not even think about changing down until you reach 1100rpm, if you change down before that you ar getting a lot less torque (which is what pulls you up a hill) and just making a lot of noise
The eight speed gearbox is perfectly matched to the engine too, the correct way to downchange ANY lorry on a big hill is to drop whole gears, the splitter should only be used for upshifts (where possible) this will keep the engine on the torque all the time
So drive the lorry properly (on the rev counter) and you’ll find it’s a lot easier to drive, faster uphill and you won’t change gear half as many times
We had a short spell using CF Dafs at 360HPs with over a million kms on the clock pulling 16’0" deckers.
Performance was laughable, but the extra hours accrued on overtime rate made life a little easier.
our fleet is just about 100% axors( apart from a few daf cfs that have been to the moon and back milage wise that just still keep going with no probs)about the only good thing about the axors which are the 430s autos and manuals that they will dig in on hills and pull well fully loaded, with not bad mpg,thats the only good thing thou the reliabilaty is crap not a patch on the dafs that they replaced.
Pimpdaddy:
I really hate axors, they must be really cheap motors to buy/rent as so many firms are getting them nowadays. One fleet I used to see with all Volvo now swapped all for axors, what I kick in the nuts for the drivers…
The Axor is a perfectly capable unit, you have clearly never driven a “B” series E.R.F.
The type of work you do dictates the choice of lorry, you want a ‘better’ lorry, you’re going to have to change jobs 
Maybe its been down rated to save fuel? Only takes a laptop with its quick link-up to Germany from what ican gather. Whats the unit plated at Mark?
