Buntons Upgrades Fleet With Specialised Mercedes-Benz Arocs Road Sweeper & Tippers

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With an 8.4-cubic-metre stainless-steel hopper and a 2,000-litre water tank, Buntons’ new Arocs 1840 can work longer in between tips and refills than the firm’s previous sweeper truck. (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.)

Earlier this year, Buntons received five 8x4 tipper Arocs fitted with PALFINGER EPSILON M 12Z crane grabs, each of which is more powerful than the other eight-wheel tippers in Buntons’ fleet. The plant hire, groundworks, and recycled aggregate specialist also invested in an 18-tonne (19.8-U.S.-ton) Arocs road sweeper as an upgrade for its previous sweeper, a 15-t (16.5-U.S.-t) Mercedes-Benz Atego.

“Our trucks must be reliable, cost effective, and able to withstand the rigours of a tough working life,” says Buntons Director Rob Hall. “The Mercedes-Benz Arocs ticks these boxes and more.”

An Intelligent Sweeper

Buntons’ new Arocs is an 1840 with a ClassicSpace sleeper cab and sweeper bodywork provided by Stock Sweepers. The S8400 dual sweeping system includes a stainless-steel hopper, wide-sweep and side brushes, and a pressure and positioning system controllable by the CANbus Sweep System. The sweeper body features a 68-kilowatt (91-horsepower) auxiliary engine, and the Arocs is powered by a 10.7-litre in-line six-cylinder engine producing 290 kW (394 HP).

“The 18-tonner is bigger than any sweeper we’ve bought before,” says Buntons Transport Coordinator Richard Goodyear. “Going up a weight class means the truck has the capacity to stay out working for longer, before needing to tip or refill with water.”

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Buntons’ tipper services include operated or self-drive plant hire, bulk excavations, and muckaway jobs. (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.)

More Powerful Tippers

Previous Buntons tippers were equipped with 320-kW (430-HP) engines, whereas the new 8x4 tippers boast 335-kW (456-HP) engines and lightweight steel bodies.

“Tony Birtwistle [of Bell Truck and Van] convinced us the more powerful unit would offer the optimum blend of performance and fuel efficiency for our work patterns, and the early signs would suggest he was spot on in his calculations,” Goodyear says.

As with the previous generation, the new 8x4 Arocs trucks feature 12-speed Mercedes PowerShift automated manual transmissions.

“PowerShift has proved to be very robust, effective, and easy to use,” says Goodyear. “In fact, the availability of the auto ’box helps to explain why we based the new sweeper on an Arocs chassis. It’s not a model that many choose for this application, but we’re delighted with the result.”

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Source: Mercedes-Benz