NS Clarke Transport Mercedes-Benz Actros Tractor Units Borrow Durability Features From Arocs Range

---

NS Clarke’s first MirrorCam-equipped Mercedes-Benz Actros also came with steel front bumpers and raised ride heights. (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.)

NS Clarke Transport’s fifth-generation Actros trucks are designed to venture onto off-road sites, thanks to new options for steel front bumpers and raised ride heights thanks to straight front axles and a headlight arrangement borrowed from the flat-floored Mercedes-Benz Arocs. Thusly equipped Actros have as much as 85 millimetres (3.3 inches) more ground clearance and a greatly reduced chance of underbody damage whilst manoeuvring on rough ground.

“We’ve always favoured the Actros over the Arocs because our trucks spend most of their time on the road,” says NS Clarke Managing Director Shaun Clarke. “However, they also go to quarries and onto other sites, where they can take a bit of a battering.”

---

The new Actros units have steps with rubber mounts, providing lateral movement that can be the difference between replacing the step if a driver catches a kerb. (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.)

Lowered Repair Costs

Over the last year, NS Clarke has received 12 Actros trucks with Mercedes-Benz’s damage-resistant upgrades, and the Staffordshire-based operator has already benefited from the more robust design.

“The combination of raised height and the more rugged and durable construction bumper means we’ve seen a noticeable reduction in accident damage to our latest units,” Clarke says. “This, in turn, has resulted in some very welcome cost savings.”

The new Actros units also feature a rubber-mounted step that allows some lateral movement, which Clarke says “has that bit of give, so that if the driver catches one on a kerb it’s not necessarily going to break and need replacing.”

---

This 4x4 Mercedes-Benz Unimog is part of NS Clarke’s vehicle recovery fleet. (Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.)

Mercedes-Benz Fleet

NS Clarke’s 12 new Actros 2551s are equipped with six-cylinder, 375-kilowatt (510-horsepower) engines. The fifth-generation models are also packed with Mercedes-Benz technology, including MirrorCam, the Multimedia Cockpit, Predictive Powertrain Control, and Active Brake Assist 5. NS Clarke also selected Mercedes-Benz trucks for its vehicle recovery fleet, which includes an 8x4 Arocs 4153, a 15-tonne (16.5-U.S.-ton) Atego 1521, and a 4x4 Unimog U5023 UHE. The recovery units can be found along stretches of the M6 and M42 motorways, where NS Clarke is contracted to recover breakdowns.

Find Mercedes-Benz Trucks

You’ll find hundreds of new and used Mercedes-Benz trucks, including Actros, Arocs, Atego, and Unimog vehicles, for sale on Truck Locator.

Source: Mercedes-Benz