Back to the future with the History Truck

Q. What’s your company name and job title?

A. It’s DN Mobile Services, and I’m the owner.

Q. What industry do you work in?

A. DN Mobile Services is a haulage and commercial breakdown company based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

Q. How long have you been interested in trucks?

A. For as long as I can remember. My Dad was a lorry driver, and my Uncles were into banger racing. I started banger racing at the age of nine, and I have always been interested in anything with an engine.

Q. How long have you been a truck driver?

A. Since I was 21 and I’m 48 now.

Q. Can you tell me about your truck? What model is it?

A. It’s an Actros MP1, one of the first Actros Mercedes-Benz produced. It’s 16 years old and has done over 1,700,000 km to date! I use it every day, and it still has the original engine and gearbox. It’s an old V8, and it has straight through exhausts, so it makes a lot of noise!

Q. Does your truck have a name?

A. Initially, people called it Bugsy or Busy Boy because the number plate is BU51 BGY. Once the paint scheme was finished, people started to call it the History Truck, and that has stuck.

Q. Are there any special features?

A. Apart from the custom paint work the truck has chrome side pipes which make a great noise, the original wheels (which took me a while to find!) and I changed the MP1 seats for MP3 seats – I use the truck every day for work, so I need comfortable seats.

Q. Let’s talk about the paint job, who painted the truck for you?

A. Andy and Tom Scott from Custom Painthouse in Barnsley:  www.custompainthouse.co.uk

Q. What was the inspiration for the scheme?

A. A lot of the custom trucks are based on the owner’s favourite film or cartoon character but my partner, Louise, suggested the history of Mercedes-Benz and I thought that was a great idea. As well as the old trucks the livery features the five different versions of the Mercedes-Benz badge plus portraits of the founders on the back of the cab. The biggest surprise for people is when they open the cab doors and see all of the future concept trucks inside.

Q. When did you start working on the History Truck and how long has it taken?

A. It is constantly evolving. I first had the truck airbrushed in 2014 and have updated it over the years. In 2016 I added the wing tops and updated the interior to reflect the future concept trucks Mercedes-Benz have shown recently.

Q. Do you have any plans to show the truck in 2017? If so where and when?

A. As I mentioned the truck is a workhorse – I use it every day, so it is always out and about on the roads. I get asked to take it to lots of shows and events, but I need to balance it with work. One of the places I have been asked to attend this year is Truckfest in Peterborough at the end of April.

Q. What is your favourite feature on the truck?

A. I love all of it. My goal was to get it to a place where everyone likes it, and I think I have achieved that.

Q. What do the public think of the truck?

A. They love it! It always puts a smile on people’s faces, and they stop and take pictures of the truck and beep their horns and wave. Sometimes it’s a bit too popular - it’s impossible to get out of the services quickly when I’m working as people always want to take pictures. I don’t mind though as it’s nice to make people happy.