Powerful both in the quarry and on the road: Peter Wedhorn’s Arocs with Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive

“How often in the past have I got stuck with my rear-wheel drive tractor/semitrailer combination and had to be pulled out by a crawler,” Peter tells us. “That always costs time and money because at the end of the day you manage one tour less when something like that happens to you.” However, an all-wheel drive isn’t a solution for Peter’s employer either: “More than 90 percent of the kilometres I drive are on the road. I only need maximum traction for a short time.”

One of the first new Arocs.

Peter particularly likes the fact that with Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive full tractive power is available at the front axle even when shifting gear. The reason for that: the high-pressure pump doesn’t draw its energy from the main drivetrain, but from the power take-off. A solution that at present is only offered by Mercedes‑Benz.

Peter has been driving the new Arocs for about a year. It is one of the first that left the production line in the Mercedes‑Benz Wörth plant. He and his Arocs transport high-grade flint, stone soil, basalt frost protection or asphalt for large suppliers.

Peter particularly likes the MirrorCam on the new Arocs. The digital rearview mirror offers the driver more than just a view to the rear – it assists him in a range of situations with additional information on the displays in the cab interior. When overtaking, for example, special distance lines indicate when the Arocs can merge back into lane.

“The best thing about it, is that the view through the side windows is not obstructed,” says Peter. “The cameras are mounted right up on the roof frame and can no longer block your view. It’s also good that the cameras don’t get as dirty as normal mirrors. That is particularly noticeable on the building site in bad weather!“ 

Another plus for the new Arocs is the new Predictive Powertrain Control. This intelligent cruise control and transmission management system can now be used on interurban roads too. Which is exactly where Peter usually drives. The system saves up to five percent fuel there. It automatically takes climbs, brows of hills, downhill gradients and as of late the radius of bends, speed limits and right of way regulations into account.

“But what I really like is that the system slows the truck down to 50 km/h just as it enters a town and then automatically accelerates back up to the set speed afterwards,” says Peter. “That is very comfortable!”

27 years of experience.

Peter Wedhorn has been in the company for 23 years and has been driving trucks for 27 years. His verdict: "For combined work in road and construction site traffic, the new Arocs is the best vehicle that I have ever sat in. Assistance systems, user interfaces, driving performance – everything that today’s technology has to offer, is available to the driver here.” 

Incidentally, that is why the new Arocs is also used as a demonstration vehicle at the Knackert driving school – the sister company of Luiza Knackert, the haulage and excavator company. Here, Peter Wedhorn is often asked to step in and explain things, when the obligatory further training in accordance with the German professional driver's qualification legislation (BKrFQG) is due. Wedhorn: “Those who drive an older vehicle every day, are amazed at what is possible today when they get into our new Arocs with its multimedia cockpit and all the gadgets!”