25 metres, 60 tonnes: Maik Jacobsen on the road to Sweden in the Actros 2563
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Twice a week, Maik Jacobsen transports scrap metal to Sweden with his extra-heavy long truck – behind the wheel of a new Actros 2563.
There is a sign hanging in the windscreen of Maik Jacobsen’s new Actros with a cheeky saying on it: “Life’s too short to drive a measly truck!” You’d assume that it points toward him being a bit of a show-off. But in Maik’s case, there’s quite a lot of truth to that confident statement. Maik drives a new Actros 2563 with 460 kW. Alongside its top motorisation, the dimensions and weight class of the road train display its size to the outside world: 25.25 metres in length and a permitted total weight of 60 tonnes.
Twice a week, Maik sets off from Flensburg, Germany, in his extra-heavy long truck to bring recycled metal through Denmark all the way to Sweden for his employer, Nord-Schrott. On the journey home, he collects scrap metal from various merchants in Sweden, which then gets processed and resold by Nord-Schrott back in Flensburg. And so the circle is complete.
Driver Maik Jacobsen checks out the quality of the scrap metal to be transported.
A total weight of 60 tonnes only from Padborg.
Trucks as long as Maik’s XXL truck are indeed allowed on certain routes in Germany. But not the 60 tonnes that the vehicle normally weighs, with its three well-filled hooklift containers. This weight is, however, permitted on Danish and Swedish roads. So for the first ten kilometres until the Danish border, Maik needs a colleague to help him by bringing two hooklift containers to Padborg using a conventional articulated truck.
Maik follows his colleague in his new Actros with the third hooklift container and a so-called dolly in tow. This two-axle unit from Danish manufacturer HFR becomes the centre section of Maik’s XXL truck, connecting the articulated trailer and the two hooklift containers with the towing vehicle.
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Join RoadStarsMaik couples the dolly and articulated trailer at a car park in Padborg with a practised manoeuvre – and the real journey can begin. It’s an unbelievably beautiful one, spectacular at times: in Denmark, the windows in the cab offer views of the Baltic Sea again and again. In Sweden, seemingly endless country roads through hilly forests await.
A spectacular route.
After a good hour, Maik reaches the bridge at Fredericia which spans Little Belt, connecting Jutland with Funen. From here, it’s just another one and a half hours to possibly the most spectacular structure of the tour: Storebæltsbroen. Rain is coming as Maik reaches the imposing 14-kilometre-long bridge. You can still see a narrow strip of blue sky. So that large ships can pass through the Great Belt, Europe’s longest suspension bridge was built in the eastern part of the crossing, with a length of 2,694 metres and a main span of 1,624 metres.
A so-called dolly from Danish manufacturer HFR forms the centre section of the XXL truck and connects the trailer with two containers.
The containers have to be transported to the Danish side with two trucks, where 60-tonne XXL trucks are allowed on certain routes.
Despite its 60 tonnes of weight, Jacobsen’s Actros easily manages the incline to the suspension bridge at a speed of 80 km/h. “As I see it, a strong engine is the most important thing on these transport routes,” says Maik. “In Denmark and Sweden, there are almost no traffic jams. That means that we manage high average speeds and can incorporate destinations way up north on our rounds.”
The previous model was also very powerful. That’s something Maik’s used to. But he has been on the road in his new Actros since winter, enjoying the wide array of highlights it has to offer, including the MirrorCam and the Multimedia Cockpit.
“It’s all just a matter of willpower and discipline.”
– Maik Jacobsen
Making a statement: Maik’s new Actros 2563 with 460 kW, a length of 25.25 metres and permitted total weight of 60 tonnes doesn’t come under this category.
Relaxed driving in Sweden.
What Maik likes most about his new work vehicle is the improved Predictive Powertrain Control. This intelligent cruise control and transmission control can now also be used in interurban traffic. “It’s especially helpful on Swedish country roads, where using cruise control makes driving really relaxed,” says Maik. “The system always knows in advance when there’s a village coming up and slows down. When I leave the village again, the truck accelerates back up to the speed that was set. It’s just amazing!”
The Nord-Schrott driver also loves the journey through Denmark and Sweden because of the mentality of the people that he meets on the road. He takes his first break at a service station just short of Copenhagen on Zealand. He skilfully orders a “friskbrygget kaffe”. He learned Danish at an evening course, and it rolls off the tongue with ease. “It’s all just a matter of willpower and discipline,” says Maik. Maybe he should get the “measly truck” sign made in Danish. Translating it wouldn’t be a problem. “Livet er alt for kort for at køre rundt i tarvelige lastbiler!”
The bridge over Little Belt is the first of three bridges on the way to Sweden.
Photos: Christoph Börries
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9 comments
Weiterhin allzeit gute Fahrt! 👍👍
Weiterhin allzeit gute Fahrt! 👍👍