Special-purpose bodies: Reinhard Windbichler and his Arocs 3363

The Mus-Max chopping machine – feed opening 114 centimetres, feed height 75 centimetres – is powered directly from the truck engine power take-off with a single cooled reversing gear. The competition tends to use three gears as an alternative. The upshot is endless cooling problems and often less efficiency, which is definitely not what Reinhard Windbichler wants.

Like a fighter pilot, the Tyrolean sits in the reversed co-driver seat of his cab. With short, fluid movements, he controls the crane and gripper using two joysticks, and the feeder using a pedal. On the left in his field of view there is a display that provides information on the rpm, feeder speed and the working time. The chopper in front of him shakes the truck violently every so often, even massive trees cannot stop the "Wood-Terminator" in its tracks.

There the machine has something in common with Adam Aigner. The greater the challenge, the greater his thirst for action. In the mid-00s the man from Kössen took the decision to give up his job as a farmer or be forced to eat grass himself as milk prices plummeted. The farmer placed an "ex" in front of his job description, combined his Fendt 930 Vario with a wood chopper and started producing wood chips in spring 2007.

Two years later, Aigner bought his first truck, a used Actros. Today the fleet includes up to seven units. A very hands-on person, the Tyrolean always lends a helping hand himself in the firm – as part of routine business and with converting the vehicles which they build in-house.

Has the new Arocs brand also been converted in-house? "Of course", says Adam Aigner and grins. "Ultimately nobody knows better than I do how I actually envisage the implement. And why should I spend so much money having the vehicle put together and converted when we can do it in the firm and now have experience of three of these kinds of conversions?" Sounds logical.

Nonetheless, taking an angle grinder to a brand-new Arocs and removing a quarter of the cab is not everyone's cup of tea. Adam Aigner is not smiling now, rather he has a broad grin across his face: "Of course you need to take a deep breath first, this kind of vehicle ultimately costs a lot of money." The bulk of the back wall, the bed and the right side wall had to be removed; a platform, electronics components and a camera put in. The co-driver's seat was turned round, a crane fitted behind the cab and directly behind it the wood chopper. All of which took six weeks. 12 mm-thick aircraft glass not only provides perfect all-round visibility, but also allows you to work without dust and noise. "No matter what the weather conditions", affirms Reinhard Windbichler.

According to the display, the machine has only been running 26 minutes, but the pile of wood next to the forest road has largely disappeared. The driver precisely adjusts the joystick with his fingertips and tries to get hold of what is remaining with the crane and gripper. At the back there are still a few trunks and branches. A colleague helps Reinhard and throws bits lying around onto the pile so that all of the wood actually finds its way into the chopper.

Reinhard Windbichler eventually filled up two containers with wood chips. While outside his colleague cleans scrap wood from the chopper feed table and the feed roller, Reinhard picks up his tablet from the front working area in the truck. "I've stored all my jobs on it, including access routes, which saves a great deal of time particularly here in the mountains", he explains. And time is money – even in the wood chipping business and particularly since major storm damage in Bavaria has pushed down prices. So it is on to the next job: Hasta la vista, baby!

Photos: Bubu Dujmic