MIRA Autoservice has put the Arocs 4151 tow truck through its paces

Vehicle & Technology

Recovery specialist.

If a truck breaks down in the Baden-Baden area, the pros from MIRA Autoservice will be happy to help. To ensure utmost effectiveness when recovering and towing vehicles, they recently procured an Arocs with a special-purpose body, which they had previously tested at the Application Information Centre (BIC).

Day and night. With their flagship and around 20 other vehicles, the experts from MIRA turn out day and night to provide assistance.


Udo Böhler explains that the team's priority isn't actually to look after the vehicles. "If, during the night at half-past two we get a call-out to recover a broken down truck, our first aim is to help the driver," explains the Managing Director and owner of MIRA Autoservice GmbH from Baden-Baden. "Many drivers today are under immense pressure, because, for example, they have to get their load to the customer 'just in time'."

That said, the truck, of course, also shouldn't just be abandoned at the side of the road. And to ensure that doesn't happen, since 2018, MIRA has a specialist operating in their fleet: an Arocs 4151 with Masterlift body from Brechtel for recovering and towing heavy vehicles. "Trucks up to 40 tonnes gross weight are no problem for it." The 7.5-tonne vehicle which two MIRA employees are called out to recover on the day of our report is an "easy catch" for the powerhouse that Udo Böhler had previously tested at the Application Information Centre (BIC) in Wörth.


The Arocs is the flagship of a fleet made up of around 20 vehicles for their recovery, towing and breakdown services, which are spread across four locations in the central Baden region. "In 2018, we were called out around 5000 times," explains Böhler. And although most of those were for passenger cars, with MIRA often working in collaboration with the German automobile club ADAC, the pros are regularly also called out to help trucks.


Around 30 percent of the trucks' operations are related to accidents, but the vast majority of their call-outs are for breakdowns. "Often, it's the simple things. Like trucks which don't start after being parked in a works yard over the weekend and which then end up blocking the loading bay." Other key operational areas include the A5 motorway near Baden-Baden and the nearby Black Forest High Road. "Call-outs to the motorway tend to come in via the police," Böhler tells us. In these cases, his company works as a contractual partner of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

There's one common denominator in all of their operations: speed is of the essence! After all, a broken-down truck can either bring a supply chain to its knees or may result in an accident occurring – and sometimes both of those at the same time. "Our contract with the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg states, for example, that we have to enter the motorway slip road within 30 minutes." Repairs to the recovered vehicle – be that a truck or a passenger car – are carried out as a further service by MIRA in their own workshop.

 


"Every now and again, we have to pull out logging trucks which have got stuck in forest tracks – that's child's play."

– Udo Böhler, Managing Director and owner of MIRA Autoservice GmbH



The operations don't just require well-trained staff, but also top-level equipment. "With a truck that's five or six years old, it's not possible to tow newer trucks with their lightweight frames, without causing even more damage," says Böhler. The Masterlift on an Arocs base vehicle, however, features a fully hydraulic wheel lift at the rear which is extended just a few centimetres above the road surface. This allows broken-down trucks to be picked up without causing damage. The two winches are only used in complicated recovery operations. But when they are used, they deliver a whole lot of pulling power.

And it's not just the special-purpose body from Brechtel that has proven its worth in operation at MIRA, but also the base vehicle. In particular the PowerShift 3 automated transmission of the Arocs won over Udo Böhler straight away. "In our call-outs along the Black Forest High Road, there are some pretty steep climbs – and with it, we can shift through the gears with almost no interruption in tractive force." Its off-road qualities have also demonstrated their worth: "Every now and again, we have to pull out logging trucks which have got stuck in forest tracks – that's child's play."


The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.
The Arocs with Masterlift body from Brechtel features the latest recovery and towing technology. This can be seen at the rear with the wheel lift for picking up vehicles without causing any damage.

Experience it in person!

Long before the first recovery and towing task, the pros at MIRA Autoservice extensively tested the Masterlift based on the Arocs. This was made possible by the Application Information Centre (BIC) in Wörth. Thanks to close collaboration with the relevant body builders, more than 180 fully built trucks are ready to look at, get your hands on and test at any time. After all, the crucial aspect about highly specific industry solutions is that they are precisely suited to the respective requirements of the users. And the best way for the customer to get an idea of that is to take a look at them up-close and in-person. The experts at the BIC are on-hand to answer any questions or provide any explanations about the vehicles which visitors may have. For test drives whereby customers wish to get an idea of the off-roading capabilities of an Arocs, for example, there is even an appropriate test terrain.



Photos: Jan Potente

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