Mercedes-Benz eight-wheeler plugs a gap

Portable accommodation transportation specialist A Rhodes, based in Yorkshire, UK, has treated itself to a 50th birthday present in the shape of an 8 x 4 Mercedes-Benz Arocs truck fitted with an 85 tonne-metre Effer crane.

The latest addition to the operator’s fleet has joined a Mercedes-Benz dominated park of 12 crane trucks, a combination of four- and six-wheeled rigids, and tractor units.

John Rhodes, A Rhodes managing director, said, “The smaller rigids are typically equipped with 50 tonne-metre cranes, while the tractors start at 70 tonne-metres and go up to 150 tonne-metres. The market is constantly changing and we’ve responded by investing in a new truck that plugs a gap and increases our flexibility, allowing us to maximise utilisation and efficiency of the fleet.”

Supplied by Roanza Truck & Van, A Rhodes’ first Mercedes-Benz Arocs is a 3243L model with StreamSpace cab and in-line six-cylinder engine, which produces 315 killowatts (428 horsepower) and drives through a 12-speed Mercedes PowerShift 3 automated transmission.

The same dealer is also processing orders for two more vehicles that will undergo conversion and strengthening to be fitted with a 140 tonne-metre crane.

The crane on A Rhodes’ new Arocs was supplied and fitted by ACB Cranes of Stoke-on-Trent, UK.