Road Test: Mercedes Arocs 2553

Most tractor units sold by Mercedes are Actros models, but for those needing a sturdier chassis for work, including some or lots of off-road driving, the Arocs is the ticket. Trucking took out an unusual 2553 tag axle tractor unit for a spin. The Mercedes Arocs is a common on UK roads.

But the chances are you'll most likely see one as a rigid - a tipper, hook loader, skip or cement truck. But - in keeping with the modular theme where Mercedes will, if possible, build you pretty much the chassis you want, the Arocs is available on most specifications that you can get an Actros. It starts at 4x2 rigids - popular as skip lorries- and goes up to 8x4 heavy haulage tractor units.

And pretty much most things in between. It's available as a tractor unit, as a 4x2, 6x2 midlift, 6x2 tag and 6x4 and that makes it suitable for landfill work, muckaway, quarry operations, timber hauliers and a host of other applications where something a bit beefier than the Actros is needed. A thicker chassis does mean a slightly heavier tare weight, which can eat into payloads, but this is a specialist platform that is doing well for Merc.

You can also have a lot more cab options - day, sleeper, high-roof sleepers, narrow and wide, tall and low. It's very comparable with Scania's XT models. Therefore, the subject of this test drive is quite different - the 2553 tag axle with a BigSpace flat floor, high roof sleeper cab.

Ideally suited for, say, timber work, it's also versatile enough to be used on general haulage as and when required. It's not quite a jack of all trades, but it's flexible and isn't restricted to one role. My truck was rated at 44 tonnes GVW, but the specification is suitable for up to 68 tonnes GVW, which will appeal to the STGO Cat 1 operators.

You can also order an Arocs as a 2653 double-drive for greater train weights. Of course, though, the Arocs is a specialist truck, and the operators will specify it with a main task in mind. However, the fact that it can be used with a Tautliner or a fridge in many instances, should the need arise, makes it just that little bit more appealing than an outright off-road spec.

Technical overview

Just like the Arocs shares most cab options with its Actros sibling - although the former has a more distinctive cheesegrater-style front grille - it can also be specified with all engine types.

That means there is a host of outputs from 238 to 625hp available. For this truck, we had the biggest output of the middle engine, the six-cylinder Euro 6e OM471 12.8-litre in its offering of 530hp at 1,600rpm and 2,600Nm of torque at 1,100rpm, as the 2553. Confusingly, if it were a midlift, it would also be badged as a 2553!

The OM471 is available at 421, 449, 476, 510 and 530hp, offering various outputs and torque levels from 2,100 to 2,600Nm. The 2553 has 13hp more than the 517hp smallest output of the larger OM473 15.6-litre straight six. This model was confusingly also badged 2553, but more recently, it has more sensibly been badged 2552.

The giveaway that it's got the bigger engine is that the 52 is a different style from the 25 and the 2553. A bit of geekiness for the rivet counters there. Most operators of this kind of truck probably are not overly worried about fuel consumption per se but will appreciate any reduction in fuel usage they get.

For 44 tonnes, 530hp is ideal, but operators might prefer the 2558 or 2563 models in quarries or forests with stiff hills, often on road surfaces of debatable quality. Even then, 530hp should be fine. That engine is coupled to a Merc Powershift 12-speed automatic gearbox.

Merc no longer offers manuals; very few do - currently just Iveco - but there is a manual override if you get into an especially 'sticky' situation. The wheelbases on tag axle Mercs are much longer than those of any other manufacturer, so you have to be careful what you couple to avoid being overlength or fouling the trailer's landing legs when turning. I admit I didn't get my tape measure out, and the man from Merc assured me we were legal, but it's part of the reason Scania and Volvo tag axles sell so well, and you tend to only see tag Mercs on specialist roles.

The L BigSpace cab has the standard Mercedes Version 5 look, with Version 1 of the MirrorCam digital mirrors and the new multi-media digital dash cockpit. You can de-spec the mirrors if you desire - but anything 'off-road' work makes them even better - less surface area to get clouted by a tree or obstacle. The Version 2 MirrorCam is now available and even better.

Regular readers will know I'm a big advocate of digital mirrors, and in this case, I would seriously recommend spec'ing them on an Arocs, especially a tractor unit. The cab had a pull-out refrigerator under the bed, which drivers will like. They should also like the many safety features, such as Lane Keeping Assist, Proximity Control Assist, Attention Assist, Traffic Sign Assist, and Active Brake Assist 5.

The front axle is rated at 7,500kg, the drive axle at 13,000kg, and the tag axle at 7,500kg. The rear axle ratio is 1:2.929. The front suspension is two leaf springs, and the wheelbase is 3,450mm, which has a frame overhang of 750mm, giving the truck its very long look!

On the road

However, for this road test, sadly, there is no off-road driving, and indeed, my unit is coupled to a standard tri-axle tautliner, so for all intents and purposes, we look like any other general haulage truck.

I am, however, running at 44 tonnes, and I have also chosen to take the Arocs over a demanding route, even if it is solely on tarmac. Leaving Wentworth Park, I head to the A616 and get the 2553 up to speed. For roads like this, it has plenty of power, and while I have often been critical of Mercs in the past for being something of a bit of a slouch, this machine is far from it, and I soon get up to the legal 50mph I can do on these roads.

There are plenty of ups and downs, twists and turns even on this first stretch to the Flouch roundabout, and while the speed understandably drops to about 35-40mph, that is the kind of performance I would expect from even big engines in trucks over 500hp. Turning left at the roundabout, I'm on the A628 towards Manchester, the famous Woodhead pass. This road tests both a driver and their truck; if I am brutally honest, it's not all suitable for lorries.

I say that because you're lucky to get above 30, 35mph for much to it. There are few safe places to overtake, but it offers tight bends, often on hills, and there's just a lot of traffic. It's not a road for the speed merchants, and you need to concentrate 100% at all times, especially when another truck approaches you on some of the narrower sections.

As a rule, the easiest way to Manchester from where I started would have been M1 or M62, but that's boring for a road test, isn't it?! The Arocs copes admirably, and I stop at Woodhead itself for a few pictures (the fact that there's a van selling coffee as well is just a bonus). That done, it's back onto the pass and a bit more twisty turning, high-concentration driving that both driver and truck cope with without fear.

Passing through Hollingworth, there is the option of heading straight on towards Hyde and the M67 to take the M60 north and M62 east then, but I opt to stick to another 'not really ideally suited for lorries' road - and head right towards Stalybridge but then hook a right onto the A635 to head through Greenfield. Here's it's a good job. My trailer is pretty standard height because I came to a low bridge with no adequate advance warning earlier along the road.

Luckily, I can get under it, but had it been a 16ft trailer, I would have been stuffed and forced into a very awkward and highly inconvenient three-point turn - not easy in a 44-tonner. However, get under it I do and I'm able to pass through Greenfield and continue on the A635 over Saddleworth Moor. The climb out of Greenfield is a slog, especially for a 44-tonner.

Again, it's uphill all the way, at quite a stiff gradient, and with plenty of bends. But the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. Again, I wouldn't choose to bring a truck this way - if only for the reduced speed and increased fuel consumption, but that said, it's certainly not impossible for a truck this size and weight.

The tailback of traffic reminds me that every car driver is probably cursing me stuck behind me, and indeed, one or two make a potentially risky overtake at the first opportunity. But the climb was done, and out on the stunning Pennine scenery - in the sunshine - of Saddleworth Moor allows me time to gain a head of steam, let the impatient cars overtake and then stop in a lay-by at a favourite spot for a few more pictures. A potential problem with going via Saddleworth is looming.

After dropping down the hill to the other side, where the five-stage engine brake takes something of a battering, I'm then faced with taking the behemoth of an articulated lorry through the quaint town of Holmfirth. Again, it's not an ideal stamping ground for a size truck, but it's still doable. Again, no doubt causing much chagrin to the locals in their 4x4s, I successfully negotiated the town and came out the other side in one piece.

I headed up to the A635 through Shepley and then took the A628 through Dodworth to head down to the M1 near Barnsley. That gives me, albeit only for a junction to two, a little bit of motorway driving, which is stress-free and incident-free, and I return to Wentworth Park just in time before the security man closes the gate!

Conclusions

Ok, the Arocs is a specialist piece of kit, and as a 6x2 tag tractor, it's pretty rare. With a Tautliner, I reckon it's incredibly unusual!

But the Arocs most certainly can do a job, and for the previously mentioned applications, it is as good as pretty much anything else on the market. It's robust, offers a great drive, and offers plenty of comfort. Being such a bespoke type of specification means that while the Arocs has its fair share of competition from other marques, anyone in the market for this kind of truck is sure to do their homework before placing an order and will make sure they get the exact truck for the job in hand.

Where this Arocs scores highly is its versatility and the fact it need not be restricted to timber, plant, landfill, or whatever its primary task is. At times, operators have to take a break from that core work - either because it tails off or more lucrative work is on offer, such as working for the parcel companies in the run-up to Christmas. In such instances, you could couple a 2553 Arocs to a standard trailer and do such work, and the chances are its slightly higher weight won't impact you too much.

On the road, it should deliver favourable fuel returns, depending on the rear axle ratio you have specified, of course. I admit this is a bit of an 'off the beaten track' type of road test - the fact the truck was on a 71-plate shows that it's not a vehicle Merc is especially desperate to plug either in magazines or with its dealers, but what it does demonstrate is there is a Merc for all tasks, all seasons and they are flexible in doing those tasks. A smaller engine means you don't have to have a bigger cab, and the narrower and lower cabs are useful options if you don't need a big, high-roof sleeper.

This will save weight and cost (but may, or indeed may not, reduce residual value and second-hand appeal?)

This truck surprisingly becomes a jack of most trades, fearer of none.

Specification

Model: Mercedes Arocs 2553 LS

Design GCW: 44,000kg/68,000kg GVW

Chassis: 3,450mm wheelbase

Front axle: 7500 kg capacity.

Rear axle: 13,000 kg (drive), 7500 kg (tag), 2.929:1 ratio.

315/70R 22.5 tyres

Gearbox: PowerShift Advance - 12-speed automated manual - G 281

Engine: Third Generation OM471 Euro 6e, 12.8-litre, straight six

Max power: 530hp at 1400-1800 rpm

Max torque: 2600Nm at 900-1400 rpm

Cab: L-cab BigSpace, 2.50m wide, flat floor