Unimog

Practical test
This is what it
looks like in the
vehicle: The
clutch pedal is
folded upwards
so that the
driver’s left foot
can do
something else
A highly satisfied initiator
The Unimog equipped with the AutomaticShift® system is the most
significant Unimog innovation this year and has passed the practical test
carried out by one of the initiators to the complete satisfaction of all those
involved. In addition to being one of the public authorities that asked for an
alternative to the hydrostatic system, the Bayreuth roads department was
also a cooperative test partner. After extensive testing, the authority’s
administration issued a comprehensive report in January 2003, which
reached positive conclusions in every respect and led to the purchase of
the test vehicle, a U 400.
The AutomaticShift® system proved to be the ideal
solution for washing roadside posts and mowing in
the Bayreuth test (far right)
Siegfried Beck, Head of the Northern Bavarian
Autobahn management’s equipment division (at the
far right in the picture), workshop manager Wolfgang
Rech (second from right) and driver Willi Hübner are
highly satisfied with the AutomaticShift® system
Siegfried Beck, who was then the head of
this department at the Bayreuth public
works authority, is satisfied with the results
achieved with AutomaticShift® (Electronic
automated Shifting or EAS) and proud of the
fact that he is one of the initiators who, directly
after the launch of the U 300 / U 400
/ U 500 implement carrier generation, approached
the Gaggenau-based company to
propose the development of a alternative for
the hydrostatic system. “A number of technologies
were feasible, but nothing came
close to the Actros’ EAS solution that was
used as a basis for the Unimog’s AutomaticShift®
system,” he says and confirms
that he is very happy about the way that
cooperation with Unimog worked out. This
was the starting point for customising a
U 400 according to what the Bayreuth road
authorities needed and delivering it to the
department concerned for a long-term test in
January.
In addition to the internal evaluation document,
there are also statements from the experts
who actually work with the unit. “The
test extended over a long period of time as
we wanted to test all our summer and winter
service equipment with EAS. In this way we
obtained an in-depth picture,” says Wolfgang
Rech, workshop manager at the central
Bayreuth municipal works department yard,
who is responsible for three road maintenance
authorities in the administrative district
with depots in Bayreuth, Kulmbach and
Wunsiedel. The range of practical applications
in this region, with approx. 900 kilometres
of regional, federal and state roads,
provided a broad test basis covering the most
diverse requirements. “Our summer work
went without any problem and we haven’t
had a single problem since AutomaticShift®
reached series maturity. We worked closely
4 Unimog 2|2003