Unimog

More documents

Recommendations

Info

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
The Bayreuth road maintenance authority’s municipal construction yard, with the Unimog U 400 equipped with AutomaticShift® representing the future in the foreground and earlier models with cleaning equipment behind it Practical test together with DaimlerChrysler’s technicians during this test phase and I would like to take this opportunity to say that the cooperation was excellent and constructive throughout. We experienced no standstill times due to technical difficulties at any time after series maturity and I can emphasize that the AutomaticShift® system is an excellent alternative to the hydrostatic system,” says the workshop manager. Having received so much praise for this technical innovation, it was interesting to learn what the Unimog U 400 driver thinks of the AutomaticShift® system and what working with such innovative technology is like in real-world situations. To obtain a comparison based on many years of experience, the road maintenance authorities asked Willi Hübner to test the vehicle – a driver who has worked with different Unimog model series for 22 years. “I started out on a Unimog U 900, but I wouldn’t want to trade the latest one in for any of the previous models. Anyone can see how dramatically the Unimog has been improved in all areas. To me, AutomaticShift® is a real advantage for safe driving. I can concentrate on just the traffic, and this is an important factor when operating implements in summer and winter on busy roads. The Unimog has also improved quite a lot for drivers of the U 300 – U 500, because we’ve never enjoyed such good visibility before!” says Willi Hübner in tones of great satisfaction. In order to prove this statement in a reallife situation, we took the U 400 for practical tests with a Mulag mowing implement and a roadside post washing device. Both these test runs were definite proof of the fact that road maintenance services need such means of simplifying their tasks; after all, if you work with a limited budget, the saying “time is money” is an all-too-obvious conclusion.■ Advertisement Unimog 2|2003 5
Page 1 and 2: www.mercedes-benz.com | January 200
Page 3: Contents Symposium 20 “Rescue, Re
Page 7 and 8: Anniversary Château Calisanne near
Page 9 and 10: Sampling the Unimog U 5000: Command
Page 11 and 12: Water authorities preciation it des
Page 13 and 14: Road-rail applications off the road
Page 15 and 16: Report An example of best-practice
Page 17 and 18: DaimlerChrysler Worldwide ing the e
Page 19 and 20: Advertisements Technology that grab
Page 21 and 22: Martin Flammer of the Unimog sales
Page 23: UNISCOPE An off-road expert Farewel

Unimog

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?