- The Mercedes-Benz Actros SLT is an extremely robust heavy duty tractor unit with a permissible gross combination mass of up to 250 tonnes.
Stuttgart / Gundelfingen – Heavy duty tractor units like the Mercedes-Benz Actros SLT are often involved when oversize, heavy duty components or machinery are transported. The Actros SLT is now celebrating a milestone: the 500th Mercedes-Benz SLT towing vehicle based on the current Actros has been handed over to TSB Transport-Service Beitinger in Swabia’s Gundelfingen.
TSB Managing Director, Edwin Beitinger, said at the handover event: “We have been active in the field of heavy duty transportation for more than 30 years and absolute flexibility has always been priority number one with regard to our own quality standards. That is why, when it comes to four-axle towing vehicles, we rely on the Actros SLT which meets all of the requirements we have of a towing vehicle.” The head of Mercedes-Benz Sales Section Trucks South, Andreas Schmid explained the following: “Those working in the field of heavy duty transportation require highly technological equipment and reliability without compromise which is precisely what the top-of-the-range vehicle from the Actros model series delivers. The 500th SLT cements the long-term relationship between our partner Beitinger and the Mercedes-Benz Neu-Ulm dealership.”
The 500th heavy duty tractor unit: the Mercedes-Benz Actros 4163 LS SLT
This particular heavy duty tractor unit is a Mercedes-Benz Actros 4163 LS SLT. It is driven by the most powerful Mercedes-Benz Truck engine: the six-cylinder in-line OM 473 engine with 15.6 l displacement. It has an output of 625 hp (460 kW) with a torque of 3000 Nm. In order to be able to take to the road with transport loads of up to 250 tonnes, the G 280 transmission is equipped with a fluid coupling. The turbocharged decompression engine brake on the OM 473 is of outstanding importance in the heavy duty transport sector . The engine brake achieves an output of up to 646 hp (475 kW). The wear-free braking power is 980 hp (720 kW) in conjunction with the fluid coupling (primary retarder).
Heavy duty transportation usually involves driving at night with a break during the day. That is why the 500th SLT is optimally equipped with a GigaSpace L-cab with a level floor. It has a photovoltaic system on its roof. This offsets the current power consumption of the electrical consumers such as the air conditioning system when the vehicle is stationary without the engine needing to be switched on. That saves fuel, causing less pollution thanks to reduced CO² emissions.
The Mercedes-Benz heavy haulage truck is an extremely robust high-tech heavy duty tractor unit
The four-axle versions, like this particular customer vehicle, are the core of the SLT offering. In this configuration, the technically permissible gross mass is almost 44 tonnes. The permissible gross combination mass is 250 tonnes.
The SLT is equipped with a triple rear axle package which includes the steerable leading axle and the two drive axles. The steel-sprung front axle is available with a load capacity of either 8 tonnes or 9 tonnes. The air-sprung leading axle has a load capacity of up to 8 tonnes and is steered electrohydraulically. The two rear axles on the Actros SLT have a load capacity of 13.4 tonnes and are equipped as standard with the 4-bellows air suspension familiar from the Actros. The rear cooling tower boasts robust special heavy duty technology: The system combines the cooling of the engine and fluid coupling in one single water circuit. The engine cooling system on the SLT is complemented by an additional coolant radiator plus a hydraulically driven fan. This increases the cooling output and in turn the performance of the SLT. And thanks to the common circuit the radiator is used in braking mode.
The components on the Actros SLT are from one source and as a result are perfectly matched to one another: engine, transmission and axles all bear the three-pointed star. The basic vehicle for the Actros SLT is manufactured at the truck plant in Wörth as a three-axle semitrailer truck. At CTT (Custom Tailored Trucks), in the Molsheim plant in France, SLT-specific components such as the leading axle, the rear cooling tower or the chassis reinforcements are constructed. Every SLT is configured precisely for its transport tasks by the customer, a salesperson and technical consultants at the Wörth plant.
Transport-Service Beitinger
The core competences of Transport-Service Beitinger are the transportation of oversize and heavy duty goods as well as full loads of façades and other sensitive goods which require correct and careful handling. With a diverse portfolio of vehicles in its fleet including towing vehicles and specialised semitrailers, TSB Transport-Service Beitinger is in a position to transport goods in a huge range of weights and sizes.
