Driver, Rudolf Magel is trying it out for the first time today. His first destination is a quarry for lava rock aggregate. Heavy-duty machinery works here: excavators loosen the igneous rock that is thousands of years old and load it on to huge dump trucks. It is transported to the crushing units by conveyor belts. If necessary Magel can take the required diesel fuel for the machinery directly to the vehicle. “Sometimes we have to go to places where only heavy-duty machinery goes,” says the driver who usually drives an Actros – without the extra help from a Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive.

He reverses, manoeuvring the Arocs into the quarry. Then the 44-year-old tries to pull away using only the drive on the rear axle. The rear wheels slowly dig their way deeper into the loose surface. Magel activates the Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive and depresses the accelerator again. The four-axle truck begins to move immediately – and the Arocs easily overcomes the incline ahead.

And now on to the next delivery stop; a road construction site a few villages further on. A new industrial estate is being built there. Volcanic rock is being used at this construction site, too; in civil engineering and road construction it is often used to improve the subgrade or as a stabilising layer. However, here the construction vehicles are still digging through the clay-like ground. When the Arocs arrives at the construction site, the workers are on a break. A good opportunity for Magel’s delivery. He activates the Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive again and works his way over to the site’s filling station where the construction vehicles get their diesel fuel. He then takes advantage of the work break to directly fill up an excavator with fuel. “We can transport up to 23,000 litres in three chambers on every tour.”

Then it’s back to the Roth GmbH premises in Daun. With a fleet of around 120 vehicles, the company provides its customers in south-west Germany with heating oil, fuel and lubricants. The company delivers to its own filling stations just as it does to haulage companies, construction sites, farmers and even inland water transport companies. “Our experience with our three-axle Arocs has always been excellent. That is why we have now chosen a four-axle Arocs after further consideration,” says Jörg Bertgen who is very impressed by the configuration of the vehicle.

Magel, the driver, is also impressed by the complete package: “It’s quite something at construction sites.” And when Magel tells his colleagues about his experience with the Hydraulic Auxiliary Drive, the four-axle truck most certainly won’t remain the only truck in the fleet to be equipped with it.