New brooms sweep clean

The U 400 and the new U 427 are in daily use. They run the streets for eight hours, strictly according to plan. Each is fitted with a Schmidt sweeper. The containers hold 3.7 cubic metres of street sweepings. The sweeper is driven by the Unimog's power hydraulics at 240 bar. "That is hazardous waste that we take to the Torgau landfill, where it is disposed of properly," explains Riedel.

It goes without saying that the vehicles are equipped with VarioPilot®, the practical transferable steering for municipal use. In sweeper mode the driver moves the steering wheel to the right-hand side within one minute and thus has an optimum view of his implements. The hydrostatic drive allows the driver to continuously adjust the working speed independently of the engine speed. "That way the vehicle can work in top form," says Riedel, "it's really fun!"

The two swear by their "favourites" made in Wörth am Rhein: "We haven't had any problems with any of the vehicles so far." The men have already swept away everything you find on the road. Discarded glass bottles or concrete sloshing out of concrete mixers on bends are particularly annoying. "We then make sure to check twice that everything has been properly removed."

The U 400 is already ten years old. Therefore it is used as a road sweeper only when needed. The municipal utilities mainly use it for winter service. All three Unimog are equipped for this with a plough and a spreader hopper from Bucher. Seat heating, mirror heating, windscreen heating, area lighting, rotating beacons – these features are essential for the Unimog workplace in winter.

Project implemented in collaboration with Unimog general distributor: Henne Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH