Mercs on the Move

Mercedes trucks come in all shapes and sizes as these two recent arrivals prove:

The hunky AWD Merc with box body is not as rugged as some I have seen, but there aren't too many places it couldn't go.

Whereas this Hymer RV on Merc chassis is intended for more civilized road conditions.

Both vehicles arrived this week from Germany for North American touring.

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A-1 response

A-1 Towing + Recovery of Lower Sackville, NS was called in to right an overturned dump truck this afternoon (a  Mack twin steer).

A-1 sent in their big guns, a sleeper cab Kenworth that I have seen frequently:

... and a day cab Kenworth that was new to me. In view of its pristine paint it may also be new to A-1 as well.

The wrecker body is a Vucan V-70 (boom rated for 70,000 lbs retracted 30 degrees) and the Classic KW with extra long chassis is a proper fit.

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More to Come

The wave of European RVs is peaking, and this week the vehicles ranged from small to sort of large.

A 4WD Mitsubishi L300 Delica type, kitted out for some hard work.

Not sure if that's a pop top of some sort, but it appears to be fibreglass. This is a third generation type produced until about 1994 for export, and until 1998 for the domestic Japanese market, and is RHD.

 And an over-tired Merc Unimog.

Let's hope the extremely short wheelbase is compensated for by soft tires. (The 'Mogs have Tirecontrol, which can adjust tire pressure to terrain.) This one has the high roof cab option. It has all the expedition bells and whistles, including the combination brush guard / roof rack, complete with high level lights. I don't know where he is going, but he has a blue headed pick clamped to the body just behind the door, and some traction ramps, just in case.
The no frills RV body is probably a Unicat lift type that raises about a meter and crawl through.

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Tourist Season

The annual arrival of RVs from Europe has been going on in a small way for a few weeks, but the delivery of a dozen or more of these vehicles by ship last week marks the real beginning of the tourist season.
Since I do not get to the north end terminal as often as I used to, I tend to wait for them to come to me now.

This IVECO Daily 4X4 showed up in the south end of town this evening, bearing a Bimobil EX358 camper body. I think this is the first RV I have seen here that claims Finland as its home.

IVECO is now a wordwide brand with large market shares all over Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and factories in China. It is essentially FIAT, but includes many once well known brands in the truck, bus, construction equipment and firefighting.

IVECO however is largely absent from Canada and the US as a brand name, although its engines are sold here.

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