Out With The Old - In With The New!

So I said farewell to my DAF XF truck - It was my first proper big truck and although it was probably the oldest on the fleet it did not let me down once.

But, it was time to say good bye as I was being lined up for a newer truck.

The new truck is a 67 plate (2017) Mercedes Benz Actros. As it's a newer truck it comes with a better specification than the DAF but essentially does the same thing.

For me personally the cab is the biggest improvement. Much more room than the DAF, and with more storage space which is always a bonus.

The other major improvement is that it has a microwave fitted that runs off a 1000w inverter.

I enjoy cooking, but sometimes, especially after a 15hr day it's just nice to chuck a pre cooked meal in and 4 mins later I'm eating. That is a real bonus.

It also means I can have a milky coffee first thing in the morning to kick start my body into action!

The bed is comfortable, which when you spend 4 to 5 nights a week in it is essential.

I have found that the black out curtains are not as good as the DAF, they let in the light around the folds at the top, so need to look into that.

The night heater is better and works off of a thermostat, not sure that the DAF had one, you could set the heat, but it was then either on to the temperature you had it set at constantly or you had it off!

The seat in the Mercedes is more comfortable as well, with lumber and back support, it did take me a little while to sort out the seat to get it right, and the first few days I ended up with back ache. But I've now got it sorted out.

I'll have to take some pictures of the cab, just haven't got around to it yet.

The gearbox on the Mercedes is not as good as the DAF, it does tend to need more time to think about which gear to select when at a junction.

Not brilliant for an automatic!

Sometimes it just goes into Neutral which makes life interesting when you put your foot down to go and there is nothing there!

Apparently this is a common fault with the Mercs, there is a knack to it which I've now got the hang of, you sort of trick it by feathering the accelerator just enough for it to select a gear.

The cab is also just slightly taller than the DAF with 5 steps to climb into instead of 4, but still has an overall height of 14ft 6in.

Overall I am pleased with it, just as well as I've got it for the foreseeable future!

I'm going to attempt to do a "week in the life of" type of blog, not sure how it will pan out, but as it is Sunday today, I'm going to give it a go of doing a day by day account of what I get up to and where I go, not sure how many pictures I can include as all the ports and some of the places I go are a bit iffy about photographs.

We shall see. Till later..................